Big Red Towing & Recovery, LLC

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:My friend [redacted] and I, went to Guanella Pass to the service road and forest road Upon our return on Sunday, we encountered another truck that was coming in the opposite directionDue to the amount of snow,on the sides of the road, there was only room for one vehicle So we stopped Tried to back up to make room for the other driver to pass, but my tires began to spin We had to help the other driver by hand to turn his truck around so that he could proceed out in the same direction that we were going It was getting late, so I decided to leave my truck there and come back early the next morning to get it out My friend [redacted] and I decided to hire a tow truck We checked the internet, and based upon the reviews, we decided to hire a local company Called Big Red Towing Coand spoke with Stan M [redacted] I described my location and situation, including the road conditions I explained my location based upon cell phone GPS He stated he would call back in awhile I assumed that he would check his GPS to let me know if he could perform the service or not and prepare a quote for me, as his potential customer Then he called me back and told he that he would accept the job, send two trucks, for back up, and another to pull me out He made the remark that it will be expensive It will cost me a total of or depending on the difficulty of the job, and that he wanted to let me know that, in order to avoid any surprises His own words I liked his honesty and we agreed for him to send me two persons in two different trucks My friend [redacted] waited for me in Bailey because there was not enough room for four people in the truck.We left Bailey From Bailey to the location of the truck is a minute drive We left the paved road, and the workers decided to install chains on the tires I noticed one of them was training the other t o install chains When they had completed the job, they asked me to take a picture of them both by the truck with their phone Then we proceeded.We had traveled about 1/mile and in that distance the chains came off or times They had to keep re-installing them This is when one of the workers told me for the first time that the quote of that was provided by the owner, MrM [redacted] , was almost over Since we were almost there, I decided to proceed During the next few hundred feet, the chains kept coming off every to yards, to times by the time we arrived at my truck When we arrived to where my truck was, I asked them if they have a front winch to pull my truck out They did not, so they had to make maneuvers to turn around the truck to use the back winch that they have on the truck When they finished the maneuvers to turn around their truck, is when they told that the price would be about because it had been a lot of work, and not the that MrM [redacted] the owner and boss quote me as the final price.So at that particular moment I felt threatened and as though I was being extortionate Thinking that being in the middle of no where, and late in the afternoon, if I would not agree and pay them, they would leave me there with my truck, (or if I denied to pay them, and they had to go back, would they let me ride with them for free?) So I felt obligated to give them my credit card which they kept with them Believing in the honesty of MrM [redacted] , once we get back, I would talk to MrM [redacted] about the the misunderstanding with his workersSo they pulled the truck out to yards with the back winch Once my truck was next to their truck, they told me that they were going to load my truck onto their truck (The front wheels.) In the process they puncture one of my tires, (they told me that) So they try to pull out the site, but they went off of the road, where there was a lot of snow, and their tire started spinning because there was a lot of weightSo they disconnected my truck, and pulled out and I pulled out behind them driving my own truck all the way to a point where we could change my tire with the spare tire and then we continue all the way out to the paved road (Service Road # 62,) Which was where we left the back up truck There is where they gave me the invoice for 1,and I asked them how much were they were charging me by the hour, and their response there was going to be per hour And that those were MrM [redacted] 's orders On my way out, I found my friend [redacted] who was waiting for us in his car wondering why we were taking so long (He drove his car) I talked to [redacted] about the whole situation and he asked me to let him talk to MrM [redacted] They spoke the next morning Then, during the mid-morning I also called MrM [redacted] He accept that he quote me and it was a mistake and that from now on they are going to be changes in the company to tell customers it will be per hour instead of flat rates So we were talking and he told me that he had an incoming call that he has to take so he took the call Three hours later he called me and we continued our conversation, and then again had to answer another call promising to call me back which he never did The next morning I called and explained who I was I was told he was unavailable And the lady that answered my call promised that he would return my call which he never did In conclusion, in the letter that MrM [redacted] sent to you and to me, I can see that he is a person that does not honor his word In the first place, he asked someone else to write the letter for him, who does not know exactly how things happen Second, I know my first language is not English, I am a proud US citizen by naturalization, and if you think that this letter has a language barrier, I don't know what a language barrier is Maybe it's my Spanish last name Maybe is discrimination of origin from his company? (How more clear could this issue be when MrM [redacted] quote me to depending on the difficulty of the job so to avoid any surprises, his own words.) And thirdly, why did the lady that represented and responded in the form of a letter from Big Red Towing Company called me "this guy" when she made the remark that they were doing me a favor to charge me 1,when they could be charging 1,dollars I am an dissatisfied customer that did business with Big Red Towing Company and I deserve all the respect as well as Big Red's staff from me.I don't know at this point if Big Red is going to return the that he charged extra in bad faith, but what I want is that the public know what kind of business Big Red Towing Company as well as MrM [redacted] , the ownerI also want to have Big Red Towing Company refund the additional that I was charged in errorA man and a company that does not honor his word just because he made a mistake to give a wrong quote and have the advantage position to extort a customerIs it a common practice that he does with his on road customers? It's a shame that Revdex.com has to intervene between Big Red Truck and yours truly, his customer Regards, [redacted] ***

2/14/14
Re: Complaint ID # 9914617
My Name is Stan Merritt; I am the owner of Big Red Towing and RecoveryThis was a blizzard day 1/31/14, the roads were treacherous.
