Vehicle breakdowns are stressful no matter the cause. A friend of mine recently had a spate of bad luck with her vehicle and was grateful to have road service membership with the XYZ company, a nationally recognized firm with millions of members. Unfortunately for her she had to be towed twice in one week to the same mechanic. Much to her surprise three tow truck drivers tried to overcharge her for the trips (one was cancelled immediately) and rudely informed her that they were following directions from the dispatcher as far as how much to charge and claimed their GPS system showed them the mileage. The garage was a straight and simple route.

Armed with her own GPS calculations and a receipt from the prior tow to the same place she quickly resolved the issue and informed the XYZ company of what had happened. Per customer service the dispatchers do NOT tell tow truck drivers what to charge. This leaves vulnerable folks subject to false charges if they are not familiar with the rules and guidelines of their road service providers. The lesson here is to never be afraid to question a charge and voice your concerns to the proper people. Use whatever means that are available to you, in this case GPS, and don’t be intimidated by rude people when you’re in a stressful situation. Safe travels all!