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PUBLIC be warned! I feel duty-bound to warn the public against certain tow-in concerns that prowl the streets waiting to pounce on their unsuspecting victims.
My son recently had the misfortune of "losing" a wheel on his car. Boland Towing was called to tow the car, as it was causing a traffic hazard.
He asked for a quote which was not forthcoming. He was told that he would be avised when collecting his car.
He was charged R1500 plus R75 a day holding fee. To my mind this 4km trip is daylight robbery and totally reprehensible.
A garage would have charged him R120.
Beware public! Be on your guard against these vultures of the road.
Dick Durr
Jacques Terblanche, owner of Boland Towing, responds: The complainant alleges that we prowl the streets looking for unsuspecting victims. We work from our premises and do not have vehicles on "prowl patrol".
In this particular case, the client telephoned our offices for assistance and a vehicle was dispatched from there to help him.
When the job had been completed, the client asked the driver for a price. He was told that the office could give him a price, but never bothered to phone and said that his insurance company would carry the cost.
As this tow was the result of an insurable risk, the client was charged the standard rate for the recovery and towing as well as storage of vehicles.
These rates are determined annually by the South African Towing and Recovery Association (SATRA), of which we are a member.
All of the ten towing services in Paarl are SATRA-members and would thus have all charged exactly the same for this kind of tow.
I am not aware of a "garage" in Paarl that tows and stores vehicles for R120 after hours and over weekends, but if the client is of the opinion that a "garage" would have charged him R120 for these specialist services rendered after hours, we suggest that in future he does not make use of a towing service and phones the "garage" instead. |