Management of customer vehicle access fees charged by towing companies policy
Guidelines on customer vehicle access allowed by tow companies.
Policy
Tow companies, with an ICBC vendor number, must provide a customer reasonable access to their vehicle during normal business hours at no charge, as per the Base towing supplier requirements.
Reasonable access may be for the purpose of retrieving personal property from the vehicle, such as house keys, medicine, eye glasses, hearing aids, or groceries.
A tow company cannot withhold personal property located in a vehicle from the owner, however tow companies can bill customers for labour costs when the removal of items from the vehicle includes
- attached
- parts, such as wheels, tires, stereo equipment, or
- equipment, such as a roof rack, bush guard or bike rack, or
- retrieval of personal property
- exceeding a reasonable length of time, or
- occurring outside normal business hours.
ICBC does not pay for the removal of personal property, attached parts or equipment as these charges are not covered under Basic Vehicle Damage coverage or Optional own damage coverage. These charges are subject to the lawsuit ban, and cannot be claimed under the at-fault party’s Third Party Liability (TPL) coverage when the customer has a Basic Vehicle Damage coverage claim.
- ensure the customer understands their responsibility to
- contact the tow company to make arrangements for the removal of belongings and/or parts and equipment, and
- pay for these services, if they are charged by the tow company
- approve the removal of attached parts and/or equipment, when agreed to as part of the claims process, such as a Total Loss Settlement, and
- send a Notification to remove items from vehicle (WEB1170) form, notifying both the customer and the tow company of what has been approved to be removed, such as personal items.