JEDDAH, 2 December 2004 — Motorists are accusing tow-truck drivers of taking advantage of their distress. Vehicle recovery is an unorganized business in Saudi Arabia and prices generally unregulated.
Motorists complain repeatedly that there is no clear pricing strategy for towing cars. Sometimes tow-truck drivers charge extortionate prices for short distances if they see the customer in need of the service, and take advantage of the situation. The choice they give is pay up or stay stranded.
“My car stopped at midnight on Riyadh-Dammam highway with my children,” said Abu Tareq. “The highway patrol sent a tow truck to my location, only 200 km to Riyadh. I was asked to pay SR600, which was way too much.”
Abu Tareq thought the price should not exceed SR200. “I tried to bargain, but he insisted that he would not accept less than SR600. It was either that or he would leave my children and I stranded on the highway.”
Abu Tareq had to accept and when he went to the police to complain, they told him that if he accepted then he had no cause for complaint.
Ahmad Abu Hamad said he called the tow truck after his car stopped on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. The tow-truck driver insisted that he would only take his car if he paid SR300 in advance. The normal price is between SR60 and SR100.
“Sometimes we are forced to accept or they will not take the car. The problem is that neither the police nor the municipality are doing anything about it,” he said.
Othman, a Somali tow-truck driver, said: “We are obliged to pay the truck owner a specific amount each day. If we achieve the target, then whatever is over becomes ours. We do not have a set salary. Basically, we are renting trucks instead of having a normal salary.”
Waheed, a Syrian driver, said that tow-trucks charge a standard price (SR100) inside Jeddah. This price is set, he said, by the governorate. “Some drivers are just taking advantage of people’s ignorance and raise their prices. People will usually accept these prices depending on the situation. I do not blame people for charging or paying this high price if they are stranded in the night with their family in the middle of nowhere.”
