On Thursday, 11/17, my husband's car broke down. He called Todd's Towing to tow the vehicle to my co-worker's shop for diagnosis. The keys were left in the vehicle and my husband did not wait for the driver to arrive.
When Todd's Towing driver dropped the car off at the shop later that night, the vehicle somehow came unhooked from the truck and rolled off the tow truck into the shop wall/door, smashing the tail light on the vehicle and damaging the building. The tow truck driver spoke to my coworker's tenant, advising him that there had been "an incident" with the drop-off, and that he had left one of Todd's Towing business cards on the vehicle. He advised the tenant to have someone contact Todd's Towing the next morning.
The next day when the initial damage was observed, both myself and my coworker contacted Todd's Towing. We both spoke directly with Todd himself who assured us that he would take care of the damage to the building. He was less inclined to take care of the damage to my vehicle; I accepted this as the vehicle body is in terrible shape anyway. (In retrospect, however, I do believe he should have been responsible for the additional damage done to my vehicle - IMO, no matter what shape a vehicle is in, the towing company should deliver it in the same condition as it was when it was picked up.)
Todd arranged for a contractor to come to my coworker's property to assess the damage. When the contractor arrived, an inspection was done, at which time it was noted that in addition to the dents in the door/wall, the corner of the building had actually been knocked off from the footer, causing structural damage to the integrity of the building itself.
Since that time, Todd's Towing refuses to address anything other than the aesthetic damages (dents) to the building. A second contractor (of my coworker's choosing, this time) was contacted for an estimate, and both estimates were presented to Todd at Todd's Towing.
As of today's date, 12/12/16, Todd's Towing has still refused to address the situation in a manner satisfactory to both parties. As per the instruction of my coworker's legal counsel, he is obtaining further estimates such that if continued legal action becomes necessary, there will be clear and unbiased documentation for presentation to the court.
I personally have not pursued recompense for the damage done to the vehicle. The vehicle itself is not mechanically repairable and I do not plan to sell it - for this reason it becomes unnecessary to repair the damaged tail light. However, I do feel that it is the responsibility of the towing company to repair the damage done to the shop building by the tow driver in the employ of Todd's Towing - or to submit the issue to the tow shop's insurance agency for compensation. There is no reason that my coworker should have to bear any financial responsibility for the damages, nor should he have to absorb an increased insurance premium due to having to file with his own homeowners' insurance.
In conclusion, this problem was 100% created by Todd's Towing and their designated representative/driver, and the onus is 100% on them to correct the situation and provide for the compensatory damages. It is still my hope that Todd's Towing will change course and address the situation in an ethical business manner.
This review/complaint has also been filed with the Better Business Bureau and will be updated at such a time as the issue is resolved/addressed. read more