I recently had to request a tow through AAA due to an issue with my car not starting and they sent Big Hill Towing to take care of my tow. We were notified that the driver was finishing another service call in the Lexington area and would be to my work where my car was within 45 minutes or so. The driver arrived and began. With where my car was parked he needed to get the car backed out of the spot to load it from the front onto his truck. However, when he went to position the car into neutral, he was unable to do so. After several attempts, he began using his phone to find videos on YouTube for alternative ways to get the car gear into neutral and found that on my vehicle it could be accessed through the cup holder next to the gear shift. He first attempted to access with his hands, but when he couldn't he proceeded to use his pocket knife to release. After several attempts and tries of jamming his knife in there he was able to get the car into neutral. This is where the problem occurred. Prior to getting the car into neutral we were able to successfully remove my key from the ignition in each of our attempts to either try and start the car or see if we could position the car into neutral. When he finally got the car into neutral and loaded so we could follow him to the auto shop we were dropping my car off at, the key could not be removed from the ignition. He was in his truck so I notified him and he attempted a few times as well with no success. We decided to go ahead and take the car to the shop and try again. When he unloaded the car off the truck he attempted again and still could not release the key and stated he didn't know why. The dealership was already closed and I'd talk to the manager earlier letting them know I'd be dropping it off, but at the time we did not know of the key issue. I let him know I'd call them the next morning about the key. He stated he needed to leave to head to another appointment and I told him there were a couple of things from my car I needed to get out and put in my wife's car to take home. The next morning the auto shop called and notified me of the issue with my car not starting and said they'd be able to easily repair that, but they were still trying to figure out why the key wouldn't release and would get back to me. A little later the manager called me and referenced the area near the gear shift and asked what he did again. After telling him, he notified me that my gear shifter column had been stripped and that's why the key wouldn't release. He told me he could show me how I'd be able to drive the car and override to release the key, but said wires would be exposed in my cup holder. He stated we should file a claim with AAA and provided me an estimate to give them for the repair cost which was over $600. We filed the claim and submitted photos and the estimate that day to AAA. It took over a week for AAA to finally get a response from Big Hill Towing where they stated they were not responsible for the damage and not paying the claim. AAA stated we could attempt to call them directly, but if nothing was worked out we'd have to pay ourselves. I called that day asking for the manager and after talking with her she stated I'd need to talk to the owner Shawn and she'd give him my number. She said he'd be in around 1. He never called so I called around 4 that afternoon and was again told he was unavailable. I called again around 7 and no answer. I called multiple times the following day and got the same responses from the lady. That evening I submitted a message on their website asking for a call which didn't happen. On Wednesday I called and asked for an email address and after sending my email received a message it was not valid. I called that evening and you'll never believe it, but he wasn't available. Terrible way to operate a company. If this company shows up for your tow service I'd suggest you immediately send them away and call a different company so your not paying for additional unwanted repairs. read more
