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Advanced Towing
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25 reviews for Advanced Towing
25 reviews in English
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Review from Jack F.
2/15/2012
Wow ... Advanced Towing may be the most universally hated company in all of Arlington. F-ers towed my car in Crystal City during the Super Bowl. And right after they towed my car, two other cars took my place without a parking permit either. It's possible to argue that it was improperly towed but I just wanted my car back. I'd rather pay the ransom and get on with my life then bicker with these guys. Why 2 stars? Well, at least they didn't give me a hassle about getting back the car. That, and it wasn't the worst towing experience I've had. [Hopefully last visit: February 5, 2012]
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Review from Jeremiah G.
Reston, VA
5/11/2012
Near the end of 2011, Advanced Towing towed my car from the West Village of Shirlington despite having a valid parking pass. I panicked thinking it was stolen since I had a parking pass. However, before calling the police, I called Advanced Towing to make sure it wasn't towed. The woman on the phone told me it did not have a car I described, so I called the police and filed a police report. While waiting for the police, I decided to call Advanced Towing once more to make sure and lo and behold, it did tow my car, which was towed because apparently the parking pass fell from the dashboard onto the passenger seat (still visible). Although I think it fell from the dashboard while being towed. After calling the police to cancel the stolen car, I got a friend to take me to the bank where I got $125 in *pennies* to pay the towing. Initially, the woman wouldn't accept my payment but after threatening to call the police (again) because she wouldn't accept my legal tender, she reluctantly accepted my money without counting it. Also, my car was in full view from where the woman at the front desk was sitting. She's either a moron, too lazy to turn around, or both. I'm not sure what this company is "advanced" in; it's obviously not intelligence.
I implore everyone to pay towing companies in pennies. Simply go to the bank and withdraw the required amount of money in pennies, which will be given to you in rolls. Remove the pennies from the rolls into a container to give to the towing company. It's legal tender so it unlawful to not accept it, even if it's greater than 100 pennies (see Title 31 [Money and Finance], Subtitle IV [Money], Chapter 51 [Coins and Currency], Subchapter I [Monetary System], Section 5103 [Legal Tender] of the United States Code). Also, there is no law saying change needs to be in rolls when making a payment. However, that doesn't apply to banks so when the company deposits the pennies, it will need to put them in rolls. -
Review from J M.
Arlington, VA
8/29/2011
What do you do when you realize that Advanced MF'in Towing has taken hostage of your car? Wait until the tow truck trolls through the parking lot again, climb into the passenger seat, AND DEMAND that he take you to your vehicle. What's he gonna do, push me out so that I can call the cops?
It was 10:30pm, I was at Gold's Gym Ballston working out, and maybe 10 minutes went by before I realized I left my wallet in my car. I walk out and realizing it's absence, say, "WTF Sonofabitch Where the F is my car?!" After marching back into the gym and glaring into the soul of the front desk guy for information, he said, "Oh, that was your car? Sorry, it got towed."
I no longer belong to that gym. There are too many dated Abercrombie douchebags there anyway.
Was I about to walk by myself in the dark at that hour to find my car? Helllll to the No! Minutes later, the tow truck appeared to snatch another victim, and there I was, sweaty, pissed off, with nothing else to lose- sitting in the passenger seat of the truck with the evil tow troll who took my car.
It took me a total of 2 hours to retrieve my car- I argued with the shack woman until what seemed like the end of time. Of course no one else at Advanced was available to talk to me. Of course they had no proof that I was parked in a non-Gold's space. Of course their credit card machine was broken. OF COURSE their ATM machine was broken. I walked to Harris Teeter to get $125, got my car (which had no visible damage), and went home.
At the end of the day and after reading the other reviews, I almost feel sorry for the people who have to resort to these kinds of activities to make a living. I would hate myself if I worked for Advanced Towing and hope that this review reinforces that their company practices deserve to be investigated. -
Review from Brad M.
Stafford, VA
1/21/2012
That's minus 1 star
Most towing companies are scum but these guys take the top prize!
No I wasnt towed but I observed them:
Advice to those who have been towed, file a warrant in debt for $15,000.00 that's the max allowed by Va courts. Show up in court, tell the judge your story. You will most likely be awarded some cash.
Predatory towing pisses judges off, don't bother with cops as they are as useless as tow truck drivers.
