I’m surprised DAF tried to charge you that much Shuttle, usually the call out is about £100 for the tech to come out in a van & diagnose, particularly as it takes them 30-60 seconds to diagnose a blown turbo. I presume that wasn’t through DAF AID who seem to be on the ball but rather the dealer trying to inflate his Vegas holiday fund. 
Silver_Surfer:
I’m surprised DAF tried to charge you that much Shuttle, usually the call out is about £100 for the tech to come out in a van & diagnose, particularly as it takes them 30-60 seconds to diagnose a blown turbo. I presume that wasn’t through DAF AID who seem to be on the ball but rather the dealer trying to inflate his Vegas holiday fund.
it was direct to the local dealer to where i was, she also tried telling me that the figure quoted was the standard DAFAid call out fee 
IIRC, the call out fee for day time is £120, and the out of hours service is £130, this covers the first hour of labour (inclusive of travelling time)
It’s amazing that these people think that customers are stupid & are going to accept being fleeced, another customer lost…
Silver_Surfer:
It’s amazing that these people think that customers are stupid & are going to accept being fleeced, another customer lost…
Yes, this is true but I think they weigh up the pro’s and con’s of you being a regular customer to them and accordingly charge you extra if the chances of you ever going back to them are slim!!
Lusk:
Silver_Surfer:
It’s amazing that these people think that customers are stupid & are going to accept being fleeced, another customer lost…Yes, this is true but I think they weigh up the pro’s and con’s of you being a regular customer to them and accordingly charge you extra if the chances of you ever going back to them are slim!!
i have an account with them
shuttlespanker:
Lusk:
Silver_Surfer:
It’s amazing that these people think that customers are stupid & are going to accept being fleeced, another customer lost…Yes, this is true but I think they weigh up the pro’s and con’s of you being a regular customer to them and accordingly charge you extra if the chances of you ever going back to them are slim!!
i have an account with them
Oh 
Mark, I am new to this forum having only just joined. However, I know exactly where you are coming from regarding these charges. The Tables of New Statutory Charges as laid down by the home office state that a vehicle of type D — Vehicle off road: not upright, and/or substantially damaged and section 3- Vehicle exceeding 7.5 tonnes MAM, but not exceeding 18 tonnes MAM the charge is- i. Unladen £3,000 ii. Laden £4,500. A section 4- Vehicle exceeding 18 tonnes MAM is Unladen 4,500 and laden £6,000 plus any storage up to a maximum of £150.00 per day.
I’m in the commercial recovery industry and this is still a shock to me! We can do the £4,500 job for around £800.00. Do you have the opportunity of going back to the company who fitted the wheels for you?
Zimboro:
Mark, I am new to this forum having only just joined. However, I know exactly where you are coming from regarding these charges. The Tables of New Statutory Charges as laid down by the home office state that a vehicle of type D — Vehicle off road: not upright, and/or substantially damaged and section 3- Vehicle exceeding 7.5 tonnes MAM, but not exceeding 18 tonnes MAM the charge is- i. Unladen £3,000 ii. Laden £4,500. A section 4- Vehicle exceeding 18 tonnes MAM is Unladen 4,500 and laden £6,000 plus any storage up to a maximum of £150.00 per day.
I’m in the commercial recovery industry and this is still a shock to me! We can do the £4,500 job for around £800.00. Do you have the opportunity of going back to the company who fitted the wheels for you?
I think the OP should be challenging the HA/FMG/Recovery company first because it is does seem to be very clear that he has been shafted.
Given that you are in the industry, I am sure you would agree that the rates are a dammed site better than the old £105 fits all price!!
Zimboro, I forgot to ask; do you think the OP has been shafted?
I have just had a lengthy conversation with a Highways Agency manager who has finally responded to my claim that I have been overcharged
Whilst he can sympathise that what they have charged for what was involved towing my truck 200 yards seems excessive, there is no tariff in between the one I was charged (£4500) and the lower tariff of £350 if they had just towed it away… (which is what they did, only they decided to call it ‘substancially damaged’ first
When I asked who had earned all the ‘bunce’ out of this job he gave me the impression that Burrows would have done rather nicely out of it, FMG no more than what is usual for them (just a fat percentage for doing absolutely nothing) and what was left over will go to the Highways Agency (probably 3 thousand of my hard earned quids, though I can only guess)
It just seems to be a case of definition…they insist it was ‘substantial damage’ and I disagree, they are sympathetic but don’t want to give me my money back
Still waiting to hear from the solicitor about claiming off the tyre company
Will reply later on but I still disagree with the fact this vehicle was substantially damaged…
You’ll only get somewhere with it if you take the HA to court. If you can afford to do that then you can probly afford to write the £’s already spent off. Your call.
