Hampshire Towing

Hampshire Towing has inappropriate practices involving their billing once a quote is given and work has been performed.On 9/13/13, I requested roadside assistance from Hampshire Towing for a 1999 Freightliner FLD Tractor Trailer. The assistance was to involve the replacement of 2 tires, replacement of a wheel seal, and front brake adjustment. The dispatcher for Hampshire Towing was given the VIN # of the truck prior to dispatching a technician. I was quoted $900 including parts and labor. I advised the dispatcher that we were going with them because they were the only roadside assistance that could provide both the tires and the other services required. He said he understood and stated that it would have been cost prohibitive to have two service calls. After the technician arrived, my driver advised me that he did NOT have a wheel seal with him. He also said that he would do the easy things first and address the wheel seal last. The labor for the the two tires and the brake adjustment was less than 1 hour. He advised my driver that he would need to go up one exit on [redacted] from the trucks location to obtain the wheel seal and replace it. This was in the middle of morning rush hour. Apparently, the facility that he was going to obtain the wheel seal did not have a matching part and instead of calling either me or my driver of this information he proceeds to try a number of different locations in CT to find this part. I received a call 3 hours into this search letting me know that the part had been obtained and the technician would be on his way back to my truck to fix the part. I asked him if I was going to be responsible for his travel and if so what would that be. He said no just the labor for installing the part. Once the technician returned to install the part, which was done in less than an hour. I was prepared to pay for the part and the additional hour of labor which would have boosted our total price to $1050. I was completely accepting of the cost for parts and 4 hours of labor that we agreed upon. When I spoke with the dispatcher to pay the bill I get am told that we owe $1667.97. I was told that we were being billed for the technicians time going to a number of different locations to find the wheel seal. I could have had another road call from another company come and replace the wheel seal for less than the $617 overcharge. Hampshire Towing used unethical and dishonest means to obtain our business and I am not willing to pay a penny over what was quoted. Had I been advised that we would be paying for the travel time I would have canceled that road call and gone with someone else who was readily available with the appropriate wheel seal.Desired SettlementRefund of $617 to match the quote that was given to me over the phone and equates to the work performed.Business Response On the morning of 9/13/13 the complainant requested mobile mechanical service for their tractor trailer that was put out of service by the ** State Police for safety violations. They needed a mechanic to respond ASAP because the State Police were threatening to tow and impound the truck. I took the call in originally and quoted her $125/hour port to port plus parts. She needed 2 tires, a brake adjustment and a wheel seal. I was able to locate 2 used tires per her request and I told her that we were going to head right out in order to get there in a timely manner to make the State Police happy because time was of the essence.The service technician was able to adjust the brake and replace the tires fairly quickly. Once the other issues were resolved he took apart the leaking wheel seal to see what would be needed to complete the job. Once apart, he called several local vendors and found only one that stocked the part. He left the truck and driver and headed out to pick up the part. He brought the old part with him to match it up. It turned out that the new part was wrong. He then called many other local vendors and only found that the dealership about an hour away had one in stock. He called the truck driver and gave him several options. The driver agreed to have the service technician pick up the part at the dealership and install it. The job was completed with out further incident and the truck driver was happy with the repairs and he understood why there was extra time. The problem arose only after it was time to pay the charges. There was a lot of extra time involved locating the part and that is not our fault nor theirs. It is just one of those external factors that you can not predict. If the original vendor had the proper part in stock like they had said on the phone, there more than likely would never have been a complaint. Unfortunately, the complainant's lack of maintenance on their truck turned into an emergency repair and cost them more money than if they had taken care of the truck.At no point were they quoted an exact price because road service has too many variables and like many other service industries our bill is based on time plus parts. They were quoted the hourly rate "port to port" which means billing occurs from the time the service technician leaves the office until he returns. Both the truck driver and the original caller were updated throughout the process and knew that there would be additional time. Why they feel that we should not bill them to spend time to locate a part is beyond comprehension. I have GPS tracking in the service truck and it clearly shows the times involved and all of the stops. We billed for 9 hours total but he actually had 10 hours port to port (8:30 am-6:30 pm). We also disposed of an extra tire casing for no charge. The complainant also attempted to get a refund from their credit card company in a way that in my opinion was fraudulent and deceitful. They told them that we had charged an incorrect amount and wanted a $500 refund. They do not feel that the work was done incorrectly or that we did not finish the job, they just did not like the price. The bottom line is that the job was done correctly, for a fair market price and unfortunately lack of availability of a part is what caused the extra labor time. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I was the customer for Hampshire towing and I advised them to keep me abreast of all events as they occurred. They indicate in their response that they communicated with the driver (that is fine). However, the driver was not their client. I was not updated on all of this travel time that we were billed for. Furthermore, as was indicated the part was eventually located by them an hour away. I could have understood an extra 2 hour charge on the bill and would have been more than willing to pay that. Essentially, that would have equated to the same cost as having another vendor who DID have the part to come out and perform the service. However, we were billed an additionally SIX hours of travel and that is my complaint.I do not argue that the service was performed up to par. Ultimately, this company took advantage of a small one truck company and a female customer. I have attempted to get my money back with my credit card company and I will continue to dispute it. Had I been informed that a 2 hour drive was going to turn into a 6 hour bill I would have paid them for the services rendered and gotten another vendor to complete the service as I stated during our initial call. I believe that as opposed to lose the business and the opportunity to steal an additional $500, they opted to "cover their tracks" by dealing with my driver (a man) who is not responsible for the billing nor the individual who initiated the service call.

