[Corral]

1. the fact you called AMA for the tow demonstrates your intention to pay AMA rates - an important piece of information here is whether the driver asked to see your AMA membership when he arrived and before he hooked your vehicle. If he did, at that point you and the driver have entered into a contract on AMA terms. If not, you still may have done so on AMA terms but it is less certain and much depends on the conversations you had.

2. from what you've described - you were misled in the truck on the drive back into paying extra for the tow - ie. $1300 plus whatever the company has billed AMA

3. I'd be surprised if your insurance company doesn't cover your tow ... but when you are on the phone with the insurance rep ... ask about whether you have coverage for fraud such as this (completely apart from your vehicle collision .. and would not be an at-fault claim)

4. Phone AMA - but this is unlikely to get your $1300 back from AMA ... more likely is AMA will contact the company and you will get your money back from them ... for the reasons others have noted ... this is not a story AMA wants passed around

5. Give AMA a chance to fix this ... if not to your satisfaction ... go to the media with this

6. File a small claims in prov court against the tow company and the driver.

7. follow the advice on the fair trading act as well ... sounds like another mechanism to apply pressure for the tow company to return your cash.

I think you'll get your $$$ back via one or more of these steps. But it may take a little while. Your insurance company will give you some time to decide whether you want to make the claim for the tow - so hopefully in that period you get a good sense as to whether one or more of the other steps will get your cash back first.