Advantage Towing Company Inc

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
Regards,
*** ***
The tow truck driver backed into my car after he unhooked the tow bar (that's the bumper damage) pushing my car back into the curbI believe that when he bumped into my bumper, something (a chain possibly) fell off his truck and onto my hoodIt was not "old" damageThe mechanic at *** Automotive (a AAA mechanic) told me right away of the new damage to my carI understand that the tow truck company has no incentive to accept responsibility because it's just my word against theirsAnd since I didn't realize that he had damaged my car when he backed into it, I didn't get photo evidence of it at the timeThe driver got out of his truck to shake my hand before he leftI realized later that he probably did that to distract me away from the front of my car, since he was already starting to pull away after bumping my carI will not use their service again and if AAA says that is who they are sending the next time I need assistance, I will request another tow companyThey do not provide the service that AAA customers have come to expect and should be removed from your list of providers

*** *** parked his car illegally, and advantage Towing was called to remove his carA signed authorization was given to remove the carMr*** came to retrieve the car but it was not registered to his name, but his fatherMr*** *** *** father sent an authorization
letter to release the car to his son*** came to release the car at night after business hours. At no time information was not given to ***, all the info he needed was given to him

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I am rejecting the response because upon request when I arrived at Advantage Towing, they would not furnish an Access Notice or photograph of the vehicleI never received any proof or notice that Advantage Towing waited the allocated one hour as required by law to tow the vehicle, and did not provide any notice from the property manager requesting the vehicle to be towedWhen I paid the $fee, I wrote on my receipt that I would be disputing the transactionAfter I wrote that on the receipt, Advantage Towing refused to give me a copy of my receipt, saying, "You're not getting one after writing that." Looking on the SanDiego.gov website, it specifically states that towing companies must charge reasonable rates$for my car being towed for half of a day is completely unfairWhen I researched towing fees with other companies in the San Diego area, none were anywhere near the $fee that Advantage Towing charged me
Regards,
*** ***

The date has been providedIt was a white bmw
series*** *** signed for itWe believe the car was not towed illegallyIn fact, the complex showed no record of it.We asked for the photos multiple times and were deniedWhich is illegalOne of us were very sick at the time and had to leave to pick up the carLarge inconvenienceDue to the legality, we are prepared to take the case to court if not resolved promptly.We so believe the photos may have been incorrect or changed
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The access notice, and photo (IF.. this is my car-this serves as proof of the damage done to the RR wheel well upon towing.  Proof attached: Advantage towing sign in background upon pickup of my vehicle with timestamp) were NEVER presented to me upon MULTIPLE requests with MULTIPLE witnesses.  I also NEVER received a notice from the tennant upon request stating that she would like my car to be towed.  I was parked at the residence in question (AirBnB) and never received evidence that there was an attempt to contact me or 1 hour notice before towing from a, "private lot".  I was asked for my credit card for verification before being charged $395 WITHOUT MY CONSENT.  A CC receipt was never furnished upon request.  I also asked why a dolly was used to tow my vehicle and was given no explanation.  The gentleman just kept saying, "we are allowed to do whatever we want".  This is shady business and I would have accepted a normal tow charge had the rules been followed.  The law will provide justice in this case and I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL IT DOES.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Sir or Madam:
  In regard to this complain a supervisor went to look at the damage in question and found out that the damage does not line up with the Tow truck. the customer is claiming the Hood was dented from the top which is impossible to be done by a tow truck, and the damage...

to the bumper looks like it was there for quite some time. We feel that the customer is trying to have us fix the damages that he already have, and this is not how business is done. The pictures that were taken when we inspected the car shows clearly that it's not a tow damage. 
Thank you

Dear Sir or Madam:  In regard to this complain a supervisor went to look at the damage in question and found out that the damage does not line up with the Tow truck. the customer is claiming the Hood was dented from the top which is impossible to be done by a tow truck, and the damage to the...

bumper looks like it was there for quite some time. We feel that the customer is trying to have us fix the damages that he already have, and this is not how business is done. The pictures that were taken when we inspected the car shows clearly that it's not a tow damage. Thank you

Dear Sir or Madam,Mr. [redacted] parked his car at a private property, and the owner of the home called Advantage Towing to remove the car from their property after the time that was required by law. Mr. [redacted] cam to our location the next day to retrieve his car. He never asked for the...

signed authorization slip which will be provided for him, with the name of the person signing to remove the car blacked out, a picture was presented to him which he didn't take it and left it at the window where the access notice is located. The car was called in to SDPD within the time required by law. Attached please find a copy of the photo that was presented to Mr. [redacted]

I do need more information regarding the tow. According to the complaint the customer car was impounded for parking illegally. I would like to get the exact date, what kind of car was it, and if he paid for the charges.  Thank youTell us why here...

