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Business Profile

Towing Company

Loyalist City Towing Ltd

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 1 complaint in the last 3 years.
  • 0 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/09/2023

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I had my car parked in a parking lot shared by multiple busnisses. There are multiple spaces in this parking lot that have "no parking/reserved/towing" signs in EACH individual space indicating which business it is for and then other spaces with no signage that anyone can park in. I parked close to one specific business that had "no parking/towing" signs on the building itself, not in any spaces. To me this means no parking in the spaces adjacent to the building. There was 2 or 3 spaces between where I parked and this building. When I called Loyalist and mentioned this, they said I need to dispute that with the business that called them. Why would I dispute it with the business that called them? Loyalist is the tow company and if there is inadequate signage, then they should refuse to tow the vehicle and tell the other company to get better signage moving forward. I was forced to pay $224.25 to get my vehicle back, for a tow of only 2-3 km's which seems excessive. I don't feel that I should have had to pay anything as my vehicle should not have been touched and I would like a refund.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/09/2023

    WE HAVE BEEN DOING TOW AWAYS FOR THIS DOCTORS OFFICE FOR MANY YEARS ATTACHED IS PICTURES OF SIGNS AT HIS OFFICE THAT THERE IS NO PARKING . THIS IS HIS LAST RESORT IS TO DO TOW AWAYS BUT HE ONLY HAS A FEW SPOTS FOR HIS PATIENTS.SORRY WE TOWED HIS VEHICLE BUT WE WERE ASK TO TOW HIM FOR THEIR OFFFICE AND THAT WAS WHAT WE DONE .

    Customer Answer

    Date: 18/09/2023

     I am rejecting this response because:


    What was stated in my initial complaint. I attached pictures showing the unclear signage on the doctor's office. Zero indication as to which spots these signs refer to, so I made a reasonable assumption that they referred to the spots adjacent to the building. I attached other pictures showing signage that other companies have in this same parking lot. Just because they have been towing people out of there for years, does not make it right. It just means they have been engaging in predatory towing practices for years.

    Business Response

    Date: 18/09/2023

    I am ****** ******, owner and president of Loyalist City Towing (2012) Ltd.  I am writing to you today in response to a complaint filed against me (ID # 20566214) dated September 6, 2023.  

    As the name denotes, I run a towing business in the Saint John and surrounding area.  My business has been serving this area for almost 50 years.  We provide everything from light duty to super heavy duty service with over 20 units and 15 employees.  We always try to do our work with a high degree of professionalism.  We take pride in doing a good job and providing an essential service to everyone in the area.

    One of the many services we provide is the removal of abandoned or illegally parked vehicles.  These vehicles may be parked on city streets or in private lots.  The process in the former involves city police or parking commission and results in a vehicle being seized and impounded.  The process in the latter (i.e., private lots) involves a few steps:  First, the owner must authorize Loyalist City Towing to do this service; second, they must provide the names of authorized people to 'make the call'; third,  they must clearly identify the parking area and post signage; and fourth, they must agree to pay the towing fee if the vehicle goes unclaimed.  The lot owner does not incur a storage fee.  Storage revenue would be my loss in this case.

    The area from where this particular consumers vehicle was removed belongs to a medical practitioner located at 416 Rothesay Avenue in Saint John.  This practice is located in a large multi-unit complex within a large general parking lot.  This practice, however, is a separate building and is located in a far corner of the lot.  Behind his building he has cordoned off nine parking spaces (including two handicap spaces) for his staff and patients.  To do this he has had three 3500 pound jersey barriers hoisted into place to separate this section from the rest of the lot.  These jersey barriers, combined with a curb on one side and the building on another side separate this area from the rest of the lot.  He has also posted signage to clearly alert people that this section is private.  A 'NO PARKING' sign as well as a 'TOW AWAY ZONE' sign (provided by me, with my company name and phone number) is clearly visible.

    The complaint by this consumer that each individual space should be marked seems to be unreasonable and unnecessary.  As you can see from the attached photos, the way the spaces are cordoned off clearly identifies the private parking area.  We have been towing away from this doctors lot for almost 10 years and have had no other such complaints. The majority of offenders realize that they were not supposed to park where they did, and claim they were just there for a minute.  He has, in my mind, taken sufficient steps to make it abundantly clear which area was to be 'NO PARKING' and a 'TOW AWAY ZONE'.,

    In his own complaint, this consumer has stated that he had parked "close to one business that had 'NO PARKING/TOWING' signs on the building".  [This consumers vehicle is the Kia Forte seen in one of the attached photos.  To his right is another car and directly beside it are the three jersey barriers.  There are two empty spaces to his right, then my customers building, also visible in the attached photos.]  When this consumer called my office, he was told that he had been parked in a NO PARKING area and that was the reason for his vehicle being removed.  An agreement was in place and the consumer was advised to file any complaint with the owner of the lot he chose to park in.  

    My company spends some time with each of these customers beforehand to ensure signage is placed in proper areas to eliminate as much confusion as possible.

    To address this consumers complaint about an excessive charge for a 2-3 kilometer tow:  There are many factors involved in the equation to come up with pricing for my services.  Prices vary for each service and are directly related to the difficulty involved in performing the service.  These services include anything from a simple service call to a very involved recovery situation.  The price of diesel fuel, insurance, registering commercial vehicles, inspecting said vehicles each year, drivers wages, workers compensation, preventative maintenance, and oversize permits are just a few.  Many factors affect the price of service and a companies ability to remain profitable.  

    Tow away calls are $150.00 within city limits due to the fact that very rarely do we have keys available, which makes the job of loading/unloading even more difficult.  As soon as any vehicle lands at my yard, it incurs the first day storage, which continues at $45.00/day.  There are no other fees tacked onto this invoice (i.e., gate fee, etc.).  This is not excessive and if you were to ask my competitors, I'm sure you would find this to be true.

    To address this consumers final statement that he feels his vehicle "should not have been touched [and he] would like a refund".  Is this consumer telling us that his/her need to occupy that parking space is more important than one of the staff or patients of my customers office?  Even if he/she feels like they should be allowed to park where they wish, my customer went through every step within reason to ensure spaces where available for his needs.

    The Tow Away service I provide, although important and necessary, often paints a tow company as the 'bad guy'.  We are providing a service to one person while often upsetting another (potential, or future customer).  There are times where improper or even non-existent signage is the culprit, but I do not feel that is the case here.  Other times someone has acquired authorization to park somewhere but failed to display a valid permit, also not the case here.  The parking lot in this case was clearly marked (without the need for each individual space to be marked as well) by my customer who then had every right to have this consumers vehicle removed.  No refund will be issued in this case.

    I feel the Better Business Bureau is an important entity and should be available to consumers such as this one to file legitimate complaints against malicious businesses.  I do hope my response clarifies this situation.  

    Thank you,
    Sincerely,
    ****** ******
    Loyalist City Towing (2012) Ltd
    341 Ashburn Road
    Saint John, NB E2K 5J5

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