I had my car towed about three weeks ago with Boulevard. Making the appointment and the tow itself were perfect (well, except for now showing up within an hour as promised). Everything since then exposes this business for practices that are shady at best but possibly criminal. Sorry for the long length of this, but I felt the details were important.
After having my car towed on a Thursday, I called Boulevard the following Monday to ask why I was overcharged. They had said there their towing fee was $75, they charge a $5 credit card processing fee, and it's $4 per mile. They said they'd e-mail me an invoice, which they never did. It was only after the credit card charge, however, that I learned they tacked on a $35 additional fee because my car was pulled into a parking spot. The owner (Deborah) was upset that I might want a refund for that $35, saying she'd have to take that money back from the driver, who turned out to be her son. She also went on a rant about someone complaining about being overcharged just the day before. Pattern, perhaps? She explained the extra charge had to do with not having enough vertical clearance. I said that's funny because I physically measured the clearance prior to booking the tow because according to her employee, supposedly no towing company can move a car with less than a seven foot clearance. After some more discussion, Deborah said she'd refund me the money, and she'd be in touch when she got the receipt back (more on this later).
Minutes later, her son, the tow truck driver, called me to explain the charge differently. He said instead that "most" drivers would have pulled my front-wheel drive car from the rear, destroying the transmission. He, however, was being a nice guy and pulled my car out of the space first. Doing that costs $35 extra, though. I find it odd that this might actually be a regular occurrence, but this was my first towing experience, so I guess now I know.
When I mentioned to Deborah that Christine, the employee who took my order, had not told me about the fee, Deborah let me know that if I wanted to not be charged more than I was quoted, I should have said, "I will not pay more than the quoted amount." Yeah, because that's how contracts work. Deborah also let me know that she would have told a customer additional charges could be incurred. (Christine later told me this wasn't said because she was listening, and she accused me of being patronizing. I don't think she knows what the word means. Christine also said $35 wasn't a lot of money and felt I was only complaining to prove a point. Perhaps you know me very well, Christine. Perhaps.)
After Deborah had her son call me to beg me not to ask for the refund of $35, she assumed it was done, despite her having promised to call me back. (Note: She said in an email, "I am sure my son did not beg you," but he explained no less than 3 times that his mother would require him to pay her back the $35 if I moved forward, which seems like begging to me.) I called her back the next day, and she said she needed the receipt that was left in my car. Unfortunately no receipt was left in my car according to the auto shop, and she said she couldn't issue a refund having multiple receipts roaming around. I guess that means something. On 5/6/17, she said in an email, among other things, "I will return your money." She called me the following Monday and left a voicemail. I almost immediately returned her call, but she was gone for the day. For the next four days, I also attempted to call back each day, and she was always out of the office. We're now three days into the following week, and I haven't heard from her despite assurances from multiple members of her staff that she'd call me.
This company is a full-blown scam, and when it's pointed out, they put up multiple roadblocks to returning your money. Luckily my credit card company gave me the money back, but you might not be so lucky. Please do yourself a favor and do not use them. read more