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted]:
  The damage that happened with your car was a mistake from our driver side, and we came out to look at the car as soon as we got the call. We tried to take care of the problem on the spot, we got you in a rental car, and took the car to a transmission shop so they can...

fix it. You do have the exact paper work that we have on our position from the Transmission shop. I explained to you that they fixed the transmission and they gave a warranty for the work that they did. When you called us after you picked up the car and told us there is a problem we came out immediately to see what was the problem, and we told you we are not mechanics and we will make sure that the problem is taking care off. We offered you a car rental and drove you to more than one place to rent a car, which you requested a Mercedes Benz to be rented for you. I am sorry if you are not happy with the car we rented for you but there is more variables and comps for car rental when this kind of situation happen. Today Monday 7, 2014 the car is at the transmission shop since the morning and they are looking into the problem. You have the copy of the receipt, and if it makes you happy please feel free to contact the shop and follow up with the repair, we will be calling the shop for updates so we can get your car back to you as soon as possible.
Again I would like to apologize for any inconvenience that this situation have caused to you.
 
[redacted]

Review: My wife's car would not start appeared battery was dead so she called AAA who dispatched Advantage Towing for the services call. Advantage sent out their representative [redacted] H. in a pick up truck. I went outside to meet him with my wife's AAA card since she was still getting dressed to go to work. [redacted] H. got out of the truck, I handed him my wife's AAA card (we are both on the account)I commented that we may need to be towed. [redacted] stated that my wife needed to sign as it was her card. I said no problem and stated she is inside and pointed to the open gate to our back yard. [redacted] then told me that I could sign her name and he would not look. I told him that I could sign anyway as I was her power of attorney. At this point [redacted] freaked out and pulled the clipboard away and told me I could not sign. I told him that my wife could sign but that I did not appreciate his attitude and perhaps it would be better if they sent someone else out.[redacted] H then called his supervisor as I listened in. He told him that he could not deal w/me. While he was speaking I asked that I be able to speak with the supervisor and I also wanted his card. [redacted] stopped talking briefly & told me I could have his card and I repeated that I wanted to speak with the supervisor. [redacted] spoke for no longer than 60 seconds hung up the phone and then without saying a word to me got in the truck and drove away leaving me with a disabled car and not letting me know if someone else was coming to assist.My wife $ I have been AAA members for close to 20 yrs. We have been quit satisfied w/the service providers used by AAA, although Advantage Towing, who apparently services the Ocean Beach area has sent out other reps in the past who have given me inaccurate info about my 2008 BMW. Unfortunately, I will never be able to use Advantage Towing ever again It should also be noted that Wind & Sea towing company came out to try to jump the car. Their rep [redacted] was quite courteous told me there was no problem in signing for my wife.Desired Settlement: I would like the individuals at Advantage Towing who caused me a great amount of frustration and lost time, which includes [redacted] and his supervisor to send me a written apology. I believe both individuals need to be trained on how to provide better customer service and I would like to know that this is part of what the management over at Advantage Towing is doing to address this situation. However, I suspect they won't do anything at all.

