I was involved in a minor car accident on Friday, January 29th. Upon calling the police for assistance, Chicago Towing Association showed up on the scene immediately and I assumed they were contacted by the police, which I then proceeded to ask the tow operator Dee, which he had confirmed that the area in which the accident happened was his neighborhood and he was made aware by the officer and not a police scanner of any sort. While talking simultaneously to to my Insurance agency on the phone and proceeding to file a new claim (I have full coverage) the second tow truck operator, Adrian mentioned they would be towing my vehicle to a lot since there was no room at Dees uncles shop, Collision Palace, Skokie, IL., where the Insurance appraiser would be able to take a look. We verbally confirmed I would not be charged for the towing nor the storage fees and only of my deductible which would be $250.00 for the entire job as they settle it with my insurance company. As a single mother of three children, I said that was fine and they could do the work on my car. I received a call from the Insurance appraiser Friday evening to confirm the address of Collision Palace and he would go see my car on Monday morning as it was only 5 minutes from his home. The next morning, Saturday, Jan. 30th, I called the Chicago Towing Assoc. And asked if my car would be at the shop on Monday morning for the appraiser, Adrian said it would be there no worries. On Monday morning, Feb. 01st, I received another call from Adrian stating that the auto body shop was closed due to the owner Nino having to go downtown and pay for a fine and then he would then take my vehicle over. I then became suspicious and called the insurance company to confirm whether or not the appraiser had gone to the auto body shop and taken a look at my vehicle. The claim operator then proceeded to tell me that the appraiser had in fact gone to the auto body shop and the shop was shut down by the IRS and had taken photos of the signs in for my file. I immediately contacted Adrian and said that I was in route to get my car as this was a big scam and I was calling my insurance company immediately. I called my insurance adjuster and explained the scenario, he confirmed to get the car out of there. Upon arriving at the tow lot, I was met by Adrian & Dee and they tried to convince me that I was going about this the wrong way and would not give me my keys. I finally convinced them they needed to get my car to the preferred auto body shop by 2pm. Once at the preferred auto body, they produced a phony billing of $400.00 which my insurance company will not pay! The tow from lot to preferred auto body shop was 3.41 miles.
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