Never do business with this company. If you're calling AAA, request an alternative towing service. If they don't have one, document every word the driver says about what you, or your insurance company, owes to them. Make the driver sign what you've written on the receipt that he hands you.
Vinny, my tow truck driver, encouraged my wife and I to have him tow our wrecked car to the Civic Center Towing impound lot, since it was a Saturday and our body shop wasn't open. He claimed that there would be no charge to us and that it was standard practice for auto insurance companies to pay for such things. We took his advice.
When I went to retrieve my car at the impound lot at 1880 Garden Tract Road in Richmond, CA, Vinny's manager, a tall white gentleman in his 40's with a mustache, informed me that I owed him more than $500 in order to retrieve the car. He said that my insurance company would reimburse me when I presented them with the receipt. I refused.
As this happened, my wife called our insurance company, Allied. Their claims adjuster assured her that we would be charged nothing and that they would investigate the fraud and extortion perpetrated by Civic Center Towing. As of today, the following Monday at 4:00 PM, the matter remains unresolved.
I repeat:
Never do business with this company. If you're calling AAA, request an alternative towing service. If they don't have one, document every word the driver says about what you, or your insurance company, owes to them. Make the driver sign what you've written on the receipt that he hands you.
Documentation available upon request via Allied Insurance. Additional details available via spisani@runbox dot com
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