Broyles Auto and Wrecker Service price gouges and takes advantage of accident victims when they are in a desperate situation. I would give them zero stars if I could. My daughter got in an accident on Sunday on 95 just north of Richmond. Having never been in an accident before, she was very upset and in shock, and did not know what her rights and obligations were. The police called for a wrecker to tow the car without asking for her consent or informing her of her rights and obligations except to say that she could not leave the scene before the car was removed. A Broyles wrecker responded to the scene, did not ask if she wanted her car towed, hooked up her car, and without asking her where she wanted the car towed, hauled the car back to their yard. She asked the driver about the cost of towing, and the driver just said they would bill us, that they could scrap the car, that she should take all her possessions, and that the storage fee was $25 per day. On Monday, I spoke with the owner, Jennifer Broyles. I asked how much a tow would cost and she told me it was $78.50. When I told her that our car was already in their yard, she told me that since it was an “accident situation” that it would cost $225, and that storage was $40 per day (not the quoted $25). I asked why it was so much more expensive, and she said it was because a normal tow would have the person present with the car, would have the key, and would be able to hook up and go. Since the car was on the shoulder, was still drivable immediately after the accident, my daughter was present, and she had the key, I do not see how this is different. It would be different if the car were flipped or in a ditch, but it was not. She then added that it cost more on a weekend because she had to pay her drivers more. I can understand that, but that does not explain charging almost TRIPLE the price. I had found a local scrap yard that would pay $200 for the vehicle as long as it was delivered to them. The car also had two brand new tires put on a week before the accident. I asked Jennifer if the scrap value of the vehicle and tires could be used to offset the tow and storage expenses. But NO, they would only waive the storage cost, but we would have to pay the full exorbitant $225 for the tow and they would keep the profits from any scrap value as well. Or we could pay the $225 plus $40 per day in storage, plus pay for another tow to take it to the salvage yard. I asked if we could come take the two new tires off the vehicle; she said NO, not while it was on her property. I told her it was still my car, this was price gouging, and they were taking advantage of us in a desperate situation. I knew the car had scrap value, two tires had additional value, it didn’t cost her anywhere near $225 to have the car towed, and that the storage didn’t cost her anything and was pure profit. She wouldn’t budge and had possession of our vehicle so we had no choice. We not only had to pay the $225 for the towing, we also had to pay them $35 to remove the two front wheels/tires so we could try to recoup some of the nearly $260 we had just spent on them. It is my assertion that Broyles is intentionally taking advantage of accident victims without asking them where they want the car towed or informing them of their fees before hooking up and moving the vehicle to their lot. They also charge an exorbitant amount for the tow and storage – almost three times the cost of their “regular” tow and $15 more per day than the driver quoted for the storage – which is abusive price gouging. And once the vehicle is on their lot, the owner has no rights to it without paying these excessive charges and/or risking additional $40 each day for storage to try and fight it. If you have an accident in the Richmond area, don’t call Broyles for a tow.
