ComplaintsforCertified Towing

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On March 11th at about 3 in the morning, my car was towed for a red zone violation by Certified Towing. I met up with the tow driver at about 7 am. He then showed me the picture of my car and did not show the angle of me blocking the red zone I was parked by. The driver only took a picture of the back of the car that does not show the angle of me blocking the red zone. He then continues that they always tow cars in my apartments. If you go to yelp and check their reviews, you can see I am not the only person this has happened to. The tow truck drivers have called people racial slurs, stolen items out of cars and even have damage vehicles. As my car got damaged from them not towing it away properly as usually they are in a hurry to get out of the location so nobody can come and fight them on it which leads to mishandling of towing equipment. I have pictures of my bumper before he towed it and clearly shows my bumper in tact. They then try to lie and say my bumper was like that before towing it. They told me they we not sure if they can fix it and it would be a couple hours before they can figure that out. The fees are insane for them to only hold my car for not even half a day which was $450 for 4 hours or less. They need to be handled or will continue to prey on lower income apartments to tow away cars so they can make money. The manager also threatened to fight me because I kept accusing his business of scamming people. This will not stop until you guys step in. You can see in the printed picture is before he towed my car and the after is where the bumper is falling off. Against this goes back 10 years up to 2 months ago and now I am a victim of this company towing cars without anybody calling them and will continue to until somebody puts a stop to them.

  

  Business response

  04/07/2022

  Thank you for providing good contact information for Mr. ************************************** The day of the complaint ********************** said he would come back so that I could address the issue personally.  However, he never came back.  Thanks to the BBB I was able to contact ********************** and he came back to our business location today and we came to a peaceful resolution to his concerns.  Here is a copy of the email I sent to him today:

  
  
  

  ************************* <************************************>

  To:********************

  Wed, Apr 6 at 10:24 AM

  
  Hello **********************,

  
  I am reaching out to you concerning the unpleasant experience you had concerning the towing of your vehicle by our company on 3/11/22.  You had already left our facility after retrieving your vehicle before I arrived at work to help resolve the complaint.  I was told that tempers got very hot and the situation deteriorated to the point that it was best if you left and came back later.  I was told that you would come back in a couple of hours and that I would be able to look at the situation and make a decision concerning the validity of the tow and the damage complaint.  But you did not come back.  We did not have your current address or phone number so I wasn't able to reach out to you sooner.  The Better Business Bureau provided me with your current address, phone number and email.  This is why I am reaching out to you now.  I hope that is ok.

  
  I reviewed the picture our driver took just before the tow and I agree with you that it is not adequate.  Based on the picture alone I cannot clearly see that your vehicle was was parked in a way that is a clear red-zone violation.  Your vehicle may have been in violation of the red zone but due to the inadequate picture you are due a refund.  I instructed the office personnel to issue you a full refund on your credit card when you returned and that I would look at your vehicle to see what the alleged damage is but you did not return.  That offer is still available to you. 
  
  The Westridge apartments have asked us to tow any vehicle parked in red zones.  I understand the difficulties of parking at these apartments and I understand how stressful and expensive it is to have your car towed away.  This is why I insist that our drivers only tow vehicles that are clearly in violation of red-zone parking and to make sure that the picture taken clearly shows that violation.  In your case the picture was not good enough to satisfy this requirement. The driver has been reprimanded and the manager you spoke to that day knows that I am not happy with the way the conversation escalated. 
  
  Please call at your earliest convenience so we can arrange to refund your credit card and take a look at your vehicle.  I have instructed our office staff to take care of this when you call.  ****** is my general manager.  I don't think you have spoken with him but he is aware of the situation and will handle your refund and arrange to look at your vehicle.

  
  *******

  Certified Towing

  ************

  
  __________________________________________________________________________

  
  His towing and storage and after-hours-release fee has been refunded to him and he has been compensated for the alleged damages to his bumper skirt.  The bumper skirt had previous damages and was put on with ***** screws.  But it is possible we made the damages a little worse so we paid him cash for an agreed amount.  In exchange for his full refund and a cash settlement for his damaged bumper he signed a full release of any further liability concerning his car and we parted on good terms. 

  
  

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