Complaint Review: Red Light Wrecker/Rhonda Lane Auto Storage - Houston Texas

To the person who believes they got ripped off by REDLIGHT WRECKERS: 

I'm sorry that both your management and especially, REDLIGHT WRECKERS, took advantage of your situation. Unfortunately, I too have dealt, and am still currently dealing with them to resolve my situation regarding unlicensed towing practices. These "People," and trust me, I know I'm being VERY generous by referring to them as such, have blatantly disregarded my private property rights, and have caused me a great deal problems. By "people," I mean Christopher Hoffmeister, who from my experience have dealt with as the receptionist....as well as the manager.....as well as the owner......as well as a tow truck driver. You know, like the employ in the movies who switches hats from employee to manager. 

Anyhow, I can only imagine how you must have felt speaking with "Mr. Christopher Hoffmeister" and dealing with his team of "employees." In fact, I got off the phone with "Mr. Christopher Hoffmeister" only minutes before stumbling on your story trying to gather information about Redlight Wreckers and it's team of "employees." I feel better knowing that there are other people out there spending valuable and crucial time trying to stand up for what is right, and warning others about the practices and misconduct of helpless victims of wrongful tows. A lot of people don't know how it feels to have your vehicle taken from you unjustly....But, unfortunately thanks to Redlight Wreckers, it seems we can't be as lucky. 


To "Mr. Christopher Hoffmeister: OWNER OF REDLINE WRECKERS

He also works as the receptionist, manager, and tow truck driver as well. 


I understand you are a busy person and that the demands of your occupation can sometimes be stressful and more demanding than the occupation of normal citizens. With that said, I want to let everyone on here know that no one has the right to treat others like the way, I believe, I was treated by you. I don't know how you are still in business seeing as you are so negligent and careless about your actions with just my case alone and how they reflect on your character, or more accurately perhaps, lack there of.

I spoke with you while you switched roles from the receptionist, to manager, to owner, to tow truck driver that delivered my car back to me only take back off with it because you didn't want to give me time to speak with the officer handling the issue you put me through. The reimbursement check you had promised Houston Police Auto Dealer Unit that you would give me you never brought it with you. Over the phone, I specifically requested that you bring me a signed document/receipt instead because your were acting shady about bringing the reimbursement check. You repeatedly refused, saying your "accounting" dept would take care of it. Let me guess, the accountant's name probably begins with a C and ends with an R? 

Also, the whole "YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS! I MAIL YOU THE CHECK, OR YOU GET NO CHECK!" I have that recorded along with when you said "I'm going to let you speak, but all I'm going to say is thank you, sir. and then I'm hanging up." I have it all Mr. Hoffmeister.

Its ironic because I saw the Youtube video of you mentioning your fancy video cameras in your trucks with local Houston News reporter regarding a shooting involving a disgruntled vehicle owner and one of your drivers. If your employees are getting shot at with their lives on the line, do you not think that maybe you owe it to them and to yourself to practice according to your license? Don't you think that events like that should inspire you be a bit more respectful and mindful of the nature of your business?

You know what, bring the recording of your fancy video cameras to the JPP. Or better yet, post a rebuttal with a link of the video to prove me wrong. Maybe when we go to court, you should try and see if there is any way for you to cut the audio out at "convenient" times or better yet, maybe it can get "lost." After my experience dealing with your lowly shadiness, I wouldn't put it past you. Don't worry, everyone including the judge will understand if the Redlight Wreckers' "Filming department" employee maybe with the name of  "Christopher Hoffmeister" happens to misplace them. However, in the case the tape makes it to court, Maybe the judge can watch me plead for my car to not be towed. Who knows, maybe she'll think its a personal problem like you did. 

We worked out a deal for you deliver my car back free of charge since your company clearly violated the TDLR code which will now result in me filing a complaint not only with TDLR, but with the Justice of the Peace Courts tow hearing. I don't understand why you brought my car back pretending like I was going to believe you about you "delivering" me the check. I helped you out BIG TIME by LETTING you deliver my car back after all the shady nonsense you put me through from 11:30 p.m well into the afternoon the next day.

