C & D Towing & Recovery Inc

C & D Towing & Recovery, Inc. has no contract with [redacted]. We are not aware of their advertised service ofusing C & D Towing & Recover, Inc. for $ 19.99 towing. In order to get that rate you probably have to call acertain number for a motor club and they would dispatch a towing...

company for that rate. We are an AAA PSP(Preferred Service Provider) and we are not permitted to accept calls from any other motor clubs, which meansthat we don’t do work for [redacted].On Saturday October 17, 2015 we received a private call thru our weekend dispatcher for a tire change.Driver # 280 was dispatched and arrived on scene to change a tire on a 2004 Mercedes Benz. Driver # 280 hasRoad Side Problem Solving Training provided by AAA. Upon arrival the driver had the customer sign a tirechange waiver. We have a waiver signed on all tire changes. After the customer signed the waiver he preceded tochange the tire. After opening the trunk of the vehicle to get the spare tire out, the driver asked her if she had theother lug nuts. The customer stated that she never had to put other lug nuts on the last time she had her tire changed.The customer and driver looked for the lug nuts in the tnmk and passenger compartment and was unable to locatethem. The driver installed the spare tire and wheel with the only lug nuts that was available to him. The customerpaid for our services. About an hour after the tire change service was provided the customer called back and statedthat her vehicle won’t move and she found her lug nuts in her house. The driver went back to her house and thecustomer told him that the night before she hit a big pot hole. The driver then called driver 293 to flatbed thecustomer’s car to [redacted]. The member called our driver back and told him that the problem wasn’t with the lugnuts or anything we did. She said to him that the mechanic said she hit the pot hole so hard that something brokein the hub.

Review: The nature of my complaint may fall into two categories - repair and service. I hit a pothole Friday evening October 16, 2015 and discovered my tire was flat late afternoon Saturday, October 17. I called [redacted] where I bought my tires to find what their closing hours were. In listening to the options available over the phone I found out when they would close and also they advertised services from C&D Towing for $19.99. This was perfect since I'm less than 10 miles from [redacted]. I called C&D Towing and the very first thing on their arrival was to write up a bill for $50.00, which I signed and paid for with my Discover card thinking if my car had to be towed, when they knew the actual mileage, an adjustment would be made for the fee or if they would just put on my spare tire and no tow would be required. I opened the trunk and the towing man proceeded to remove the bubble tire. I picked up a plastic package that was with the tire and asked him ,"Do you need this?" and he told me no. I put the plastic bag back into the trunk. While putting on the spare tire he had trouble tightening the bolts and proceeded to stand on the wrench to tighten them. After the tow truck left I got in the car to drive to [redacted] and my car would not move. I called them back and the tow man also tried to move it and it would not go forward or backwards. The tow man then got into the trunk to get the wrench to remove the bubble tire he had just put on. I again showed him the plastic bag and he realized that it contained the bolts to be used with the bubble tire. While proceeding to remove the wrong bolts from the bubble tire that he put on my car he was unable to remove two of them because he had cross threaded them. At this point I did have to have my car towed and they were going to charge me $80.00. I was very upset but trying to convince them that this was their fault and I should not be charged at all just got me a reduction to $50.00 from $80.00 and again I had to pay upfront before they would tow it. Again I'm at their mercy. I need my car to get to work so after having the car towed to [redacted] the real damage is discovered. The bolts used from the regular tire that the tow man used to put on the bubble tire were twice as long as the bubble tire bolts. These long bolts were cross threaded into the wheel hub and bearings and the damage amounted to $736.81. Due to parts having to be ordered, I did not have a car for over a week and I had to use some of my vacation time because I did not have any transportation to get to work. According to them where I signed the paperwork I agreed to hold them harmless but there is a statement under the drivers signature that reads "WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULTY TIRES, BUMBER BRACKETS, ETC. C & D TOWING & RECOVERY, INC. ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE BY THEFT, FIRE, OR ANY OTHER CAUSE BEYOND OUR CONTROL TO ANY VEHICLE PLACED WITH US FOR TOWING STORAGE, OR REPAIRS.". The damage done to my car was certainly not "BEYOND THEIR CONTROL". I'm totally ignorant of how to change a flat tire but when the tow man got into my trunk and the proper bolts were right there with the bubble tire and I asked if they were needed and he told me no I would say the responsibility of the damage done to my car became that of C& D Towing in addition to the towing charges one which was inflated and the other needed because of their negligence.Desired Settlement: According to [redacted] the damage was done because of the long bolts cross threaded into the wheel hub and bearings when the bubble tire was installed. C&D Towing is responsible for this damage.

