Past & Present Towing & Recovery

November 18, Dear *** ***:
In response to the complaint ID above, following is our responseFirst of allI’d like to make it clear that *** *** *** is not the owner of the vehicle, a *** VIN * ***, and as such, had no rights, whatsoever, to
this vehicle.The above vehicle was towed at 9:am Monday, September 15, by the Maryland State Police, *** *** BarracksWhen an owner calls regarding their vehicle, it is standard operating procedure to ask for either the tag number or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to insure that we are giving out the proper informationWhen *** *** first called this office, she was unable to provide eitherWithout that information, we were unable to give her any specificsShe was told that if *** ***'s County Police had the vehicle towed she would need a release from *** ***’s County; if it was Maryland State Police who had the vehicle towed, then she would need a notarized letter from the owner stating she had authority to act on their (the owner) behalf concerning the vehicle*** *** called this office numerous times, asking questionsIn total, she had spoken with four different people*** *** stated in her complaint that *** *** had called our office and asked if she could pick up the vehicle for himAgain, standard operating procedure would dictate that he had to send a notarized letter with her, stating she had that authority*** *** would have also been told thisWhen *** *** arrived at Past & Present Towing, she was told how much the fees were and since she did not have the money, she said in her complaint that she had to leave and go to *** *** to pick the money upShe did not return with the money, nor did she leave the notarized letterBefore she left, *** *** said that *** *** would be retrieving the vehicleShe never mentioned Millenium Towing, nor were any employees at this office ever told that she was changing the towing company to Millenium TowingWhile the vehicle is in our lot, we are obligated under “care and custody” to only release vehicles to the registered owners and the insurance company/towing company they tellusIt's obvious from the date on the notarized letter (September 18, 2014) that *** *** did not have this in her possession when she first came to our office Not only was the notarized letter not present when Millenium Towing tried to pick up the vehicle, but as I stated above, she was not present at this office eitherThat's why we told the towing company that the owner had to be presentThis is not a double standard - provide the notarized letter, pay the towing and storage fee, tell us who will be coming and make sure you have that company show up, and we will release the vehicle without an owner being presentAt no time will this company ever release someone else's vehicle to a random towing company that just shows upI remind you, she told us *** *** would be picking the vehicle up, not MilleniumAgain, it is standard procedure that a notarized letter must be presented in order for anyone other than the owner to pick a vehicle up and *** *** was told thisOur office hours are clearly posted outside, next to the front door, and are Monday through Friday, 8:am - 6:pm, Saturday and Sunday, 8:am - noon*** *** was told that the office was open until 6:pm and the charges had to paid before thatIf the charges were paid before 6:pm, the nighttime dispatcher said she would be here until 8:pm and would release the vehicle to the towing companyThis is against company policy and was only offered to *** *** out of kindnessShe did not pay the bill, nor did she provide the notarized letter, before she left our officePeople call our office all the time to ask how much it is to get their vehicles out of impoundHad *** *** asked what the breakdown was, she would have been provided with that information the first day she calledWhen customers call, they are told how much the bill is up until 6:pm that evening (if it’s a weekday, 12:noon if it’s a weekend), and storage is charged at $per day for every day afterThese rates are approved by the Maryland State PoliceHer accusation of this company wanting to keep *** ***' vehicle is unjustifiedWe are not a junkyard, a licensed recycler, nor a used car lotWe are a towing company, who was called by the Maryland State Police to take possession of a vehicle and keep it safe until the owner could retrieve itWe have no interest in keeping anyone's vehicle*** ***'s accusations of us holding on to the vehicle to make more money is also unjustifiedShe was the one who brought all of this on herselfHad she done what she was told on the very first day she called by providing the required notarized letter, and followed through with sending the towing company she told us, she would not have accrued additional storage feesA I stated earlier in this letter, *** *** called our office numerous timesWe have several different people answering the phones throughout the dayJust because the officer called here and spoke with Amanda doesn't mean that Amanda knew what was going on*** *** could have called every police station in the state of Maryland and that would not have changed a thing.No police department will force anyone to surrender a vehicle to someone who is not the legal ownerAgain, had *** *** followed through with what she was told from the very beginning, all of this would not have happenedWe have been in business since and have operated this way every daySince this is the first time I can recall the Revdex.com contacting us '' should tell you something about our business, and *** ***We are obligated to protect the owner of the vehicles, and will not release a vehicle to a non-owner without proper paperwork (a notarized letter from the owner)After she finally accepted the fact that we weren't bending on our policies, she finally produced the notarized letter on September 24, (six days after it was originally signed, days after the vehicle was originally towed)At that time, we reduced the bill by $which brought it down to $This was done as a good will gestureShe had yet another towing company,*** Crane Service, pick the vehicle upThe receipt she received after paying the bill shows the breakdown of charges.*** *** will not receive any additional refund for thisShe has over exaggerated her story to the Revdex.com, and I hope you realize that after reading this full explanation that she is erroneous in accusing Past & Present Towing of trying to keep *** ***' vehicle and/or trying to make more moneyShe has to realize that she needs to follow the procedures that are put in place to protect the owner of a vehicle and not think that she can go into any tow yard and try to take possession of property that does not belong to her.Sincerely yours,Barbara B, President

