Complaints about a tow operator

Papers worth keeping from the day

Each of these exists because a state rule puts it in the owner’s hands or lets the owner ask for it.

• The signed authority to tow. In Victoria the driver must give a copy to the person who signs it; in Western Australia the white copy of the four is the owner’s or driver’s.
• The photographs. In Victoria the driver must photograph any salvage, and the operator gives copies free of charge.
• The invoice. In Western Australia the towing business must provide one within 4 business hours of a request.
• The towing consent, for a car towed from private property in Queensland: the operator’s contract with the property owner or occupier, which the motorist can ask to see.
• A note of what happened, in order. Transport and Main Roads asks for dates, times, what has been done so far and the outcome wanted.

What the rules treat as misconduct

A complaint is strongest when it names a rule. Each state writes some down:

• Victoria. Touting for repair work at the scene of a crash is prohibited, for the tow truck driver and for anyone else.
• Queensland, private property tows. Operators and drivers must not intimidate, harass, abuse or insult anyone, must not stand in the way of first aid or medical treatment, and must not pass the owner’s personal information to anyone without consent, except an authorised officer such as a police officer.
• Western Australia. A towing worker must not use insulting, offensive or threatening language or behaviour at a crash site, with a fine of up to $12,000, or hinder first aid or block access to the site, with a fine of up to $9,000.

Victoria: the Department of Transport and Planning

The department reviews accident towing complaints under the Accident Towing Services Act 2007 and its 2019 regulations. Its page names four kinds it may take up: fees, tow trucks without authorisation, how an operator or driver behaved, and the release of a vehicle or the belongings in it.

1. Raise it with the towing operator first.
2. If that fails, fill in the department’s tow truck complaint form, found on its tow truck complaints page, and email it to the accident towing address given there.
3. The department gets in touch once the complaint is finalised, but for privacy reasons it does not say how it was resolved.
4. If the outcome is not satisfactory, the department points to the Victorian Ombudsman.

Two complaints go elsewhere. A breakdown tow (trade towing) is a matter for Consumer Affairs Victoria, and a car towed from a clearway or tow-away zone has its own process on the department’s clearways page.

Queensland: Transport and Main Roads

Complaints about particular tow truck operators or drivers, and their regulated towing work, go to Transport and Main Roads. It takes them through an online form, a printed complaint form, by post, at its service centres, or by phone on 13 23 80.

1. It says it will acknowledge a complaint within 3 business days and respond within 15; a complex one may take up to 45.
2. An internal review can be asked for within 20 business days of the decision, preferably in writing, saying why and what outcome is sought.
3. After the internal review, the department lists the Queensland Ombudsman as a next step.

The department may decline a complaint made more than 12 months after the event unless there are special circumstances, so timing matters. For a car towed from private property where the owner believes the parking conditions were met, Transport and Main Roads suggests getting legal advice, because a civil claim through the courts may be possible.

Western Australia: the towing business, then the department

Western Australia puts the first step in law. Every towing business doing crash towing must have a written complaints procedure that anyone can get hold of, with a simple way to complain and resolution within a reasonable time, and it must keep a record of each complaint and its outcome for at least two years.

Beyond the business, the route depends on what went wrong. Consumer Protection names the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure as the body responsible for complaints about misconduct by a towing company, and the department takes complaints through its compliment, complaint and feedback form. A problem with an insurer goes to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Consumer Protection adds that the Australian Consumer Law does not regulate what a service costs, so it generally cannot help with a claim of overcharging. Charging above the Perth and Peel caps, or an unreasonable amount for crash towing that has no cap or for recovering a crashed vehicle, is an offence under the towing regulations instead.

One complaint worth avoiding

Western Australia’s Consumer Protection has warned of accident management companies posing as insurers, persuading drivers into towing they did not need and charging large fees, even for a dent or a scratch. Its advice is to keep the insurer’s official number saved in the phone, and to check any number found by searching online.