Gulf Line, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
*** ***

Bill's Towing & Auto Repair towed Mr*** truck on Monday May 9th to our repair center, his vehicle broke down early in the morningMr*** had explained to the tow truck driver that the battery light on the dash of the pickup had been flashing on and off for the previous
couple of daysWhen our mechanic looked at the truck both batteries were dead and we placed the batteries on a battery chargerAfter the batteries were charged we performed a charging test on the system and found that the alternator wasn't charging and we gave Mr*** an estimate for repairHe stated that the alternator was just replaced and Mr*** wanted us to install a new alternator and he wanted to take the old part back with him for a credit from where he bought it atWe informed Mr*** that there was a core charge on the alternator that he would have to pay if he wanted to take the alternator with himHe approved our estimate for repair which included the core charge for the alternatorWe replaced the alternator and checked the charging system and it was charging volts, which is showing the system is charging the batteriesWe informed Mr*** that his vehicle was ready, during Mr*** paying the repair invoice he requested a discount a number of timesWe didn't offer a discountOur office received a phone call from Mr*** wife asking for a discount, we did not offer a discount on the invoice after his wife called eitherMr*** paid the repair bill and left with his vehicle. Mr*** had to be asked a number of times not to be inside our shop while we were working on his vehicle, at one point he was using our air tools to work on his truck even, we instructed Mr*** that he would have to leave the shop area and wait in the customer waiting areaMr*** even stated that he owned his own repair shop, if he did own his own repair shop one would think that he would have repaired the vehicle himself or had the vehicle towed to his repair shop instead of paying someone else to repair itMr*** never called us on his way home if he did have a problem with his truck, we never received a complaint from Mr*** after we made the repair on May 9th, We received a letter from the Revdex.com on May 11, in Mr*** letter it states that he “talked to company” on May 9th , that was the day we repaired the vehicleIn his letter Mr*** stated that the “purchase date” was May 8th , that date isn't correctMr *** never contacted us stating there was a problem with the repairI strongly believe that if Mr*** did have a problem right after the repair was made he would have called us but there was not a call made to us to make us aware of any problemMr*** lives less than miles from our repair center, I find it tough for a vehicle to break down twice in less than miles after repairs have been made and he wouldn't make a phone call to us at that timeMr*** vehicle left our repair center with the charging system working properlyIf there was a broken wire like Mr*** claims, after the alternator was changed the charging system still would not be working, but after we replaced the alternator it started working again which shows there was not a broken wire at that timeHe hasn't provided a repair or towing invoice to back up his claim, with Mr *** claiming the batteries were drained twice on his way home he would have needed someone to tow his vehicle to a repair center and charge the batteries before he could drive it againBill's Towing & Auto Repair performed the repair to the vehicle that was required and our repair estimate was approved by the Mr*** before any repair was madeThe vehicle left our repair center with the charging system working properlyWe will not refund Mr*** the $he is requesting

We received a call to assist a stranded motorist and sent out our closest truck to assist them. The truck arrived on scene within 20 minutes according to our GPS monitoring dispatch system and found a full size sport utility vehicle with a flat tire. Our driver inspected the wheel and found...