This customer called us direct on 1/31/around 2:00pm, she asked
that we would come winch her out of a ditch off of *** DriveWe informed her that she needs to call someone with a wrecker truck because of the location; we only have flat bed trucksWe also told her that we will not go up *** Drive in these kinds of conditions; It is too dangerous without the road being plowed.
We then received a call from her insurance company at 5:00pm, stating that the customer's location was Hwy 285 & CR72; she was requesting a winch out of a ditch and a tow homeWe quoted a minute Eta and were dispatched out to the location and were unable to find the customerAfter about minutes of attempted phone calls to her, we were finally able to reach herShe then informed the driver that she was located at *** Drive, which is a couple miles down the road from where we were dispatched and also a road that we usually do not travel with more than 8" of un plowed snow on the ground.
We arrived on site around 6pmOur driver attempted to pull into the driveway of this address and got stuck. When our driver approached ***, he was frustrated by the situation because she lied about the location and he got stuck trying to help her despite the fact that she was already informed that we do not go up *** Road in blizzard conditionsThe Driver asked her if she would drive down to the bottom of the hill where we would be able to safely tow the vehicleShe was parked in the driveway; she was NOT stuck in a ditchShe then informed our driver that she was afraid to drive In these conditions and that is why she needed a towOur Driver did NOT tell *** that she was being a baby
At this point our driver identified this dispatch as fraudulent in nature by the customer, she was not where she said was, in a ditch in the middle of the road, she was not in danger, she was not being a road hazardWe are paid by the insurance company to rescue people that are in dangerous situations and to provide the services that are COVERED by their insurance companyOur driver then left the situation, Our driver called the dispatcher who then called back the Insurance company to let them know that we were unable to help this customer.
She was not charged by Big Red Towing at all, we did not provide a service that justified charging the customer! if she paid any money it was to the insurance company not usWe have the dispatch records that documents the timeline as mentioned aboveNot the hours she states in her complaint. A few days later, *** ***, from State Farm Insurance called concerned, He stated he has sent his clients to "only us" for towing service for the past years and he had just received a complaint, which was unusual, so he was calling to get to the bottom of the situationHe was surprised when we informed him that the vehicle was not where It was reported to be, and of the attempted fraud by his client.
We do recognize that our driver was frustrated by the situation and while understandable, it is never ok to raise your voice and show frustration to our customers, We have reprimanded this employeeI do not anticipate ever having a situation like this again.
We service this area with pride! We are very liked by our customers and business partners on the corridor. We have NEVER had a complaint from a customerWe are well respected and have numerous positive comments all over the internet sites up here.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me @ ###-###-#### or by email @ ***@hotmail.com.
Regards,
Stan Merritt

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
My friend *** and I, went to Guanella Pass to the service road and forest road 119. Upon our return on Sunday, we encountered another truck that was coming in the opposite directionDue to the amount of snow,on the sides of the road, there was only room for one vehicle. So we stopped. Tried to back up to make room for the other driver to pass, but my tires began to spin. We had to help the other driver by hand to turn his truck around so that he could proceed out in the same direction that we were going. It was getting late, so I decided to leave my truck there and come back early the next morning to get it out.
