Community Forums

mjyounger · 03-13-2014, 08:25 AM

I need some advice please. We had to have our motor home towed to a repair facility. Good Sam choose the provider of this service and the provider for the tow.

In the process of the tow, our front shocks were damaged which resulted in their having to be replaced. It has been almost two months and we are STILL waiting for a reimbursement for this expense.

We have filed our claim papers and talked with the GS representative at least eight times. He keeps telling us the tow company won't pay as they claim they did not damage them. (They did).

We did not select the tow company, Good Sam did. I just want my $821.00 for the replacement of my shocks and feel like Good Sam needs to step up and take responsibility for THEIR choice of a careless provider.

It has been almost two months.....what do I do now? We are VERY disappointed with Good Sam. We thought they were reliable and stood behind their providers.

UsualSuspect · 03-13-2014, 09:36 AM

Just my 2 cents, not an an Attorney, but if the provider will not pay there is not much GS can do to get the $$$ out of them. GS can't take them to small claims court, they are not the injured party, you are. Now should GS pay for the repairs to keep a customer, probably, but are they required to, no. I would take the tow company to court, you are the one who suffered the loss, and they caused it.

OLYLEN · 03-13-2014, 09:42 AM

Agree Good Sam did their part. The tow company is who you need to go after. Just how did the shocks get damaged from the tow, they are in a very protected area for a normal tow.

LEN

RayJr · 03-13-2014, 09:43 AM

Other then the shocks did GS tow take you to a place that could do the repairs needed, like they advertise. I'am sure people have that qestion because thats might be there bigest selling point of the service. And I agree GS didn't cause any damage you might have occured. Goodluck

palehorse89 · 03-13-2014, 10:07 AM

I do not agree with the above posts! Good Sam "hired" this tow company, you did not, damage was done to your personal property during the tow process, Good Sam needs to step up to the plate, pay for the damage that occurred during the tow from them, and go after the towing company.You do damage to my personal property, you do not want to pay for the damage.....simple for me, my insurance company will pay for the repairs, and my part of this issue is over, happy me, not so good for you, you are going to get really close and personal with my insurance company..... Think outside of the "RV world" for one minute, if your auto broke down, you call a wrecker for a tow, damage is done during the tow, you are going to be satisfied that you have to pay for it? Think not.......
To the OP, go and join up here RV , and post you dilemma, or email Marcus directly...... marcusvip@goodsamfamily.com !
One more thought, if this towing company does not want to pay for the damages occurred during their tow, Good Sam (Marcus) needs to take them "off" their network of towing company's to use!

Hikerdogs · 03-13-2014, 10:12 AM

It's hard to imagine how the tow company could damage the shocks unless they grabbed them with a tow hook or wrapped a safety chain around them. Secondly why did you authorize them to be replaced them and pay for them if you thought the towing company had done the damage? Thirdly did you keep the parts to prove how and when they were damaged?

If you can't come up with convincing evidence that the towing company caused the damage and provide the damaged parts as proof it's going to be extremely difficult to get reimbursed. Any third party will look at the incident as a "he said, she said" situation unless you have some kind if proof that the damaged occurred when the vehicle was in the custody of the towing company.

If you have photos of before the vehicle was towed and after the damage occurred, or the damaged parts, you might have some chance of recovering your money.

The analogy Palehorse 89 is proposing is somewhat contradictory. In the first case he's saying Good Sam is responsible for the damage because they hired the towing service. In the next sentence he says if damage occurred when he hired the towing company it wouldn't be his responsibility. If his analogy holds true in the first example why doesn't it hold true in the second true in the second example? It appears to me that the party that caused the damage should be the one to rectify it.

In any case the OP didn't provide any information as to how or when the damage occurred so at this point it's all speculation.

vsheetz · 03-13-2014, 10:24 AM

Sorry to hear you are having this issue. I had damage done during a tow via good Sam. I notified both the tow company and good Sam. Fortunately the tow company paid without too much prodding. Good Sam did follow up throughout, and may have done a bit of the prodding as well.

JMonroe · 03-13-2014, 10:45 AM

I think the crux of this is, why do you think the tow company damaged the shocks? What was wrong with them? How was the damage done? Without this information it's hard to form an opinion.

That said, if it can be reasonably proved that the tow company did damage that required replacement it would be my opinion that Good Sam can be held liable (liable and responsible are not always the same thing). This is based on your representation that you had no part in directing the work / picking the service provider. It would be different if you had chosen the tow company and they were simply reimbursing you.

This is an important distinction that came up all the time when I worked auto claims. If you pick a repair shop that is outside our network, and there is a problem with the quality of their work, beyond making a plea on your behalf we couldn't help (but it was always our customer's choice as to where to take the car for repairs). If you went to one of the shops on our "list", we would intervene, to the point of paying a different shop to make it right, if need be.

jcthorne · 03-13-2014, 01:16 PM

how does a pair of front shocks end up costing $821?

palehorse89 · 03-13-2014, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcthorne

how does a pair of front shocks end up costing $821?

Maybe 2 Koni shocks........and labor

Labor rates today.........

halfwright · 03-13-2014, 02:41 PM

OK, let's look at it this way. Good sam hired me to tow your RV. I damaged it. There is an employee-agent relationship. I am responsible, but since I am Good Sams agent, they share in the responsibility.

palehorse89 · 03-13-2014, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by halfwright

OK, let's look at it this way. Good sam hired me to tow your RV. I damaged it. There is an employee-agent relationship. I am responsible, but since I am Good Sams agent, they share in the responsibility.

My company(Or any company) that you are employed by, are responsible for your actions while working....Period.
That tow truck driver is/was a company Representative!

myliladog · 03-13-2014, 02:57 PM

A year or so I sent GS a check to renew my membership, they cashed the check but did not credit my account no matter what I did I even sent a copy of the canceled check but they still would not credit my account. Needless to say I am no longer a member of GS and will not be in the future.

mjyounger · 03-13-2014, 03:16 PM

The shocks were damaged on the bottom edge, both shocks, when the tow driver turned it too sharply to the right (more than a 90 degree turn). The bottom of the shocks were scraped off by the metal "thing" they put up under the motor home. We were extremely lucky it didn't damage more than it did, thank God.

Hubby heard it when it happened, loud BANG!!! The bottom portion of the round part of the shocks were scraped flat, breaking the gaskets, and the grove.

I called Good Sam after, we found the shocks were damaged and BEFORE they were repaired a nd was told to submit the amount on the claim form they would send us.

What were we supposed to do, sit at a Cummins for two months waiting to have the claim steeled before repair? It wasn't drivable!

Parts and labor = $821.00