Twitch vs. Agriculture

[wolfie]

In the "boxed in on all sides" scenario, that's when Twitch brings in his Russian friend, Mr. Sikorski.

[Argabarga]

It's interesting you say that.

Many many years ago, before I worked here, there was an incident that probably would have taken that to resolve.

The way the story goes, someone's car was stolen, taken on a joyride, driven up into stripmine county and disposed of by pushing it off a cliff and into an abandoned mine pit that had since filled with water.

Someone discovered the car, State Police divers investigated it, confirmed there was nobody in it, and got the make/model/VIN, looked it up, and realized it was stolen.

Owner of said car filed insurance claim, now that he knew he wasn't getting it back.

Insurance company demanded the car be salvaged, they wouldn't accept third-party verification for some reason.

Cops laughed and said "good luck with that" as there was no tow company on earth that could do it. The road into the place had grown over, and no truck could fit through the route they drove the car in without cutting down trees/clearing brush. Furthermore, it was several hundred feet down a sheer cliff and then under at least ten foot of water, there's no tow truck with a winch line that long and now tow company SCUBA trains it's drivers, we're towers for God's sake! Not Delta Force! (This is how my company got involved, the insurers called everyone in the area, not believing that it was impossible, until they were told, garage-by-garage that it was impossible.)

They then tried to contract a construction company to bring in a crane, that would have required at least TRIPLE the amount of tree clearing and grading to get one in there. They would have to literally build a road to the edge of the cliff (and possibly shore up the cliff too) before they could try and lift it out.

The expense for that adventure soon reached such projected costs that they started calling around looking to get a HELICOPTER and AIRLIFT it out.

I guess saner (or just cheaper) heads won out eventually because the car is still down there. But I don't know if the owner ever got his check for it.

For what his policy issuer was willing to spend, it would be ironic if they turned him down.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Insurance company demanded the car be salvaged, they wouldn't accept third-party verification for some reason.

For what his policy issuer was willing to spend, it would be ironic if they turned him down.

Cynicism talking here, but I'd bet that's why the insurance company started making these outrageous, cost- and reality-prohibitive demands before cutting a check. Because they're insurance companies, and they hate having to pay out money, riiiiight?

(This was meant to be a joke. Obviously there are plenty of stupid people in the upper reaches of corporateosphere, where the air is thin.)

[BearLeeBadenaugh]

Kinda funny you mention no tow company trains it's drivers as divers. Not true! We have one in Oshkosh where that's one of their specialties. http://www.jimsrepairandtowing.com/sunk.html

[mathnerd]

There's at least one tow truck company in my hometown that SCUBA trains divers, or at least has a crew that includes people who hitch a vehicle submerged deep enough to require a diver to a tow truck, as I've personally seen several vehicles pulled out of deep canals that way. Then again, there's a LOT of water in/around my hometown, so it makes sense that companies would have trained crew available to do that.

[Shalom]

Nope, can't move other vehicles and cannot forcibly open things like locked doors, locked gates, etc.

Wish someone had told Ford Credit that, back in the '80s.

My neighbor, with whom we shared an 8-foot-wide driveway, had a Lincoln Town Car that was a lemon from day 1. They kept having it in to the dealership, and finally ceased payments for it under the Lemon Law. Ford responded by (illegally) repossessing the car. Since it was in the back of the driveway and my father's Delta 88 was in front, they (again, illegally) moved my father's car out of the way to get to it. Since they were in a tearing hurry to get in and out before my dad came out with his rifle, instead of properly hooking up the Olds to the truck, they just shoved something under the car and picked it up by the radiator support. Bent the hell out of everything under the hood, as we found out when my father found the car abandoned on the street, mostly in a parking spot.

We basically reported this to the insurance as a theft and recovery, and let them go after Ford for the damages. We did eventually get the deductible back, so I guess they collected.

(originally typo'd as "defuctable" for some reason. freudian slip maybe?)

[taxguykarl]

Near as I can tell from the shenanegans with my neighbor the only way to keep something from being repo'ed 100% is to lock it in a building and not let it out.

My niece had a similar experience--she tried to run and hide (not paying mind you) and her ride eventually got the hook.

[Deserted]

We basically reported this to the insurance as a theft and recovery, and let them go after Ford for the damages. We did eventually get the deductible back, so I guess they collected.

Just out of curiosity, did you also call the police? Or just straight to insurance?

[Silvercat]

See: Buddy and his big ass truck. It's in Argabarga's posts and details someone trying to find the secret combo move to not be towed.

Anybody got a link? I can't find it.

[SkullKing]

@ silvercat
Here you go:

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=66653

[Silvercat]

@ silvercat
Here you go:

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=66653

Awesome. Thanks!

[Shalom]

Just out of curiosity, did you also call the police? Or just straight to insurance?

Don't actually remember, it was a long time ago, but I suspect we did.

(I do have a vague memory of my neighbor telling me the tow operator tried to claim he was a cop. Impersonating a police officer is a felony, I believe.)

[wolfie]

(I do have a vague memory of my neighbor telling me the tow operator tried to claim he was a cop. Impersonating a police officer is a felony, I believe.)

In the context of the Hammer's Slammers series of sci-fi novels, that tow operator was a cop (to avoid using a "real-life" expletive, their scatalogical swear word was based on the Latin word for feces).

[eltf177]

Any further word on this?

[Chromatix]

There are lots and lots of "alternative" expletives used in fiction. One that Heinlein used was "tanj" - short for "There Ain't No Justice".