Review: Advantage Towing was called out to [redacted] Auto Repair to tow my car from they're parking lot last Saturday night, (4/6//13), @ 9:30pm. Several hours after the close of business. Not realizing the car repair shop would tow after hours, I thought it would be ok to park there for an hour. When I arrived on the premises, I witnessed the tow truck driver having hooked up my car to his tow truck but hadn't yet left. When I asked "What do I need to do to keep you from towing my car away", the driver said "You would need to pay a 'drop fee' of $210". Realizing I had no choice, lest my car be towed away, I agreed to pay the excessive drop fee charge. I talked with my lawyer and he said that because they didn't actually tow my car that I should have been only charged half of the usual tow fee at MOST because they didn't actually tow my car away. Following my lawyers advice, on the following Monday (2 days later) I called and talked with the owner, [redacted]t, explained the situation and asked him for a partial refund. He told me he would find out who the driver was, talk to him about the situation and get back to me at the phone number I left him by the end of THAT day or no later than the following day (Tuesday, 3/9//13). I didn't hear from him by the time he promised to get back to me so I called Advantage Towing back then next day (Wednesday) and he wasn't there that day so I left a message with a gentlemen that answered the phone. Leaving my name and phone number once again. I still didn't hear back from him so I called a 3rd time the following day (Thursday) and spoke with his secretary [redacted] and asked her to give me a call that day as soon as possible. Again leaving my name and number to make sure he couldn't say he didn't have a way to get a hold of me. I believe that these "drop" charges are excessive and the public must know they are being taken advantage of by this Advantage Towing. There needs to be a limit at how much towing companies can charge for these "drop" fees.Desired Settlement: According to Vehicle code #22658, section 4b, there are limits to what towing companies can charge for towing a vehicle by business owners' request. The average cost for a tow in San Diego is $75-100 and $7 per mile. Advantage Towing is 7 miles from tow sight. In doing the calculations I find that the total cost should not exceed $170. I should have only been charged half of that because my car was not towed away, just released on site. I'm asking for refund of: 210 - 85 = $125 refund

Review: In mid-July 2013 my son was involved in a traffic accident. No one was hurt but the collision was significant and both the driver and passenger air bags deployed. When the Highway Patrol arrived on the scene the parties involved were exchanging insurance information. The Highway Patrol Officer asked my son if he wanted him to call for a tow truck. My son graciously accepted his offer but made it very clear to the Officer that he only wanted a AAA tow truck. The Officer acknowledged and called for a AAA tow truck.

When the truck arrived on the scene, my son once again told the driver that he was a AAA member. The tow truck driver acknowledged that fact. The driver was very courteous, hooked up the damaged car and towed it to his facility. The towed distance was perhaps 4 miles to the tow lot. The towing service company was ADVANTAGE Towing, San Diego, CA.

The next day I (Lucas’ father and primary AAA account holder) arrived at the lot with a car tow dolly to bring the car to my residence. When we went to pay the bill, we were astounded at the cost. The bill was for $386 to tow the car 4 miles and keep it overnight! When I asked why AAA did not paid for the tow, the cashier said “hey, I just work here, do you want the car or not.” I told him it was not right that AAA rates were not applied when my son had clearly identified himself to both the Highway Patrolman and to the ADVANTAGE tow truck driver as a AAA member. Clearly arguing with the cashier was not going to go anywhere. To say we were upset would be an understatement.

We have been AAA members for nearly 25 years (due to military service years were not consecutive). I do not understand why a AAA tow certified company did not apply the AAA rates to an acknowledged AAA customer.

Why should it matter who called for the tow? What if my son had been seriously injured and unable to make the call? What if he did not have his phone or it was damaged in the accident? This needs to be fixed. I checked my policy and the AAA website and there is no mention of this requirement for the member to make the call requesting a tow.

In addition, ADVANTAGE tow service charged a $90 gate fee and an additional to the $50 storage fee! This gate charge is a ridiculous up charge and should not be charged by a AAA certified tow service.Desired Settlement: I strongly recommend that ADVANTAGE Towing be reprimanded by Revdex.com and told that future gouging of AAA members and failure to provide AAA members the AAA services they already pay could result in their removal as a AAA service provider. I also recommend that AAA receive a letter recommending (based on their business practices and prior service complaint history) that they be removed from AAA services and that a formal complaint be lodged by AAA with the California Department of Transportation to take steps to remove their business license.

Review: I contacted AAA for a routine jump, on Oct 6, because my car battery was dead. A contracted technician from Advantage Towing came out, checked to see if the battery was dead, and then proceeded to try and jump the car. He placed the positive cable of the charger on the body ground, and tried to connect the negative cable of the charger to the positive terminal; there was a nice big spark. After a sound of confusion came from the technician, he switched the terminals. He had me try to start the car, but now there were big errors being displayed; Engine malfunction. The car would not charge and it was unable to start. I then have the car towed to my local dealership. On Oct 8 (Thur), the dealership called me and diagnosed the error as the CPU was bad. The Advantage Towing technician had fried my computer.

