Towing Issues: tow truck, small claims court, mileage rate

Question
a tow truck towed my brothers car after he was in a car wreck and the car was damaged in the back after the tow truck went down the hill the car slamed in to the back of the truck,what can we do also they tryed to charge from the time they got cal to the time they got back to the yard the call was 530 to 900  gilroy calif

Answer
Well, we will discuss the damage part of the issue here first.. From what I understand the vehicle was not secured (ok my thoughts here) properly, but since I have no idea of what kind of tow truck it was (flatbed-rollback or regular wheel lift tow truck) then it was able to move while in tow and cause the damage.  Talk to the tow company about the damages to the vehicle (provided your brothers insurance did not cover the damages or total vehicle out)
They should do things to make it right (by the way you are not the one talking about the tow truck in the insurance commercial on TV?)   LOL.
You also do have the option of small claims court, if the tow company refuses to help handle this, or if you feel you are still wronged by any help offered by your insurance company (yes you can tell the insurance company that the tow company did "Secondary Damage" while performing the job)or the tow company.

Now, as to charges, there are a few ways that the tow companies do charge for services.. It also depends on the contracts with the local law enforcement agencies and or the highway patrol...

One is a "hook up and mileage rate" which charges for the work done to hook it up, use of special equipment and then mileage towed.. (just picking numbers out of the air here)  If they charged $ 150.00 hook up and 4.50 per towed mile and it was towed 30 miles then the basic bill (remember special equipment or labor could be charged in addition to the hook and mileage) would be $ 285.00
Another method is "hourly" rates which are based on the total time the tow truck is handling the call. If the truck left like you said at 530 and was done and clear (ready for another call) at 900 then it would be 3 1/2 hours of billable time (just picking a price here out of thin air) of say $200.00 per Hour then it would be $ 700.00..


PLEASE NOTE HERE, that I made up the numbers to help explain the pricing systems used, these are not the rates for what you would expect to be charged in normal calls. They might be higher or lower depending on locations, contract rates, or the prices the tow company determined where needed to cover expenses, return a profit and all that nice neat accounting stuff..

I hope this helps a bit...