My company, Towing Company, received both a faxed and e-mailed request to remove an illegally parked vehicle from Sterling Cove Condominiums on Bonita Pkwy., in Hendersonville, on 5-30-2006. The (signed) authorization came directly from Property Management Company, which is the property management company for the condominiums. We were told that the vehicle was parked on the grass, which violated the condominiums rules, and that the vehicle had been 'stickered' with a notice to move, or it would be towed. The vehicle was not moved by the owner, even after the notice was given.

To my knowledge, "Resident of Sumner County' did not place a call to our office until June 7th. We did receive a call from a male sometime during the prior weekend, (June 3rd or 4th), and we informed him that our office was closed, that we did not have access to the charges for the vehicle at that time, and that he would need to call back sometime Monday morning. We ONLY release impounded vehicles during the hours of 9:00am - 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The next phone call we received was from a female on June 7th, who was extremely irate. She was yelling, cursing, and making threats of lawsuits, complaints, etc. My husband informed her several times that she needed to calm down, and that he couldn't talk to her if she was going to be so rude and angry. She made reference to the fact that she was upset with the property management company, because the vehicle should not have been towed. My husband tried to explain that we are contracted to tow for them, whenever written authorization is given to us, such as in her case. She said that she had tried to call several times, and that she had already spoken to someone about the vehicle, who said they would call her back. My husband informed her that was not true, because all three employees were in the office at the time of her call. None of us had ever spoken to her prior to that time. She became even more irate, accused us of being thieves and scam artists, and accused us of lying in order to charge her more storage. My husband informed her that none of the things she said, or threatened were going to lower her bill. He informed her that she should have contacted us right after it was towed. She stated that she did not even know who had towed the vehicle. He attempted to explain to her that we had no control over that, it was between her and the property management company. He continually attempted to diffuse the situation, and asked her to calm down repeatedly. She continued to yell, until she hung up on my husband. As there were two other people in the office, including myself, we would emphatically deny that he ever used "disrespectful dialogue" with Sumner County Resident. In fact, it was the other way around. The next phone call was several days later, and again, was a male. He was much more civil, and asked for the charges - which we provided once again. We have not received another phone call from any individual about this vehicle. I would also emphatically deny that a message was ever left on our "answering machine".

We make every effort to provide extremely good customer service, and to cater to our customers' needs and requests, even when their vehicles have been impounded. My husband generally goes out of his way to be courteous to all customers, even when they are not courteous to us. It was impossible to have a rational discussion with Sumner County Resident, because she was yelling the entire time. Even so, the only thing my husband ever said to her in a raised tone (so that she could hear him over her own yelling), was that she needed to calm down, and that he didn't appreciate her threats and cursing. My husband is an extremely easy going, calm, rational individual.

The charge for towing the impounded vehicle was $125.00. This is not an unreasonable charge for towing an impounded vehicle that is located on grass, and for which we have no keys. Our storage charges are $20.00 per day, plus TN state sales tax. The charges for this vehicle through today, Monday June 26, 2006 are $736.80. ($125.00 impound, 28 days storage $560.00, and tax $51.80.) As you can see, the bulk of the charges are for storage because the vehicle has been left on our lot for so long. In fact, on June 7th, the charges for the vehicle were $321.65. As you can see, it does not take long for the storage charges to add up. If the vehicle had been picked up within a day or two after it was towed, her charges would have been substantially lower.

It is true that we have no concern for "negotiation", and when being yelled at, threatened and cursed, we have no concern for what the person has to say. However, the other two conversations were much more pleasant, and we had no problem speaking to the male callers. As for negotiation, our charges are what they are, which is the same for everyone. A person cannot walk into Wal-Mart and negotiate prices, you cannot negotiate prices at a gas station, and our business is no different. We pay for our lot, we pay for garage keeper's insurance to cover the vehicles on our lot, we pay for our trucks, the insurance on our trucks, and we pay our drivers. The charges are not negotiable for anyone, which makes it fair across the board. If we negotiated her charges, then anyone and everyone would feel entitled, and we would go out of business. People that had already redeemed their vehicles could complain that they were charged more than Sumner County Resident, and therefore we were discriminating in some way. If we were to lower the charges for Sumner County Resident simply because of this complaint, anyone that read the complaint online would also complain, so that their charges would be lowered as well. Our charges are fixed charges, and thousands of people have paid those same prices, and have not made formal complaints to any agency such as yours. The charges are valid, and must be paid before the vehicle can be redeemed.

We do not want Sumner County Resident's vehicle, we are not attempting to hold the vehicle so that we can charge her more storage, and we have not treated her unfairly in any way. I think it is deplorable that someone would file a complaint against a company, in an attempt to bully them in some way, into lowering their prices or charges. We were not the ones that parked the vehicle where it was not supposed to be parked, and we are not the ones that signed the order to have it removed. We were simply doing our job, and what we are contracted to do. The vehicle has been left at our lot, has taken up one of our spaces - which are limited - and we have not heard from Sumner County Resident since June 7th. The charges are valid, they will stand, and must be paid in full before the vehicle can be redeemed. Sumner County Resident's complaint letter states that her and her 17-year-old son apologize, and make reference to his "mistake". We were told that he is the one that parked the vehicle improperly, so I assume this is what she was referencing. If so, it is an admission that the vehicle was parked improperly, which was the reason for the tow. We removed the vehicle per the property management company's request, and the charges for such are completely valid, and not inflated in any way. We do understand that the vehicle was not an "abandoned vehicle", however it was towed and impounded for being improperly parked. It was a parking violation impound.

Since Sumner County Resident does not feel comfortable speaking with us directly, I would like to make her aware of normal procedures for unclaimed vehicles. We will hold the vehicle for sixty (60) days, and after thirty (30) days, we will begin the procedures in order to comply with all of the state's requirements for selling an unclaimed / abandoned vehicle. After thirty (30) days, an administrative fee is added to the bill, for paperwork, newspaper ad, certified mail, etc. At the end of sixty (60) days, the vehicle will be sold. The storage charges will continue to accrue until the vehicle is sold. It would be in Sumner County Resident's best interests to claim her vehicle as soon as possible, in order to avoid the additional charges. She can then proceed with her claim / complaint against the property management company.