This letter is in response to a complaint (reference ID * ***) lodged against Past & Present Towing & Recovery, Inc.Background/facts on why the vehicle was towed:On Sunday, October 30, at 11:am, Past & Present Towing & Recovery, Inc(Past & Present Towing) received a
call from Prince George's County Police requesting a truck at an address on *** *** in College Park, MDUpon arrival, the employee (driver) of Past & Present Towing met the police officer in charge and was told to tow and store a *** ***, silver in color with Maryland tags for blocking a drivewayThis Vehicle was a police impound, and even though it was taken to our storage yard, it was still stored for the police.To address the first part of the complaint:The storage yard hours and towing hours are two completely different thingsWhile we tow hours a day, days a week, the storage yard is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 6:pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00am to 12:pm (noon)These are the hours as required by Prince George's County Police.To address the second part of the complaint:While the owner of the vehicle was at the storage yard retrieving the vehicle the following morning, they would have noticed that there was no power(A transformer blew on *** ** thereby taking out the power in the area.) A detailed hand written receipt was given to the vehicle owner, breaking everything down including the date the Vehicle was originally towed, who requested the tow, the vehicle owner's name, the address it was towed from, the year, make, model, color of the vehicle, the vehicle tag number including state, and the vehicle identification numberThe receipt also showed that the vehicle was towed to the storage lotIn the section of charges, under “Impound'it has $written, under "Storage" is N/C for No Charge, with a total at the bottom of $In the remarks section, it has written "Released at 8:a 10/31/16.” The invoice has our company name, address and telephone number imprinted on the top, with an invoice number imprinted on the bottomThe vehicle owner signed the receipt and was given a copy.Prince George's County Police sets the rates for both towing and storageThe $impound fee is the fee that Prince George's County Police has set for all impounds for vehicles up to and including 10,pounds, whether they be for traffic violations, accidents, invalid tags, etcI have enclosed a copy of the Schedule of Approved Fees (page of 15) of the Towing Guidelines and Schedule of Approved Fees from the Prince George's County Police Department's Memorandum of UnderstandingThe storage rate is $per calendar day, which starts after the first hoursI have also enclosed a copy of Requirements for Facilities and Equipment (page of 15) where under item it states the hours we must maintainAny tower in Prince George's County that tows for the Prince George's County Police Department must abide by this Memorandum of Understanding and the pricing as set forth in the guidelinesA copy of the towing and storage rates has been posted in the glass enclosed bulletin board in the main office area since January 8, This board is clearly visible.The vehicle was in this company's possession for hours, and the bill should have been $However the $storage fee was waivedThe owner was told this when the vehicle was picked up and it was written on the receipt as "N/C" (which is also enclosed)This evidence clearly shows that the vehicle owner did not get charged an "overnight fee,” as stated in the original complaintAll charges were in accordance with the police regulated fees, therefore any additional billing adjustments over and above the $already given will not be made.Yours Truly,Barbara *B***, Vice President Past & Present Towing & Recovery, Inc

