Stuck in the mud in Massachusetts and need a tow? No problem! That'll be $48,000.

[TerryMason]

Joel Ramer and his girlfriend were off-roading in Walpole, MA last week when they wandered were they shouldn't have. They landed in a mud pit on private property. Ramer said it took Assured Collision towing company 12 hours to free his vehicle from the muck. But when he got the bill for the tow, he thought the accounting department must have been off by a decimal.

"When I went to pick up the vehicle from Assured Collision, he'd informed me there was some damage done to the vehicle, but didn't get into details. He also informed me the bill was $48,000," Ramer told Fox. "I thought they made a mistake." The phrase 'some damage' was putting it lightly. Ramer says Assured Collision totaled his Jeep. "Frame is broken, leaf spring is broken, drive shaft is broken," Ramer said.


The itemized bill showed Ramer exactly what he was paying for. Assured Collision charged him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor. That's $1,250 an hour. The Statewide Towing Association told Fox 25 that the actual industry standard is $175-$325 an hour. The company also claimed that power lines put them at risk, calling it a "hazmat situation." That allowed them to tack on another $5,000 fee for dangerous condition liability insurance. Finally, there was an extra $10,000 fee for an off-road recovery incident response unit.


Insurance won't help with the cost of the tow, so Ramer's broke Jeep is in Assured Collision's hands. On top of the enormous bill and busted Jeep, Ramer was arrested and cited for trespassing on land owned by a utility company and disturbing the peace.

I wonder how many XJs I could buy with $48,000...

 

[JPNinPA]

Just shows why you ask for an estimate up front. The towing company should have warned him as these dangers and charges were discovered.

Also the increased insurance is the liability of the towing company. And I hope they have proof of actually implementing the increased coverage and hazard assessment and use of specialized off road recovery vehicle as the claim suggests.

Ps hazmat is usually hazardous materials not hazardous conditions.

Sheez don't call them is you slide off the road in the snow or ice.

 

[crash0099]

I can see the issue with the trespassing, but GEEEZZZZZ $48,000...Come on!!!! How can a company charge for that? Were those the pics before or after they pulled it out? I guess that is why you need to have friends that you can go with, just in case something like this comes along. I don't see how it would take 12 hours to get it out. I guess you also paid for the guys to build a campfire and cook dinner too. Breaking parts well that is part of the allure of offroading!8) What was the job of the On Scene Supervisor? "Ah gee, why don't we hook up here....Damn got my shoes dusty, I better go home and change in to a more appropriate shoe!" He leaves and comes back 11 hours and 45 minutes later. "OK I got the right shoes now. Pull it out!" I guess this should teach us all, don't do things like this with out the proper equipment! Always keep a cooler and 2 cases of beer and you will always find someone to pull you out and make some new friends too. You may still have a broken jeep but at least you will have some friends to help you fix it!

Truthfully To "Stuck in the Mud..." It really sucks that they would gouge you that much with a straight face. I wish you the best of luck fighting this for a reasonable price. Good luck!

 

[Dragon5126]

sounds like the company owner is the Sheriff's brother in law... if the guy wasn't afraid of a fight, he could take them into court for fraud on the insurance alone which would then give him grounds for malicious intent charges, to make them replace the xj and cover all court costs. It would also put them out of business real quick as it would cost them their REAL insurance due to Insurance fraud (ironically form the other side than normally cited) I know of one instance here in Wisconsin, where one hotdog thought his 4wd suburban could go anywhere, and buried it in the edge of a swamp deer hunting. The tow service came out and their winch failed catastrophically, They then had to pull the burban out the old fashioned way using a chain, which broke after the suburban was out of the mud but slammed against a tree, yanking the step bumper off. Not only did the company try to rape the wannabe for pulling him out, at 4 times the going rate, they tried to charge him for the chain and repairs on the winch. The owner of the Suburban refused to pay, and the Police became involved. Turned out the tow service was uninsured, lacked required business permits, didn't have a state sales tax number even though they were charging the tax, on and on... they ended up paying for damage to the Suburban and a whole load of fines and more... and the worse part? they were under county contract for accident recovery. (and yes I know of this first hand, I know the idiot who owned the suburban, he bugged the hell out of me to go hunting with him that year) :???:

 

[fishwhiskers]

Don't cha just love Massachusetts [eye role] Lived here all my life and am clawing my way out. I'm just speechless can't believe the beating
you got

 

[Gennybro]

Fishwhiskers, How did you come up with that handle ? I got my name as Gennybro, cause in highschool, my friends was drinking budwieser. I was the only one drinking Gennesee.

 

[Gennybro]

Hey bro, Welcome.