Driver ‘stranded for 4 days’ after tow truck ‘blows out’ her battery – she was charged $1,500 for someone else’s mistake

A FURIOUS driver is warning neighbors not to use a towing company after they blew out her car battery and charged for the incident.

The driver ranted about her experience with the towing company in a lengthy post on Facebook .

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“Tracy Peeps: DO NOT USE ‘Elevate Towing & Recovery,'” California resident Katie Henley wrote in the post .

“The owner refused to talk to us about the damages his employee made to my car,” Henley wrote in all caps.

“I needed a simple battery jump to leave my parent’s house so we called AAA to dispatch someone to us. It took the tech 20 minutes to hook up my battery (which was suspicious to me) and then it was SMOKING! HE BLEW THROUGH MY BATTERY AND FUSES,” she seethed in the social media post.

“It was very obvious that he had hooked the battery up backwards, causing this damage. He claimed he couldn’t jump my car because his portable battery was now malfunctioning (which isn’t true — he just FRIED my battery and fuses so now it wouldn’t jump!)”

The company was then forced to call another tow truck and bring the car and Henley to a nearby Toyota dealership.

The car owner revealed that they were forced “to cover the diagnosis, a new battery, NEW MAIN FUSES, and also some other random fuses that were blown throughout my vehicle.”

Henley said that the entire repair cost her around $1,500.

“The actual original issue was my alternator (which was covered under our warranty) and my battery that was ruined was only 6 months old,” she continued.

Henley stated that she was stranded in Tracy, California — about 68 miles outside of Sacramento — for four days due to the incident as her husband was out of town.

“Our damages claim is now going through AAA directly and we are hoping to have full reimbursement for all damages plus the other costs of me not getting home on time (pet sitting plus I also missed a teaching a combat class which had to be canceled and other expenses!)”

“DO NOT ALLOW AAA TO DISPATCH THIS COMPANY TO YOUR CAR,” she concluded the post.

Elevate Towing & Recovery did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many of Henley’s friends rushed to express their sympathy for the driver.

“That’s not good! Hopefully all your expenses will be resolved,” one friend sympathized.

What to do if your car is towed

Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.

If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.

Steps to take when your car is towed:

• Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
• Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
• Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
• Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.

If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:

• Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
• Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
• Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
• Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
• Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
• Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.

Source: Oregon Department of Justice , National General , Rak Law Firm

“What a horrific experience, so sorry friend,” said another.

One of the commenters noted that the person calling AAA should have a choice in which towing company comes out.

“A heads up to anybody who’s got AAA you can actually request which to company you want to come out,” they explained.

“You do not have to take whoever they have next up on call.”

REPAIR WOES

Henley is not the only person to have been forced to pay out of their own pocket when it came to fixing their car.

One driver revealed that his brand-new car had broken down a mere day after driving it off the lot in New Jersey.

According to the driver, all the doors and windows were locked and would not open.

“Everything’s locked up. You can’t open the doors. You can’t open anything, Kyrstyan Mazzuca said to ABC affiliate WABC-TV.

After calling AAA, he was towed home for nearly $800.

Mazzuca said he made over 53 phone calls to try and contact the car dealer but to no avail.

When he did finally contact the dealership, he was told it would cost him $500 to fix his car as well as the additional $1,200 he owed for the other half of his purchase.

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