Agero Swoop Issues

[thtdon]

I am going to post a number of issues on this thread.  Not all at once.  But gradually.  And I just want to know what you think. 

 

10/13/2023- I have had Samsung Galaxy Android phones for the last 5 phones.  I have always been satisfied with them.  So I keep buying the same thing.  The phone I have currently is almost 2 years old.  Just about time for another upgrade.  When I got this phone, I noticed that sometimes when it rang, there was a message on the screen that said "Scam Likely".  When I answered it, I discovered that the call was a telemarketer.  I got to a point that I would decline to answer "Scam Likely", because they were all telemarketer calls.  So yesterday morning, I got a "Scam Likely" call, which I ignored.  And I got another, and another, etc.  I finally answered the next "Scam Likely" call.  Guess who was on the line?  AGERO!  Yesterday I fielded over 25 "Scam Likely" calls.  All with Agero on the line.  Several calls were delivered the usual way by the Swoop number.  So I can no longer decline to answer "Scam Likely"  calls because there is a good chance that I would be declining to answer a good call.  Have any of you had this experience?  Things first started getting whacky with "Scam Likely" yesterday, 10/12/2023. 

 

I should add that I do not believe that there is any wrongdoing regarding "Scam Likely" on the part of Agero.  I have been researching "Scam Likely".  It is possible for me to get that shut off.  I only want them to stop labeling Agero calls as "Scam Likely".  I want them to continue to label genuine telemarketer calls as spam.  But I don't know if I can get one without the other.  Stay tuned.  

 

10/16/2023-  I was listening to the radio this morning before I got up.  They were talking about that message that was sent to every cell phone in the country last week from the Emergency Broadcast System.  I guess that a lot of people have had problems with their phones since that message test was sent out.  Now that I think about it, my issues with Scam Likely began right after that.  I have no idea if there is any connection.

 

10/17/2023- After a week of Scam Likely issues with Agero calls, today everything went back to normal.  Agero-Swoop calls are back to the way they were.  No Scam Likely Agero calls anymore.  And I didn't do anything to fix it.  It fixed itself.  That was never an Agero-Swoop issue.  I don't know what caused it to happen.  Maybe it was that stupid Emergency Broadcast System thing that they did last week on cell phones.  I don't know.  But it seems to have straightened itself out.  I wish the other issues would.

[mooresbp]

I just block all their calls, I sleep much better and don't have to worry about payment issues,(I don't even trust them when they give a cc), and don't spend all day telling them I won't go 50 or 100 miles for a $50 jump start!

[Moose]

Haven't taken a call from Agero is years. They can call the nearest company that does take their calls. They are only 50 miles away!

[thtdon]

Another thing that annoys me is the notification that I get every time I receive a call from the SWOOP line.  Suddenly I hear "Clang, clang, clang, SWOOSH.  Clang, clang, clang, SWOOSH."  It is very loud and annoying.  I go to church every Sunday.  When I sit down, I would put my ringer on vibrate, so it doesn't make a sound.  If I get a call while I am in church, I can decide whether I can take it or not.  I can give an ETA and accept the call silently.  Well, not anymore.  That Clang, clang, clang, etc. burns right through the vibrate/silence, and the whole church hears it.  Needless to say, I shut the phone off and leave it in my car now.  I have never heard anyone else complain about this.  But I find it hard to believe that I am the only one that receives this annoying notification. 

[dperone]

All their numbers are blocked, and when they call on a new one we decline the job and block that new number. We haven't taken a P.O. from them in at least a decade and we stopped running with the calls on a card a few years ago after we had an issue.

[Andy]

I used to take more Agero calls than I do now. It’s a life choice I guess. If I’m feeling like playing spades or hearts at a given point in time I answer the call. It’s like playing cards you bid on a blind hand because you know you don’t have enough information to really bid it right. Somethings missing or wrong you know it is it’s Agero Swoop. Sometimes you win big sometimes you’re in the hole. Complain don’t complain its best to just accept that if you answer the phone you’re now in a game. Will it end in a win a loss or your phone ringing for days on the same call that they wont authorize. 
 

what’s sad is others are following suit Honks almost as bad now, and I’ve had some AAA jobs that turned out to be as if Agero dispatched them I am not an AAA registered tow provider so when they call me there usually at the last option and it’s by my rules. 
 

in reality often the worst part about Agero tows is showing up to a pissed  off customer who’s been sitting somewhere for hours and you’ve just received authorization minutes ago. One thing I love about this job is being the hero showing up to people happy to see me giving me tips something I just don’t get in 40 years of working in the repair side of this industry so it rubs me wrong when any dispatch company puts me in that situation. 

[Stubborn66]

We are CC only with them, and swoop, and honk.  The other thing I will say is that google tracking your every move works in your favor.  Agero tried their charge back BS with us, and we used our google information along with Towbook timestamps and won two disputes.  We bid them to make money when they call and as long as you cover your bases you can win the dispute when they choose to try it.  I think they prey on companies who dont dot their I's and cross their T's.

[thtdon]

Here's another issue that I know will hit home to those of you that do payouts for secondary tows.

 

I have covered the same four towns for Agero, and all other motor clubs that I do, for decades.  Those 4 towns total 89.5 square miles.  Which is fine for me.  I do not want any more area.  There are 5 towing companies that do local police towing and state police towing, in those 4 towns.  And of those 5 companies, there is only one company left that still accept Agero's credit card over the phone to pay the towing and storage charges.  The other 4 companies no longer accept Agero's credit card because Agero was routinely contesting the credit card transaction, in the hopes that they can grind down the bill from the tow company.  There's nothing worse than to accept a credit card to pay the charges, and then days later, you find out that the transaction was contested.  And you have to fight like hell to get your money.  So now Agero tells me that they want me to lay out the cash to get the car released.  I will like hell.  I have never done a payout for them.  Not even once.  And I never will.  I think that the process of paying the tow yard has gone back to the old way.  The auto body shop hires whoever does their towing to bring a check from the auto body shop, and they pick up the car. 

[dperone]

On 10/14/2023 at 8:11 PM, Stubborn66 said:

We are CC only with them, and swoop, and honk.  The other thing I will say is that google tracking your every move works in your favor.  Agero tried their charge back BS with us, and we used our google information along with Towbook timestamps and won two disputes.  We bid them to make money when they call and as long as you cover your bases you can win the dispute when they choose to try it.  I think they prey on companies who dont dot their I's and cross their T's.

Our issue was the time and hassle it was to win the disputes. We used to just shoot the moon with a price to cover the impending dispatch issues, but at some point enough is enough. There's enough hack companies around me with shitty equipment and no idea what their time is worth that will run their calls, headaches included.

[Stubborn66]

I bid them full retail and add 20% after hours.  The two issues we had, I simply took the Towbook info, including pictures, and advised the CC company that I had google tracking that I could submit for.  Not a lot of time tied up in answering the chargeback, but it took a month or two to get a ruling in my favor.  I will still run them if I have a truck and a guy available.  By the way, you can view all of your movement on google right down to the time frame you request, but it will not let you print it out.  That is a security feature, but you can request it.