Attached are documents and photos relevant to the concerns of [redacted]. It is not our intent to offer refund/adjustment in this case. Hopefully, the info will resolve the matter. Thanks for your inquiry. Thank You, [redacted] - [redacted]'s of TroyTo whom it may...
concern, We are in receipt of your inquiry dated 6/5/2015 regarding the concerns of [redacted] and the towing of her vehicle on 5/15/15. [redacted]s of Troy is a towing services provider in Troy, NY which has for many decades provided private lot vehicle removal services for as many as 160 property owners in the area. We serve major corporations all the way down to residential clients with 1 parking space. We take great pride in providing fair and professional services to our clients. We avoid at all times illegal practices and practices that although legal, might be viewed as “predatory”. Evidence our company’s record of 50 years in the private lot removal business without one civil court ever finding against us or our business practices. In as much as every property owner deserves their property rights to be preserved, every motorist deserves a fair chance to avoid being towed against their will. They deserve proper notice and a chance to correct their error. Further, they deserve a chance to redeem their vehicle at a reduced rate on the spot if we hooked-up to it, but have not yet moved it. When this occurs, we offer a $100 rate to release the vehicle on-site within a reasonable time. In the case of Ms. [redacted] her vehicle was parked up to a building at [redacted] in Troy. (Exhibit 1) This is a multi-story, multi-family apartment building separated from the nearest restaurant, [redacted], by a triple vacant lot and 3 brick buildings. It is not “adjacent” to [redacted] restaurant located at [redacted] St. As it is approximately ½ block away from [redacted], we are unclear as to how Ms. [redacted] believed she was parking in [redacted] lot. On the side of the [redacted] St. apartment building where Ms. [redacted] chose to park, there are 5 signs indicating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owner’s expense. Several of the signs have pictographs illustrating a car being towed which state “Tenant Parking Only” on them. Many of the signs are RED & WHITE stating “AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY – ALL OTHERS TOWED AT OWNER’S EXPENSE”. These also display the phone number of our company. (Exhibit 2) From Ms. [redacted] vehicle she should have easily read 3 of those 5 signs as 1 was almost directly in front of her vehicle. We are authorized by the property owner [redacted] St. to tow only when we are called by the designated property manager, therefore we do not monitor the lot. We respond to individual requests to tow individual vehicles as per the property manager. This was the case with Ms. [redacted] vehicle. As it takes approximately 20 minutes for us to arrive with a tow-truck when we are called, I would guess the vehicle was there for a minimum of 30 minutes before it was hooked up and removed. Ms. [redacted] had more than sufficient posted written and pictographic warning requesting her not to park there. She also had more than sufficient time to correct her error had she chosen to heed the warnings. Further, had Ms. [redacted] arrived on the scene after we had attached equipment to her car, but before we rolled the tow truck, she would have been offered the opportunity to have the car released on-site for $100 plus sales tax. She did not avail herself of the 3 opportunities thus far outlined. As to the rates we charge, we are well in line with the industry outside major metropolitan areas, which are much higher. We are also commensurate or lower than other local towing operations who do not operate within municipally regulated areas. All rates are publicly posted either on signage at the lots being towed (at request of property owner) or visible from the exterior of our office for any citizen to read. Our aim is to prevent price gouging by any possibly unscrupulous employee or others representing themselves as an employee on our property. (Yes…we have had local petty criminals attempt to collect money from folks trying to pick up their car after hours. And yes…..we have been robbed after having collected for several cars, while the thugs with guns hide in the shadows waiting until there’s enough cash accumulated to make it worth their risk.) Our rates and policies are based in simple economics and fair business practices. First, we release vehicles 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. It would not be fair to hold a person’s vehicle for an excessive length of time. Secondly, we accept cash only for obvious reasons. Credit cards would be charged back (yes it’s happened repeatedly), personal checks would bounce (we could wall paper our office with the checks if we continued to accept them).There is an ATM within 150 feet of our office until 11:00 pm every evening. After that time there is a bank with 24 hr. ATM within 6 blocks. We always try to inform the parties in advance that cash is the only form of payment accepted so they can visit an ATM if needed on their way to pick up their car.Our rates are all risk-based, higher risk equals higher prices. Cost of insurance to adequately cover our potential liabilities is very high. In fiscal 2013/14 we paid $28,000 for insurance to conduct business. This does not include the cost of a $3 million dollar umbrella required by many of our contracts. Our towing charge of $160 for private lot removal is higher than municipally ordered and regulated tows ($75-$95) in Troy. City ordered tows have lower risk because they are being ordered by the City of Troy and are attended by a city employee, police officer or other city representative. The $160 private lot rate is much lower than an accident tow ($245) because