As a AAA Plus member of years straight, I phoned on 6/20/for a battery jump (I hadn’t started my car in about months because I drive it in cooler months)Past & Present Towing & Recovery, Incarrived at 9:a.m(Academy Ln., Laurel, MD; driver’s cell ***)He connected his charger, told me to start it; it started, and then left immediatelyThe whole thing took minutes or lessHe gave no instructions whatsoever and did not test the battery, which was a AAA battery that I purchased from a mobile AAA replacement serviceI decided on my own to drive it for minutes to charge itWhen I returned home, turned it off, and tried to restart it, it did not restartI called AAA again for another charge, only this time I would drive to a AAA Car Care Center for them to fully charge it or tell me that it would need to be replacedThe AAA dispatcher said the Past & Present Towing driver reported that my car registration and tags were not current, which was an outright lie; but the dispatcher chose to believe the Past & Present driver’s lie and not my truthThe AAA dispatcher said I should have been charged $from Past & Present and that’s what it would cost for another driver to charge it againThe second driver from Alley Cat Towing & Recovery was honest and helpfulHe said the Past & Present driver also reported that he asked me to test the battery and I refused, which was another outright lieHe never mentioned testing it at all; he left immediately after the car started and said nothingThe Alley Cat driver said since it was a AAA battery, the driver is required to test itThe Alley Cat driver also said that he has had problems with Past & Present drivers before, where they won’t test the battery and leave, instead of replacing a AAA battery, as required; and the customer is unaware of these rulesThat is exactly what happened hereThe Past & Present driver was unprofessional, unscrupulous, lying, lazy, and deceitfulThe AAA dispatcher believed his lying report above the truth that I told themThis single experience has caused me to disdain my 35-year AAA membershipI had to protest that the AAA dispatcher not charge me another service call for sending another driver to charge my battery again (people are only allowed service calls per year)I was verbally told that I would not be charged, but how can I be sure after the lies and deceit from AAA’s dispatched driver that AAA chose to believe over meI am thoroughly disillusioned and disgusted with AAA and Past & Present Towing & RecoveryThey treated a 35-year member horriblyI have nothing but condemnation for both

I called this company for a standard tow because my car wouldn't start. They lady on the phone told me it was 75 dollars for a tow plus mileage. This seems like a fair price, however, when the employee of this company came out with his tow truck, he first hooked my car up to a jumper-cable starter unit. I never asked him to do this and he appeared to be doing it, to help me out, to see if the battery was the problem. He connected the starter device and it started right up. Now here is where the shady aspect of this corporation comes in. As soon as the employee sees that my car only needed a jump, and not a tow, he tells me that jump starts are 75 dollars! This should have been made clear before hooking my car up. I had my own jumper cables and could have easily asked anyone for a jump as my car died at a gas station. How on earth can the tow and jumping a car can be the same price? My point is, not making it clear that a basic jump will cost 75 dollars, and doing it first, and THEN telling me the price after the fact when I didn't ask for it, prompted me to write this review. No jump in the world is 75 bucks and if that is the cost, this needs to be expressly made clear prior to rendering services so that a consumer can determine if they want that service or not. Every legitimate business will make you aware of the cost (or at least an estimated cost) of a service, prior to performing it and the fact that they didn't, made me want to alert other potential customers about what I perceive as a predatory business practice and company.

As a AAA Plus member of 35 years straight, I phoned on 6/20/2015 for a battery jump (I hadn’t started my car in about 3 months because I drive it in cooler months). Past & Present Towing & Recovery, Inc. arrived at 9:56 a.m. (7810 Academy Ln., Laurel, MD; driver’s cell [redacted]). He connected his charger, told me to start it; it started, and then left immediately. The whole thing took 5 minutes or less.
He gave no instructions whatsoever and did not test the battery, which was a AAA battery that I purchased from a mobile AAA replacement service.
I decided on my own to drive it for 90 minutes to charge it. When I returned home, turned it off, and tried to restart it, it did not restart. I called AAA again for another charge, only this time I would drive to a AAA Car Care Center for them to fully charge it or tell me that it would need to be replaced. The AAA dispatcher said the Past & Present Towing driver reported that my car registration and tags were not current, which was an outright lie; but the dispatcher chose to believe the Past & Present driver’s lie and not my truth. The AAA dispatcher said I should have been charged $75 from Past & Present and that’s what it would cost for another driver to charge it again.
The second driver from Alley Cat Towing & Recovery was honest and helpful. He said the Past & Present driver also reported that he asked me to test the battery and I refused, which was another outright lie. He never mentioned testing it at all; he left immediately after the car started and said nothing. The Alley Cat driver said since it was a AAA battery, the driver is required to test it. The Alley Cat driver also said that he has had problems with Past & Present drivers before, where they won’t test the battery and leave, instead of replacing a AAA battery, as required; and the customer is unaware of these rules. That is exactly what happened here.
The Past & Present driver was unprofessional, unscrupulous, lying, lazy, and deceitful. The AAA dispatcher believed his lying report above the truth that I told them. This single experience has caused me to disdain my 35-year AAA membership.
I had to protest that the AAA dispatcher not charge me another service call for sending another driver to charge my battery again (people are only allowed 4 service calls per year). I was verbally told that I would not be charged, but how can I be sure after the lies and deceit from AAA’s dispatched driver that AAA chose to believe over me. I am thoroughly disillusioned and disgusted with AAA and Past & Present Towing & Recovery. They treated a 35-year member horribly. I have nothing but condemnation for both.

