Massachusetts

NBC10 Boston Responds: Towing Troubles

A Worcester, Massachusetts, woman spent years trying to get to the bottom of a questionable charge on her credit card.

It took our NBC10 Boston Responds team to finally get answers.

On a snowy January night in 2015, Cassandra Bensahih was in a slippery situation.

“I had just rented a car because my car was in the shop. They gave me this little car that had no snow tires on it from Avis,” said Cassandra.

Like so many others, she got stuck.

“I tried to stop. It comes to a skid and it slid right across the street into a curb,” said Cassandra.

She called Avis Roadside Assistance and the car was towed.

“After they took the car that’s where the nightmare started,” said Cassandra.

She was charged more than $200. She says she called Avis to question what was labeled as “miscellaneous charges” on her bill and was told the numbers with a “T” next to them were towing charges. She thought that was reasonable, until she received her next bill.

“When I got my next bill the next month there was a charge from Avis for $758 on there. I had already given them $243. Maybe there was damage to the car? Why didn’t they call the insurance company? I started calling. Nobody knew anything,” explained Cassandra.

She visited her local Avis office and called and emailed Avis Customer Service for years – literally – and couldn’t get to the bottom of it.

“I’d go back a month or so later and I’d call again -- same run around, same answers,” said Cassandra. “It took me two years to get the towing bills.”

The bills caused more confusion, revealing two separate tows, totaling more than $800. When she called one of the towing companies directly, Cassandra says they told her they had no record of having towed the car. That’s when she called NBC10 Boston Responds.

“I said I’m not doing this again, I’m calling Channel 10,” said Cassandra.

We contacted Avis and asked them to take a look at Cassandra’s case. She received a called from Avis corporate offices a short time later.

“I said I didn’t think you guys were real. I couldn’t get corporate for nothing,” explained Cassandra.

Avis tells NBC10 Boston: “We pride ourselves on delivering an excellent level of customer service and regret that on this occasion we failed to do so. We have looked into the matter and learned that the customer was erroneously charged for towing. We have refunded the additional charges in full and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Cassandra was credited $758.

Although she didn’t do this, if you’re renting a car, you may want to ask about optional roadside assistance coverage. It could cover the costs associated with towing.

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