DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Another Interesting Comment On Delmarva Towing!
Just recently I was involved in a minor traffic accident, but my car was not driveable according to the police officer. I did not understand that because it seemed fine to me. But anyway after he told me that I asked him if he could call Grants towing for me. He said that he counld not and that he would have to call one of their companies for me. Now you tell me, is there a scam going an here or what? The tow company that came was,yes you guessed it. Delmarva Towing. I told him that I did not want his services but then he informed me that he was called to the accident and he was going to tow my car.I then requested that he take it to my house and he refused. He told me that because the car was involved in an accident that he had to take it to his storage lot. Sounds familiar does'nt it? I thought that there was not supposed to be no police officer to call or choose the towing company according to the SCP.My insurance company tried contacting them amd they did not answer the phone for two days, hence two more days storage. CHA CHING..After my insurance company fianally got in touch Mr. Eddie Tindall, the owner of Delmarva Towing thay wanted to come and pick up my car and take it to a repair shop. he had stated to them that he would tow over there because he did not know when he would be available at his lot.Sounds like another scam. Something needs to be done about some of the companies, not all of them, doing and getting away with is what you can just basically call theft.
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16 comments:
Joe, there are several reasons why your car may have had to have been towed that you area unaware of. Furthermore, are you suggesting that the police have some sort of elaborate criminal scam going on with Delmava Towing????? Please...
the officer was in the right on what he told you. there is a fairly long list of companies that have agreed to be on call for spd to tow vehicles from accidents/traffic stops/search warrants whatever the case may be. To keep it fair the list is rotating, in other words once delmarva towing has been called they will not be called again until the list has completely cycled through all of the other tow companies and they have come and towed a vehicle. I dunno about the rest of the dispute that is with the tow company
Regarding the police officer calling someone other than Grants:
If you call, you can call whoever you want, but if the police call, they are required to use their on-call list. Basically, all bonded towing companies appear on the list for police calls and get called, one after another, to keep it fair for each company on the list. That's the way it goes for state and city police. I'm not sure if thats the case with county, but anyway....the cop wasn't trying to be an ass, it was just what he was required to do.
Something to keep in mind, and Joe, it would probably help people a lot if you made a separate post about this exact subject: never let the police call the towing company for you. Towing companies are not allowed to charge any less than $125 for an in-town call when the police call (and its just a regular car, that doesn't cover commercial vehicles). This is a rule made so that it is fair to all companies and all customers, regardless of which towing company is called. However, if you call the towing company yourself, you are likely to strike a better deal because you are dealing directly with the company and the police call rules no longer apply. You also get your choice of company that way. Store a towing company's phone number in your cell that way you don't have to worry about it anymore. Let the police officer know when they get on the scene that you have already called the towing company.
As for them charging you for storage, they can really suck about that when they get you on the weekend. If you get a nice driver, they'll help you out and let you to your car regardless of what day of the week it is. If you get an ass hole, they don't have to let you in, and that's that. And they'll hold your car ransom until you pay it, so you're screwed. That's the towing industry for you. Its not just Delmarva Towing, its across the board.
no, theres a click between certain tow companies and the fuzz, you can be bonded and on their list and still not called on an even basis, theres a click.
To all of you complaining. I own a towing company in Salisbury. Yes I am on all of the police lists in the area. Now to adrress the comment on you requesting Grants Towing. If you called them before the police had gotten there then that is who would have towed your car.The police have a rotation list that they go by. If a vehicle needs to be towed from an accident scene the will call whoever is next on the list. Now to the deal of Delmarva not towing it to your house. If you need a car towed no matter where it has to go and if you can pay the bill, he should have taken it anywhere you wanted it to go.The statement of him saying he has to take it to his storage lot is just wrong. Now if you could not pay for the tow then yes he would take it to his lot.To the issue of him not answering his phone the insurance company should file a complaint with the appropiate police agency. If he has enough complaints he can be removed from the list. Now I understand what you are saying about the storage charges. Try buying or owning tow trucks, paying rent on the storage lot, paying insurance on the trucks, and paying your employees. Oh yea, and paying almost $5.00 a gallon for fuel. All of the costs and charges for a police tow have been approved by the police agency the tow is being done for.Now I understand him not answering his phone is wrong. Most tow companies are only required to release vehicles between the hours of 9-5 M-F. If there is something on a weekend it would be completely up to the owner of the towing business.
Never let a police officer call a tow truck for you! Call them your own self and call who you want.As long as your car is in a safe position (off the road) they cannot make you have it towed!Every tow company has to make a living too I realize that but they don't have to RIP you off in the process.
I was in an accident at 50/Walston Switch a few years ago. State Police responded. They asked me who I wanted to tow my work truck. Maybe it's different depending on the police responding.
I slid off of an icy road 2 years ago and had to pay $200 to be pulled out of the ditch by a towing company. They were allready in the area to pull another car but I paid the full amount. I drove away after stroking a check.
I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. I joined AAA a week later and I belive that all I would have to pay is $10. it's cheap insurance for $50 a year and having the piece of mind is great.
I'm a police officer and everyday I get approached by someone who goes "I got a question for you" and then goes into a ten minute rant about one of their family members interactions with the police and how they thought it was wrong and wanted my opinion. The bottom line is that you can't give an opinion if you weren't there and know all the circumstances surrounding the situation. Normally when you get the story you get a lot of details missing that may have a huge impact on the decision that was made.
