This letter is regarding a complaint against AutoReturn filed by Ms [redacted] alleging wrong doing by AutoReturn and or our towing subcontractors after her car was towed on June 16th, Please accept our apology in the delay in responding to the complaint; we wanted to ensure we had all of the facts concerning the tow in question at the ready Ms [redacted] car was towed as an abandoned car with expired registrationIt had been properly marked hours prior to the tow, and had no evidence of having been moved after it was marked as abandoned While Ms [redacted] states she had renewed her registration and the IN BMV had assured her verbally that she "was,good to go", the registration displayed on her car was without a doubt, expiredContrary to what Ms [redacted] alleges, neither AutoReturn nor our towing subcontractors have a way of checking whether a vehicle does in fact have current registration at the time the vehicle is about to be towedIN vehicle code clearly states vehicles parked on public streets must display current registration We cannot offer any explanation as to why when Ms [redacted] called to report her car stolen the IMPD could not find a record of it having been towedOur internal investigation determined that this was an otherwise routine tow of a car marked as abandoned, and all of the rules and regulations were in fact followedThat she was advised not to file a report to the IMPD or the Mayor's Office over the matter when she called to inform them the car had actually been towed speaks volumes in our opinion(She did in fact complain to AutoReturn at the time we released her car back to her though.) Ms [redacted] makes no mention of what the outcome was when she disputed her tow with the city's DCE (Department of Code Enforcement)The DCE handles tow disputes and we would have referred her to them for the dispute of her towWhile just speculation; it could be their investigation found the same thing as ours did: That the tow of her car was legal and appropriate In summary our investigation determined that this was a legal tow of a car marked (and unmoved) as abandoned, displaying expired registration The tow could have been prevented by simply moving the marked car to an off street location until their renewed registration arrived; or course just keeping the registration current Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me or our General Manager for AutoReturn Indianapolis, Mr [redacted] Respectfully, [redacted] Vice President
From: Frank M*** Sent: Tuesday, November 15,
5:PMTo: infoCc: Esta O***; Mark B***Subject: Case ID *** We received your letter today in regards to the case ID above. Addressing the complaint directly, it is our opinion that the vehicle owner, *** ***, did not initially give enough information on the Oct 25th call for us to locate the vehicle. Our staff is trained to ask follquestions, and unfortunately the vehicle could not be located at the time of the call. *** *** did speak to our customer service supervisor Esta O*** on Thursday, Oct 27th. This was two full days after the vehicle arrived. Esta listened to the complaint, reviewed the circumstances, and did agree to waive/remove the two days storage due to the miscommunication. Upon doing so, we told *** that she picked up the vehicle today, she would only be charged the initial tow fee of $130. We also instructed her that she would need to update her vehicle registration, which is why the police impounded her vehicle to begin with, and also come prepared with a driver’s license when she was ready to pick up the vehicle. To date, *** has not picked up her car, nor have we heard anything from her since the conversation with the supervisor on Oct 27th. ***’s complaint is we intentionally held her vehicle just so we could run up storage fees in the amount of $a day. To that point, we in fact agreed to eliminate all of the storage fees she had incurred because of the misunderstanding during our call with her on Oct 27th. To clarify as well, we do not charge $a day to store vehicles on our lot as she cites in the complaint, we in fact charge $a day, and that fee is regulated by the city of Indianapolis. This all being said we vehemently deny any wrongdoing, and do not agree with the complaint, as we had already agreed to eliminate the fees in question during our phone conversation with *** *** on Oct 27th. Frank M*** General Manager AutoReturn (Indianapolis) Desk: (317) 829-Cell: *** ***
letter-spacing: -0.25pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This letter is regarding a complaint against AutoReturn filed by Ms. [redacted] alleging wrong doing by AutoReturn and or our towing subcontractors after her car was towed on June 16th, 2014. Please accept our apology in the delay in responding to the complaint; we wanted to ensure we had all of the facts concerning the tow in question at the ready.
Ms. [redacted] car was towed as an abandoned car with expired registration. It had been properly marked 72 hours prior to the tow, and had no evidence of having been moved after it was marked as abandoned.
While Ms. [redacted] states she had renewed her registration and the IN BMV had assured her verbally that she "was,good to go", the registration displayed on her car was without a doubt, expired. Contrary to what Ms. [redacted] alleges, neither AutoReturn nor our towing subcontractors have a way of checking whether a vehicle does in fact have current registration at the time the vehicle is about to be towed. IN vehicle code clearly states vehicles parked on public streets must display current registration.
We cannot offer any explanation as to why when Ms. [redacted] called to report her car stolen the IMPD could not find a record of it having been towed. Our internal investigation determined that this was an otherwise routine tow of a car marked as abandoned, and all of the rules and regulations were in fact followed. That she was advised not to file a report to the IMPD or the Mayor's Office over the matter when she called to inform them the car had actually been towed speaks volumes in our opinion. (She did in fact complain to AutoReturn at the time we released her car back to her though.)
