ComplaintsforFamily Towing

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **************** "My car was parked in a residential parking spot (parked around 9pm ********* less then 12 hours, all guest parking spots were taken by more residents then actual ******* My car was towed around *** in the morning, Company did not leave a notice, I was not allowed to get my car out until **** AM ********* Family Towing, Towing Company ********* Towing, Company did not Issue a parking violation notice (placed on vehicle or otherwise) at least ** hours before towing.In the case of an obviously inoperable vehicle (on general common area within the control of the association), notify local law enforcement at least ** hours before towing. They need to be sued. They need to be shut down.

  Business response

  11/02/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/18) */ We are going to need some more information to see what's going on. I have checked our records and do not have any private property tows for that day. I need the invoice # on your receipt. This whole accusation of predatory towing is as absurd as this complaint. We do not patrol at all for private property tows. We respond to property managers who request tows for vehicles improperly parked on their property. If you did get your car on the 18th that would fall on a Saturday and a Standard gate fee would apply to the tow as well. This leads me to believe this was not our company.

• Initial Complaint

  07/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 7/7/2022, my Toyota Camry 2003 was suddenly on fire at XXXXX S ** **** ***** ********** ** XXXXX. I called 911, and firefighters came to put off the fire. Since the towing service from my insurance company was slow, ***** ***** COUNTY SHERIFF************* called Family Towing to haul my car to its storage yard at *** S ****, ********** ** XXXXX. From map, the distance between XXXXX S ** **** ***** ********** ** XXXXX and *** S ****, ********** ** XXXXX is *** miles by ******* or *** miles by local route. The average driving time is around 14 min. However, on the invoice, Family Towing charged *** **** Tow fee per *** is ****** The total towing fee is ******** Even though adding vehicle loading/unloading time, I think that *** *** is NOT a reasonable time for such a short distance (less than 10 miles). I believe that Family Towing overcharged us. Do they have any proof to show that they spent *** *** for this towing? Please adjust the billing.

  Business response

  09/01/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/11) */ Whenever an agency(police) call comes in, the call comes with a log number and time it was called in. These agency calls are charged by portal to portal method(port to port). We start charging from the time we receive the call until we complete the call back at port. Depending on the agency, we have roughly a 30 minute deadline, so there's no waiting around. We go enroute immediately. These agency rates are all hourly rates that the agency agrees with. We break down the rate per minute to be fair to the consumer. We do not add or subtract time. The key word that this consumer is missing is FIRE. No agency will allow us to work on towing a vehicle while they are working themselves. The fire department has to do their job and the police have to do their due diligence. When the vehicle is cleared by the agencies, then they will allow us to start towing the vehicle. Some consumers assume and have the misperception that drive time with a tow truck is the same with a regular car. It is not, we are a lot bigger and drive a lot slower. Other assumptions and misperceptions with consumers is that their vehicles just jump up on our tow trucks, they do not. Loading a vehicle can be different on every call. It depends on the size and weight of the vehicle. It also depends on what is going on with the vehicle. Mechanical failure to axels broken ect. Especially a vehicle FIRE, where there is sludge from putting out the fire and the interior is either full of that sludge or completely full of water.Our drivers do not get inside the vehicle in those conditions. The vehicle has to be loaded without the driver putting the vehicle in neutral and the proper equipment has to be used to load the vehicle properly without causing more damage to the vehicle. Skates, go jacks, dollies, snatch block, ect. are used to recover vehicles in those conditions. Consumers also don't realize that we cannot leave the accident scene without cleaning up. We also cannot leave the tow truck's bed in a dirty condition, it has to be cleaned up as well. Those labor costs are added to the bill as well. The times and charges were done appropriately by our driver. The hope is that the consumer realizes this situation was not a regular tow. It was an AGENCY call due to a FIRE. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/08/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Since ***** ***** County ******* called your service, I believe that you have a contract with ***** ***** County ******* ***** On their Website, there is NO information regarding towing fee schedule. On your Website ****************************************************** this is no towing fee schedule either. Could you disclose your contract towing fee rate with ***** ***** ******* ***** Both The ***** ***** County ******* and your driver didn't disclose the towing fee rate at the incident site. **** **** **** Police ***** discloses "Fee Schedule for Tow Services" on their Website ******************************************************* Based on this standard, this towing service costs ******************* You overcharged. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/08/23) */ We do not control what the sheriff's have on their website. We cannot make them post rates. Most companies who are in the towing or transportation industry do not post rates publicly due to local competition in the industry. You have to call in for an estimate. Jobs vary, from accidents to relocations, to vehicle FIRE. All of our Police rates are posted at our tow yard for the public to see. Every agency has different rates. Using rates of San Jose Police would only make sense if you were towed by San Jose Police. You were NOT, you were towed by Santa Clara County Sheriffs. You took the risk of not having proper insurance to cover your vehicle in your time of need. Your car caught FIRE. This was not a regular tow. IT WAS A AGENCY CALL. YOUR CAR WAS ON FIRE. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/08/28) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) "All of our Police rates are posted at our tow yard for the public to see". Your storage yard is always closed. Based on my experience, on the day when we picked up the car, even my wife was NOT allowed to enter your storage yard. How could public view your towing rate? You didn't post your towing rate on the gate of your storage yard. Could you send me your police towing rate?

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