Concerned about your advice to clients being misconstrued?
When towing and recovery professionals are criticized, it is often because they are accused of pushing drivers to visit repair facilities with whom they have a kickback arrangement.
While not unheard of, not every recommendation provided is done so for financial reasons. Even towing professionals with agreements with auto repair facilities may seek to provide sincere advice.
One good way for towing professionals to avoid accusations of taking advantage of drivers is to provide information that is true, and not about any particular facility.
Here are some talking points towing and recovery professionals may find to be worth keeping in mind.
What you can tell them:
—It is their legal right to choose which collision repair facility, just as it is their right to choose whichever towing service they would like to service their vehicle.
—Insurance companies do provide recommendations to drivers about which repair facility would be appropriate to seek the services of.
—Insurance companies’ recommendations can be based on many factors, not all of them related to the quality-of-service the consumer receives.
—Partner businesses are usually chosen for reputation, timeliness, quality-of-repairs, ease-of-doing-business with the insurer and ability to perform repairs at a discount in return for access to higher volumes of business.
—While some auto insurers may describe repairs performed at non-recommended locations as being not guaranteed by the insurer, most auto repair providers do guarantee all procedures for the lifetime of a vehicle.
—Many vehicle manufacturers supply lists of auto repair facilities they have certified to repair their brands of vehicle based on their specified repair procedures.
—Many OEMs provide referrals to auto repair shops. These lists can be found online, or by contacting the OEM.