Check out Patriot towing, oh wait you can't cause enough of us sued them and they had to go bankrupt. -
Review from Adrienne A.
Los Angeles, CA
4/1/2011
Let me join hands with the other wronged souls who pledge alligiance to an eternal vow of justified hatred of the evil enterprise otherwise known as Advanced Towing. Just as culpable, the management companies who own the shopping centers. Without their invitation, Advanced Towing could not be on a perpetual sleezy prowl of the lot.
I had a receipt from the store I was shopping in when they stole my car, and they could not have cared less. I had to walk more than 3 miles in 90 plus degree heat with two young children and carrying a toddler along a busy road.
My advice is to complain to the individual shop owners so they can complain to their management company. Trust me, complaints to Advanced Towing does nothing but feed into their sadistic fun. While predatory towing is legal, the city will also be of no help.
These people are straight-up vindictive. -
Review from Vanessa V.
Portsmouth, NH
7/18/2011
Yep, obviously we're not alone in the fact that we had our car towed from a spot that had no markings whatsoever.
We came to a friend's apartment building, where we found that the spots near the building had numbers (implying that they were for tenants of the building) and another further away lot had no signage or space #s. When we returned, we found our car had been towed. It seems Arlington PD must have some deal with Advanced Towing because there's a loophole in a law somewhere that they're allowed to sit in parking lots and tow cars with little to no signage that would tell you not to park (the same thing had happened to a friend the week before).
Apparently in this particular building, there is an awkward turn-off from a nearby busy road, where if you are looking in front of you and trying not to get T-boned by oncoming traffic, you will miss the sign that allegedly warns you (although I'm suspicious it is there at all, considering we couldn't even find it when we were looking for it). And because of this it's "legal"? That's total BS.
And on top of the $125 fee (!!) to get your car back, expect to call a cab or walk miles on sketchy highways because they will not drive you to the lot, even if they have tow trucks all over Arlington that could potentially give you a ride.
Such a headache!Listed in: virginia is for lovers
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Review from Katy S.
Arlington, VA
1/18/2011
Oh, Advanced Towing. Whatever should your tag line be?
"Towing So Predatory, It Should Be Illegal. Oh Wait, It Is."
"Employees So Soulless and Sadistic You'll Want to Break the Plexiglass Partition."
"Advanced Towing: We Put the 'Rat' in Racket."
Perhaps this is all part of a grand punishment for drinking. I can hardly imagine what else would have possessed the universe to make me part of the heartless scheme with which you fill your Friday nights.
I parked beside a car at the end of a line of cars in a full lot on Wilson. I blocked no person. I was not in front of a fire hydrant or double-parked. I wasn't antagonizing the world with so much as a sassy bumper sticker.
I then went into the liquor store with my friend and emerged, literally, not five minutes later with the most expensive bottle of whiskey I will ever purchase in my life -- because it included a $115 tax from Advanced Towing.
I ran yelling after the truck that was towing my car behind it. But the men, so superhumanly fast with their hands in absconding with my vehicle, were awfully weak in the ears and hearts. They looked at me as I pleaded for them to stop. Then they drove on. (A lady at the pickup spot later told me it's really hard to hear through tow-truck windows. Puhhhhh-lease.)
There physically wasn't time for the truck to have responded to a call; it took longer to drive from the liquor store parking lot to the tower's den of iniquity in Ballston. Which means they were there lurking, likely waiting to fill some quota -- and meanwhile not caring if they ruined a weekend. If that was the case, they were also breaking the law. As other reviewers have mentioned, it's called predatory towing -- related terms to throw around: extortion, a-holes, lawless swindlers, etc.
At least literally, the opposite of a "star" is "rats." So I give Advanced Towing a rating of rats. Thousands upon thousands of rats, the broiling sea of which the finest piper could not imagine. It seems an appropriate symbol to mark the company as the professionally dirty one it is. "Advanced Towing: Bringing Unwarranted Misery to Virginia One Car at a Time." -
Review from Kristine T.
Washington, DC
12/15/2011
I locked my keys in my car. They came in a jiffy and got them out of there. Great service! Highly recommend.
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Review from J E.
Arlington, VA
4/1/2011
SCUM. CRIMINALS. OPPORTUNISTS. PREDATORS.
