Joined Jul 2005
Scarydevil Monastery
Forum Thread
My friend lives in NJ. His car was stolen, stripped, and abandoned. The city is making him pay for the towing and impound fees.
September 3, 2010 at
06:15 AM
in
Rant
Does that seem right to anyone else? It's basically costing him over $350 to have his car stolen and, since he didn't have theft insurance, it's a total loss. The only possible redemption is going to be today if a mechanic offers him any money for the scrap.
WTF?
I'm not even going into how rude the city employees were to him or how they turned him away yesterday afternoon because they didn't think he could get a tow truck (at his own expense) to the impound lot before they closed at 4:45. OR how they wouldn't help his wife when she was there at noon, because they were all at lunch.
Please reserve any comments about him being dumb for not carrying a theft clause or whatever you call it on his insurance policy. It was an older Honda Civic and he didn't think it was worth insuring for very much. I'm not sure how all of that works but his deductible might even have been more than what he would've gotten for the car, if that applies.
I think it's infuriating that the city is forcing him to pay towing and impound fees when his car was stolen! Does he have any recourse here? Maybe he can deduct the cost of the fees from his taxes or something? Who should he contact?
My friend is a really nice guy--I would've raged out on those impound lot employees for sure. My buddy said he knows when he's defeated and he's licking his wounds and counting his losses, and that his anger is reserved for the car thieves. I understand that, but really, it looks to me like the city's just adding insult to injury here.
Anyone have any experience with this?
WTF?
I'm not even going into how rude the city employees were to him or how they turned him away yesterday afternoon because they didn't think he could get a tow truck (at his own expense) to the impound lot before they closed at 4:45. OR how they wouldn't help his wife when she was there at noon, because they were all at lunch.
Please reserve any comments about him being dumb for not carrying a theft clause or whatever you call it on his insurance policy. It was an older Honda Civic and he didn't think it was worth insuring for very much. I'm not sure how all of that works but his deductible might even have been more than what he would've gotten for the car, if that applies.
I think it's infuriating that the city is forcing him to pay towing and impound fees when his car was stolen! Does he have any recourse here? Maybe he can deduct the cost of the fees from his taxes or something? Who should he contact?
My friend is a really nice guy--I would've raged out on those impound lot employees for sure. My buddy said he knows when he's defeated and he's licking his wounds and counting his losses, and that his anger is reserved for the car thieves. I understand that, but really, it looks to me like the city's just adding insult to injury here.
Anyone have any experience with this?
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And I probably wouldn't be so mad (on his behalf, no less) if it was just the towing. The impound fees on top of all of that though?
Let's suppose this was somebody who couldn't afford the fees. Let's say it was somebody who, I don't know, needed the car to get to both of his jobs. Now he's got to pay extra for public transportation, lose time from one or both jobs to deal with the city, AND he has to pay some ridiculous fees for the privilege of having his car stolen and being told "we rarely catch these guys?" PLUS find a way to pay for another vehicle or have this one fixed back up--probably buying his own stolen parts back at some point along the way?
How the fark is that, in any sense of the word, right?
And I probably wouldn't be so mad (on his behalf, no less) if it was just the towing. The impound fees on top of all of that though?
Let's suppose this was somebody who couldn't afford the fees. Let's say it was somebody who, I don't know, needed the car to get to both of his jobs. Now he's got to pay extra for public transportation, lose time from one or both jobs to deal with the city, AND he has to pay some ridiculous fees for the privilege of having his car stolen and being told "we rarely catch these guys?" PLUS find a way to pay for another vehicle or have this one fixed back up--probably buying his own stolen parts back at some point along the way?
How the fark is that, in any sense of the word, right?
Right? Who's to say? Life ain't fair
But if it was somebody like you describe, where losing the car would be such a financial disaster, the insurance would then make more financial sense correct?
But if it was somebody like you describe, where losing the car would be such a financial disaster, the insurance would then make more financial sense correct?
