1 reviews | Active since Jan 2020
Experience with first help towing company
My Experience With First Help Towing Company
I am sharing my experience with First Help Towing Company because I believe customers should be properly informed about towing charges and services before their vehicles are taken away.
This was my first-ever accident, and I was already extremely stressed and confused. My vehicle had some damage at the rear, but it was still driveable.
After the accident, around four to five people surrounded me. They repeatedly told me not to worry and kept saying that the person who had damaged my vehicle would pay for everything. During this situation, while I was stressed and under pressure, they asked me to sign a receipt. I was not properly informed about the towing charges, storage fees, or any other costs that I could potentially be responsible for.
They then told me that they would take me to the police station so that I could make a police report. A woman drove us to the police station and told us to go inside and make the report while she waited outside for us.
However, when I came back outside after making the report, she was gone.
Because this was my first accident, I became extremely worried and confused. I did not know where my vehicle had been taken. I looked at the receipt I had been given and found a phone number for First Help Towing Company. I called them at around 4 PM.
During my first call, the company told me that they did not have my vehicle and that they could not find a vehicle with my registration number. This made me even more worried.
I decided to go directly to their office to find out what had happened to my vehicle. By the time I arrived, it was approximately 6 PM. I spoke to the security guard at the office and asked whether my vehicle was there. He also told me that they did not have my vehicle at their storage facility.
I then called the company again. On the second call, I was finally told that my vehicle was in their storage facility and that I should come back on Monday so they could assist me.
When I returned on Monday, I was presented with a bill and told that I had to pay approximately R7,000 before I could collect my vehicle.
I was shocked.
At no point before my vehicle was towed was I clearly informed that I would be charged this amount. Nobody properly explained the towing fee, storage charges, administrative fees, or any other costs to me. I was also not given a clear opportunity to understand what I was agreeing to before I signed the receipt.
What concerns me most is that my vehicle was still driveable and had only sustained some damage to the rear. I understand that towing companies provide a service and that legitimate charges may apply. My concern is transparency and informed consent.
Customers should be clearly told, before their vehicle is towed:
- Who the towing company is. - Why the vehicle needs to be towed. - Where the vehicle is being taken. - How much the towing service will cost. - What storage fees will apply. - Whether there will be additional administrative or other charges. - What the customer is signing and what financial responsibility that signature creates.
A customer who has just been involved in an accident can be frightened, confused and vulnerable. Surrounding someone with several people, repeatedly telling them not to worry, asking them to sign documents without properly explaining the financial consequences, and only later presenting them with a large bill is extremely concerning from a customer's perspective.
I am sharing this experience so that other drivers know to be careful after an accident. Do not sign anything you do not fully understand. Ask for the towing company's name, request the full fee structure in writing, ask where your vehicle is being taken, and make sure you understand who is responsible for paying the charges before agreeing to anything.
I have also seen other people sharing similar experiences and complaints about towing practices on social media and TikTok. I believe these concerns deserve proper attention and investigation where appropriate.
My purpose in sharing this is not to prevent legitimate towing companies from doing their jobs. My point is simple:
Customers deserve transparency. They deserve to know what they are agreeing to and how much they will be charged before their vehicle is towed.
No customer should have to discover the cost only after their vehicle has already been taken to a storage facility.
I hope First Help Towing Company, and other towing companies, will take this feedback seriously and make sure that customers are given clear information, pricing and explanations before they sign anything or agree to a towing service.
Trust you are well
Please note that your concerns have already been escslated to the relevant department who are still busy witn investigations and will revert back to you
Regards First Help
Trust you are well
Please note that your concerns have already been escslated to the relevant department who are still busy witn investigations and will revert back to you
Regards First Help
I would like to add some important details to my previous statement, which I had forgotten to mention earlier.
After the accident, I remember that there were two vehicles at the scene. In one vehicle there was a white male, and in another vehicle there appeared to be two women. One of them was an older white lady, and the other appeared to be a younger woman who looked like her daughter because they looked very similar.
The older white lady repeatedly told me, “Don’t worry buddy, at least you are safe. The girl who hit you from behind has insurance, and her insurance will cover everything.” She repeatedly reassured me that everything would be taken care of.
She then offered to take me to the police station so that I could report the accident. I trusted her and got into her vehicle. While we were on the way, she gave me a form and told me that it was necessary for the accident report and asked me to fill it in and sign it. I signed the form because I believed that she was genuinely helping me after the accident.
There is another important detail that I remembered later. The same older white lady gave me a phone and told me that the insurance company of the young woman who had hit my vehicle from behind wanted to speak to me. At the time, I believed that the person on the phone was connected to the other driver's insurance company.