I parked in the lot for the Westmont Shopping Center to have lunch (Friday 2:00) at Boston Market. First, I ran across the street to withdraw cash (more than my ATM limit) and you can't drive from the bank parking lot to the shopping center so I thought I would save a little gas from driving four blocks to get across the street ...
I went inside, waited for 60 seconds in a long line, decided to come back and then left. As I walked back into the shopping center lot, no more than four minutes later, it was already lifted.
Apparently, they have guys that sit in a pick up with a lift in the corner of the lot and just wait on their fat rears eating mcd's. Of course they didn't care that I was going to use the shopping center...
Just as rotten is the WESTMONT SHOPPING CENTER COMPANY. They are the ones that hire these losers. I will NEVER patronize any of the establishments in that shopping center again.
I am also going to file complaints with the city. This is unacceptable. -
Review from Mary K.
Arlington, VA
2/8/2010
Wow. What a bunch of miserable, soulless, unhappy a-holes. On this snowy night of the Blizzard of 2010, I parked in a private, empty lot to run into a movie theater to retrieve my lost phone. For literally one minute. I would have parked in the street if the spaces weren't all snowed in.
I thankfully found my phone--only to return to the parking lot to find my car racing down the street on the back of a towing truck SIDEWAYS. The s--thead didn't even hook my car up correctly.
Apparently, the jerk-off was watching from across the street, waiting for an opportunity such as this.
A cab ride and $115 later, I was informed that they had a right to jimmy my lock and put the car in neutral, as not to damage the vehicle. How thoughtful.
My car now makes a horrible rattling noise. Do I have any recourse? Probably not. How do you argue with a-holes? I just have to deal with the fact that they damaged my car, and there isn't a single thing I can do about it.
The pitiful lady at the office, Rita, and her co-horts are gaping a-holes who are dead inside, because it takes a special kind of bottomfeeder to suck people dry like that.
One star is one too much for these wretched people. I agree with all the other reviewers. Predatory is the perfect word for these animals, but that would be an insult to animals.
Towing companies should name themselves accordingly so that people know what to expect. If I knew I was dealing with "Throbbing Bleeding Hemorrhoid of Society Towing," I'd be less inclined to complain. -
Review from Donald P.
5/29/2009 1 photo
Abusive & Predatory Towing Practices.
Yelp really needs to add another category for "Criminal" because the "towing" category just does not accurately describe this business.
Quite simply they are scumbags. Honestly I don't know who to blame (the business owners or the towing company)...but tiny little signs are posted in hopes that no one sees them, just to BARELY stay legal (one sign at each entrance) then go around stealing cars. I hope Satan is holding a special spot for them in hell. Should you get towed by ANYONE go around documenting the number of signs, location of the signs, and visability of the signs, and file a complaint through Arlington county website.
http://www.arlingtonva...
When I went to pick up my car, I was happy to see these scared little guys working behind a plexiglass panel. Obviously the way they run their underhanded business, I'm sure previous customers have tried to wring their necks.
The next time I see an Advanced Towing sign, I am NOT going to patronize that business.Listed in: The Worst List
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Review from Bro H.
Syracuse, NY
10/2/2009
Criminals? Probably not. Scumbags? Doesn't quite say enough. It says a lot about a business if they choose these shitheels to take care of their towing. If you've got an overcrowded parking lot and someone's been parked illegally for 20 minutes, alright, tow 'em. But if your parking lot is empty, I can't see why you'd want to hire a tow truck to wait across the street for someone to run to a nearby liquor store. The scariest thing is how quickly they moved my car - there's no way they could have secured it properly in that amount of time.
In my instance, they towed my car literally one block and I still had to pay 135 dollars. In the end, at least I got back to my car quickly enough that they couldn't damage it once it was in their tiny little parking lot.
I'd heard the horror stories and ignored them - I was in a hurry to go watch the Skins game and wanted my bourbon. But, seriously, do not park in any Arlington parking lots if you aren't going to the store they're for. Can't see a sign? Advance Towing will take your car. You're only gonna be gone for two minutes? They'll take your car. -
Review from Janice K.
