The Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board has dismissed complaints this morning against a local wrecker company after an equipment company claimed the wrecker charged too much during a tow incident.
Richmond Lane of Lane Equipment said he was charged $3,000 too much after Yates Towing responded to a February accident on U.S. Highway 27 south. The accident occurred when a tractor-trailer tipped near the Fourth Street exit, scattering scrap metal across all lanes of traffic.
Yates Towing charged Mr. Lane the 8-cents-per-pound mandated by city ordinance for clean-up of the total weight of the vehicle, which was 80,000 pounds. But Mr. Lane said he should not have been charged that amount because his men assisted with the clean-up and he used some of his equipment to help with towing.
Towing owner Guy Yates said he offered Mr. Lane an $800 discount for the assistance and billed him for about $7,000 after an extra nights-and-weekends charge was incurred.
After discussion about the ordinance and hearing both sides, the board voted 4-3 to dismiss the complaint.
Board member Kathy Jones said she voted "no" only because she thought Mr. Lane should have been reimbursed the $100 he was charged for a Yates employee photographing the scene. Charging for photographs is not part of the city's ordinance. (guess documenting the charges is not supposed to be billed for)
For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/chattanooga-wrecker-board-dismisses-complaints-aga/?breakingnews