The day I found out that the computer was fried, Oct 8, I contacted a "manager" from Advantage Towing. I told them what happened, and the person I talked to said they would contact the dealership. I didn't hear anything for a couple of days so I decided to call Advantage Towing back on Oct 12. I spoke with [redacted] and gave him the story again of what happened. He said that he would get out to the dealership by the end of the day, but if not then, for sure first thing the next morning. On Oct 13, I called them in the morning and no one from Advantage Towing had been out to look at the damage. [redacted] said he would get out to the dealership that afternoon. So later that afternoon, on Oct 13, [redacted] called me back. He asked for my statement, took it down, and said he would talk to the technician and get his statement. [redacted] said he would contact me later on Oct 13. It is now Oct 15, and I contacted [redacted]. He said that after talking with his technician, his statement was that I tried to have someone else try to jump the car before he got there. [redacted] said he was not going to pay for the damage. The technician lied and now I am going to have to fight them to pay for the $1300Desired Settlement: Pay for the CPU that the technician destroyed.

Review: They towed my car which was legally parked ON A PUBLIC STREET. Police was never notified of this tow, My car was not on private property.Desired Settlement: $318 For tow refund and taxicab ride from downtown to point loma

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

This email is in regard to the Mr. [redacted] Complaint, Advantage Towing impounded Mr. [redacted] from a downtown location for parking illegally. At this time Mr. [redacted] is taking Advantage Towing to small claims court where we have a court date for 12-27-2013.

Thank you

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: Damaged Transmission Timeline-

On Monday, March 31st 2014, I arrived at work ([redacted] Ave San Diego CA [redacted]) and realized I had a piece of met** in my rear passenger tire that was causing it to go flat quickly.

I immediately contacted my roadside assistance (AAA Plus) to have them send a tow truck. At 7:43AM, a tow truck driver for Advantage Towing, by the name of al, arrived with a standard tow truck. Upon realizing that the damaged tire was on the rear, he contacted the dispatcher and requested that they send out a flat bed since my vehicle is front wheel drive. He was told no and to hook it up as is with the truck he arrived on site with, he did. (please see attached images for further details on the improper tow hook up al was directed to do)

Upon dropping my vehicle off, approximately 8:42AM, with the owner [redacted], at Big O's Tires ([redacted] Blvd, La Mesa CA [redacted]) so that they could repair the flat tire, I noticed that my vehicle was on and the engine was running. After the tire was repaired, I proceeded to leave and head back to work.

While driving north bound on the 805, I noticed that my gears were not shifting correctly. First there was a pause, then the RPM's would jump to 500's and drop back down. In fear for my safety and the other vehicles on the road I proceeded to exit on the nearest off ramp. In fear that my car was not going to make it back to Big O's Tires, I decided to contact the Meineke in Pacific Beach, who had done my brakes in the past, since they were closer.

I pulled into Meineke at approximately 9:57am ([redacted] Ave, San Diego CA [redacted]) and informed the manager, [redacted] A [redacted] of the issues I was having with my car. He then had the technician test drive it and run a diagnostic check since the check engine light was on, and confirmed that there were a total of 4 error codes for my transmission.

I immediately contacted Advantage Towing office and asked to speak with an owner, "alpha" is who I spoke to and said he would be right over. He arrived, confirmed the transmission was indeed damaged and admitted to being at fault due to the improper tow from earlier. I requested that Meineke do the repairs, he then said no, that was not possible since they were not a AAA approved shop. I said fine, I just want to make sure my car is repaired quickly and correctly. He assured me that it would be taken care of and that he would provide me a rental car while the repairs were being completed, with a quote of 3 days total. We then went to Enterprise ([redacted] St San Diego [redacted]) and I was able to drive a Nissan Versa for the next 5 DAYS until I contact alpha on Friday.

I called alpha at 12:26pm and left a voice mail, he called me back at 12:33pm and confirmed my vehicle's repairs were complete and that he was going to test drive it himself and c**l me back. At 2:10pm, I had still Not heard back from him so I called again, he called back at 2:11pm and said that he would meet me at the Enterprise where I was to drop off the rental car. We met at the Enterprise approximately 2:39pm, returned the rent** and proceeded to the Advantage Towing impound lot ([redacted] St San Diego CA [redacted]) where my car was waiting.

I was excited to see my car there and happy to have it back. Once I went to leave, I asked for the receipt of the repairs completed from the "AAA approved shop", alpha informed me that he was still waiting for them to fax it over. Suspicious doubts went through my mind when he said he'd send me a copy when he gets it, but I decided to head home anyway.