Anyways, without knowing the full details and circumstances of this situation I can say that my department gives drivers a choice. If a driver requests a towing company that we have on our call list we will gladly call them because it is at the request of the driver. If they are not on the list but the driver can provide a phone number for them we will allow that as well. Our dispatchers will not however look up phone numbers for tow companies not on our list. If the driver has no preference we simply go to our tow list and choose the next available company.
The only time I can think of when I wouldn't allow a driver to pick a tow company and make them use our next company on the list would be if their vehicle was blocking traffic flow and they wanted a company to come tow it that wasn't within a reasonable amount of distance to the scene. In other words I'm not going to wait and let their buddy in Towson who owns a tow company drive all the way to Fruitland just because he's gonna give them a discount.
"I'm a police officer and everyday I get approached by someone who goes "I got a question for you" and then goes into a ten minute rant about one of their family members interactions with the police and how they thought it was wrong and wanted my opinion."
If this happens everyday their must be some concerns by citizens about interactions with the local Barney Fife wantabes.
Every agency in Wicomico County has a different TOW LIST and each have different policies for tow. I also know because I've worked for three of the agencies. SPD uses he list and will not call one for you. WCSO will use the list or allow you to call or pick one of your choice. MSP uses a list but if you want a particular tow company they will call them for you as long as there can be there within 20 minutes. They will not wait for you buddy to bring a dolly or tow truck from a neigboring county or wait more than 20 minutes. IF you have a complaint than contact the agency that was involved in your tow. They can and do remove tow compaines from time to time for infracctions.
I run a Tow Truck Company and you can use whoever you want they can not dictate to you who to use.
My Daughter's car broke down on rt# 50 in front of the police dept.Last winter at around 8:00 new years eve. She got a "real nice" new years present! Not only did the local cop not let her call a tow company,but he "chose" and called good old grants,right down the road.They WOULD NOT tow the car to her home(down nanticoke rd,mind you)But to their impound lot,where of course would be close for new years! Best part; she was CHARGED an extra day impound fees for the holiday.I am not saying there is a scam of sorts but I think there is an attitude of "You know who"s buttering your bread" standard,or "You scratch my back,I'll scratch yours".....makes you wonder.I WILL NEVER EVER USE GRANTS FOR ANYTHING...even if I needed a soda.They are a bunch of rude jerks! They were going to charge my daughter for a NEW battery; 150.00 just for parts,we didn't even ask about labor.And if she did not have the car moved by Jan 2 by 8:00 am there would be another day impound fee.They also would not let us fix it ourselves because of "liability" issues.Best part;when we told them we would not pay that,the employee went inside and my daughter and I are standing in freezing weather not knowing what to do.NO ONE came outside and offered to lend us a hand.Say what you want,THERE IS A DOUBLE STANDARD FOR WOMEN....NO DOUBT!!! They figured we had no clue what was wrong(TRUE) and were going to milk it for all it's worth!She did end up getting a hold of a friend that had a large truck to come and haul it to his garage....And needing a new battery?? The connectors had corrosion on them and just needed to be cleaned.The car started right up.
Joe, Thank you for this blog for us "LITTLE GUYS" who can't stand up to the butt-heads of Salisbury,if nothing else atleast we have somewhere to "vent".
OK. i have alot to say. being a 3rd generation in a family towing business. Their are alot of scams and crooks out there in all of our eyes. One if the city police respond to a disabled/accident etc tow the city does not allow owners request as they claim due to un insured and un licensed wreckers coming into the city. Now the state police and wico sheriffs office do allow owners request.
CITY ORDINANCE
5.64.020, License Required - adds that companies must be licensed by the city treasurer in order to tow within city limits; and
5.64.070, Procedure for Dispatching of Towing Vehicles - eliminates "own choice request" (must follow rotation list).
Now if the customer has the money to pay the tow bill there is NOOOO reason why the wrecker service shouldn't have tow'd the vehicle straight to their house or place they wanted it repaired. As for not answering the phone to get more storage, well take a close look at the companies accused of that.. BRAND NEW wreckers and rollbacks all of them. You don't see the older companies like Williams, Simpsons, or Adkins riding around in brand new equipment. Those other younger company have to scam ppl and insurance companies just to survive. While they ride around in brand new rigs thinking their big shots. Honest towing companies don't rely on POLICE calls to survive, they are merely a bonus and its a privilege to be on the rotation list. Not a right.
-Josh
www.SimpsonsTowing.com
Wait, didn't this start out about the unfair practices of a certain tow company? Now, again, this has become an opportunity to BASH the police. We love you too!
As a service busness here I will STAND ON THE SOAP BOX and yell from the mountain for Mr. Ed Tindall and all of the employees from Delmarva Towing I several times had to use Delmarva Towing and always found them to be respectfull, honest and very clean and careful with my trucks...He has ALWAYS answered the phone when I have called and I can always find him by making that Phone call. I have NEVER had a problem with his bills or what he has charged...
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY "THANK YOU" PUBLICLY TO MR. TINDALL AND THE STAFF OF DELMARVA TOWING FOR ALL OF THE 7++ YEARS OF QUALITY RELIABLE SERVICES THEY HAVE PROVIED TO US.
Spencer Rains
Critter Getters Pest Control
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