Your lies were so obvious and pointless that I was thoroughly disgusted. How and why would a person that owns a company represents themselves in such a way is beyond my comprehension. But complaining that the "car was locked" and all your other sorry excuses to play games with my time, expensive mistake. I'm looking forward to sharing that with the judge...I got it on tape when you said "I don't have trucks right now, I offered for one of our tow trucks to pick you up and take you to the lot, you refused. You would have made things a h*!! of a lot easier for yourself if you would have just done that instead...." I got that too. And by the way...if a tow truck can pick me up, that means you have an available tow truck. Common sense. 

Unlike you however, I am a decent person. I don't believe in embarrassing people or getting satisfaction and joy from knowingly hurting others in any way. So you can rest assured, I'm not going to the local news that handled the shooting case for your driver, or to Youtube or to anyone. The recordings are for the sole purpose of documenting your systematic lies to the authorities. 

I could have left the car there and let the fees stack up. In which case, have been awarded a hefty compensation way beyond what I was charged at your cost because your company performed a wrongful tow akin to theft almost. However, I just wanted my car and my cab fees back from you seeing as you were COMPLETELY LIABLE.

I had to get the Houston Auto Dealer Unit involved for me to get my car back from you. And even then, you continued to blatantly lie. You were rude, unprofessional, and judging by your actions concerning my tow experience, unfit to run legitimate business. I'm really glad I recorded everything. 

The whole putting me on hold game, I got it on tape. The whole deal man, all of your lies. The whole time dealing with you, you did nothing but try to get me to lose my temper and composure. I'm sorry you did not get that satisfaction, but at least I can help you get in touch with your friends over at TDLR. It seems you've been fined $6,000 since 2011 by them for performing issues similar to mine. So before you go marching around throwing temper tantrums and driving off with people's cars that your company had no right to tow in the first place, know that there are consequences.

If you were a man of your word, and delivered my vehicle on time and brought me the check or even a receipt for the check to cover my cab fees, maybe you wouldn't have inspired me to be so creative into how to deal with a person like you. Those were my conditions and I have it recorded as well in case your memory happens to fail you, because memory seems to be selective in certain instances. 

You played little games with me all night into the morning and well into the afternoon, but couldn't wait less than 5 minutes for me to call the HOUSTON POLICE AUTO DEALER OFFICER back to ask him if I should sign. After you blatantly lied to the officer over the phone, about me not having my receipts? You couldn't wait FIVE minutes? I warned you that I wasn't stupid Mr. Hoffmeister. At least now I can thank you for me now knowing the Texas Dept Of Licenses Policies regarding towing forwards and backwards. It took me one night, its actually quite straightforward, and specific. I recommend reading it to refresh your memory. 

The literature regarding the "Drop fee," is probably what your going to want to search for. It will describe ONE of the main violations of your company that night clearly for you.  

I just wanted to be reimbursed for all the trouble you caused me, and only asking for my cab fair was WAY MORE than fair, and I only did that because I was disgusted with your compulsive lying. Thanks to your little misdirected outbursts of anger after you lied to the officer on the phone on your return trip by the leasing office, I am now on involuntary unpaid leave at work for the rest of the week, and I missed my classes today.

That means I'm not going to get paid for the rest of the week, nor did I get to benefit from classes that I PAID FOR. And don't even think about mailing the check now, you have got bigger problems headed your way now Mr. Hoffmeister. When you slipped up and revealed your lie saying "There is no check!" and then quickly corrected yourself. I have that recorded too.  

You treated me like trash, when I did nothing but show you respect and manners. See you in court. I'll bring my evidence and my facts. You can bring your lies, but wouldn't bother because I've already got them recorded for your convenience. 

Oh, and one more thing, I'm sorry thinking you of took my license with you when you took off after your temper tantrum. I know you made copies at the leasing office before your temper tantrum and I thought you had it because I no longer had my license when you left because of your temper tantrum. Luckily I found the License on the side of the drivers seat when I picked up my car after you dropped it back off at storage. Again, after your temper tantrum.

I don't know how it made its way into the car, but I'm sorry. I guess that was a freak accident. Also, If you look through your caller ID its the 214 number. Maybe we can work something out. If not, I have no issues with TDLR and JPP dealing with my legitimate complaint. I'm doing that to be nice to you and to offer you some sort of break that you never offered me. I know you don't understand kindness and see it as a weakness, but that is neither here nor there. If you you are going to call me acting the way you have been, don't bother I'll see you in court.

