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Old 10-22-2017, 12:42 PM   #1
rd_aaron
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So I'll preface this post by saying I feel like a big idiot in hindsight.

We were out in the mountains yesterday and unfortunately we hit a deer that jumped out in front of us on the highway. Hit it straight on so it damaged the front of the car pretty good and we weren't able to drive it back to Calgary. We called the RCMP who responded and we also called AMA for a tow back to Calgary as I have a Plus Membership (tows up to 160km.. we were about 100km out of town).

Tow truck driver showed up and he was really friendly and quick at loading up the car. Before he even hooked up the car, though, he said we have some options and we'd talk about them on the way back to Calgary (we rode in the truck with him). Basically on the drive to Calgary he advised us it would be easier if we just processed the tow through our insurance company rather than AMA (saying it would be simpler, one point of contact, etc.). He convinced us that we would certainly have tow coverage since we had comprehensive coverage. I'm pretty sure now that he did this because he wanted to charge insurance rates which are higher than AMA rates.

I phoned my insurance company on the drive home to file the claim but unfortunately their systems were down and they couldn't access my policy (they're still down today). So I ended up paying with my credit card (about $1,300) with the intention of submitting to insurance after.

So looking at our insurance paperwork when i got home, I'm pretty confident I'm not covered so now I'm panicking. Insurance company's systems are still down so they're going to call me tomorrow. AMA office is closed so I can't find out about reimbursement until tomorrow. Looking to see if anyone has dealt with something similar that could give some advice. I think my steps are:

1) Talk to insurance company tomorrow and find out if I'm covered at all.
2) Talk to AMA and ask if I can get reimbursed through my membership (though it seems they only cover Club Rates and I'm pretty sure the tow truck driver charged higher insurance rates)
3) Phone the tow company's head office and see if I can convince them to refund me and charge AMA directly (I'm guessing they're not going to be very cooperative)

As I said, I feel like an idiot in hindsight. I was stressed out by the situation and felt that the driver had our best interests in mind, when in reality he had his own interests in mind. Just trying to make the best out of the situation so any advice is welcome.
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:12 PM   #2
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Phone your credit card provider and explain the situation to them. At least your grievance will be on record with them. Also AMA is pretty good to deal with in my experience.
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:14 PM   #3
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Was he driving an AMA branded truck?

Not much to add except many times I've called AMA for a ride home with my car from the pub. I've never been charged anything for it. Its sweet.
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:22 PM   #4
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Was he driving an AMA branded truck?

Not much to add except many times I've called AMA for a ride home with my car from the pub. I've never been charged anything for it. Its sweet.
Is this actually thing?
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:27 PM   #5
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So they tow your car home, and you fall out of the truck? My wife would freak lol
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:30 PM   #6
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^ Seriously! If so, I had no idea they did that. That's another huge perk if so.
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:45 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by rd_aaron View Post


1) Talk to insurance company tomorrow and find out if I'm covered at all.
2) Talk to AMA and ask if I can get reimbursed through my membership (though it seems they only cover Club Rates and I'm pretty sure the tow truck driver charged higher insurance rates)
3) Phone the tow company's head office and see if I can convince them to refund me and charge AMA directly (I'm guessing they're not going to be very cooperative)

As I said, I feel like an idiot in hindsight. I was stressed out by the situation and felt that the driver had our best interests in mind, when in reality he had his own interests in mind. Just trying to make the best out of the situation so any advice is welcome.
I don't know (last time I called a tow truck was years ago) but it sounds like "officially" you are out of luck, since you agreed.

The steps I would follow are:

1) Check with insurance to confirm. Maybe they will cover it.

2) Talk to the towing company and explain it wasn't covered and see if they will put it as an AMA tow as originally planned. There's a difference between someone who is out to get as much $ as possible and doesn't care if they screw you and someone who figures if you aren't paying anyway (insurance vs AMA) they might as well push you to the better for them option.

3) Talk to AMA. Maybe they will at least cover their amount, so you are only out the difference, not the whole thing.

Good luck!
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Old 10-22-2017, 01:51 PM   #8
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Honestly, I'd have a huge issue if my insurance company wasn't available in the case of a loss. I don't know which company and your history with them, but even if it's not covered through your policy, could you not get some sort of good will adjustment? I know my insurance insists I contact them immediately following a loss...and if they weren't able to assist me at that time I'd be pretty choked.
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Old 10-22-2017, 02:01 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale View Post
Was he driving an AMA branded truck?

Not much to add except many times I've called AMA for a ride home with my car from the pub. I've never been charged anything for it. Its sweet.
It was a towing company that contracts to AMA. Their business card has AMA/CAA on it so they're associated with them.

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Honestly, I'd have a huge issue if my insurance company wasn't available in the case of a loss. I don't know which company and your history with them, but even if it's not covered through your policy, could you not get some sort of good will adjustment? I know my insurance insists I contact them immediately following a loss...and if they weren't able to assist me at that time I'd be pretty choked.
They were available, but they had to enter all of my details manually since they apparently couldn't access my policy. They took down all of the details they needed for the claim but they also had to get basic information from me like my name, address, policy #, etc. They couldn't provide me a claim # either, so I have to reference this claim tomorrow using my policy #.
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Old 10-22-2017, 02:08 PM   #10
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I'd contact AMA, since the Tow truck driver was/is basically an agent acting on their behalf.
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Old 10-22-2017, 02:25 PM   #11
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if youre just talking about the tow and not the accident, I would talk to AMA about that tow service immediately.

