ART TAYLOR'S GARAGE Overpriced towing in emergency situation and then charged for unauthorized work!! ALBANY New York

This complaint has been removed due to refund made by the owner

We at Art Taylor's Garage currently do emergency police towing for New York State Police , Albany Co. Sheriff's Dept., as well as Colonie Police. Our initial towing fees are set by each department, and are written into a contract so there is no confusion over fees charged.

We were called by NYS Police to respond to a breakdown on the Patroon Island Bridge: a spot which was the site of an accident related death last year. Upon arriving on the scene, Miss Connors was in the process of arguing with the police officer as to why she needed to be towed. She was told that she was in danger of getting hit, or causing an accident, and that she either gets towed, or gets arrested, then towed. She then intelligently decided to let our shop get her off the bridge.

Miss Connors wanted to be towed back to Chatham (we charge $5/ mile loaded, so this would be an additional $100 or so to the initial call). She then informed us she had no money, so we then followed the officer's instructions and towed her to our shop.

Miss Connors rode back to our shop with our driver. She then asked us to find out why her Ford Escort died in the middle of the road on her. She stood there while we unloaded the vehicle, and backed it into the shop. We then immediately put a technician on it to find out why it quit.

For Miss Connors to say we had "no authorization" for ANY diagnosis or repairs is absurd, as she was STANDING THERE while this took place.
After a half hour or so, she got a ride home. She then called later that day to hear what the diagnosis was - we had her on the phone while some of the tests were being performed- again, no surprise that we were spending time on her car.

On our next conversation, we told her the engine did not spin over, and initially looked like a starter motor problem. She then opted to have her vehicle picked up by her local mechanic and brought back to Chatham.

Now we come to charges: she was told the initial police call was $125.00 plus tax, NOT the $100 that she thought she heard. (This is the same price we have been charging for 2 years).

Since we were not going to be repairing her car, we decided to charge for our initial diagnostic time, which included fuel pressure check, battery check, starter check, etc. Charges were for 1/2 hour, or $37.50.

Her local shop arrived to pick up the vehicle with $100 in hand: we then explained the charges and he then wrote us a business check.

Thus starts the "Attack Of Rose". She was verbally abusive to several shop employees while on the phone with MANY words I will not print here. She then had her lawyer call us, and argue with us while not having ANY of the facts, or even the invoice in front of him. Then she writes the initial complaint on this website .

We let a couple of days pass, and decide to refund Rose $50.00, to try to make her happy. We call her and tell her a check was in the mail, and sorry if she misunderstood the charges and fees.

Now for the good part: she then turns us into Better Business Bureau, and writes 2 more scathing accusations on this very website.
Guess you just can't make some people happy, no matter what.