Careful where you get stuck as it could cost you as much as $48k for your tow. One unlucky Massachusetts resident found out the hard way.

PHOTOS: Local man stuck with $48,000 towing bill - Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

WALPOLE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A local man says when he got his Jeep stuck in the mud, a Walpole tow company charged him nearly $50,000 to tow it out.

Joel Ramer said he and his girlfriend took the Jeep off-roading in Walpole last week, and they landed in a mud pit.

Walpole police responded, along with Assured Collision towing company to tow it out.

It took 12 hours to pull the SUV out of the mud pit, but now Ramer doesn’t know if he will be able to afford to get his vehicle back.

"When I went to pick up the vehicle from Assured Collision, he'd informed me there was some damage done to the vehicle, but didn't get into details. He also informed me the bill was $48,000," Ramer said. “I thought they made a mistake."

In addition to getting the vehicle stuck, he also got arrested and cited for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Ramer says he was unknowingly off-roading on private property that belongs to a utility company.

Ramer also claims that his Jeep is now totaled after the mud pit and the tow.

"Frame is broken, leaf spring is broken, drive shaft is broken," Ramer said.

Ramer obtained the itemized bill submitted to his insurance. Assured Collision billed him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor at $1,250 an hour. He is being charged more than $10,000 for an off-road recovery incident response unit. There is also a $5,000 fee for dangerous condition liability insurance. All the equipment and manpower totaled $48,835 for the 12 hour job.

The owner of Assured Collision told FOX25 that his seven man team was in dangerous conditions due to the proximity to power lines. He said it was a hazmat situation and all the fees reflect the industry standard.

He also told FOX25 that Assured Collision is negotiating with Ramer’s insurance company. In regards to the damage, he cited several issues with the Jeep he believes existed prior to the tow.

Ramer claims his insurance company is not paying anything towards the tow, so the Jeep remains at Assured Collision.

 

That's crazy! Thought front page would be interested too...
Man Charged Nearly $50,000 to Tow Jeep - JK-Forum

 

That guy needs more jeep friends lol dang

 

I can tell you, AAA won't go off road to tow you on your AAA card. They will though, if you are willing to pay for it. I screwed up a Jeep once and had to limp it to pavement to avoid added charges.

 

I got really lucky snowkiting a couple of years back when we tried to take the Jeep on the ice but found out the snow was too deep and not nearly as packed as it seemed. Result was my Jeep up to its frame in snow about 20 feet from the edge of the shore. AAA told me I would incur offroad charges but I guess I got lucky when the driver showed up with a lot of cable and pulled me out without the extra charge. I guess that's the difference between New Hampshire and Massachusetts lol

 

Hmm should have bought that winch !

 

how can a tow truck company justify charging the guy 1250 per hour? wtf for 1/4 of that I would drive form CA to there and tow him out my self. If all things are equal maybe he out to sue the land owner (apparently a municipality or government owned entity, who else could have thought up those charges) for maintaining an attractive nuisance kidnapping theft of property ( the jeep) and a few other things a good lawyer could think of.
The guy was a dumb ass obviously but we have all been there and done that so .... learning curve.
in reality the whole thing is just plain sad and ridiculous

 

I am sure this will be worked out through litigation.

 

you can say that again! ha! what a crazy story...

 

Gotta watch those power lines you never know when one is gonna pop off the pole and maul a bystander. What a crock of sh@#.