My friend *** and I decided to hire a tow truck. We checked the internet, and based upon the reviews, we decided to hire a local company. Called Big Red Towing Coand spoke with Stan M*** . I described my location and situation, including the road conditions. I explained my location based upon cell phone GPS. He stated he would call back in awhile. I assumed that he would check his GPS to let me know if he could perform the service or not and prepare a quote for me, as his potential customer. Then he called me back and told he that he would accept the job, send two trucks, for back up, and another to pull me out. He made the remark that it will be expensive. It will cost me a total of or depending on the difficulty of the job, and that he wanted to let me know that, in order to avoid any surprises. His own words. I liked his honesty and we agreed for him to send me two persons in two different trucks. My friend *** waited for me in Bailey because there was not enough room for four people in the truckWe left Bailey. From Bailey to the location of the truck is a minute drive. We left the paved road, and the workers decided to install chains on the tires. I noticed one of them was training the other t o install chains. When they had completed the job, they asked me to take a picture of them both by the truck with their phone. Then we proceededWe had traveled about 1/mile and in that distance the chains came off or times. They had to keep re-installing them. This is when one of the workers told me for the first time that the quote of that was provided by the owner, MrM***, was almost over. Since we were almost there, I decided to proceed. During the next few hundred feet, the chains kept coming off every to yards, to times by the time we arrived at my truck. When we arrived to where my truck was, I asked them if they have a front winch to pull my truck out. They did not, so they had to make maneuvers to turn around the truck to use the back winch that they have on the truck. When they finished the maneuvers to turn around their truck, is when they told that the price would be about because it had been a lot of work, and not the that MrM*** the owner and boss quote me as the final priceSo at that particular moment I felt threatened and as though I was being extortionate. Thinking that being in the middle of no where, and late in the afternoon, if I would not agree and pay them, they would leave me there with my truck, (or if I denied to pay them, and they had to go back, would they let me ride with them for free?) So I felt obligated to give them my credit card which they kept with them. Believing in the honesty of MrM***, once we get back, I would talk to MrM*** about the the misunderstanding with his workersSo they pulled the truck out to yards with the back winch Once my truck was next to their truck, they told me that they were going to load my truck onto their truck (The front wheels.) In the process they puncture one of my tires, (they told me that) So they try to pull out the site, but they went off of the road, where there was a lot of snow, and their tire started spinning because there was a lot of weightSo they disconnected my truck, and pulled out and I pulled out behind them driving my own truck all the way to a point where we could change my tire with the spare tire and then we continue all the way out to the paved road (Service Road # 62,) Which was where we left the back up truck There is where they gave me the invoice for 1,and I asked them how much were they were charging me by the hour, and their response there was going to be per hour And that those were MrM***'s orders On my way out, I found my friend *** who was waiting for us in his car wondering why we were taking so long (He drove his car) I talked to *** about the whole situation and he asked me to let him talk to MrM*** They spoke the next morning Then, during the mid-morning I also called MrM*** He accept that he quote me and it was a mistake and that from now on they are going to be changes in the company to tell customers it will be per hour instead of flat rates So we were talking and he told me that he had an incoming call that he has to take so he took the call Three hours later he called me and we continued our conversation, and then again had to answer another call promising to call me back which he never did The next morning I called and explained who I was I was told he was unavailable And the lady that answered my call promised that he would return my call which he never did In conclusion, in the letter that MrM*** sent to you and to me, I can see that he is a person that does not honor his word In the first place, he asked someone else to write the letter for him, who does not know exactly how things happen Second, I know my first language is not English, I am a proud US citizen by naturalization, and if you think that this letter has a language barrier, I don't know what a language barrier is Maybe it's my Spanish last name Maybe is discrimination of origin from his company? (How more clear could this issue be when MrM*** quote me to depending on the difficulty of the job so to avoid any surprises, his own words.) And thirdly, why did the lady that represented and responded in the form of a letter from Big Red Towing Company called me "this guy" when she made the remark that they were doing me a favor to charge me 1,when they could be charging 1,dollars I am an dissatisfied customer that did business with Big Red Towing Company and I deserve all the respect as well as Big Red's staff from me.I don't know at this point if Big Red is going to return the that he charged extra in bad faith, but what I want is that the public know what kind of business Big Red Towing Company as well as MrM***, the ownerI also want to have Big Red Towing Company refund the additional that I was charged in errorA man and a company that does not honor his word just because he made a mistake to give a wrong quote and have the advantage position to extort a customerIs it a common practice that he does with his on road customers? It's a shame that Revdex.com has to intervene between Big Red Truck and yours truly, his customer