Maybe the government should have paid for his insurance. Maybe the government should replace his car. What if he couldn't have afforded even the minimum required insurance? Should the government cover that?
Sorry, I think that kind of mentality is how Obama got elected.
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Maybe the government should have paid for his insurance. Maybe the government should replace his car. What if he couldn't have afforded even the minimum required insurance? Should the government cover that?
Sorry, I think that kind of mentality is how Obama got elected.
I don't even know what to say to that. I really don't. I guess I need to just stop arguing.
I feel bad for your friend. But, when you get down to business and really think about it, who else should be responsible for impounding and towing charges on the car? If the city found your friend's car, they have to move it into the impound lot and store it. They can't just leave it out on the street.
As some others have mentioned, why should the taxpayers in NJ fork out the dough to pay for those charges for him when, sorry to be blunt, it was his decision not to by full coverage insurance for the car. Also, you are responsible to get your car out of impound the moment you find out where your car is located.
I don't even know what to say to that. I really don't. I guess I need to just stop arguing.
What about someone who bought the insurance to cover this type of loss? What if they later found out that the government would have paid for these expenses if they hadn't bought the insurance? Should they be able to get reimbursed from the government for the money they spent on the insurance? They didn't need it in the first place right?
I feel bad for your friend. But, when you get down to business and really think about it, who else should be responsible for impounding and towing charges on the car? If the city found your friend's car, they have to move it into the impound lot and store it. They can't just leave it out on the street.
As some others have mentioned, why should the taxpayers in NJ fork out the dough to pay for those charges for him when, sorry to be blunt, it was his decision not to by full coverage insurance for the car. Also, you are responsible to get your car out of impound the moment you find out where your car is located.
As to the rest of it: my friend is a taxpayer in NJ. And what would you--or Iaaaiws--say if it turned out that the insurance company wouldn't cover impound/towing fees anyhow? I'm not sure how it works but I could see them denying that. Same answer: sorry, too bad for you, why should the rest of the taxpayers have to foot the bill? Really?
EVEN IF the insurance company covered the towing & impound fees, he'd still be out of pocket for them as I doubt the company would Western Union him the cash to pay. What if he couldn't? The fees are just adding up and he's getting farther from being able to pay them and it's still his fault?
Can you really tell me you'd meekly accept the fees and not gripe about it at all if you were in my friend's situation?
BTW the point of this thread was to ask if anyone else had ever been in this situation and whether anybody had any suggestions. I did get one in a PM from a nice person who didn't want to enter the argument, and I thank that person for his/her suggestion. I've passed it along to my friend.
As to the rest of it: my friend is a taxpayer in NJ. And what would you--or Iaaaiws--say if it turned out that the insurance company wouldn't cover impound/towing fees anyhow? I'm not sure how it works but I could see them denying that. Same answer: sorry, too bad for you, why should the rest of the taxpayers have to foot the bill? Really?
I cut out the political stuff b/c while I usually agree with you, I think you're absolutely wrong here and engaging hyperbole to bolster your argument isn't doing anything except adding emotional fuel to the fire.
EVEN IF the insurance company covered the towing & impound fees, he'd still be out of pocket for them as I doubt the company would Western Union him the cash to pay. What if he couldn't? The fees are just adding up and he's getting farther from being able to pay them and it's still his fault?
Can you really tell me you'd meekly accept the fees and not gripe about it at all if you were in my friend's situation?
BTW the point of this thread was to ask if anyone else had ever been in this situation and whether anybody had any suggestions. I did get one in a PM from a nice person who didn't want to enter the argument, and I thank that person for his/her suggestion. I've passed it along to my friend.
The analogy would be home ownership where a homeowner didn't bother getting home insurance and there was a big storm that wiped out his house. Of course, it's totally sad for that to happen to the guy. But, in the end, who's responsible?
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The analogy would be home ownership where a homeowner didn't bother getting home insurance and there was a big storm that wiped out his house. Of course, it's totally sad for that to happen to the guy. But, in the end, who's responsible?