that the vehicle owner could not change their tire because there was rounded off lug nuts and the spare tire was flat. Our driver advised the law enforcement officer that the vehicle would need to be towed off the roadway to a repair center for proper repair. The driver informed the vehicle owners that is would need to be towed for proper repairs. Communication with the family was difficult because only a teen age son and mother spoke English, the adult males and other small young children did not speak any English. The vehicle owner asked how much to tow the vehicle because they had a family member coming to assist them. The driver called into our dispatch center and advised that the vehicle would need to be towed per law enforcement due to its unsafe location on the highway and they were quoted a price of around $200 to get the vehicle off the roadway to the closest safe location. Once the vehicle was loaded and in tow the family advised our driver that they wanted the vehicle to be towed to the resort they wanted to stay at. They gave the driver wrong information twice on which resort they were staying at causing the vehicle to be towed more miles. When they got to the resort, they were driven around to different buildings as they didn't know which one to enter and attempted to enter. This resort has many different buildings and entrances so it would be unknown to our driver of which location they had reservations at. Once they got to the location of the resort they wanted to stay at, they had to go to the main office to register which took more time with the driver waiting to unload the vehicle. The driver advised that the longer he had to wait to unload the vehicle the more the service would cost. Again, all of this information is being translated through the teenage son. It took a period of time to get registered and members of the family were running around the tow truck. The children were running under the truck and opening the tool boxes. The fuel cap to the tow truck was also taken and not returned. The driver communicated again that they were being charged for the driver and the truck to be held up. After some time they received their room keys and came back out to pay for their towing bill as they had approval to leave the vehicle at the resort instead of a repair facility. The driver advised that the bill was more due the added mileage and time that accrued for waiting for direction of where to unload. The teenage son filled out the vehicle owners information on the invoice due to the language barrier and the mother signed the invoice and paid the invoice. She then stated to the driver that he would have to answer to Jesus. The teenage son was very apologetic and understanding. Our driver then lowered the tow truck bed and went inside the vehicle and placed it into neutral to allow it to be lowered onto the ground as a standard operation for unloading a vehicle off the tow truck. We quoted for a service and the vehicle owners changed the service by both changing how far the vehicle needed to be towed and also causing more time involved by delaying our employee which increased the cost of service. Owner was made aware at several occasions that time will need to be billed for all the wait time at the resort. We feel that a $200 refund is not permissible due to the base quote given and customer changed towing destination several times and increased wait time. Customer was advised several times that they are being charged for additional labor time and mileage.

I am responding to claim [redacted]. We towed the vehicle into our repair center on January 4, 2016 by the owners request for a no start problem and a low coolant level problem. We performed  a diagnostic system test on each the starting, charging, electrical system and the coolant...

system. We charged the vehicle battery to be able to properly load test the battery. The battery passed the load test, next we tested the charging system, the test equipment showed that the system was charging within the normal voltage range of 13.8 volts to 14.3 volts, we also performed a parasitic draw test on the electrical system and found a very minimal amperage draw from the vehicle radio for memory. We could not find any problem with the starting, charging or electrical system at that time.We checked the cooling system and found that the system was 1/2 gallon low of coolant. We added 1/2 gallon of coolant and pressure tested the cooling system to check for leaks. No leaks were found.We called the vehicle owner and he paid the invoice and picked up the vehicle on January 7, 2016. We charged the customer for the tow to our repair center, 1 hour labor for the charging, starting and electrical diagnostic testing , 1 hour labor for the cooling system testing and for the coolant we added to his system. The customer was aware of the charges and signed our invoice. On January 11, 2106 we received a call from the vehicle owner stating that his vehicle is acting up again. We informed him that we would have to look at the vehicle and to be able to diagnose the current problem, he hung up on our employee. We wouldn't have charged the customer a second diagnostic charge.The vehicle owner states in his complaint " The bill was $335 for detailed diagnostic (and the tow) work the results of which were then withheld(possibly in a price fixing agreement with other automotive and government business" I have attached our invoice that describes what each test entailed and the the results, I would say that we did not withhold the results. In the customers complaint it also states that the problem happened the next day after he picked up his vehicle. he picked up his vehicle from us on January 7, 2016 and the next time we heard from him was January 11, 2016, I feel the vehicle owner is not being truthful in his statement.I do not feel we owe the vehicle owner $100 refund for shoddy incomplete and highly exploitative work. I believe that our invoice clearly states what work was performed and the results from the test are listed on the invoice. Our pricing is right in line with what the industry standards are for the work performed.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear lUnfortunately I believe 400.00 is excessive! Taking advantage. I believe the $200.00 should be refunded for excessive and taking advantage of stranded tourists. 
Regards,
[redacted]

We did not take advantage of the customer and we assisted them to get off the busy road to a safe location where they could get their problem repaired. We quoted for a service and the vehicle owners changed the service by both changing how far the vehicle needed to be towed and also causing more time involved by delaying our employee which increased the cost of service. Owner was made aware at several occasions that time will need to be billed for all the wait time at the resort. We feel that a $200 refund is not permissible due to the base quote given and customer changed towing destination several times and increased wait time. Customer was advised several times that they are being charged for additional labor time and mileage.