Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess |
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Everybody knows I'm working for a junkyard during the day, now. I have a head-shaker this time. One of those stories that makes you shake your head in amazement, ...that people can really be that stupid, bold, inconsiderate, ... insert your own adjective. We, as in "we, the junkyard", tow cars for several online brokers. People sign up online to have their cars bought for scrap, or donated, and these brokers find a participating towing company / salvage yard closest to the client. Friday, I received a call from one of our brokers, asking if we'd travel into Ohio - it would be a little over an hour away. I said, "sure", even though it's a big waste if we can't find a second car to pick up on the way back, making the trip a bit more worthwhile. For this particular tow, the owner lives in Maine, and had been at her class reunion in Ohio three weeks prior. Her car broke down on the way home; she managed to get it to a truck stop, and after three weeks, was tired of waiting for it to be fixed. Her husband had suggested that she contact one of the online brokers and sell it for scrap. At least she'd get a few bucks for it, rather than costing more than it was worth. The broker called me and asked if we'd go that far to get a car - it would be about an hour and twenty minutes one way. We don't usually turn anything down, we just try to find a car to pick up with it so we can tow two over a distance like that. I tried to call the truck stop - I left a message. Later, the owner, Miss D, called me to tell me the mechanic asked for another week. I took the work order off the clipboard and hung it on the "future" rack. About an hour later, after I'd aready found another car to tow in a comletely different direction, Miss D called back and said, her husband wanted us to pick up the car anyway, and that the mechanic had more than enough time to fix the car. I informed her that our truck was already headed the wrong direction, but I'd try to schedule it in for Saturday morning. Another hour went by, and Miss D called me again, this time, asking for advice. She called the truck stop again to tell them to put the car out in the parking lot, and that we were going to pick it up on Saturday. It was almost 5pm by then, and the mechanic was gone, but a worker in the next-door restaurant, (remember, this is a truck stop), answered the phone. He told Miss D that he did not wish to be involved, but he felt horrible about her having to pay a tow truck when there was no car there to be towed. He said the mechanic had junked the car two weeks ago. She asked me, "Do you believe it?" I said, "Well, I believe it, but it's pretty low." I went on to tell her that, at least in Pennsylvania, you need a vin number, a title number and if there's no actual title, the driver's license number of the owner to fill out a form that basically says the car was not stolen, and was junked with the permission of the owner. I told her I didn't know what it might be like in Ohio, but, if a vehicle is no longer able to be driven on the road- wrecked, burned, roof touching the seats or the frame so rustsed it doesn't hold together, it can be junked as a "hulk" ... a vehicle that can no longer be titled. She was quiet. I heard a very deep sigh. She spoke slowly, saying, "I don't believe it. The mechanic wanted me to prove it was my car; I sent him a copy of the title and my driver's license number. I basically gave him permission to junk the car without knowing it, didn't I?" I said, "well, it's possible. I'm SO sorry." She sounded crushed. She said she might be calling me back for more advice. I gave her my cell phone number. She hasn't called. The last thing I said to her was, "The only thing I can think to do is turn it in as stolen. Say that you sent a towing company, and when they arrived, there was no car there to tow. The only bad thing is then, the salvage yard will be charged with receiveing stolen property and not even know it." I decided to post this story for two reasons. First, even though there are laws in place, there are people who will find ways around them. Second, I hope that anyone trying to make a fast buck will consider the innocent people they're involving. This has been the most educational job I've ever had! |