My son was hit by car while riding his motorbike late in January. Thankfully there is wonderful emergency services and medical treatment available.
One of the real negatives of the process is that there are people willing to take advantage of someone else’s misfortune and inflate their charges because they expect the costs will be covered by insurance.
The price given on the day following the accident, for towing of the 150cc motorbike from Kambah to Kingston, was $568.31. We had no idea what other expenses we would have to cover in the short term so did not place a high priority on the retrieval of the item.
We were advised to get an invoice before collecting the bike. In the conversations arranging the pickup we expressed our opinion that the charges were exorbitant (given that we have had a 3 tonne van transported a similar distance for $80)
I requested an invoice be emailed prior to collection. Magically, for the same items – call out for an accident, distance per kilometre surcharge and after hours call out – the total on the invoice was now $436.39. Storage charges were added.
As justification for the prices charged, the tow truck operator gave us a copy of the NSW RTA Maximum Charges for towing light vehicles up to 4.5 tonne. He seemed to have absolutely no qualms about charging the absolute maximum he could find justification for, for a small motorbike. Thinking about it now, I doubt his truck has a carrying capacity of 4.5 tonnes.
NSW RTA Website also states that a tow truck operator must, among other things, ask the owner where they want the item delivered, provide paperwork and give a written advice as to applicable costs. This part of the system that he was using to justify the charges certainly was not adhered to.
Does ACT have any similar standards/regulation?
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