Trapped by tow truck

From Kompas

On July 25 at about 5:30 p.m., I had a flat tire in front of the Jasa Marga office on the Jagorawi toll road while going in the direction of the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah toll gate. My driver was unsuccessful in removing the flat tire, and a tow truck, license plate no. B 9533 SI, with Primkoppol written on it, a primary cooperative of the police, arrived. We were told that the car had to be towed immediately and could not stay long on the side of the road. The fee to tow the car to the nearest tire repair service was Rp 300,000. While I was bargaining for a lower fee, my car was hitched onto the tow truck and towed away before any agreement on the fee was reached. I was forced to continue bargaining while in the tow truck.

To my dismay, my car was towed less than five kilometers to a tire service beside the traffic lights of the exit road leading to Cawang. In the end, I handed over all that I had with me, Rp 170,000, but got no receipt in return.

My advice to fellow drivers who get a flat tire or other problem on the toll road is that they should wait for an authorized tow truck with a sticker on the door. Never let your car be taken by any tow truck which comes to assist you. If you do, you'll fall into the trap of unauthorized tow trucks.

My appeal to the toll road authorities, who are responsible for road maintenance, is that they should ban unauthorized tow trucks from operating.

OEN L.D. SENJAYA

Jakarta