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:My friend [redacted] and I, went to Guanella Pass to the service road 62 and forest road 119.  Upon our return on Sunday, we encountered another truck that was coming in the opposite direction. Due to the amount of snow,on the sides of the road, there was only room for one vehicle.  So we stopped.  Tried to back up to make room for the other driver to pass, but my tires began to spin.  We had to help the other driver by hand to turn his truck around so that he could proceed out in the same direction that we were going.  It was getting late, so I decided to leave my truck there and come back early the next morning to get it out.  My friend [redacted] and I decided to hire a tow truck.  We checked the internet, and based upon the reviews, we decided to hire a local company.  Called Big Red Towing Co. and spoke with Stan M[redacted] .  I described my location and situation, including the road conditions.  I explained my location based upon cell phone GPS.  He stated he would call back in awhile.  I assumed that he would check his GPS to let me know if he could perform the service or not and prepare a quote for me, as his potential customer.  Then he called me back and told he that he would accept the job, send two trucks, 1 for back up, and another to pull me out.  He made the remark that it will be expensive.  It will cost me a total of 300.00 or 350.00 depending on the difficulty of the job, and that he wanted to let me know that, in order to avoid any surprises.  His own words.  I liked his honesty and we agreed for him to send me two persons in two different trucks.  My friend [redacted] waited for me in Bailey because there was not enough room for four people in the truck.We left Bailey.  From Bailey to the location of the truck is a 30 minute drive.  We left the paved road, and the workers decided to install chains on the tires.  I noticed one of them was training the other t o install chains.  When they had completed the job, they asked me to take a picture of them both by the truck with their phone.  Then we proceeded.We had traveled about 1/2 mile and in that distance the chains came off 3 or 4 times.  They had to keep re-installing them.  This is when one of the workers told me for the first time that the quote of 350.00 that was provided by the owner, Mr. M[redacted], was almost over.  Since we were almost there, I decided to proceed.  During the next few hundred feet, the chains kept coming off  every 30 to 50 yards, 10 to 15 times by the time we arrived at my truck.  When we arrived to where my truck was, I asked them if they have a front winch to pull my truck out.  They did not, so they had to make maneuvers to turn around the truck to use the back winch that they have on the truck.  When they finished the maneuvers to turn around their truck, is when they told that the price would be about 900.00 because it had been a lot of work, and not the 350.00 that Mr. M[redacted] the owner and boss quote me as the final price.So at that particular moment I felt threatened and as though I was being extortionate.  Thinking that being in the middle of no where, and late in the afternoon, if I would not agree and pay them, they would leave me there with my truck, (or if I denied to pay them, and they had to go back, would they let me ride with them for free?)  So I felt obligated to give them my credit card which they kept with them.  Believing in the honesty of Mr. M[redacted], once we get back, I would talk to Mr. M[redacted] about the the misunderstanding with his workers.. So they pulled the truck out 50 to 60 yards with the back winch.  Once my truck was next to their truck, they told me that they were going to load my truck onto their truck.  (The front wheels.)  In the process they puncture one of my tires, (they told me that).  So  they try to pull out the site, but they went off of the road, where there was a lot of snow, and their tire started spinning because there was a lot of weight. So they disconnected my truck, and pulled out and I pulled out behind them driving my own truck all the way to a point where we could change my tire with the spare tire and then we continue all the way out to the paved road.   (Service Road # 62,) Which was where we left the back up truck.  There is where they gave me the invoice for 1,000.00 and I asked them how much were they were charging me by the hour, and their response there was going to be 200.00 per hour.  And that those were Mr. M[redacted]'s orders.  On my way out, I found my friend [redacted] who was waiting for us in his car wondering why we were taking so long.  (He drove his car).  I talked to [redacted] about the whole situation and he asked me to let him talk to Mr. M[redacted].  They spoke the next morning.  Then, during the mid-morning I also called Mr. M[redacted].  He accept that he quote me 350.00 and it was a mistake and that  from now on they are going to be changes in the company to tell customers it will be 200.00 per hour instead of flat rates.  So we were talking and he told me that he had an incoming call that he has to take so he took the call.  Three hours later he called me and we continued our conversation, and then again had to answer another call promising to call me back which he never did.  The next morning I called and explained who I was.  I was told he was unavailable.  And the lady  that answered my call promised that he would return my call which he never did.  In conclusion, in the letter that Mr. M[redacted] sent to you and to me, I can see that he is a person that does not honor his word.  In the first place, he asked someone else to write the letter for him, who does not know exactly how things happen.  Second, I know my first language is not English, I am a proud US citizen by naturalization, and if you think that this letter has a language barrier, I don't know what a language barrier is.  Maybe it's my Spanish last name.  Maybe is discrimination of origin from his company?  (How more clear could this issue be when Mr. M[redacted] quote me 300.00 to 350.00 depending on the difficulty of the job so to avoid any surprises, his own words.)  And thirdly, why did the lady that represented and responded in the form of a letter from  Big Red Towing Company called me "this guy" when she made the remark that they were doing me a favor to charge me 1,000.00 when they could be charging 1,800.00 dollars.  I am an dissatisfied customer that did business with Big Red Towing Company and I deserve all the respect as well as Big Red's staff from me.I don't know at this point if Big Red is going to return the 650.00 that he charged extra in bad faith, but what I want is that the public know what kind of business Big Red Towing Company as well as Mr. M[redacted], the owner. I also want to have Big Red Towing Company refund the additional 650.00 that I was charged in error. A man and a company that does not honor his word just because he made a mistake to give a wrong quote and have the advantage position to extort a customer. Is it a common practice that he does with his on road customers?  It's a shame that Revdex.com has to intervene between Big Red Truck and yours truly, his customer.
