Alpine began towing for Woodhaven Apartments when new manager came on board, approx. 2 weeks ago. Woodhaven has very specific criteria to follow when towing vehicles, which the towing company completely ignored. We were in a legal parking space less than 2 hours (approx 4 pm)when towed with no warning. A MATT COOPER was the driver, we found out 8 days later.
I tracked down and called Alpine, getting someone named SEAN PERRY. He said that I had to wait until the night dispatcher showed up (after 11 pm). I was told this after several hours of back and forth calls between 5 pm and 9 pm 4/26/13. I was finally called at 11:15 pm, when the night dispatch refused to review anything and blamed the whole situation on the property manager, refusing to release my vehicle that evening, making me wait and getting an extra storage fee and depriving me of use of vehicle.
I came to pick up the vehicle and tried to discuss the initial towing issue with a MATT (refused to give name) at the office. He also blamed the property management company and told me I had to come by during regular working hours to resolve the issue. When I paid the fee to obtain my vehicle, I did a walk around inspection and found what turned out to be rather extensive damage, obviously from 'pulling,' on the right fender area. I immediately took photos and reported the damage to MATT. First thing he did was say everything is the responsibility of the driver, and that the company has no responsibility to us, the 'involuntary customer.' Then he acknowledged the damage looked fresh and different from collision, and suggested I get 3 estimates and bring them in during business hours.
When we went back on the following Monday (and left 2 estimates), Wednesday, and Friday, we were told that they could not contact the driver all week, that they had heard nothing about giving us a credit on the illegal tow, and basically stalled us. A FELICITY (office mgr) told us to come in on Saturday when MATT COOPER, the driver, was on duty and we would have all the information, including "time and date" stamped 'before" photos of the tow. Sure enough, when we showed up Saturday, 5/4/13, MATT told us he was just a 'payment taker' and knew nothing about anything (I could see my bids sitting on a back counter in the exact place they were place the previous Monday).
The Woodhaven property manager claimed she had spoken to the owner on Monday, 4/29/13, and that he reassured her he would take care of everything. She also asked me to keep her informed. When I told he Monday, 5/6/13, of how the staff was ignoring us, she called the owner a second time. On Tuesday, 5/6/13, I finally got a call from the driver, MATT COOPER, who immediately proceeded to deny everything. He completely ignored my questions regarding the tow. When I asked for his insurance documentation and the photos they claim disprove the damage,MATT COOPER promised to email the documents over today, 5/7/13. As of the end of today, over 24 hours later, we still have not received ANY documentation at all.
This final ignoring of legal and civil requirements and responsibility finally led me to file this complaint.
The property manager, in defense of Alpine, said it's OK to have a F rating with the BBB, because "that is the nature of the business." We proceeded to print out pages and pages of BBB listings of local towing companies with plenty of A and A- ratings to illustrate this ain't necessarily so! Touche!
Consumer's Desired Resolution:
Pay and fix all charges and damages--immediately. We have hired legal counsel and have turned the claim in to our insurance with the comittment to pursue full reimbursement, by subrogation if necessary. These people also need to pay me for my time being ignored.
BBB Processing
05/07/2013 web BBB Case Received by BBB
05/09/2013 lori BBB Case Reviewed by BBB
05/09/2013 Otto EMAIL Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
05/09/2013 Otto EMAIL Notify Business of Dispute
05/13/2013 BBB MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE CONSUMER : Follow up to original complaint: I had to complain to the PUC to get a response from the driver, who was protected by Alpine staff. 10 days after incident I was contacted by the driver, MATT COOPER, who said he would provide his insurance info. He threatened me with "TIME STAMPED AND DATED" photographs that alledgedly were taken prior to the tow that show no damage (there is no indication of previous damage on the tow ticket diagram).