accident towing has the highest risk for personal injury or death due to the inattention of other drivers who fail to slow or give room for us to perform our work safely. Observe at the next accident or traffic stop scene you pass and note how many people do not heed New York’s “Move Over Law”. Storage rates are all calendar based except municipal towing which contractually requires a 24 hour clock based system. Storage isn’t so much based on time as it is on cost of insurance to cover the risk. If a customer vehicle were to be damaged while in our possession, whether 1 minute or 1 day the cost to us is the same. Again, our rates are commensurate with others in the local industry.As to the “After Hours Release” charge, this is standard practice throughout the towing sector. We must pay an employee to go meet a person picking up a car regardless of the time. The charge is to cover payroll for the employee performing the release and the associated risks of doing a release in the middle of the night. The risks of doing so are quite substantial. We have had employees robbed at gunpoint, ambushed and beaten by parties who want revenge for having their car towed. Why do you suppose workman’s comp rates are so high for towing companies? Then there are the people who request release then don’t show up or worse show up intoxicated. They then request additional releases and fail to appear. Absent a charge for after-hours release, the parties would have carte blanche to run us endlessly throughout the night. We have had them try, apparently just to amuse themselves. Notably, there are a number of other local companies who charge “Gate Fees” at all times without regard to the day or time or refuse to release vehicles at all until they “re-open”. Conversely, we charge only if they need to pick up their car during non-business office hours and will do so on request at any time of day or night.Taken altogether, we believe we have developed and employ a fair and balanced rate structure relative to our risk exposure. Our practices allow more than sufficient opportunity for the motoring public to avoid being “victimized”. We strictly enforce standing policies against unscrupulous or predatory actions by our employees for which we have terminated employees in the past. When we purchased the company, my wife and I set about raising the bar for better standards in the towing business in general. We believe our present policies and procedures support that goal. We believe Ms. [redacted] was oblivious to or dismissive of the multiple posted warnings against use of property which she does not own and failed or refused to obtain permission from the owner to utilize same. She was billed the identical price as every other vehicle our company has ever towed from [redacted]t. under the same circumstance – no more & no less.Respectfully submitted, Cliff C[redacted]CEO – [redacted]’s of TroyCc: Revdex.com of Upstate NY
Attached are documents and photos relevant to the concerns of [redacted]. It is not our intent to offer refund/adjustment in this case. Hopefully, the info will resolve the matter. Thanks for your inquiry. Thank You, [redacted] - [redacted]'s of TroyTo whom it may...
concern, We are in receipt of your inquiry dated 6/5/2015 regarding the concerns of [redacted] and the towing of her vehicle on 5/15/15. [redacted]s of Troy is a towing services provider in Troy, NY which has for many decades provided private lot vehicle removal services for as many as 160 property owners in the area. We serve major corporations all the way down to residential clients with 1 parking space. We take great pride in providing fair and professional services to our clients. We avoid at all times illegal practices and practices that although legal, might be viewed as “predatory”. Evidence our company’s record of 50 years in the private lot removal business without one civil court ever finding against us or our business practices. In as much as every property owner deserves their property rights to be preserved, every motorist deserves a fair chance to avoid being towed against their will. They deserve proper notice and a chance to correct their error. Further, they deserve a chance to redeem their vehicle at a reduced rate on the spot if we hooked-up to it, but have not yet moved it. When this occurs, we offer a $100 rate to release the vehicle on-site within a reasonable time. In the case of Ms. [redacted] her vehicle was parked up to a building at [redacted] in Troy. (Exhibit 1) This is a multi-story, multi-family apartment building separated from the nearest restaurant, [redacted], by a triple vacant lot and 3 brick buildings. It is not “adjacent” to [redacted] restaurant located at [redacted] St. As it is approximately ½ block away from [redacted], we are unclear as to how Ms. [redacted] believed she was parking in [redacted] lot. On the side of the [redacted] St. apartment building where Ms. [redacted] chose to park, there are 5 signs indicating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owner’s expense. Several of the signs have pictographs illustrating a car being towed which state “Tenant Parking Only” on them. Many of the signs are RED & WHITE stating “AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY – ALL OTHERS TOWED AT OWNER’S EXPENSE”. These also display the phone number of our company. (Exhibit 2) From Ms. [redacted] vehicle she should have easily read 3 of those 5 signs as 1 was almost directly in front of her vehicle. We are authorized by the property owner [redacted] St. to tow only when we are called by the designated property manager, therefore we do not monitor the lot. We respond to individual requests to tow individual vehicles as per the property manager. This was the case with Ms. [redacted] vehicle. As it takes approximately 20 minutes for us to arrive with a tow-truck when