Review: I was given your email by C[redacted]. I am having a problem getting my daughters father, [redacted] vehicle, a 2006 [redacted], vin number [redacted], tag number [redacted] from the business of Past & Present Towing & Recovery[redacted] Md [redacted].I also have a few problems with this situation. Let me explain. [redacted] got locked up on Sept 15, 2014 by the Maryland State Trooper in ** County for driving on a suspended license and no insurance on the vehicle. His residence is in [redacted], Maryland, 2 hours away from the tow yard. I live in [redacted], which is 20 minutes away, so he called the tow yard to see if his vehicle could be released to me. He was told yes, that he needed $325.00 and a tow truck, which I thought was too much money for one day. When he called me, I took off from work to go to the tow yard and got there about 5:00 pm. The young lady tells me that I can get the vehicle after speaking with a gentleman named Jim on the phone. I told her that I have to find a [redacted] to pick the money up. She said, no problem, that she will be there until eight oclock. I called my stepson who drives for [redacted] Towing to meet me there to get the vehicle. Once they saw the towing company, they said that they had never heard of them, and she had to call Jim back again to check to see if it could be released. He said no, the owner has to be present. Naturally I was upset after I was told that the vehicle could be released. The next day I drove to [redacted] to pick [redacted] up to take him to the tow yard. which was yesterday. We had to wait on my son who got off at 5:30 so we called Past & Present to let them know that we would be there a little after 6:00 pm. Their words were, we will be closed. So we couldnt get the car again yesterday. But now the fee is up to $425.00 and they are okay with releasing the car to me without the owner being present. Is that a double standard or what? There are a few things I want to know: the breakdown of the fees, because to me it could only be two things 1) they are trying to keep his vehicle or 2) they are trying to make more money. As of today, we still dont have the vehicle. He had to go to work and I dont get off until 5:00 pm to try again. Can you please help me in this situation. I feel that the only fee that should be paid is the fee for the first day. I feel [redacted] is being railroad and should not be responsible for the extra days that his vehicle was held. Today I called ** CO Police department to find out that they didnt have the vehicle in their database. I was told to call the [redacted] Barracks to speak with someone about my situation. I spoke to an officer who called the tow yard and was told by a young lady name Amanda that she didnt know what was going on. So he called me back and told me to call the owner. My reply was they wont give up any names and the only reason I know about the guy name is Jim because I was present when she called him on the phone. But, when I asked for the owners name she told me that they are not allowed to give out names. Thats when the officer told me there wasnt anything that he could do but wait four days and call back to speak with Sergeant [redacted]. I hope by now you can understand my frustration. So I called MD State Police in the Motor Vehicle Administration. This is how I got your email information. Help!!!Thanks in advance for your assistant with this matter. I can be reached at ###-###-####.[redacted]Desired Settlement: I dont mind paying for the first day towing fees if I can get a break down of the fees 325.00 which we had the very first day that the company declined to take money or release the vehicle to me, Now everything is a inconvience issued with picking up the vehicle up by 6:00 so now we had to wait until the weekend and fees went from 325.00 to 525.00 inorder to get the vehicle out of the pound. I fell that was there intention to make the bill so high that we cant af[redacted] to get the vehicle back.

Business

Response:

