Complain about a product or service

Dominion Towing

Lorton VA

Jim of Alexandria, VA, writes (5/2/01):
My car was towed from Heritage Mall parking lot on Sat. the 28th of April. The 3 signs posted at the entrance and exit of the parking lot read, "2 hr. customer parking only," "No overnight parking, By permit only, Towing after midnight."

I arrived in the parking lot at 10:00 pm, bought something to eat and drink from a deli in the mall and then went to a friend's house, 1 minute walking distance from the deli and my car. Returned to my car at 11:45 to find it missing. I then, immediately, called Dominion Towing to inquire as to the whereabouts of my vehicle. The person on the phone informed me that, in fact, they did have my car. I then told him about the sign stating that Dominion tows after midnight. He said he had no knowledge of the sign and a manager was not on duty. I had no choice but to go and pay $90.00 to get my car.

I was told to call on Sunday to speak with a manager. I did, but there wasn't a manager present, I was told to call Monday. I called Monday, spoke with a manager named Kenny. He told me he had no knowledge of the sign and he would send the night manager to check on the sign. I called Tuesday at 12:00 only to be told that the night manager, Brad, had not come in yet to report his findings and he would call me back shortly. I called back after waiting a couple of hours only to be told Brad was not in and was instructed to leave my number. I did, but didn't hear from anybody.

I called back again and finally spoke to Brad, this is when he claimed to have no knowledge of a sign with Dominion Towing's name and number stating that towing occurred after midnight. He basically said I was lying, which I responded to with reason and facts, which he did not acknowledge and stated that he was not going to give my money back. After fifteen to twenty minutes of debate he became obviously irritated and said he was "tired of talking about it." I responded, in turn, with why I was tired of debating as well.

He also told me he was the final answer to my question of refund and there was nothing he could do. The only problem with his claiming no such sign existed is the fact that I went back to Heritage Mall on Monday afternoon to find the sign in question had been taken down. The only mistake they made was leaving the identical sign up on the other side of the parking lot. I recorded the other sign on video tape to show the existance of it. He still claimed he had no such sign up after I told him this. I ask you, should I not get my money back?

Of course Jim should get his money back. And the way he should do it is to file a claim against Dominion in Small Claims Court. He should be sure to take his videotape to court or, better yet, take some still snapshots of the sign. If Jim's not feeling up to a day in court, he could also complaint to the Fairfax County Department of Consumer Affairs. We think he'd get faster results in court though.

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