A DRIVER was forced to pay out thousands of dollars after his heavily modded pickup was towed and damaged due to a simple miscommunication.
Savione Ketchens of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was pulled over by cops after they spotted his truck’s decorative lights installed underneath – which is in violation of certain traffic laws.
A driver faced thousands of dollars in losses after his modified Ford F-150 was towed, damaged, and nearly auctioned off[/caption]
A man’s squatted F-150 was pulled over for underglow lights and safety violations, leading to towing damage[/caption]
Furthermore, his pickup was “squatted”, which refers to a modified vehicle that has the front end raised and the rear end lowered.
Unfortunately for Ketchens, this mod has been outlawed in certain areas due to safety concerns – including reduced visibility for the driver and potential hazards for other vehicles on the road.
According to WBRZ, the truck – a Ford F-150 – was then towed, instead of police issuing a ticket, with Roadrunner Towing being called for assistance.
“He was saying how he has to tow it, he can’t just give me a ticket,” Ketchens added
But while following the tow truck to recover his vehicle, Ketchens saw the truck get damaged when the wheels rolled off the lift.
Ketchens added, “We just heard a loud bang!”
“I started looking at the truck I’m seeing this is messed up, that’s messed up, I’m like this is no good.”
In the days following, Ketchens’ mom, Tameka Dumas, worked to get the situation addressed at Roadrunner Towing.
“He assured us they would take care of the damages, we wouldn’t be charged storage fees,” said Dumas.
Dumas later provided Roadrunner Towing with a repair estimate, but they then sent the certified notices to the truck’s lien holder, Baton Rouge Telco FCU, as required by law.
But the lien holder assumed the vehicle was abandoned due to inactivity and decided to remove it from Roadrunner Towing to avoid accruing storage fees, unaware that Dumas had negotiated those fees to be waived.
Baton Rouge Telco then sent the truck to Oak View Auto Auction for liquidation.
Upon learning the truck was at the auction, Dumas quickly paid $932 in fees to prevent it from being sold.
“Fortunately I was able to come and pay the fees so it wouldn’t be auctioned off,” said Dumas.
After this incident, Roadrunner Towing explained they intended to cover the repair costs, but the truck still needed to be towed to a repair shop.
Ketchens and Dumas say they plan to file an insurance claim to address the damage.
“Just fix what you broke,” said Dumas.
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
- Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
- Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
- Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
- Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
- Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
- Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
- Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
- Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
- Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
- Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Source: Oregon Department of Justice, National General, Rak Law Firm