MATT COOPER was supposed to email me all the requested information on 4/7/2013. The information was never received by me. Alpine, on the other hand, approached the Woodhaven Apartment management with COPIES of the alleged pictures on 4/8/2013. The manager called me to review these photos but commented they were of such poor quality not much could be made out. The complex nor Alpine has taken responsibility
I have a serious problem with the way this is laying out:
1. Why is the towing company arrogantly refusing to submit insurance paperwork? Are they operating illegally?
2. Why would Alpine review and submit MY damage photos to the property manager, and not the victim (us) after repeated requests? Looks like Alpine is more concerned about protecting their cash cow towing contract at Woodhaven than addressing the wrong. The 'customer service' philosophy here is non existent, except for self preservation.
3. Lies and stalling do not stop: We were told to get three estimates of the damage, which was acknowledged as fresh by what appears to be extremely incompetent office and ownership staff. Upon submittal, constant runaround, to the point where we show up at the office several time to pick up promised photos and documentation, THEN the office staff starts running us off like we have no business there.
4. We are contesting the credit card charge held hostage by the unresponsive Alpine Towing, and will be attempting to recover not only our out of pocket and time costs, but we will pursue subrogation for State Farm in the event we proceed to court. Included in the collections costs and fees is our TIME taken away from other pursuits.
5. Despite BBB and PUC monitoring, it is amazing that companies and drivers like this are allowed to operate. There were crimes committed here; where are the cops when you need them? We have retained an attorney, and since the damage and collections and attorney fees already approach District Court levels, we will pursue punitive damages as well, and possibly a
CRAIG
Dubuque,#2Author of original report
Thu, July 04, 2013
07/02/2013 BBB MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE CONSUMER : On or about June 2, 2013 we were finally contacted nearly 5 weeks after the incident by a Progressive Insurance Auto Adjuster, Rodney Franks, who was apparently providing insurance services for Matt Cooper, the tow truck driver who caused the damage that Donald Heald Jr. tries to disclaim. The Progressive auto adjuster Rodney Franks is providing services for the Artisan and Truckers Casualty Co. Policy # CA08390706, which we were forced to obtain through the DORA PUC records.
He told us that he was going on vacation and to log in to our Progressive account online to keep up with the claim. You would think that a adjuster would know that the account is NOT SET UP for a victim to register; just the policyholder. In the meantime, he recommended that I go get yet another estimate at a Progressive sponsored dealership.
A couple weeks later we get a letter from Progressive that we can choose the repair shop we like due to Colorado Law (Form Letter).
On or about June 12, 2012 we got a call from our carrier, State Farm, informing us of Progressive's denial of the claim and that they would be subrogating and arbitrating, which could take several months. Waiting patiently for this process could take us past the personal time limits in place to pursue small claims action.
I insisted that everyone take a close look AGAIN at the photos submitted by Matt Cooper and Alpine claiming previous damage. It took over four weeks to get the photos from MATT COOPER, ample time to doctor them, which they did.
Several days later, the Progressive adjuster Rodney called me to let me know they were denying the claim. He wouldn't say much else in terms of acknowledging my questions regarding the pending insurance fraud, just that they were denying the claim. I thanked him for his rather untimely help and unprofessional behavior. I am outraged that any insurance company would propagate fraudulent behavior such as this.
From the initial bad decision by MATT COOPER in towing the vehicle from a legal spot, through the stalling and failure of the Alpine Auto Recovery office providing legally required insurance documents, to the subsequent denial and providing of INSURANCE FRAUD PHOTOS of Alpine to us, Don Heald Jr, and Alpine Towing Driver MATT COOPER.
WE do not make these accusations lightly. I can and will provide further research to show that all this has been done by design and the long time, well practiced, abysmal business practices of Donald E. and Kathy Heald, Jr.
Junior has been writing his own rules and circumventing regulations and social responsibilities through his manipulation of the law and cronyism.
In my opinion, the only thing worse in society than the betrayal of the public trust (example: pedophile priest) is a manipulator of the public trust (and anyone who gets in the way of making the Almighty Junior Buck)such as a crooked cop. And who would know better how to manipulate a loosely regulated business like towing than a crooked cop?
Nothing seems to stand in Junior's way in terms of manipulating the rules to his benefit. Many in Denver recall Former Arapaho County District Attorney Carol Chambers as a tough, conservative, professional prosecutor in one of the largest, most diverse demographics in Metro Denver.