Ms. [redacted] makes no mention of what the outcome was when she disputed her tow with the city's DCE (Department of Code Enforcement). The DCE handles tow disputes and we would have referred her to them for the dispute of her tow. While just speculation; it could be their investigation found the same thing as ours did: That the tow of her car was legal and appropriate.
In summary our investigation determined that this was a legal tow of a car marked (and unmoved) as abandoned, displaying expired registration. The tow could have been prevented by simply moving the marked car to an off street location until their renewed registration arrived; or course just keeping the registration current.
Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me or our General Manager for AutoReturn Indianapolis, Mr. [redacted].
Respectfully,
[redacted] Vice President
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/05) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@autoreturn.com
To properly investigate this claim that her vehiocle was damaged as a result of our tow and our handling while in our care we will need more...
information. Specifically we'll need some sort of ID on the vehicle and or tow in question. After a few phone calls and emails we learned the vehicle in question was towed under tow record number (TR#) XXXXXXXXA0006.
A check of our records indicate we have not yet r received a formal claim yet that names this vehicle / person; we are still searching.
To process any claim we'll need photos of the alleged damage in question; as for the alleged steering issues the owner should have the problem diagnosed by her mechanic (plus take more photos of any alleged damage as well as "known good" components to compare). Ideally a repair estimate is prepared at the same time.
If we confirm the damaged claimed is a result of our tow and or handling we would then discuss a fair resolution to the claim.
First and foremost we need more information in the form of photos (as described above) and a professional diagnosis of any mechanical problems that states how / why the damage is the result of the tow and or handling. As we still have no actual claim filed, it would be a good idea to formally file a claim for the damage alleged as well.
AutoReturn welcomes the opportunity to resolve this claim and turn a negative complaint into an experience that changes our customer's opinion of municipal tow companies.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My truck was towed not because of any accident , only because I pulled over for medical reasons . The officer called 911 for medical help. I was put in ambulance vehicle to be taken to hospital. The officer ask if theirs anyone to come get my truck . I said yes my fiancé would . I couldn't reach my fiancé , So officer said I'm gonna tow it , I said NO . So he had it towed anyway . Upon being released I went to pick my truck up and was charged 110$ when I told the officer No. That's when I notice my steering wheel was offset and my fiancé saw that my front tires were leaning out and the bumper was hanging off the frame . I ask the dispatcher what should I do , they said go online and file a compliant . So I did . So whenever your car is towed please do inspection of your vehicle because tow companies go by numbers not quality .
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/05/08) */
We are a bit confused by the consumer's response that they "DID NOT" accept our response.
Just to clarify the issue of the vehicle getting towed (apparently against her wishes): AutoReturn is under contract to the IMPD to tow whatever they instruct us to tow. The decision to tow the vehicle was made by the police officer on the scene. Had AutoReturn not towed the vehicle the officer was instructing us to tow, we would be in breach of contract. Furthermore (in defence of the IMPD) while the consumer says her fiance was coming to get the vehicle, waiting for their arrival is a waste of the officer's time that could be better spent on more important police matters. If the root of her complaint is that the vehicle was towed against her will, she needs to take up the matter with the IMPD.
With regard to the consumer's complaint that the vehicle was damaged as a result of our tow; we are not denying this but need more information, specifically photos of the alleged damage plus a diagnosis and or repair estimate. With additional information we can investigate the damage allegations and then work to resolve the complaint. We're not sure why this is unacceptible to the consumer but are more than willing to discuss their issues and answer their questions.
If the consumer does not trust us they can of course take up the matter with their insurance company. We would of course request the same information from her insurance company as we are from the consumer herself. The point is we can work with her directly, or we can work with her insurance company; it is up to her.
We should add that our own insurance comapny can of course be contacted but our insurance deductible far exceeds the value of her claim (and likely the whole car) so they would then just refer the consumer back to us.
In summary, we are on record as being more than willing to work with the consumer to resolve her complaint, or we can work with her insurance company, it is up to her. We are at a loss as to why the consumer does not accept our response. Perhaps someone at the Revdex.com can explain to her that while she can file an endless number of complaints alleging damage to her car, she bears the burden of proof after making these allegations. So far we have nothing beside her statement to support her allegation that her vehicle was damaged as a result of our tow.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/05/13) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Whatever you guys are saying is dumb. I didnt say it impd fault my is car jack up. For you to make that comment that they have better things to do than to wait on my fiance was very childish how stupid do you sound!!!!!. Now if you want talk real your tow company mess up my car then made me pay110 to get my car out. The tow company knew THAT they mess up my car I have my proff and lawyer so you deal with that mr smart mouth unprofessional peace of somthing.