Tow company charged us $623 in additional fees that were never explained to us.The tow company arrived at the scene of our MVA and towed our car to their company location. There were no signs of any spills/leakage of fluids at the site of the accident, so no clean -up was needed. The tow truck company did not even mention any clean up fees or explain that it was possible that the car may be leaking fluid and may need to be disposed of for an additional fee. The following day, I contacted the tow company to get the bill amount and let them know that I was working on having the vehicle transported to a salvage yard. When I first contacted them, they could not give me any details on the vehicle and said they would call me back shortly. After 3 hours, I had to call them again and they told me again that they would have to get back to me. During both phone conversations, I was never advised of any leaking fluids or additional fees. Then, they called me back about 10 min later and advised me that there was an additional charge of $623.54 that would be charged to the tow bill because they had to drain fluids that were leaking. They were unable to tell me what fluids were leaking, so they had to call me back again. When [redacted] called back, he was extremely rude and essentially said this is common practice for their business. I have contacted the State Police as they were the ones who recommended this company and they were unaware of this type of practice. They advised me that the local fire department is contacted if any leakage is noted at the scene. The fire dept. was not contacted. I also contacted other local tow companies who advised me that it is typical for a leak to go unnoticed until the vehicle is back at their property. However, they only charge $112 for the same fluid removal. I feel the company is scamming people by not disclosing their full fees at the time they pick up the car. The police officer gave us the choice of towing the vehicle back to our house or to the tow company property and we chose the tow company because we didn't want to have the car in our driveway. However, if we had known about these undisclosed charges, we would have had the car delivered to our home or would have called other companies to compare prices. I feel like this company is completely taking advantage of customers and once the car is at their location, you really have no choice. Desired SettlementI would like for the company to decrease the charges to a rate comparable with other tow companies in our area.Business Response I will be sending you another email with pictures of the containment area with their car. In short the charges are for the containment bay,labor to drain offending fluids, proper disposal of the contaminant. The tow back out to general population to the outside storage. These charges were explained to the [redacted]. I am not sure how they cannot understand, that I cannot and should not pollute my property. In fact my site plan with the Town of South Hadley for my storage lot specifically states I must contain the fluids,MGL 21E states the same. One quart of oil pollutes 500,000 gallons of ground water. We did not respond to the scene these charges are all related to the containment of fluids as it relates to their vehicle. The charges are as follows $112.50 for inside containment bay. Products$110.67 Disposal thru a licensed haz-mat disposal company $183.45 labor to drain fluids and clean bay $142.50 $95 per hour. Move to outside storage$67.50 and Mass sales tax $6.92. The [redacted] are correct that it is difficult to advise of charges during a accident. The vehicle is in the road and needs to be removed quickly for the safety of the motoring public. I send all of my charges and policies to all the insurance companies in Massachusetts,I send a copy to the Department of Public Utilities in Boston (this is the agency that regulates Public Authority towing). I also place an ad in the local paper for three consecutive weeks stating my policies ,procedures and charges are available at my corporate headquarters. Does an ambulance driver explain all the charges that will be incurred at the Hospital?? You can go to www. ambersceneclean.com to learn more.Regards[redacted]Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We understand that clean-up of environmental pollutants is important and necessary. However, the company's fees for this service are about 6 times the fee charged by other local towing companies. I'm sure that if it is a law to clean up pollutants on the properties, then there are also laws in place to make sure all of these companies are following the appropriate clean-up procedures. My problem is that there is no set fee for these clean-up services. What if you decided to charge us $2,000 in clean-up fees or even $5,000, is it a law that I have to pay a company whatever they decide is a fair fee even when I am not made aware of these charges before my car is taken to their place of business. It is also interesting that every tow company and salvage yard in our area knew exactly what company I was having problems with when I called and asked them their fees for clean-up without me even mentioning this company's name. My guess is that many people have complained about these astronomical fees, and that is why the company takes out a small add in their local paper stating that their policies & fees are available at their site. I have never seen this add in the paper, but I'm sure that is why it is placed there. Most companies who do fair/good business do not have to take out an add in the paper stating that their fees and policies are available at their business. It just seems ridiculous that the company charges $67.50 to tow my car from their companies tow lot to their companies clean-up lot next door and $95.00 per hour for labor -wow, I should have purchased a tow company & a clean up company instead of wasting my money on a college degree. It seems like a real scam that both of the companies are in the same office and they charge 6 times the fees of any other local towing company. I will not be satisfied until the company's fees are comparable with other companies in our area. This company has found a way to make LOTS of money by getting people's cars on their lot and then charging an extremely high rate that the car owner is NEVER made aware of until the bill is presented at time of pick-up. Again, I have ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM paying for environmental clean-up, but I do feel that the rates should be comparable with other companies in the area.

