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The attendant stood between us and the rear view of the truck, and chatted away, starting with the line, "So...do you have a hard time maneuvering this big truck around in these narrow city streets?" My husband said, "Nope, never!"
This tells me all I need to know. I would get a lawyer and threaten to sue the valet for damages. They have insurance that covers this kind of thing; it's time for them to pay up.
Here is the letter I am thinking about sending them - probably need to shorten it...LOL!
I don't see how this can make things worse for us, since at this point they are simply refusing to acknowledge that they did this, and have not offered to pay our deductible either. What have we got to lose?
That letter needs to be sent to the Hilton, not the valet company. They have already told you no. It is time to escalate this up the chain, starting with the people who pay THEM their salaries.
File a formal complaint against them with the hotel, and demand the deductible from the hotel, since they hired the contractor.
The Hilton probably has security cameras at least around the hotel entrance. Are there any other businesses with security cameras nearby? Presuming you are out of the area since you are staying at a hotel, did you fill the truck's gas tank before staying at the hotel? If so, the gas station would probably have security footage of the undamaged truck.
There are an incredible number of people who--for reasons that I will never understand--apparently think that the BBB has regulatory and/or punitive powers.
In reality, the BBB (frequently referred to as the Better FOR Business Bureau) is a private club that business owners can opt to join--for a fee.
Let's take two different scenarios:
>A consumer has a complaint against a company that is not a member of the BBB.
What will the BBB do?
They place your complaint in their records.
Period
End of story
Nothing else is done.
>A consumer has a complaint against a company that is a member of the BBB.
The BBB will contact the member company, and request that they satisfy the customer.
That is correct--request--not demand or compel the company to satisfy the complainant
They also ask the member company to provide them with copies of their communication with the aggrieved party.
If the company responds--even if their response is negative--then the BBB considers the case to be resolved, and there are no publicly visible black marks on the company's record.
If there are repeated complaints against a member company, then the BBB can take the strongest action of which they are capable, which is to refuse to accept next year's dues from that company. Because the BBB is a profit-making enterprise (regional franchises are actually sold, just like a fast food establishment), they are extremely reluctant to refuse to accept those dues, which are necessary for their business model. Yes, occasionally they will take this step, but it is rare.
Several years ago, Smart Money magazine did an in-depth study of the BBB, and their long, mostly negative article ended with these words: "Few consumers are actually helped by the BBB"
Instead of wasting your time with the BBB, you may want to file a complaint with the Office of Consumer Affairs, which--as a governmental entity--DOES have regulatory and punitive power through the Office of The Attorney General.
Thanks for this info - others may find it helpful, though I already knew this stuff.
For the record, I didn't say that I was going to limit my complaints to the BBB - I said that I would complain to them IN ADDITION to filing complaints with the Attorney General, the Hilton, and any other entity that I can dig up. Heck, I'll file a complaint with the NAACP if I determine they might be able to apply a bit of pressure!
Not to mention negative online reviews, because I've got time to kill.
That letter needs to be sent to the Hilton, not the valet company. They have already told you no. It is time to escalate this up the chain, starting with the people who pay THEM their salaries.
File a formal complaint against them with the hotel, and demand the deductible from the hotel, since they hired the contractor.
Oh, the Hilton has already heard from me and I am giving them 24 hours to try to reach some sort of agreement with the valet, or the devil, or whoever - I really don't care who pays the deductible or the claim as long as we don't have to. I plan to escalate this to the next level of the Hilton within 24 hours if we haven't reached an agreement.
I am sending this letter to the manager of the "valet manager" at the Hilton.
I'm going right on up the ladder.
Here's the deal - I'm a reasonable person. I don't want anyone fired, or anyone's head on a platter (not at this point, anyway). We pay our insurance premium every month, so if our insurance company settles the claim rather than theirs - therefore keeping their record clean - I'm willing to let the hotel and/or the valet company pay our deductible and drive on. This doesn't go against our driving record because we weren't driving the car - so it won't affect us in any way, and this way it wouldn't particularly hurt them either.
I'm hoping they will see the light of reason in this solution.
I just dug up the name of Towne Park's Ex VP of Hotel Operations, who is also a co-founder of The Green Parking Council. I also found the name of the President of Towne Park. They have been added to my list of people to contact as well.
I, too, would go to small claims court and seek to recover my expenses. People don't go to small claims court because it's fun — and the court knows that. It's been my experience in being there twice, in a he said/she said, plaintiffs are believed if they are well-prepared, present the claim respectfully and maturely, and have made their charges in a timely manner. Your detail that the valet complained about the truck being hard to maneuver and the fact you returned immediately on finding the damage bolster your story. If there were any physical reasons you did not see the damage immediately at the scene (it was dark at the pick-up point, the truck was parked in a way to hide it) go back and take photos to present with your case.
Even if the Hilton isn't financially liable, I would also write them a formal letter of complaint (do you know a lawyer who would do it so it's on letterhead so they'll know you consulted an attorney?) and take that paperwork to court with you. In any case, the Hilton corporation should be informed their subcontractor has screwed up. The more ways you can demonstrate that you tried to resolve this outside the court, the better it will be once you get there.
There's always the possibility, too, that the parking company is so dysfunctional that they will fail to send someone to court and you will win by default.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
24,469 posts, read 26,003,936 times
Reputation: 59848
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Here is the letter I am thinking about sending them - probably need to shorten it...LOL!
I don't see how this can make things worse for us, since at this point they are simply refusing to acknowledge that they did this, and have not offered to pay our deductible either. What have we got to lose?
Just a thought seeing that you already contacted your attorney, instead of you writing the letter, why not let your attorney write it?I t might carry more weight.
Just a thought seeing that you already contacted your attorney, instead of you writing the letter, why not let your attorney write it?I t might carry more weight.
He told me he would be happy to write one. However, that will cost a couple of hundred dollars. I'm already probably going to be out $1000.
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