Business

Response:

C & D Towing & Recovery, Inc. has no contract with [redacted]. We are not aware of their advertised service ofusing C & D Towing & Recover, Inc. for $ 19.99 towing. In order to get that rate you probably have to call acertain number for a motor club and they would dispatch a towing company for that rate. We are an AAA PSP(Preferred Service Provider) and we are not permitted to accept calls from any other motor clubs, which meansthat we don’t do work for [redacted].On Saturday October 17, 2015 we received a private call thru our weekend dispatcher for a tire change.Driver # 280 was dispatched and arrived on scene to change a tire on a 2004 Mercedes Benz. Driver # 280 hasRoad Side Problem Solving Training provided by AAA. Upon arrival the driver had the customer sign a tirechange waiver. We have a waiver signed on all tire changes. After the customer signed the waiver he preceded tochange the tire. After opening the trunk of the vehicle to get the spare tire out, the driver asked her if she had theother lug nuts. The customer stated that she never had to put other lug nuts on the last time she had her tire changed.The customer and driver looked for the lug nuts in the tnmk and passenger compartment and was unable to locatethem. The driver installed the spare tire and wheel with the only lug nuts that was available to him. The customerpaid for our services. About an hour after the tire change service was provided the customer called back and statedthat her vehicle won’t move and she found her lug nuts in her house. The driver went back to her house and thecustomer told him that the night before she hit a big pot hole. The driver then called driver 293 to flatbed thecustomer’s car to [redacted]. The member called our driver back and told him that the problem wasn’t with the lugnuts or anything we did. She said to him that the mechanic said she hit the pot hole so hard that something brokein the hub.

Consumer

Response:

[Their statement:(red color)

My response:(black color)

1. C & D Towing & Recovery, Inc. has no contract with [redacted]. We are not aware of their advertised service of using C & D Towing & Recover, Inc. for $ 19.99 towing. In order to get that rate you probably have to call a certain number for a motor club and they would dispatch a towing company for that rate. We are an AAA PSP

(Preferred Service Provider) and we are not permitted to accept calls from any other motor clubs, which means that we don’t do work for [redacted].

My response:

Whether C&D Towing has a contract with [redacted] or not does not change the fact that I heard of them when I called [redacted] because of my flat tire and the reference over the phone offering C&D Towing services for $19.99. There must be some connection with [redacted] because that is how I heard about them.

2. After opening the trunk of the vehicle to get the spare tire out, the driver asked her if she had the other lug nuts. The customer stated that she never had to put other lug nuts on the last time she had her tire changed. The customer and driver looked for the lug nuts in the tnmk and passenger compartment and was unable to locate them. The driver installed the spare tire and wheel with the only lug nuts that was available to him.

My response:

Not true. The driver “did not” ask me if I had other lug nuts. and I did not make a statement about never having to put on other lug nuts when I had a tire changed. This was my first flat tire so I never had a use for them. Since he said he asked me for other lug nuts does this mean he was aware that shorter lug nuts were needed for installing the bubble tire and if so why did he proceed to force the wrong lug nuts into the hub causing the wheel to be immoveable? But anyway the spare tire compartment in the Mercedes is well organized with everything required to change the bubble tire tucked into its own storage space. My car is 12 years old but has less than 20,000 miles and as I stated this was my first flat tire. Everything required was right there in the trunk including the lug nuts which were in their original plastic bag. When the driver removed the spare tire from the trunk I was the one that picked up the package of lug nuts and asked him if he needed them (not knowing what they were but for the fact that they were right there with the bubble tire) and he said no. We never looked for the lug nuts as was falsely stated because they were right inside the trunk with the spare. The driver installed the spare tire with the wrong lug nuts because he did not take the time to look at the bag I asked him about. He just removed the flat tire and replaced it with the bubble tire using the lug nuts that were on the flat tire. This is when the damage was done. These lug nuts were twice as long as the ones he should have used. He even stood on the wrench (may be the incorrect term) to tighten them causing the lug nuts to be cross threaded into the hub.

3. About an hour after the tire change service was provided the customer called back and stated

that her vehicle won’t move and she found her lug nuts in her house. The driver went back to her house and the customer told him that the night before she hit a big pot hole. The driver then called driver 293 to flatbed the customer’s car to [redacted]. The member called our driver back and told him that the problem wasn’t with the lug nuts or anything we did. She said to him that the mechanic said she hit the pot hole so hard that something broke in the hub.

My response:

Not true. I called them back when my car would not move but did not say anything about finding the lug nuts in the house. Why would anyone keep lug nuts for a bubble tire in their house as opposed to the trunk of the car where they would be needed? It may have been about an hour before I called them back but I wasn’t in the house looking for lug nuts. I grabbed something to eat since I did not know how long I would be at [redacted] getting a flat tire repaired. When the driver came back to the house and we got in the trunk for the wrench I again asked him about the plastic bag of lug nuts and at this point he realized they were the ones to use with the spare tire. While trying to remove the wrong lug nuts from the bubble tire on the car he could not remove two of them because he had cross threaded them into the hub and the car at this point had to be towed. During the first call while chatting I probably mentioned hitting a pot hole the previous evening but I didn’t refer to it as a big pot hole. I even went grocery shopping after the incident and drove home without any problem and did not discover the flat tire until late the next day. I have no idea what the reference to the “member calling the driver back and reporting that they were not at fault” is about. I sure I’m not the “member” because I never called them back and they stated they do not have a contract with [redacted] so [redacted] would not be the “member”. Who is the mysterious “member” that said they were not at fault?

Regards,