A Table View driver is accusing a tow truck company of trying to extort money from her after her vehicle was involved in a crash.
At the weekend, her car had to be towed away from the scene on the corner of Porterfield Road and the R27.
On Monday, Janice Atkins was told that she owed West Coast Towing R11 500 for the towing, “salvage” and storage of her Toyota Yaris.
But the company's manager said he's not in the wrong and only charging the average industry rates.
Atkins said her car was driven by a friend when another vehicle on the R27 crashed into them when it failed to stop for a red light.
Distraught at being involved in a crash, she couldn't find the number of her insurance company's 24-hour roadside assist service inside her car, she said.
“I just wanted to get home. I knew I would have to pay an amount to have my vehicle towed and two days' storage until my insurance company arranges collection of my vehicle on Monday.”
According to the invoice handed to her by the tow truck company, she owed them R4 350 for “salvage,” R1 500 for “roll back,” R1 500 for “recovery,” R1 750 for storage, R650 for security and an administration fee of R900.
She would have to fork out an additional R850 if West Coast Towing had to tow her vehicle to her insurance company for an assessment.
But the towing company has been adamant that it would not release her car until she has paid the money and although her insurance company offered to pay the R11 500, she will have to repay this. “I simply do not have this money.”
West Coast Towing manager Barney Fourie disputed Atkins’s claim that she was being charged R11 500, saying the company had offered her insurance company a discounted price of R9 500 for the release of the vehicle.
He said the rates the company charged were well within the average rates of towing companies across South Africa.“We charge R4 350 while the average price for a salvage is R4 500. The problem does not start with the towing company, it starts with the insurance company.”
What had infuriated him on Monday was Atkins posting about her experience on Facebook. “We're charging a storage fee of R350 per day and a security fee.
"We're not trying to extort her, these are the average prices in South Africa.”
He said the salvage costs were for towing the vehicle from an accident scene.
“If I wanted to be funny I was going to charge her R6 000 for salvage. Instead of going to Facebook, the lady should have spoken to us about a discount.”
He said there was no possibility of resolving the impasse amicably because she had insulted him and his staff on Facebook.
Asked about the fact that the company stored its vehicles at residential properties in Parklands, Fourie said he could park vehicles “wherever I want to, they are locked behind a gate”.
“We've been doing this for 25 years. We don't have contracts with insurance companies, they tell us their panels are full.
"That's why we charge the average.”