On Sept 18, 2017 I parked in a spot that was reserved for a well-known charity on Staten Island without realizing that they were renting the abandoned property for their own employees. I was wrong. I apologized to them.
However the two truck company who is contracted by the landlord of the property that the charitable organization rents from, is ABUSING their privileged contract and treating tows as their own personal candy store. That is why I am contacting you.
I SHOULD have paid $136.09, inc. tax, for the tow and impound (which lasted all of 30 minutes for the impound). However it wound up costing me over $1,500.00 for this tow.
Here is what happened: when I went down there on Sept 18 to pickup my car, I was told by RYAN, the owner, it would cost $136.09 and when I handed over my credit card, they told me that they could not give me a credit card receipt, because their paper was out on the printer. I said, no problem, I trust you. BIG MISTAKE.
They did not ask me to sign for the charge, as there was no paper. The next morning, my Chase Visa debit card showed a charge for FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS and multiple $34.00 overdraft charges for the small purchases I had going through my account from the night before. I normally keep very little in my checking account over and above what I have spent in checks anddebit card purchases. He overdrew my account by $363, causing havoc with my account. I have made multiple deposits since then in an effort to bring my account positive, but the $34 charges keep outstripping my ability to bring it positive.
When I confronted the owner of Ultimate Collision Towing at 2089 Richmond Terrrace, Staten Island NY 10302, Ryan is the owner, he told me he made a “mistake.” Their business tel. # is 718-447-7500 and his personal cell tel. # is 917-494-4636. I told him, you know what, $163 instead of $136, that is an innocent mistake. 500.00 punched in instead of 136.09, that is THEFT, FRAUD. He proceeded to apologize and told me he “does not know how to work his credit card terminal” and gave me a credit receipt for $363.91 for the difference. After I left I noticed it said OFFLINE on the receipt, so he scammed me AGAIN. He told me not to worry, it would show up and it still has not, 21 days later.
When I asked Chase to credit me back the $1000 plus in overdraft charges, they told me they were not responsible, the tow company was, but as a courtesy they would refund 6 of the $34 charges, if I got a letter from the tow company admitting they charged me the wrong amount, which I did, on their letterhead and signed.
When I called the two company again this past Friday, they slammed the phone down on me and will not take my calls.
I am now out over $1,500 for what should have been a $136.09 tow. Was I guilty of parking in the wrong spot, YES, and I apologized to the charity. Should I be abused like this, absolutely not. I should have been able to pay the $136.09 tow fine and have been done with it. These guys with these impound contracts have a license to print money, They get double and triple what they would normally get for a tow, but this guy has taken it to the extreme.
What made it even more hurtful, was when I went back for the letter, he pretended to to a 3-way call with the bank and they said “yes, you processed the refund and we don’t know why the customer does not have it.” It was a fake call and he must have had one of his friends stand in to do it. Then for further insult, I was begging him for my refund that day, and he refused to give me a check or cash, but did open up his wallet for his employee, who was complaining that a vendor wanted their $30 now for a part the business had bought and he opened his wallet, to reveal a thick wad of $100 bills and he peeled one off and gave it to his employee, “here, no big deal, take this” Meanwhile, I am left standing there like a jerk with the fake OFFLINE credit (which he later deleted).
Beware of dealing with this company. There are a lot of choices for tow truck companies on Staten Island. This should not be one of your choices.