However, I later discovered that this was not the insurance company of the woman who had hit me. This made me seriously suspicious that I had been deliberately misled and manipulated.
My vehicle was also towed away while I was taken to the police station. At the time, my vehicle was still drivable. I had not authorised anyone to take possession of my vehicle for repairs, nor had I agreed to unnecessary towing or storage charges.
I therefore believe that I was taken advantage of while I was vulnerable immediately after the accident. I believe that the people who presented themselves as helping me may have deliberately misled me, obtained my signature on documents without properly explaining them to me, and arranged for my vehicle to be towed away.
I was subsequently required to pay approximately R7,000 before my vehicle was returned to me. I consider this highly suspicious because my vehicle was still drivable when it was taken, and I had not requested or authorised the services that resulted in these charges.
My vehicle has still not been repaired to this day.
I maintain my position that I may have been the victim of a **** or *****ulent conduct following the accident. I am particularly concerned about:
1. Why I was told that the other driver's insurance company was contacting me when I later discovered that this was apparently not the case.
2. Why I was asked to sign documents without their contents and consequences being properly explained to me.
3. Why my vehicle was towed away despite being drivable.
4. Who authorised the towing of my vehicle and on what basis.
5. Where my vehicle was taken and who had possession of it.
6. Why I was subsequently required to pay approximately R7,000 to get my vehicle back.
7. Whether the people who assisted me immediately after the accident were genuinely acting to help me or were deliberately taking advantage of the situation.
I am requesting that this matter be properly investigated, including the identity of the individuals involved, the towing company, the documents I was made to sign, the telephone number/person who contacted me claiming to represent an insurance company, and the reason and basis for the R7,000 payment.
I am providing this additional information because I believe it may be important evidence in establishing what happened after the accident and whether I was deliberately misled or de*****ed.
I would like to add some important details to my previous statement, which I had forgotten to mention earlier.
After the accident, I remember that there were two vehicles at the scene. In one vehicle there was a white male, and in another vehicle there appeared to be two women. One of them was an older white lady, and the other appeared to be a younger woman who looked like her daughter because they looked very similar.
The older white lady repeatedly told me, “Don’t worry buddy, at least you are safe. The girl who hit you from behind has insurance, and her insurance will cover everything.” She repeatedly reassured me that everything would be taken care of.
She then offered to take me to the police station so that I could report the accident. I trusted her and got into her vehicle. While we were on the way, she gave me a form and told me that it was necessary for the accident report and asked me to fill it in and sign it. I signed the form because I believed that she was genuinely helping me after the accident.
There is another important detail that I remembered later. The same older white lady gave me a phone and told me that the insurance company of the young woman who had hit my vehicle from behind wanted to speak to me. At the time, I believed that the person on the phone was connected to the other driver's insurance company.
However, I later discovered that this was not the insurance company of the woman who had hit me. This made me seriously suspicious that I had been deliberately misled and manipulated.
My vehicle was also towed away while I was taken to the police station. At the time, my vehicle was still drivable. I had not authorised anyone to take possession of my vehicle for repairs, nor had I agreed to unnecessary towing or storage charges.
I therefore believe that I was taken advantage of while I was vulnerable immediately after the accident. I believe that the people who presented themselves as helping me may have deliberately misled me, obtained my signature on documents without properly explaining them to me, and arranged for my vehicle to be towed away.
I was subsequently required to pay approximately R7,000 before my vehicle was returned to me. I consider this highly suspicious because my vehicle was still drivable when it was taken, and I had not requested or authorised the services that resulted in these charges.
My vehicle has still not been repaired to this day.
I maintain my position that I may have been the victim of a **** or *****ulent conduct following the accident. I am particularly concerned about:
1. Why I was told that the other driver's insurance company was contacting me when I later discovered that this was apparently not the case.
2. Why I was asked to sign documents without their contents and consequences being properly explained to me.
3. Why my vehicle was towed away despite being drivable.
4. Who authorised the towing of my vehicle and on what basis.
5. Where my vehicle was taken and who had possession of it.
6. Why I was subsequently required to pay approximately R7,000 to get my vehicle back.
7. Whether the people who assisted me immediately after the accident were genuinely acting to help me or were deliberately taking advantage of the situation.
I am requesting that this matter be properly investigated, including the identity of the individuals involved, the towing company, the documents I was made to sign, the telephone number/person who contacted me claiming to represent an insurance company, and the reason and basis for the R7,000 payment.
I am providing this additional information because I believe it may be important evidence in establishing what happened after the accident and whether I was deliberately misled or de*****ed.