QuestionI wrecked my 18 wheeler on the E bound Interstate 10 in Salome, Arizona. No other vehicles were involved and there was no property damage except to my own. Arizona Highway Patrol ordered up the tow company on rotation.They had to pull my truck out of the dirt and switch some wheels around on the back of the tractor and tow it and dolly the trailer about seventy miles to parker. I have no insurance for towing. They charged me $6,400.00 for the trailer including load transfer,and $3,600.00 for the tractor.
$10,000.00 for a little more than half a days work.Thats ridiculous! Is their any laws or regulations on how much a
towing company can charge to one customer? Think if you wrecked your car and the wheels came off,well in comparison mathematically they would charge you $2,200.00 to pull your car out of the dirt and tow it seventy miles. Then they keep your car in storage because you don't have that much, and the bill goes higher.My bill now is about $12,000.00 and climbing just because I got this particular towing company on rotation that day. Highway robbers!
What's a driver to do?
AnswerWell I really hate that this happened to you, but there are several things which affect this answer.
First of all, Arizona does have some regulations in place for controlling prices on towing. But most of them are set up for cars and light pickups.
Semi trucks tend to take more work, specialized training and skills to do the job without damaging the vehicle further.
And the equipment is not cheap either. Some of the small "BIG" trucks run from $180,000 to over a half million dollars (for ones which rotate like cranes)
Now that being said, I am not sure how they billed the job out, but there are several methods. By the hour, is the most common method of billing for wrecks, and that means they will charge from the time they leave the office to the time they get back to the office. And they charge for each person on the job, and each piece of equipment (truck) on scene...
It add up fast.
There are other methods of billing such as flat rate, billing by the weight of the load and truck - trailer.
Now you might check with the Arizona Highway Patrol and see if there are regulated rates in effect in that area.
Now as to the tire changing, I am not sure if the tow company had the equipment and did the tire changing, or they called in someone else to do the job. If they called in someone, they most likely marked up the bill which is a normal practice.
Now as to the recovery job, I really can not offer much advise, as I was not there, did not see the wreck. And even if I looked at pictures I could not see "the whole picture" or know each problem they might of encountered.
I know there are companies which review tow bills, and try to get things adjusted if they are not correct. I am not sure how to get a hold of them.
I know that I get tow bills, from companies, truckers, and insurance companies from time to time to review as a result of my experience and skills, in addition to my knowledge of heavy duty truck wreck billing.
Hope this helps