we are called, I would guess the vehicle was there for a minimum of 30 minutes before it was hooked up and removed. Ms. [redacted] had more than sufficient posted written and pictographic warning requesting her not to park there. She also had more than sufficient time to correct her error had she chosen to heed the warnings. Further, had Ms. [redacted] arrived on the scene after we had attached equipment to her car, but before we rolled the tow truck, she would have been offered the opportunity to have the car released on-site for $100 plus sales tax. She did not avail herself of the 3 opportunities thus far outlined. As to the rates we charge, we are well in line with the industry outside major metropolitan areas, which are much higher. We are also commensurate or lower than other local towing operations who do not operate within municipally regulated areas. All rates are publicly posted either on signage at the lots being towed (at request of property owner) or visible from the exterior of our office for any citizen to read. Our aim is to prevent price gouging by any possibly unscrupulous employee or others representing themselves as an employee on our property. (Yes…we have had local petty criminals attempt to collect money from folks trying to pick up their car after hours. And yes…..we have been robbed after having collected for several cars, while the thugs with guns hide in the shadows waiting until there’s enough cash accumulated to make it worth their risk.) Our rates and policies are based in simple economics and fair business practices. First, we release vehicles 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. It would not be fair to hold a person’s vehicle for an excessive length of time. Secondly, we accept cash only for obvious reasons. Credit cards would be charged back (yes it’s happened repeatedly), personal checks would bounce (we could wall paper our office with the checks if we continued to accept them).There is an ATM within 150 feet of our office until 11:00 pm every evening. After that time there is a bank with 24 hr. ATM within 6 blocks. We always try to inform the parties in advance that cash is the only form of payment accepted so they can visit an ATM if needed on their way to pick up their car.Our rates are all risk-based, higher risk equals higher prices. Cost of insurance to adequately cover our potential liabilities is very high. In fiscal 2013/14 we paid $28,000 for insurance to conduct business. This does not include the cost of a $3 million dollar umbrella required by many of our contracts. Our towing charge of $160 for private lot removal is higher than municipally ordered and regulated tows ($75-$95) in Troy. City ordered tows have lower risk because they are being ordered by the City of Troy and are attended by a city employee, police officer or other city representative. The $160 private lot rate is much lower than an accident tow ($245) because accident towing has the highest risk for personal injury or death due to the inattention of other drivers who fail to slow or give room for us to perform our work safely. Observe at the next accident or traffic stop scene you pass and note how many people do not heed New York’s “Move Over Law”. Storage rates are all calendar based except municipal towing which contractually requires a 24 hour clock based system. Storage isn’t so much based on time as it is on cost of insurance to cover the risk. If a customer vehicle were to be damaged while in our possession, whether 1 minute or 1 day the cost to us is the same. Again, our rates are commensurate with others in the local industry.As to the “After Hours Release” charge, this is standard practice throughout the towing sector. We must pay an employee to go meet a person picking up a car regardless of the time. The charge is to cover payroll for the employee performing the release and the associated risks of doing a release in the middle of the night. The risks of doing so are quite substantial. We have had employees robbed at gunpoint, ambushed and beaten by parties who want revenge for having their car towed. Why do you suppose workman’s comp rates are so high for towing companies? Then there are the people who request release then don’t show up or worse show up intoxicated. They then request additional releases and fail to appear. Absent a charge for after-hours release, the parties would have carte blanche to run us endlessly throughout the night. We have had them try, apparently just to amuse themselves. Notably, there are a number of other local companies who charge “Gate Fees” at all times without regard to the day or time or refuse to release vehicles at all until they “re-open”. Conversely, we charge only if they need to pick up their car during non-business office hours and will do so on request at any time of day or night.Taken altogether, we believe we have developed and employ a fair and balanced rate structure relative to our risk exposure. Our practices allow more than sufficient opportunity for the motoring public to avoid being “victimized”. We strictly enforce standing policies against unscrupulous or predatory actions by our employees for which we have terminated employees in the past. When we purchased the company, my wife and I set about raising the bar for better standards in the towing business in general. We believe our present policies and procedures support that goal. We believe Ms. [redacted] was oblivious to or dismissive of the multiple posted warnings against use of property which she does not own and failed or refused to obtain permission from the owner to utilize same. She was billed the identical price as every other vehicle our company has ever towed from [redacted]t. under the same circumstance – no more & no less.Respectfully submitted, Cliff C[redacted]CEO – [redacted]’s of TroyCc: Revdex.com of Upstate NY