Bruce's Towing & Auto Repair

Review: September 18, 2015

Dear [redacted],

I am lodging a letter of complaint via email, on the advice of insurance agent [redacted].

This matter concerns Bruce’s Towing, [redacted] and particularly “[redacted]”, the driver who came out to fix my tire.

On Saturday, August 1, 2015, I was traveling in my RV from a week-long trip on the Oregon coast when the left inside back “dulie” began to make a lot of noise. Upon pulling over, I saw that the tire tread had shredded, so I called [redacted] for help.

[redacted] arrived from Bruce’s Towing in a truck. I asked him to please put the outside good tire in the shredded tire’s place, and the spare on the outside so that I could have the spare replaced easily, at a tire shop. I have tire valve extenders, and he wasn’t sure he could do what I requested, but he was able to. At the time, he seemed fine- he said he was the owner and would be selling and moving south soon. I even gave him a voluntary tip. This procedure was all witnessed and verified by my passenger, who was watching with interest.

I drove home and didn’t look at the tires again until the afternoon of Monday, August 3, when I noticed that the good tire was now flat.

I am a senior citizen. My advocate called Bruce’s Towing on Wednesday, August 5 and [redacted] answered. He denied any responsibility, and told my advocate that I had directed him to put the spare tire on the inside (not true) and that must have been why the tire went flat. [redacted] spoke rudely to my advocate, and then hung up on him. I myself called that afternoon and spoke with “Patience”, who said she was the owner. I told her what happened with [redacted] on the phone that morning, and that when I learned the actual reason for the flat, I would probably be calling her back.

Since I didn’t want to use up a [redacted] tow when I was only eight miles from the tire company, I asked a friend to bring over his compressor to inflate the tire and we’d see how long it would hold air and be at least drivable. By the next morning it was flat, so on Thursday, August 6 it was inflated again with the compressor and immediately driven slowly to [redacted] and telephone number [redacted]”, the owner.

Upon arrival at [redacted], I asked [redacted] to please write down exactly why that tire went flat. When I picked up my RV on the afternoon of Thursday, August 6, I read what was written on the bill:

“LRI valve stem extension was leaking from the stem”

Because of the improper positioning of the extender, the inside tire lost an excessive amount of air as it was driven home on August 1, 2015, and caused damage to it, as well as to the outside tire next to it, so the owner recommended these tires be replaced. I decided (on his recommendation) to have the other two tires replaced, too, so that it would be a matched set.

On Friday morning, August 7, I called Bruce’s Towing and spoke with Patience. I told her the specific reason for the flat tire. She voluntarily said she would pay for the tire and to FAX her the information, which I did. I included the cost of balancing it, and also an additional fifty dollars for all the time, trouble, and trauma this situation caused me.

Two weeks went by and I received no check. On Monday morning, August 24, 2015, I called again. Patience was “unavailable”, and I was asked to leave a message. I said that I was still expecting a check.

On Monday morning, August 31, 2015, I called again and Patience answered. She said she had gotten the FAX, and she had planned on paying for the tire, but that when I asked for the extra fifty dollars she decided not to pay anything. I reminded her that she had given me her word that she would pay for the tire at least, and that’s what I expected. After a long pause, she said she’d have to talk to the bookkeeper. I said O.K., but again, “You did say you would pay for the tire.” We said goodbye.

After another week went by yet again with no check, I called on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, and [redacted] answered. He said that Patience was not going to talk to me, and for me to stop calling. I tried to explain to him that he hadn’t tightened down the valve enough when he changed the tire, and he said, “I did what you wanted, the tire was fine when I left, and that’s it”! He then hung up on me.

I find this treatment really offensive and unprofessional, plus the fact that [redacted]’s negligence could have put my life in danger if I had to drive home a longer distance with that tire going flat and me having no knowledge of it. I would hate to have this kind of thing happen to anyone else, and Bruce’s Towing was called on [redacted]’s recommendation. All this could have been avoided if Bruce’s staff would have just done the right thing. I am forwarding this letter (minus [redacted].’s card information) to the Revdex.com, and am wondering if Bruce’s Towing has a contract with the Police Department.



Thank you,

[redacted]



FAXing 3 pages relating to this matter, alsoDesired Settlement: Requesting a total amount of 213.74.