Silver_Surfer:
You’ll only get somewhere with it if you take the HA to court. If you can afford to do that then you can probly afford to write the £’s already spent off. Your call.
I do not believe this is the case. It comes down to the classification of the incident.
mark j robinson:
I have just had a lengthy conversation with a Highways Agency manager who has finally responded to my claim that I have been overchargedWhilst he can sympathise that what they have charged for what was involved towing my truck 200 yards seems excessive, there is no tariff in between the one I was charged (£4500) and the lower tariff of £350 if they had just towed it away… (which is what they did, only they decided to call it ‘substancially damaged’ first
When I asked who had earned all the ‘bunce’ out of this job he gave me the impression that Burrows would have done rather nicely out of it, FMG no more than what is usual for them (just a fat percentage for doing absolutely nothing) and what was left over will go to the Highways Agency (probably 3 thousand of my hard earned quids, though I can only guess)It just seems to be a case of definition…they insist it was ‘substantial damage’ and I disagree, they are sympathetic but don’t want to give me my money back
Still waiting to hear from the solicitor about claiming off the tyre company
Just a couple of things…I believe it is a requirement of the contract that “Recovery Partners” (dont you just hate that terminology lol) obtain digital images of the incident. If there are images available, all well and good, but a wheel or two coming off could hardly be classified as substantial.
Now, as you know, you have been charged £4.5K for this work…I have managed to find out a little bit more here and whilst these figures are approximate, I dont believe they are far wrong and they also take into account you paying Burrows Recovery as opposed to you paying FMG:
£4500.00 This money is held is Burrows account
£3200.00 Burrows will then submit an invoice to FMG for this figure - so this is how much they will have got for doing the job.
As you can see, there is a discrepancy of £1300 between the two figures; who gets this, I dont know. There seems to be much speculation as to where this figure ends up but it would appear that it either ends up in the pocket of the HA or FMG.
Just a couple of points to clarify…
The money was paid to FMG on the credit card before the Burrows drivers were authorised to release the truck in Trowell services
What I or anyone else would classify as ‘substancial damage’ is largely irrelevant…it is the privelege of those in attendance to choose…and then hold you to ransome of not returning your vehicle, with further threat of storage and disposal charges…
The absolute minimum for just hooking up and towing a short distance is £350
As the wheels were missing, my truck was the next 44 tonne category up…£4500
The bloke did sympathise that there wasn’t another cheaper tariff in between but that is just my tough ■■■■■
And I can’t afford to write it off or threaten the HA with legals
I can’t even afford a tyre or diesel on the credit card now it is maxed out paying those shy teds
Sorry, you did say about the charge…it still works out the same in that Burrows would have invoiced FMG for £3200 and then somebody has pocketed £1200 for doing ■■? And of course not forgetting yourself who has clearly been ripped off.
just read this topic, and what a disgrace these charges are.
you expect to pay something, but these charges are a joke. you’ve tried everything else, as someone else said earlier, maybe watchdog is worth a go.
As it seems they are pretty much all in it together - ducking, diving, and blaming each other for the extortionate charges… I’d letter before action the lot of them, advising that you hold them jointly and severally liable for the overcharge. That should (you’d think) prompt at least one of them to take you slightly seriously.
I can appreciate the one charge fits all they had back in the day was no good & not making them enough money but it really is ridiculous now, the tariff goes from £350 to £4500 with nothing in between? You couldn’t make it up.
I don’t mind paying a decent chunk for these firms expertise to you get you out the smeg but it really is highway robbery now.
If the HA are saying tough ■■■■■ to you then it’s either forget about it or sue them, no?
^^^^
Totally agree with you.
Unfortunately though, most people roll over and accept. I hope the OP does not do this and fights the HA, FMG and Burrows every step of the way. And then once he has won that battle, moves onto the tyre company.