Complaints

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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2023

  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.

  My son is a freshman at ******** and was visiting a friend last night that lives in freshman housing at the quarters apartment complex. Marquis towing has a signed contract with this apartment complex. There are visible signs saying that if you dont live at the quarters, you could potentially be towed with $150 towing fee. My son was in the wrong and didnt realize that he needed to have a visitors pass in his car and his car was towed on a Monday night when trying to get his car back he was quoted that it would cost $375 to get the car back, I called the towing company to verify this and they told me that this was the average rate of towing in ******, ***********, and that I could pay over the phone with a credit card and send them a picture of my drivers license because my son had no way to pay the towing fee because his bank card had been stolen and he was waiting for a new one to arrive. I told Marquis towing that I needed to verify this was OK with my husband first. This, of course had me curious to know if this was actually the going rate for towing fees, so I called ******* towing, ******** towing and university police department and they all said the average towing is $200 possibly going up to $250 if it was a difficult tow say in a parking garage in a tight space and took a long time. I tried calling the office of the quarters apartment complex and spoke with somebody that said she was a manager and she said shes received several complaints from other parents about Marquis towing. I was also told when I called ******** towing and ******* towing that they constantly hear complaints about Marquis towing as well. I feel that Marquis towing is taking advantage of the university students and parents and charging double.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

   We are a towing and road side assistance company in the **********. area. Family owned and operated for over 50 years, we are the oldest towing company in ******, **. We are a service provider for several motor clubs including AAA, which require its providers to maintain high customer satisfaction ratings and service levels. Also a part of our business is helping private properties that have issues with parking lot management. 

    The apartment complex in question is gated, has signs posted at every entrance advising parking permits are required and violators will be towed at owners expense. Each resident also has in their lease their visitors must have a pass or park in the VISITORS parking lot located outside the fenced in area. This is to avoid actual residents not having a parking spot convenient to their residence or not having a spot at all. We have worked with this property for several years maintaining their lot. There are no signs with posted towing fees on said property. 

   The complainant admits her son was improperly parked. The price charged is in line with our rates for removals from private property. We routinely research our competitors and find they charge similar prices for this type of tow. What our competition may or may not have said to complainant over the phone has no bearing on this situation. Whether we are a higher or lower on pricing, we set our fees based on our cost and risk. These fees were totally avoidable by observing the posted parking rules. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. My point is that the towing company is running a scam. They're charging higher than normal fees and taking advantage of people.

  Regards,

  ***************************

   

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2023

  The ******************* is a gated complex with signs posted at every entrance that you must have a permit to park inside the gates. The complex offers a visitor lot that is available to visitors 24 hours a day. Residents and guest must have a pass, properly displayed when parking inside the gates. This is in agreement with the apartment complex to make sure residents have parking available and all fire lanes clear and handicap spaces are available for those in need. The ************************ has not contacted us with any legitimate complaints of improper towing from this complex. We will be in contact with OPD about their alleged comments to ****************************