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Drove into a ditch!

B

bubbadu

Diamond Member
I just got home from the worst driving experience i have ever had.

I am going on the entrance ramp here in Vermont on I-89 in my 91 Jetta. The roads didn't look to bad so I am going around 40.... I see that no one is coming and attempt to get into the right lane. At that moment I hit a HUGE patch of ice and spin a 360 into a good 8 foot ditch. I was fine from the spin out and walked away. Thankfully my friend Jason was right behind me and stoped. He came over and we tried to get the car out but with no luck. The cops showed up and then the wrecker. We both looked over and saw his car rolling down the interestate and geting a ton of speed!! We both run to the car which is a good 200 feet away, and at this point we are both flipping out thinking that is car is about to be totaled. Funny thing is that the car we just some other lady with about the same car he had.

<RANT>
The wrecker came and i assumed it was about 50 to pull me out. Turns out they want $150 !!!! to simply lift me out. At this point I am really pissed off and ask the guy if he has anything in writing saying the charges... he makes up some BS that "he could charge me more" and then pulls me out. My dad is cousins with the owners of the company is going to reem them a new one on Monday. :disgust: I gave them my debit card number. I am half tempted to pull all the money out of my account and have the charge bounce, but i won't.
</RANT>
At least i am OK and that the car is fine... its just been a really bad night 🙁

-Bubbadu
 
The day pulled over in front of Jason to see if we were alright and if we needed a cell phone... we told her that we were ok. We turned around and walked back to my car. Jason didnt pull his e-brake and we thought that his car was rolling down the interestate and about to smash into all the other cars. We both SPRINTED to the far away car, only to realize that his car was fine and siting there the whole time

-Bubbadu
 
Yeah i did because they wanted me to pay for it on the spot.... I really thought i had no other option because every single tow truck in the state was tied up ( there were over 12 cars off the road within the hour all within maybe 20 miles)... My dad's cousins own the company so i figured it was safe. The funny thing is that the ditch i was in was the EXACT same ditch someone else drove into like 10 minutes before the cop told me.

-Bubbadu
 
If the car isn't damamged, consider yourself lucky and be more careful on ice next time.

Last time I had a run in w/ an icy road my trck ended up on it's side.
 
After paying $130 once for being towed without my permission, $150 for getting a wrecker to lift your car out of an 8ft ditch seems fine to me.
 
Originally posted by: m2kewl
Originally posted by: boyRacer
You gave them your debit card # ? :Q
Click to expand...

:Q

damn, that sucks...and i'm driving up to rutland tomorrow too.
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yeah stay the hell away from rutland or anything on I-89..... they had SOOO much cars off the road tonight it wasnt even funny..

-Bubbadu
 
Originally posted by: brxndxn
After paying $130 once for being towed without my permission, $150 for getting a wrecker to lift your car out of an 8ft ditch seems fine to me.
Click to expand...

I take that back... the ditch wasnt really 8 feet.. i would say more about 5 now that i think about it... the guy was just a wicked dirtbag and kept saying that i called him out of bed... he was very unprofessional about the whole thing...if the bad end of the car wasnt so stuck in snow i could have MAYBE made it out but there was pretty much no way

-Bubbadu
 
If you used a debit card, he is paid on the spot. You are short $150 now. Go ahead and draw all your money out, it won't bother that guy a bit. He got his.

On the other hand, idf he did something unethical, then your cousin can entervene, but on the surface, I think it was a reasonable charge, and so would a judge in court. You placed your car in the ditch. You called the tow driver.

Learn your lesson and be more careful, before you get hurt, or God forfid, you hurt someone else.
 
Originally posted by: Tripleshot
If you used a debit card, he is paid on the spot. You are short $150 now. Go ahead and draw all your money out, it won't bother that guy a bit. He got his.

On the other hand, idf he did something unethical, then your cousin can entervene, but on the surface, I think it was a reasonable charge, and so would a judge in court. You placed your car in the ditch. You called the tow driver.

Learn your lesson and be more careful, before you get hurt, or God forfid, you hurt someone else.
Click to expand...

I am just pissed at this guys whole attitude... he wouldnt give me any sort of documentation saying they set charges... he kept whining that I woke him up and all this.... the thing that really made me mad was that he said he could have charged me more... its alright.. i got his name and once my dad gets a hold of him his cousins (the owners), i doubt he will have job. I think they really saw an 18 year old kid and wanted to take advantage of me.... i wont be paying 150.

-Bubbadu
 
I was able to get home today safely, but the roads in VT were HORRIBLE to say the least.. I learned my lesson but will still be going down to the gas station to complain tomorrow with my dad. I know i wont be able to get my money back, but i can't let this guy get away for making me feel like crap 🙁

-Bubbadu
 
Originally posted by: bubbadu
Originally posted by: Tripleshot
If you used a debit card, he is paid on the spot. You are short $150 now. Go ahead and draw all your money out, it won't bother that guy a bit. He got his.

On the other hand, idf he did something unethical, then your cousin can entervene, but on the surface, I think it was a reasonable charge, and so would a judge in court. You placed your car in the ditch. You called the tow driver.

Learn your lesson and be more careful, before you get hurt, or God forfid, you hurt someone else.
Click to expand...

I am just pissed at this guys whole attitude... he wouldnt give me any sort of documentation saying they set charges... he kept whining that I woke him up and all this.... the thing that really made me mad was that he said he could have charged me more... its alright.. i got his name and once my dad gets a hold of him his cousins (the owners), i doubt he will have job. I think they really saw an 18 year old kid and wanted to take advantage of me.... i wont be paying 150.