Email: [email protected] for questions, comments, recommendations.

When dealing with these people, I recommend nothing less than phone conversation recordings and video recordings. This guy has more faces than a rubix cube. PLEASE BEWARE!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

If you feel that your vehicle was illegally towed, you should have filed for a Tow Hearing with the Justice of the Peace courts. http://www.jp.hctx.net They might have been able to help you. And if the hearing ends up in your favor, the towing company has to pay or they will lose their license with the City of Houston.

Ok, first of all you never have spoke to me over the phone. I dont have anything to do with answering the number thats at the sign at Villages. Now, let me go over this slowly with you step by step. Here's what you should do: 1. Find the sticker on your windshield, (The Villages of Meyerland parking sticker). not the others, these are referred to as the inspection sticker & registration sticker. 2. Now, on the Villages of Meyerland sticker there will be a box. In this box should be a number. Write it down and make a mental note of it. 3. Now that you have the number written down go and look at the spot where your car is. 4. Compare the number you copied down on the piece of paper and the mental note you took to the number on the support beam of the covered parking. (The number is in white paint if you can't find it). 5. Now, here's the difficult part, you have to make a decision at this point. ok, here we go..... A. If the number is the same, then congratulations! you're in your assigned spot. B. If the number is not the same, locate the spot that matches what your sticker says and then move your vehicle into that location. Now that we've covered all that (I know it was a difficult concept) Im sure next time you wont have to be worried about being towed. As far as your accusations about lying you have to understand, your car is one of many we tow from many complexes, just because we dont have every single detail for every single tow noted in our minds does not mean we're lying. If you're saying that spot was/is vacant, it doesn't matter. You have to be in your exact assigned spot. PERIOD. On a final note, please do not make accusations or speak as if you know how this business is run ok. Anyone who knows anything about towing will see through you and is probably laughing at your post. It makes you look ignorant. Just 2 points I want to cover here right off the top of my head. 1. We received more than $20 for the tow? Are you serious? What do you think it costs to operate a wrecker? The fees are regulated by the city and the state. So if you have a problem with what you had to pay take it up with them. 2. You listed the storage lot as part of this "scam". They have nothing to do with the towing and have no idea why cars are towed. They are simply a licensed place to store cars until you come and pick them up. Now that we have covered all these issues, feel free to print my directions for verifying that you are in the correct spot. For whatever reason you have a sense of entitlement you are not special and have to follow the rules for parking just the same as any other resident.

You are still lying; where I was is a vacant spot and is not assigned to anyone. Therefore, it was impossible for anyone to call and state that I was illegally parked in their spot. Second of all, we were told that in order for us to continue to have covered parking we have to visibly show The Villages of Meyerland stickers on our windshields. Anyone else will have to park either in the front or side of the buildings. (Why don't you get your stories straight before trying to do a rebuttal). It's ironic now that you're even talking parking stickers because when I originally talk to you over the phone you stated to me that you knew nothing about parking sticker and that you only tow away cars that are illegally parked. (Go figure) As far as enforcing as much as you can, is a bunch of crock. You and I both know if you start towing cars that does not have parking stickers on their windshield you and the management office will be dealing with a lot of angry residents. Like I said to you and Kim, Whatever!!! You guys are all working together, its nothing but a scam, and I know you received more than twenty dollars from that tow. It was the luck of the draw and I was a sucker that night; however you and your crew ill not get another dime from me.

Im not going to write a long statement on here. I think anyone on here reading your entire statement will know that you were in the wrong (you even admit it). You admitted to not being in your assigned spot and were towed because someone called about it. Period. End of story. These are all admissions you made in your statement. As you stated its true that we only tow from spaces if the correct owner calls us out, you decided not to call and instead parked in someone else's location and were towed because of that. We DONT tow for simply not having a permit because the legal tenet of that spot is allowed to allow a guest to park there without a sticker for instance. Just because a car does not have a sticker does not mean its parked there illegally. In closing, your essentially mad because you think it should be enforced 100% with no exceptions. We enforce it as much as we can. You ever get stopped for speeding and while the cop is writing you a ticket you see other people speeding by? Well, sometimes its the luck of the draw. My advice to you is to call next time someone is in your spot and not to take someone else's and I can guarantee you wont be in the same situation again.