This letter is regarding a complaint against AutoReturn filed by Ms [redacted] alleging wrong doing by AutoReturn and or our towing subcontractors after her car was towed on June 16th, Please accept our apology in the delay in responding to the complaint; we wanted to ensure we had all of the facts concerning the tow in question at the ready Ms [redacted] car was towed as an abandoned car with expired registrationIt had been properly marked hours prior to the tow, and had no evidence of having been moved after it was marked as abandoned While Ms [redacted] states she had renewed her registration and the IN BMV had assured her verbally that she "was,good to go", the registration displayed on her car was without a doubt, expiredContrary to what Ms [redacted] alleges, neither AutoReturn nor our towing subcontractors have a way of checking whether a vehicle does in fact have current registration at the time the vehicle is about to be towedIN vehicle code clearly states vehicles parked on public streets must display current registration We cannot offer any explanation as to why when Ms [redacted] called to report her car stolen the IMPD could not find a record of it having been towedOur internal investigation determined that this was an otherwise routine tow of a car marked as abandoned, and all of the rules and regulations were in fact followedThat she was advised not to file a report to the IMPD or the Mayor's Office over the matter when she called to inform them the car had actually been towed speaks volumes in our opinion(She did in fact complain to AutoReturn at the time we released her car back to her though.) Ms [redacted] makes no mention of what the outcome was when she disputed her tow with the city's DCE (Department of Code Enforcement)The DCE handles tow disputes and we would have referred her to them for the dispute of her towWhile just speculation; it could be their investigation found the same thing as ours did: That the tow of her car was legal and appropriate In summary our investigation determined that this was a legal tow of a car marked (and unmoved) as abandoned, displaying expired registration The tow could have been prevented by simply moving the marked car to an off street location until their renewed registration arrived; or course just keeping the registration current Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me or our General Manager for AutoReturn Indianapolis, Mr [redacted] Respectfully, [redacted] Vice President
From: Frank M*** Sent: Tuesday, November 15,
5:PMTo: infoCc: Esta O***; Mark B***Subject: Case ID *** We received your letter today in regards to the case ID above. Addressing the complaint directly, it is our opinion that the vehicle owner, *** ***, did not initially give enough information on the Oct 25th call for us to locate the vehicle. Our staff is trained to ask follquestions, and unfortunately the vehicle could not be located at the time of the call. *** *** did speak to our customer service supervisor Esta O*** on Thursday, Oct 27th. This was two full days after the vehicle arrived. Esta listened to the complaint, reviewed the circumstances, and did agree to waive/remove the two days storage due to the miscommunication. Upon doing so, we told *** that she picked up the vehicle today, she would only be charged the initial tow fee of $130. We also instructed her that she would need to update her vehicle registration, which is why the police impounded her vehicle to begin with, and also come prepared with a driver’s license when she was ready to pick up the vehicle. To date, *** has not picked up her car, nor have we heard anything from her since the conversation with the supervisor on Oct 27th. ***’s complaint is we intentionally held her vehicle just so we could run up storage fees in the amount of $a day. To that point, we in fact agreed to eliminate all of the storage fees she had incurred because of the misunderstanding during our call with her on Oct 27th. To clarify as well, we do not charge $a day to store vehicles on our lot as she cites in the complaint, we in fact charge $a day, and that fee is regulated by the city of Indianapolis. This all being said we vehemently deny any wrongdoing, and do not agree with the complaint, as we had already agreed to eliminate the fees in question during our phone conversation with *** *** on Oct 27th. Frank M*** General Manager AutoReturn (Indianapolis) Desk: (317) 829-Cell: *** ***
letter-spacing: -0.25pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This letter is regarding a complaint against AutoReturn filed by Ms. [redacted] alleging wrong doing by AutoReturn and or our towing subcontractors after her car was towed on June 16th, 2014. Please accept our apology in the delay in responding to the complaint; we wanted to ensure we had all of the facts concerning the tow in question at the ready.
Ms. [redacted] car was towed as an abandoned car with expired registration. It had been properly marked 72 hours prior to the tow, and had no evidence of having been moved after it was marked as abandoned.
While Ms. [redacted] states she had renewed her registration and the IN BMV had assured her verbally that she "was,good to go", the registration displayed on her car was without a doubt, expired. Contrary to what Ms. [redacted] alleges, neither AutoReturn nor our towing subcontractors have a way of checking whether a vehicle does in fact have current registration at the time the vehicle is about to be towed. IN vehicle code clearly states vehicles parked on public streets must display current registration.
We cannot offer any explanation as to why when Ms. [redacted] called to report her car stolen the IMPD could not find a record of it having been towed. Our internal investigation determined that this was an otherwise routine tow of a car marked as abandoned, and all of the rules and regulations were in fact followed. That she was advised not to file a report to the IMPD or the Mayor's Office over the matter when she called to inform them the car had actually been towed speaks volumes in our opinion. (She did in fact complain to AutoReturn at the time we released her car back to her though.)