-Bubbadu
Click to expand...


The thing is there is no way to set charges and it is totally up to the driver on what to charge. Each situation is different and they just charge depending on time and if they have to use any special equipment. I had to have my truck rolled back onto its wheels and hauled back to my house and it only cost be like $40 but thats because its a small town and everybody knows everybody.
 
Originally posted by: bubbadu
Originally posted by: Tripleshot
If you used a debit card, he is paid on the spot. You are short $150 now. Go ahead and draw all your money out, it won't bother that guy a bit. He got his.

On the other hand, idf he did something unethical, then your cousin can entervene, but on the surface, I think it was a reasonable charge, and so would a judge in court. You placed your car in the ditch. You called the tow driver.

Learn your lesson and be more careful, before you get hurt, or God forfid, you hurt someone else.
Click to expand...

I am just pissed at this guys whole attitude... he wouldnt give me any sort of documentation saying they set charges... he kept whining that I woke him up and all this.... the thing that really made me mad was that he said he could have charged me more... its alright.. i got his name and once my dad gets a hold of him his cousins (the owners), i doubt he will have job. I think they really saw an 18 year old kid and wanted to take advantage of me.... i wont be paying 150.

-Bubbadu
Click to expand...
Look, he wasn't taking advantage of you because you are 18 years old. If the weather's bad, they can charge you basically any amount that they want to. You have the option of not paying it. Maybe, the tow-truck driver sensed an attitude in you (your tone of voice) and then started with his own attitude.

It's great that your father will fight this battle for you - and maybe get a portion of your $150 back. However, some day, you'll need to stand up and fight your own battles because you won't always have the opportunity of your father being close by.

Just something to think about ...

 
I definlty understand your point and I don't plan on having him stand up for me everytime i need something... 99% of the people that know me say that I am an extremely mature person. He is just a bit crazy when it comes to stuff like this and I would rather him see if he can talk the charges down whether than no trying at all. If he wants to help me out I am not going to tell him no.

-Bubbadu
 
Oh, one more thing. The last time I had a car towed was over 10 years ago. At the time, the intial "hook up" charge was $70.00 and then mileage was added to that amount for the distance that my car had to be towed. I realize that you only needed you car pulled out of the ditch, but they are entitled to charge fees relevant to the situation. Also, keep in mind that the towing company has quite a few expenses:

- Tow trucks / towing gear
- Upkeep on the trucks
- Radio equipment
- 24 hour dispatcher to answer calls
- Additional money for the driver to get out of bed at night to pull cars out of ditches (shift work premium)
- Insurance (they must have to carry a boat load of insurance given their situation)
- And the list goes on ...

Additionally, in stormy weather, taxi cabs usually charge double the typical rates. Does that make them criminals? No, because the rates are established by the taxi cab commissions and they are putting themselves at risk by driving in the stormy weather.
 
Originally posted by: d33pt
you need to stop whining and learn some grammar
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online I really don't care about grammar... I type fast and dont check for errors... to me its not THAT important.

-Bubbadu
 
Originally posted by: wje
Oh, one more thing. The last time I had a car towed was over 10 years ago. At the time, the intial "hook up" charge was $70.00 and then mileage was added to that amount for the distance that my car had to be towed. I realize that you only needed you car pulled out of the ditch, but they are entitled to charge fees relevant to the situation. Also, keep in mind that the towing company has quite a few expenses:

- Tow trucks / towing gear
- Upkeep on the trucks
- Radio equipment
- 24 hour dispatcher to answer calls
- Additional money for the driver to get out of bed at night to pull cars out of ditches (shift work premium)
- Insurance (they must have to carry a boat load of insurance given their situation)
- And the list goes on ...

Additionally, in stormy weather, taxi cabs usually charge double the typical rates. Does that make them criminals? No, because the rates are established by the taxi cab commissions and they are putting themselves at risk by driving in the stormy weather.
Click to expand...

I understand about the rates and your point. At this point I am not that worried about the money... its more about the customer service of this company. I work in retail and will soon hopefully become a lead (manager). I know what customer service is and this was definlty not anything close to it.

-Bubbadu
 
Originally posted by: bubbadu
I understand about the rates and your point. At this point I am not that worried about the money... its more about the customer service of this company. I work in retail and will soon hopefully become a lead (manager). I know what customer service is and this was definlty not anything close to it.

-Bubbadu
Click to expand...

As someone who may be a manager someday, you need to learn to put yourself in other people's position. Maybe he's been towing people all day, finally got a chance to go home to catch some sleep, only to be woken up at night to go out. Not only is it cold out, but he's tired and he has to listen to some 18 year old bitch at him the entire time... $150 is very reasonable for a tow. Attitude or no attitude, he doesn't have to be nice to you, as long as he does his job. If I were him, I'd left your whining, crying, "I know everything cause I'm 18 years old" attitude sitting in the ditch. You should be happy there was someone available to tow your car, rather then having to leave it in the ditch all night.
 
Holy crap man.. that IS a bad night.. i had a wintery accident once in my old car, cause the brakes sucked so bad, one locked up and put my car into a spin (i was just braking in a straight line for a stop sign) and i went around and backed up onto a curb on a guy's front lawn... chipped a piece of the back rim, and the tire went flat.. had to get a new tire, but i was lucky it wasn't more. missed a pole by not that much. luckily by the time i went up onto the lawn i had lost alot of speed.. sounds similar to your night.. not fun. 😱
 
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