It seems that awhile back Donald E. Heald Jr. found a real slick way to make a living off the backs of his neighbors in Douglas County. Though supposedly trained as DIU investigator, according to various news media and law enforcement websites, the easy way for Junior to be a hero and make a comfortable living was making a habit of staking out a local eatery and picking off the clientele as they left.
Made for an arrest record the Elbert County sheriff at the time was proud of, and Junior was cleared of wrongdoing by an internal investigation (excuse me, this is Denver, we all know how those go. . .)but DA Chambers REFUSED to use his testimony in ANY cases, it was apparently so tainted. Now, what kind of future do you think a cop has with any force if their testimony is worthless to the prosecutor? There is ample proof of this observation provided upon request or Google it yourself)--Please do not redact.
Here's another interesting tidbit of business ethics practiced by Junior that may interest the BBB and DA:
It has been a common practice in the past for a new company to name / align themselves closely to a long term reputable, similar business, to kind of suck off their success, market and name recognition, etc. There is this unfortunate Colorado towing company (that does have a good BBB record)that was on the ground first called Alpine Towing and Recovery, out of Buena Vista and Salida. Please call Leslie at the main office to hear how Alpine Auto Recovery's reputation has tarnished their long term solid reputation by NAME ASSOCIATION. According to Leslie at the office, it is so bad and costs them so much in terms of mistaken identity that they are seriously considering rebranding themselves, to disassociate as much as possible with the reputation Alpine Auto Recovery has established.
Now that a history of personal and business character has been established, please revisit the current BBB history and note the following update:
We had obtained Donald E. Heald Jr.'s cellphone number from his office manager Felicity (no one gives a last name). We still waited several weeks for our insurance company to track things down, since we were provided no personal contact information on MATT COOPER, the driver blamed by Alpine for the damage. After I received the altered photographs from the Complicit WoodHaven Apartment & Townhomes manager Pam Conwell, I decided to call Junior on June 6 at 3:00 CT and discuss the matter directly, mano y mano.
It took him a moment to realize who I was:"You complained to the PUC. I'll take care of you. You get your lawyer and I'll get mine and I'll see you in court." Click. Now, the dishonored ex cop knows that this is a small claims action, in which lawyers aren't used. . . this further establishes a pattern of intimidation and lack of communication as a stalling tactic.
I waited a week or and called him again, clearly stating the call was an attempt to collect a debt; this time, he said he would have me arrested for phone harrassment if I called again, then called the Castle Rock Police Dept. to report me to Officer Graftner. Of course, Junior knows he can again twist the law to his advantage and again use the taxpayers and public servants as his personal security detail, and to absolve himself of any "hassle" and responsibility.
The disregard for common courtesy and taking responsibility here is appalling by any standards of decency and law; however, the 'civil v criminal' protections provided these fraudsters, (Putting the financial burden on a senior citizen?)makes it far too easy for these "criminal" operators get away with operating with impunity, with virtually no accountability? In small claims court there are no punitive damages. . . how many other old and disinfranchised people has this company victimized since being in operation? How many do not have the means to stand up for themselves?
I truly appreciate the BBB's efforts, but really, when a business has complete, utter disregard for the system, how effective do you think you can be?
My wife is a low income senior on social security--can the BBB refer any additional resources to help halt this predatory, decency defiling company?
We are also encouraging our insurance provider very strongly to pursue the insurance fraud I am alleging, based in part on the altered photos provided. That Progressive's adjuster accepted the altered photos without question is rather suspect as well. If Rodney would come by and survey the site as he should of initally, instead of going on vacation, I could easily demonstrate the inconsistencies in the fraudulent fake photos. I invite the BBB to review with me if desired.
There are a number of things within the evidence itself that will prove the fraud (some it so obvious it's laughable), if we could get the professional resources to prove so. Please call (((phone number redacted))) with any additional information.
karmasabitch
beaverton,#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, May 28, 2013
Were you in a reserved parking space that was not reserved for you or is that a picture of a different parking space the red car is in?