Ms. [redacted] makes no mention of what the outcome was when she disputed her tow with the city's DCE (Department of Code Enforcement). The DCE handles tow disputes and we would have referred her to them for the dispute of her tow. While just speculation; it could be their investigation found the same thing as ours did: That the tow of her car was legal and appropriate.
In summary our investigation determined that this was a legal tow of a car marked (and unmoved) as abandoned, displaying expired registration. The tow could have been prevented by simply moving the marked car to an off street location until their renewed registration arrived; or course just keeping the registration current.
Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me or our General Manager for AutoReturn Indianapolis, Mr. [redacted].
Respectfully,
[redacted] Vice President
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/05) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@autoreturn.com
To properly investigate this claim that her vehiocle was damaged as a result of our tow and our handling while in our care we will need more...
information. Specifically we'll need some sort of ID on the vehicle and or tow in question. After a few phone calls and emails we learned the vehicle in question was towed under tow record number (TR#) XXXXXXXXA0006.
A check of our records indicate we have not yet r received a formal claim yet that names this vehicle / person; we are still searching.
To process any claim we'll need photos of the alleged damage in question; as for the alleged steering issues the owner should have the problem diagnosed by her mechanic (plus take more photos of any alleged damage as well as "known good" components to compare). Ideally a repair estimate is prepared at the same time.
If we confirm the damaged claimed is a result of our tow and or handling we would then discuss a fair resolution to the claim.
First and foremost we need more information in the form of photos (as described above) and a professional diagnosis of any mechanical problems that states how / why the damage is the result of the tow and or handling. As we still have no actual claim filed, it would be a good idea to formally file a claim for the damage alleged as well.
AutoReturn welcomes the opportunity to resolve this claim and turn a negative complaint into an experience that changes our customer's opinion of municipal tow companies.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My truck was towed not because of any accident , only because I pulled over for medical reasons . The officer called 911 for medical help. I was put in ambulance vehicle to be taken to hospital. The officer ask if theirs anyone to come get my truck . I said yes my fiancé would . I couldn't reach my fiancé , So officer said I'm gonna tow it , I said NO . So he had it towed anyway . Upon being released I went to pick my truck up and was charged 110$ when I told the officer No. That's when I notice my steering wheel was offset and my fiancé saw that my front tires were leaning out and the bumper was hanging off the frame . I ask the dispatcher what should I do , they said go online and file a compliant . So I did . So whenever your car is towed please do inspection of your vehicle because tow companies go by numbers not quality .
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/05/08) */
We are a bit confused by the consumer's response that they "DID NOT" accept our response.
Just to clarify the issue of the vehicle getting towed (apparently against her wishes): AutoReturn is under contract to the IMPD to tow whatever they instruct us to tow. The decision to tow the vehicle was made by the police officer on the scene. Had AutoReturn not towed the vehicle the officer was instructing us to tow, we would be in breach of contract. Furthermore (in defence of the IMPD) while the consumer says her fiance was coming to get the vehicle, waiting for their arrival is a waste of the officer's time that could be better spent on more important police matters. If the root of her complaint is that the vehicle was towed against her will, she needs to take up the matter with the IMPD.
With regard to the consumer's complaint that the vehicle was damaged as a result of our tow; we are not denying this but need more information, specifically photos of the alleged damage plus a diagnosis and or repair estimate. With additional information we can investigate the damage allegations and then work to resolve the complaint. We're not sure why this is unacceptible to the consumer but are more than willing to discuss their issues and answer their questions.
If the consumer does not trust us they can of course take up the matter with their insurance company. We would of course request the same information from her insurance company as we are from the consumer herself. The point is we can work with her directly, or we can work with her insurance company; it is up to her.
We should add that our own insurance comapny can of course be contacted but our insurance deductible far exceeds the value of her claim (and likely the whole car) so they would then just refer the consumer back to us.
In summary, we are on record as being more than willing to work with the consumer to resolve her complaint, or we can work with her insurance company, it is up to her. We are at a loss as to why the consumer does not accept our response. Perhaps someone at the Revdex.com can explain to her that while she can file an endless number of complaints alleging damage to her car, she bears the burden of proof after making these allegations. So far we have nothing beside her statement to support her allegation that her vehicle was damaged as a result of our tow.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/05/13) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Whatever you guys are saying is dumb. I didnt say it impd fault my is car jack up. For you to make that comment that they have better things to do than to wait on my fiance was very childish how stupid do you sound!!!!!. Now if you want talk real your tow company mess up my car then made me pay110 to get my car out. The tow company knew THAT they mess up my car I have my proff and lawyer so you deal with that mr smart mouth unprofessional peace of somthing.