Cape Town - With increasing fuel prices, road fatalities, and crime, the predatory tactics of dishonest tow truck companies have become a growing and under-reported malpractice which adds to the obstacles South African motorists face on the road.
This comes after the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) noticed an influx of complaints about several towing companies preying on drivers who are in a state of shock and confusion after an accident.
By taking advantage of the driver’s emotional condition, it is believed that the towing companies charges the driver an exorbitant fee to recover the vehicle, as soon as they have recovered.
In a recent case, Buhle Sibanyoni recalled how she became the victim of malpractice, after being misled and not informed of hidden fees.
“I was lied to and tricked into agreeing for my vehicle to be towed. The representative lied to me about the pricing and didn’t inform me about any terms and conditions or hidden fees.
“He first said that the total cost for towing would be R1500 all inclusive, and I asked him about five times to repeat the cost and to confirm that there would be no extra surprise costs.
“I had a nasty surprise the following day when my car was removed from the previous drop-off place and moved elsewhere. As things progressed, the tow truck driver later revealed that the cost for towing was R5200, and that wasn’t all.
“There was also a recovery rate of R1500, administration fee of R950, security fee of R750, fuel levy of R250 and storage fee of R350. My initial invoice came to about R11 000 but after pleading, they agreed to round off the costs to R9000.
“I spent two days in that yard, trying to plead my case. I felt so bamboozled, victimised and helpless. I have been under a lot of stress and duress dealing with this matter. I had to eventually pay the fee to get my car out of there and avoid incurring the additional daily storage fees that I was threatened with,” said Sibanyoni.
CGSO media liaison officer Ouma Ramaru said that upon receiving such complaints, the challenges arise when towing service providers do not cooperate with their offices.
“Upon mediation of the cases, it is obvious that what was communicated to the consumer is different to the actuals of what the service provider is expecting from the driver post the accident. It is at all times challenging to get cooperation from most of these service providers in order to reach a harmonious settlement agreement.
“Our office has taken an approach of referring these disputes to United Towing Association of South Africa (Utasa), however, this body only deals with the towing businesses who are their members, and we assume they have a way of resolving the disputes against their members as we do not see the complaints returning to us.
“However, to the towing businesses which are not registered with UTASA, I must say, it’s not easy to obtain redress, given that the towing service providers do not usually cooperate with our office,” said Ramaru.
Utasa’s national chairperson Ettienne Pel said that while this malpractice was unfortunate, the cause of the issue was due to the industry not being regulated.
“Unfortunately, due to the industry not yet being regulated, there are operators who take advantage of the vulnerability of drivers due to towing being a ‘Grudge Purchase’.
“Our take on this is, there is a Consumer Protection Act (CPA), Act 68 of 2008, that is supposed to protect the consumer. However, many complaints have been lodged with them, but it is as if the National Consumer Commission (NCC) have no ‘teeth’, and fail to enforce the provisions of the Act.
“We have more than sufficient evidence relating to this. The National Department of Transport is in the process of reviewing current Draft Legislation for the Regulating of the Tow Truck Industry,” said Pel.
Spokesperson for the Western Cape Office of the Consumer Protector, Phenias Ncube, said that while the department cautions consumers to be careful when signing contracts they don’t fully understand, the department was in the process of establishing a structure that will adjudicate matters relating to the towing industry.
“It is acknowledged that like within any industry there are some operators that unfortunately exploit the situation when vulnerable consumer finds themselves in a vehicle accident.
“However, the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA), does contain various provisions which relate to contracts and the way they are concluded, and this could come to the assistance of a consumer if a dispute arises.
“We do, however, strongly caution consumers to be careful of signing contracts they don’t fully understand and beware of its implications, such contracts can lead to a legal obligation and could leave consumers out of pocket. The process of undoing this legal obligation, although flawed and possibly unlawful, is a cumbersome one.
“The adjudicatory process is done either by a provincial Consumer Tribunal or the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT). The aforementioned structures have the legal authority to provide an order on a specific matter after such dispute has been finalised. However, at this stage, the Western Cape Office of the Consumer Protector does not have a Consumer Tribunal to perform these functions.
“We are currently in the process of establishing this structure but at present, it does not exist. We anticipate that the Consumer Tribunal will be established and ready to adjudicate matters in the first quarter of 2023. As a result, and if enforcement is sought then the NCC becomes the custodian of this,” said Ncube.