Regards,
[redacted]

This Client called us out for a simple winch out and was quoted $300-350.00 for a winch out if it was easy and took an hour or less. We charge $150.00 per hour for a winch per truck.  The customer was 4 miles up the pass and 3-4 miles down the logging road.  This road was an...

unmaintained logging road on Guanella Pass in the mountains with 2.5 to 3 ft of snow.  The picture attached shows the 4x4 truck differentials dragging the middle to the road.  This is about 2 miles from the client.  It took 2 men, 2 trucks and 6 hours of winching and towing, and a tire change.  This was truly a recovery.    This customer was told multiple times by both drivers throughout this ordeal that his bill was adding up, do you want us to continue.  He continued to approve the extra hours.  This bill should have been $1800.00, but we gave him a discount.  The customer approved the amount with the discount and signed the service ticket and gave us his credit card to run.  We could not swipe it because there is no cell service on the mountain pass.  We received testimony from each driver individually.  The stories lined up.  No other tow company goes up this road in the Winter.  We were doing this guy a favor, and we were not gouging him for it.  His service took 2 men and 2 trucks away from our busy business for 6 hours.  He was told the entire time that his bill was incurring hourly charges.  If it wasn't for us and our service his truck would be stuck all winter long.  Currently there are about 5 vehicles stuck up there right now.  They will not be getting out until Spring melt off.This customer called our owner a few times to dispute the charges, we re-explained the above services.  There is a big language barrier so the client even had a friend call the owner. they discussed the service as well.  Sometimes language barriers make it difficult for folks to understand, our drivers believed that [redacted] fully understood what they were saying.  Stan M[redacted] 720-732-0234

This Client called us out for a simple winch out and was quoted $300-350.00 for a winch out if it was easy and took an hour or less. We charge $150.00 per...

hour for a winch per truck.  The customer was 4 miles up the pass and 3-4 miles down the logging road.  This road was an unmaintained logging road on Guanella Pass in the mountains with 2.5 to 3 ft of snow.  The picture attached shows the 4x4 truck differentials dragging the middle to the road.  This is about 2 miles from the client.  It took 2 men, 2 trucks and 6 hours of winching and towing, and a tire change.  This was truly a recovery.    This customer was told multiple times by both drivers throughout this ordeal that his bill was adding up, do you want us to continue.  He continued to approve the extra hours.  This bill should have been $1800.00, but we gave him a discount.  The customer approved the amount with the discount and signed the service ticket and gave us his credit card to run.  We could not swipe it because there is no cell service on the mountain pass.
  We received testimony from each driver individually.  The stories lined up.  No other tow company goes up this road in the Winter.  We were doing this guy a favor, and we were not gouging him for it.  His service took 2 men and 2 trucks away from our busy business for 6 hours.  He was told the entire time that his bill was incurring hourly charges.  If it wasn't for us and our service his truck would be stuck all winter long.  Currently there are about 5 vehicles stuck up there right now.  They will not be getting out until Spring melt off.
This customer called our owner a few times to dispute the charges, we re-explained the above services.  There is a big language barrier so the client even had a friend call the owner. they discussed the service as well.  Sometimes language barriers make it difficult for folks to understand, our drivers believed that [redacted] fully understood what they were saying. 
Stan M[redacted]
720-732-0234