Accident Victims Warned Against Unscrupulous Tow Operators

Warnings against tow truck operators Alexander Forbes Insurance advices drivers involved in accidents to call their insurance groups themselves.

It's a scenario that could happen to anyone. Your car breaks down on the national road and you are frantic to get it towed to a repair shop to have it fixed.

As such, you are only too grateful when a tow truck appears, offers to call your insurance for you to receive clearance, and tows the car for you to a repair business.

Unfortunately, for many policyholders, this scenario could turn into a nightmare when they realize that the tow truck driver did not really call the insurance company, and now refuses to release the car until the repairs have been paid for.

In most cases, the insurance company will not cover repairs in a business that it has not provided clearance on.

Gari Dombo, the Managing Director of Alexander Forbes Insurance, warns South Africans that they need to be aware that tow truck operators sometimes use devious measures in a bid to get drivers to repair their vehicles at their own businesses.

In one case, an operator even used a device to block the driver from making a call to his own insurance company.

"Motorists should always dial the insurer themselves or have a trusted person do this for them," warned Dombo.

Drivers should first phone their insurer who "will appoint a reputable towing company to take your vehicle directly to a reputable panel beater," said Dombo.

Some tow truck operators will attempt to hitch up the car, pretending that they want to pull it out of the way of traffic.

Again, Dombo advises drivers not to let this happen, especially since the police may need to investigate.

"Getting the right advice from the right people is especially important when you are shaken up after an accident and being pressurized," he advised.