I arrived at the gas station (4357 [redacted] Blvd San Diego 92115) opened my truck and found a piece of my vehicle with loose bolts laying there! Shocked, I called alpha right away and told him what I discovered. He invited me to turn around in rush hour traffic and drive 13 miles (from where I just came from) to the shop, Premier Collision at ([redacted] St. San Diego [redacted]). Reluctant and tired, I proceeded to the shop. Upon my arrival I discovered a young crew of guys that were standing around, asked if alpha informed them I was coming they said no. Even more frustrated I again explained the situation to them and asked them to please document this for me. They did not. I also learned that Advantage Towing also owns Premier Collision and found that to be quite interesting when alpha admitted it was actually THAT same crew that removed the part, placed it in my truck and never put it back on.

I again attempted to head home, only to find my check engine light on AGAIN and the transmission slipping. I called alpha and he said to go back to the shop and have [redacted] (the manager who is also his nephew) look at it. He test drove it and then said it was just doing that because it was a new transmission and not to worry. At that moment [redacted] (the other owner) arrived and provided a receipt for the transmission work that was "done" however it was hand written and not signed.

Thoroughly exhausted, I left for the 3rd time to go home, luckily I MADE IT! Yet, when I went to leave about 2 hours later, I was only 2 blocks away when BOTH check engine lights came on and the transmission was jumping even worse than earlier. Called alpha- no answer.

Called the Advantage shop- spoke to [redacted]- who said he would call his mechanic and call me back. He did not. I received a call from [redacted] instead who said he was sending a mechanic to me. I provided the address and waited for [redacted] with (Master Techs Mobile Auto Repair) to meet me and diagnose the situation. He arrived and confirmed that the PO760 code for a bad solenoid was the reading my check engine light gave and advised me to bring it BACK to Premier the next morning at 8am.

I met [redacted] at Premier as we agreed at 8am on Saturday morning, he put my vehicle on a lift and confirmed that solenoid 4 & 5 were bad- another employee mentioned that was the same two he got a reading from Monday. Interesting I thought to myself....After [redacted] informed me and confirmed with [redacted] that my vehicle needed to go BACK to the transmission shop (that isn't open until Monday) he advised that I get ANOTHER rent** car and wait for them to fix the transmission they installed incorrectly.

Feeling very uncertain and uneasy I then was dropped off at Enterprise to rent another car. As of right now, I have yet to get any updates from [redacted],alpha or [redacted] which is why I have chosen to document EVERY item and step of this Advantage Towing Transmission NIGHTMARE.Desired Settlement: I want my vehicle repaired CORRECTLY by a shop of MY CHOICE and I want this resolved immediately.

I also want TYPED- ACCURATE- SIGNED DOCUMENTATION/RECEIPTS and PROOF OF PAYMENT from Advantage Towing.

The hand written- misspelled- paperwork you provided to me yesterday is not acceptable and I feel as though it may have been fabricated. The documentation I need shall speak to the SPECIFICS of EACH PART/LABOR involved in the repair and it shall need to state that my vehicle and the NEW transmission will operate properly and SAFELY from this point forward, as it did prior to the horrific incident.

PLEASE ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY on this matter, due to an improper towing from one of your drivers that has resulted in over 10 hours of my time WASTED, unnecessary mileage from WORTHLESS test driving, as well as my personal damaged property in my trunk in addition to COMPLETELY DESTROYING MY TRANSMISSION,

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

The damage that happened with your car was a mistake from our driver side, and we came out to look at the car as soon as we got the call. We tried to take care of the problem on the spot, we got you in a rental car, and took the car to a transmission shop so they can fix it. You do have the exact paper work that we have on our position from the Transmission shop. I explained to you that they fixed the transmission and they gave a warranty for the work that they did. When you called us after you picked up the car and told us there is a problem we came out immediately to see what was the problem, and we told you we are not mechanics and we will make sure that the problem is taking care off. We offered you a car rental and drove you to more than one place to rent a car, which you requested a Mercedes Benz to be rented for you. I am sorry if you are not happy with the car we rented for you but there is more variables and comps for car rental when this kind of situation happen. Today Monday 7, 2014 the car is at the transmission shop since the morning and they are looking into the problem. You have the copy of the receipt, and if it makes you happy please feel free to contact the shop and follow up with the repair, we will be calling the shop for updates so we can get your car back to you as soon as possible.