November 18, 2014Dear [redacted]:In response to the complaint ID above, following is our response.First of all. I’d like to make it clear that [redacted] is not the owner of the vehicle, a 2006 [redacted] VIN [redacted], and as such, had no rights, whatsoever, to this vehicle.The above vehicle was towed at 9:00 am Monday, September 15, 2014 by the Maryland State Police, [redacted] Barracks. When an owner calls regarding their vehicle, it is standard operating procedure to ask for either the tag number or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to insure that we are giving out the proper information. When [redacted] first called this office, she was unable to provide either. Without that information, we were unable to give her any specifics. She was told that if [redacted]'s County Police had the vehicle towed she would need a release from [redacted]’s County; if it was Maryland State Police who had the vehicle towed, then she would need a notarized letter from the owner stating she had authority to act on their (the owner) behalf concerning the vehicle. [redacted] called this office numerous times, asking questions. In total, she had spoken with four different people.[redacted] stated in her complaint that [redacted] had called our office and asked if she could pick up the vehicle for him. Again, standard operating procedure would dictate that he had to send a notarized letter with her, stating she had that authority. [redacted] would have also been told this. When [redacted] arrived at Past & Present Towing, she was told how much the fees were and since she did not have the money, she said in her complaint that she had to leave and go to [redacted] to pick the money up. She did not return with the money, nor did she leave the notarized letter. Before she left, [redacted] said that [redacted] would be retrieving the vehicle. She never mentioned Millenium Towing, nor were any employees at this office ever told that she was changing the towing company to Millenium Towing. While the vehicle is in our lot, we are obligated under “care and custody” to only release vehicles to the registered owners and the insurance company/towing company they tellus. It's obvious from the date on the notarized letter (September 18, 2014) that [redacted] did not have this in her possession when she first came to our office. Not only was the notarized letter not present when Millenium Towing tried to pick up the vehicle, but as I stated above, she was not present at this office either. That's why we told the towing company that the owner had to be present. This is not a double standard - provide the notarized letter, pay the towing and storage fee, tell us who will be coming and make sure you have that company show up, and we will release the vehicle without an owner being present. At no time will this company ever release someone else's vehicle to a random towing company that just shows up. I remind you, she told us [redacted] would be picking the vehicle up, not Millenium. Again, it is standard procedure that a notarized letter must be presented in order for anyone other than the owner to pick a vehicle up and [redacted] was told this.Our office hours are clearly posted outside, next to the front door, and are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 am - noon. [redacted] was told that the office was open until 6:00 pm and the charges had to paid before that. If the charges were paid before 6:00 pm, the nighttime dispatcher said she would be here until 8:00 pm and would release the vehicle to the towing company. This is against company policy and was only offered to [redacted] out of kindness. She did not pay the bill, nor did she provide the notarized letter, before she left our office.People call our office all the time to ask how much it is to get their vehicles out of impound. Had [redacted] asked what the breakdown was, she would have been provided with that information the first day she called. When customers call, they are told how much the bill is up until 6:00 pm that evening (if it’s a weekday, 12:00 noon if it’s a weekend), and storage is charged at $50.00 per day for every day after. These rates are approved by the Maryland State Police. Her accusation of this company wanting to keep [redacted]' vehicle is unjustified. We are not a junkyard, a licensed recycler, nor a used car lot. We are a towing company, who was called by the Maryland State Police to take possession of a vehicle and keep it safe until the owner could retrieve it. We have no interest in keeping anyone's vehicle. [redacted]'s accusations of us holding on to the vehicle to make more money is also unjustified. She was the one who brought all of this on herself. Had she done what she was told on the very first day she called by providing the required notarized letter, and followed through with sending the towing company she told us, she would not have accrued additional storage fees.A I stated earlier in this letter, [redacted] called our office numerous times. We have several different people answering the phones throughout the day. Just because the officer called here and spoke with Amanda doesn't mean that Amanda knew what was going on. [redacted] could have called every police station in the state of Maryland and that would not have changed a thing.No police department will force anyone to surrender a vehicle to someone who is not the legal owner.Again, had [redacted] followed through with what she was told from the very beginning, all of this would not have happened. We have been in business since 1991 and have operated this way every day. Since this is the first time I can recall the Revdex.com contacting us '' should tell you something about our business, and [redacted]. We are obligated to protect the owner of the vehicles, and will not release a vehicle to a non-owner without proper paperwork (a notarized letter from the owner).After she finally accepted the fact that we weren't bending on our policies, she finally produced the notarized letter on September 24, 2014 (six days after it was originally signed, 10 days after the vehicle was originally towed). At that time, we reduced the bill by $320 which brought it down to $400. This was done as a good will gesture. She had yet another towing company,[redacted] Crane Service, pick the vehicle up. The receipt she received after paying the bill shows the breakdown of charges.[redacted] will not receive any additional refund for this. She has over exaggerated her story to the Revdex.com, and I hope you realize that after reading this full explanation that she is erroneous in accusing Past & Present Towing of trying to keep [redacted]' vehicle and/or trying to make more money. She has to realize that she needs to follow the procedures that are put in place to protect the owner of a vehicle and not think that she can go into any tow yard and try to take possession of property that does not belong to her.Sincerely yours,Barbara B, President