That tow truck driver should not put you in that situation. If I was AMA, I would want to know that a contracted tow company is poaching them (AMA) out of a tow service which your membership has already covered
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Old 10-22-2017, 02:27 PM   #12
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Sounds like you got screwed. Did AMA not pick this tab up right away? Like take your AMA number and tell you if you had or didn't have the coverage? There's no way you should have paid a cent to the tow truck driver. Have you talke to AMA since? I had to use AMA once for towing service and was not out a dime.

My guess AMA pays the towing company a flat rate, say $300 if within the 160km radius. When the towing company bills an insurance company they can charge any sort of rate they can justify, double mileage, fuel, overtime etc... That's the only way this adds up to a $1300 bill for a 100km tow. Also the company will get paid immediately when you pay via credit card vs having to file paperwork and wait on payment from AMA. The tow truck driver sounds like a total scam artist, I hate people who take advantage of others in vulnerable situations.

Also call your credit card company and tell them you were a victim of fraud and have the charges reversed/ investigated.
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Old 10-22-2017, 03:01 PM   #13
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Definitely a scam so the driver/company could get more money. He wasn’t looking out for you at all.

AMA should be helpful, I’d think. They’re going to want to know that a driver is convincing people not to go through them despite it being an AMA service.
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Old 10-22-2017, 03:20 PM   #14
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You should get your money back if you are sure to frame the issue as a trust matter of their contractor. Be clear that the trust issue in your eyes lies with AMA as a result and I can't see any way they don't rectify it.

"I paid for AMA because you guys offer the comfort of always getting home and never getting stuck with a huge tow bill. Your contractor went against this comfort you provide and sold me on settling outside of your company in a clear attempt to add more profit to his own company."

AMA's good, but imo you should just highlight the issue on their end and don't allow them to get into a discussion about how you should have known better if that's the way they try to go. Just shut that down and keep pointed on what you paid for, what their entire business is known for and that a company working for them isn't properly representing them.
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Old 10-22-2017, 03:42 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale View Post
Not much to add except many times I've called AMA for a ride home with my car from the pub. I've never been charged anything for it. Its sweet.
From the AMA Website (https://ama.ab.ca/auto-and-driving/r...-assistance/):

Safe Ride Home can help you get back to your home base if medical treatment, physical injury, or another physical impairment keeps you from driving.

If you’re sick, recovering from an eye appointment, or for any other reason you don’t think you can drive home safely, use one of your regular service calls per year. We’ll send a tow truck to get you and your vehicle home again.
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Old 10-22-2017, 03:55 PM   #16
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From the AMA Website (https://ama.ab.ca/auto-and-driving/r...-assistance/):

Safe Ride Home can help you get back to your home base if medical treatment, physical injury, or another physical impairment keeps you from driving.

If you’re sick, recovering from an eye appointment, or for any other reason you don’t think you can drive home safely, use one of your regular service calls per year. We’ll send a tow truck to get you and your vehicle home again.
Wow!!!!!!!! Didn't know that.
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Old 10-22-2017, 04:10 PM   #17
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Basically on the drive to Calgary he advised us it would be easier if we just processed the tow through our insurance company rather than AMA (saying it would be simpler, one point of contact, etc.)
Same type of thing happened with my son but since he was on my membership he phoned me, I just said to charge it to AMA, that's why I pay the $250.00 a year.

Unless it's absolutely necessary nothing should ever be charged to your auto insurance and I really can't think of a simpler transaction than the signature on the 2 slips of paper from AMA. Fight like hell to get this reversed because you got hosed by that driver.
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Old 10-22-2017, 04:28 PM   #18
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You should get your money back if you are sure to frame the issue as a trust matter of their contractor. Be clear that the trust issue in your eyes lies with AMA as a result and I can't see any way they don't rectify it.

"I paid for AMA because you guys offer the comfort of always getting home and never getting stuck with a huge tow bill. Your contractor went against this comfort you provide and sold me on settling outside of your company in a clear attempt to add more profit to his own company."

AMA's good, but imo you should just highlight the issue on their end and don't allow them to get into a discussion about how you should have known better if that's the way they try to go. Just shut that down and keep pointed on what you paid for, what their entire business is known for and that a company working for them isn't properly representing them.
Trying to blame AMA for a mistake 'you' made. How...entitled. Own it, and ask for their help fixing it would be my suggestion. They'll also definitely want to know about a contractor of theirs is possibly misleading a customer.

But framing the entire thing as their fault...yeah...good plan...

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Old 10-22-2017, 04:33 PM   #19
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Also call your credit card company and tell them you were a victim of fraud and have the charges reversed/ investigated.
He hasn't been frauded (yet). He's paid for a service that he did receive. It's not completely what he expected, but he also doesn't know yet if his insurance will cover it (which was the point of doing it the way it was done, he thought his insurance would cover it).

If his insurance doesn't cover it, he MAY have a leg to stand on depending on just what/how the tow truck driver 'assured' him that his insurance company would, though it could also be argued that it's his job, as the insuree, to know what he is and is not insured for and to not make assumptions.

It's interesting either way, but he's still not been frauded (yet).
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Old 10-22-2017, 06:03 PM   #20
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Your insurance carrier can’t access your policy for over 24 hours because their systems are down? That is highly unusual.

Your insurance company should help here. They don’t want to pay these charges. And I suppose AMA doesn’t want to either, but I suspect they will have more “heart” than an insurance company.

This kind of insurance fraud happens all the time. People seem to think ripping off insurance companies is a victimless crime. It happens with car breakins, storm damage etc.

The guy must have been a helluva smooth talker to get you to fork over $1300 for something that would have been free. If it makes you feel better, that is a cheap price for a valuable lesson. Lord knows I have made stupid decisions in my life that cost me more than that.
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