K'zoo residents complain of T&J Towing

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) -- In less than 48 hours, a Facebook group against Kalamazoo company T&J Towing had more than 700 fans. About one week later, the group has 1,400 fans.

And everyone has a story.

"I lived in West Michigan Woods and my boyfriend was towed twice in two weeks because his pass mysteriously blew off the mirror," someone posted on the group's Facebook page. "Yet, the windows were up."

Many claims are similar to Facebook group creator Justin Kurtz's. He said he was towed from his apartment complex despite a parking sticker, and it was T&J that removed his sticker.

"I support myself here -- I pay my way through college and $120 was a lot to pay when I was legitimately parked in my own apartment complex," Kurtz said.

At Candlewyck Apartments, a representative said the complex has had "problems" with T&J. Although they wouldn't disclose specifics, they said T&J was supposed to reimburse some residents and never did.

The Better Business Bureau of West Michigan covers more than 38 counties and fields about 10,000 complaints per year. Of those, about 7,000 are legitimate.

"It's a difficult industry, and there are abuses on both sides, but to our knowledge, T&J has a lot of complaints," said Ken Vander Meeden, of the Better Business Bureau.

T&J Towing was graded an F on the bureau's Web site, because the company hasn't responded to any of its complaints.

You can click on an industry comparison button, where the Better Business Bureau compares companies similar in size. T&J was on the higher end of that scale when it comes to complaints.

"We have 94 towing companies with no industry complaints in the last month, we have 23 with 1-4 (complaints), and two that have 5-25 complaints," Vander Meeden said.

When 24 Hour News 8 showed up at T&J Towing, employees wouldn't talk.

However, the lawyer of the owner, Richard Burnham, submitted a written statement.

"T & J Towing has been lawfully engaged in the work for which it was hired. Any allegations against them for dishonesty are absolutely denied. It should be noted that there has been no substantiation of wrongdoing by law enforcement or the courts."

There is no government action against the company, which the bureau also tracks -- for instance, action on behalf of the attorney general. But for some Kalamazoo residents, that's no comfort.

"Because this isn't the first time that this has happened and I'm sure it won't be the last," Kurtz said.

Spokesman for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Nick De Leeuw, reports the state has received two complaints against T&J Towing; both came in 2006.

De Leeuw could not comment on the current complaints against the company.

He encourages people to report complaints about businesses to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division by calling (877) 765-8388 or going online to www.michigan.gov/ag .

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