Unauthorized towing service was performed which resulted in exorbiant invoice. Local police agreed that charges were gouging but nothing they could doDuring a snow storm near South HAdley, MA, our truck pulled over to the side of the road due to a broken airline. My company contacted a tow service to repair or tow the vehicle to a safe spot. The repair service arrived at the vehicle and was attempting to make repairs when the local Police arrived onsite and told repair service they had already contacted a twoing service to remove the vehicle from the roadway. The next day we were notified by Hampshire Towing that they had our vehicle and were sending my company an invoice for $7,300 for only towing the vehicle 12 miles. Advised them that this seems extreme for the services provided. Agent of Hampshire Towing responsed to take it or leave it and that they were now charing storage for vehicle. Contacted local police and sent them a copy of the invoice. Upon receipt they advised that towing company was violating their guidelines and that they were gouging my company but there was nothing they could do. Reluctantly paid the invoice to have them relaease our vehicle and the load we were transporting.Desired SettlementLower charges to more acceptable level for services performed. Estimate that $1,000 is acceptable versus the $7,300 inovice they provided and held vehicle hostage until invoice was paid. Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXXContact Email: [redacted]@comcast.netDear Revdex.com:In response to your case # XXXXXX I would like to address the issues as they occur in the complaint. First off this was not an unauthorized tow or tow service. Hampshire Towing is an authorized tow service to the City of Holyoke for the Police department. Hampshire Towing was called to the scene of a disabled tractor trailer unit on [redacted] St. in Holyoke, Ma. Upon arrival I found the truck broken down on a residential street that has a 24% grade, during a snow storm. The truck consumed most of the width of the roadway and was near the top of the hill with a full load. After assessing the scene I called for the appropriate equipment, D&M Towing Service had shown up on scene with a non tow, service truck and said he was called to repair an air line on this truck. Apparently, this truck was already stranded for 1.5 hours. I explained to Mr. [redacted] Forget that the truck was being towed by the Police due to the hazardous situation at hand. Officer Saj ordered that Mr. Forget leave the scene and not to get under that truck. We explained that after this truck was off the hill that we could take it a half mile up the road to a strip mall parking lot for him to repair where it was safe.The recovery started with not many options due to the conditions and serious nature of the grade. The truck could not possibly make a right turn due to the narrow road it was on combined with a telephone pole that limits the amount of room to turn. The tow truck hooked up to the unit and the air system was charged. The tow truck operator discovered that there was drive line failure possibly a drive axle was broken due to the tractor climbing the grade and losing traction and spinning the wheels. The decision was made to ease it back 60 feet as the grade decreases and make an attempt to pull it over the crest of the hill and allowing the whole unit to edge over to the left side of the road to allow enough room to negotiate the turn. Once attached the wrecker tried to move forward and lost traction and slid onto ice and started going downhill. The city DPW was notified to get rock salt down to improve traction. The tractor was then uncoupled from the trailer and towed up the hill onto US Rte.5 while, the trailer remained on the hill with another Hampshire Towing truck securing it so it would not slide down the hill either due to the actual weight and grade or the possibility of brakes out of adjustment. Meanwhile two Hampshire Towing trucks were used on Main St to completely block traffic in the event of any failure that could allow this unit to slide down to Main St and into traffic. On top of the hill on Rt. 5 another Hampshire truck was used to close off traffic as the unit came over the crest of the hill. Then a Hampshire Towing road tractor was coupled to the loaded trailer to pull the unit onto level ground. Now that everything is on level ground and the roads were now opened, a call was placed to D&M Towing's owner [redacted] Forget to notify him that we would move the unit to a safe haven to be repaired. He said he didn't care because he already got paid. As scene supervisor I instructed that both pieces be transported to Hampshire's storage facility.This job was extremely dangerous. To understand the nature of the street, it is approximately 400 feet long and has an elevation of 76 feet above sea level on the bottom and at the Rte. 5 end (top) it is 170 feet above sea level. These are all confirm-able facts. I am also forwarding our rates and a fully detailed invoice for service including notes. I firmly believe that USA does not have an accurate accounting from the driver or D&M for obvious reasons. Someone had called the Holyoke Police and the Mayors office to try to start trouble however, once the truth was explained there are no issues of our service or pricing.Finally, I don't know who [redacted] is, nor has he spoken with anyone from our company. I don't know how he can formulate a fair rate for services rendered based on his complaint and never being at the scene or discussing any details with our business. Also, when you read our invoice with the notes you [redacted] see that we released their trailer and load on the same day without any payment. For whatever it is worth, this our first and only notice received from your agency. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me.Sincerely,[redacted]I also have a 2 page invoice to send you and the Holyoke Police tow sheet but cannot copy and paste here, please give me an email address to forward.