AutoVantage Left Stranded by Road Assistance in sub-freezing temperatures Nationwide

On 2/21/15, my car broke down in Boston, MA, about 45 miles from my home. I called AutoVantage and was told they would call me back within 15 minutes with the name and ETA of a tow truck. After 1/2 hour, when I received no call, I called again and was told they had not yet been able to locate a provider and could not give me an estimate of when someone would be available. I explained my car was at an intersection in Boston and the temperature was about 18 degrees. The rep was apologetic but could not find a tow truck yet. I asked if I was able to move my car to a safe location where I could get out of the cold, would this be an issue and they assured me it would not. I gave them an alternative address which they confirmed.

I was lucky that I had a friend who lived nearby with a parking lot I could use for my car and a lobby I could wait in. However, having to drive the car further only caused more mechanical issues and the car died completely as I got into the driveway. I called AutoVantage again to verify my move only to have them tell me that they still could not accomodate me. At midnight, a "supervisor" called to say that there was no way they could get a tow truck out to me until the next day. I asked what they would have done if I hadn't had a safe place to go and, instead, had to wait in a dead vehicle in downtown Boston, in 18 degree temperatures. I got no response. He asked me to call again at 7AM.

At 7AM I called as told. Guess what! Still no tow trucks available and no idea when one would be available. They would call me back in one hour. They did call me back, only to tell me the same thing. I called my husband who called the company from our home. The representative he spoke with told him that I had cancelled the service the previous night - which was a complete fabrication. He also got the story about no towtrucks being available and no idea when one would be available. 

(The Boston area tow drivers were busy due to extreme weather and police calls. However, eastern Massachusetts is a compact and densely populated area. The state is only about 120 miles from east to west and about 60 miles north to south. I believe that somewhere in eastern Massachusetts, there was a flat bed that could have been called out - even it cost AutoVantage more than they like to budget for tows)

At 10AM, I received a call from a representative to tell me that they were moving my call to a "hold status" as they could not continue to make calls to providers on my behalf. I pointed out that since we paid for their service, I thought she could continue to make those calls and she assured me she could not. I asked if my husband and I were able to find our own provider, would they reimburse us. I was told I could submit a receipt for "consideration" but she could not guarantee repayment. 

We were finally able to secure our own resource to come to Boston to get the car. I called AutoVantage to inform them that I had secured a towtruck and no longer needed their service. I told them to take my call out of their queue (assuming I was ever actually in one) so that another customer would not be left waiting for nothing. I was assured they would do this. 

I finally got back home at 1:30 in the afternoon - 15 1/2 hours after placing my first call to AutoVantage. At 3:30, I received a call from a tow truck driver to confirm my location. They had not removed my name from the queue. At 3:40, I received a call asking for my feedback about the service I received. I provided the requested feedback. I can not speak to their "consideration" of my tow fees as I have not received my invoice yet. It will be part of the mechanic's final bill as he was the one able to secure the truck.

I don't know what another company might have done but I remain appalled that this company was prepared to leave me stranded nearly 50 miles from home in subfreezing temperatures. There was no offer to help secure shelter or any other offer of help. I could have gotten a ride from a family member or friend but abandoning the car would have lead to it being vandalized or worse. The Boston Police have better things to do that babysit a car and would certainly have towed it to God knows where and we would have had astronomical impound fees to pay to retrieve the car. Needless to say, we will not be renewing our membership and would discourage others from changing from more reliabel companies.