Alexandria, VA
1/22/2012
If you could give negative reviews, this would definitely be a negative five. million. times infinity. like several other people who have written reviews, i parked in the strip mall parking lot near the goodwill off of s. glebe. before i got out of my car, i checked the immediate vicinity for signs about parking and saw none. i was in goodwill for about 20 minutes, and when i came out, my car had been towed. as had the cars of about 5 other people. towing company shark who had been lurking in the parking lot (taking up a valuable parking space, might i add...) and calling the tow truck as soon as people walked off the lot, very helpfully let me know my car had been towed. he knew this because he watched me park my car there and said nothing. probably cackled as he watched me walk off. he also pointed out the tiny sign that i couldn't read which allegedly said something about the parking policy. i went back by the lot after picking up my car to ask the guy his name and who he worked for and to let him know i was going to file a complaint. i also asked him why he didn't just notify people when they left their cars that they weren't supposed to park there. he said it wasn't his job. when i took down his plate number, he threatened to call the cops, told me i would go to jail, and that the cops would be waiting at my house (homie...license plates are public domain...we have them so that vehicles can be properly identified...i digress). illegal? apparently not. unethical? most definitely.
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Review from Anthony I.
Arlington, VA
5/30/2009
It is understandable that nobody likes having their car towed and having said that, it is probably a miserable job but every and any job can be done with professionalism and respect. The behavior of this company is criminal and insulting. I completely agree with the previous review, these people are a step above, more like to the left, of thieves. They operate in by far the most unprofessional and disrespectful manner of any business I have ever encountered. I'd imagine that actually having ones car stolen would be a better experience than to deal with these criminals.
Two points of advice, do everything you can to never have your car towed by these criminals and never call them for anything. -
Review from James P.
Alexandria, VA
1/20/2012
Joey is the man. I screwed up and left my car where I shouldn't have and I knew the consequences. In a nutshell this guy went out of his way to help me, might have been the fact that I spoke to this man with respect and I got it back!! We hate them till we need them
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Review from Andy K.
Arlington, VA
4/7/2011
Video them with your cell phones if you see them towing cars and put on you tube:) These hacks are damaging vehicles. Dragging four wheel drives when they should be flatbeded
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Review from Fredericka C.
Arlington, VA
3/22/2010
These people LOVE to rip you off! Most horrible people I've ever come across. I was parked in the lot at my apt. complex, with my parking tag clearly displayed. My plates from a different state expired at the end of Feb., I never got my registration renewal in the mail since I had just moved.
Got towed for having expired tags. Isn't this a problem between me and Arlington County? No, apparently not, I was told by the lovely people at Advanced Towing. They will tow for whatever they feel like.
So, early the next morning, as to not get towed again, I went to the DMV (which made me late for work), got my registration, which was only good for 1 month until I got an inspection. Put my new plates on, was feeling much happier. Then, this morning, got up early to go get my inspection.
CAR WAS GONE AGAIN. This time for not having an inspection.
I am not kidding. $115 EACH TIME.
This has to be illegal, no where in my lease does it lay out these stipulations for parking in my lot, and it's not a public lot, so what jurisdiction does Advanced Towing have???
DO NOT patronize business that use this company. -
Review from Derek M.
Sparks Glencoe, MD
5/21/2010
The reviews above were very generous. Can I give less than a full star?
Quite possibly the worst company with whom I have ever had the pleasure of dealing. Agree with Anthony completely - having your car towed is never pleasurable. But these folks are just awful. I need to figure out whether it's the business owner and their unclear signs or the towing company who are ultimately responsible (probably a combination of both), but the handling of this was obscene. -
Review from justin l.
Arlington, VA
4/1/2011
These people under the guile owner of John Sundstrom are life's failures. They not only towed my car from an undesignated handicap parking spot. But made a handicap person trek over to get his car. In the process they damaged my passenger under panel by puncturing a hole; they also by dropped my car damaged my headlight. About $850 worth of damage. I suggest everyone who wished to complain contact the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint maybe they'll revoke their business license. I do plan to investigate how else to file a complaint against a business and or have them charged for vandalism.
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Review from Paul D.
11/21/2010
PREDATORY CRIMINALS! They Stole My Car and then extorted me for $115! This business should be put out of business! My car was towed from my local CVS Pharmacy parking lot on Columbia Pike during the 10 minutes that I was inside shopping. I shop here all the time!
Tonight, I parked in an unmarked non-parking-spot in the corner of the lot because, for some reason, there were no empty spaces at 9pm on a Sunday night. I was inside for a minimal amount of time. I mean, if it were a meter maid she wouldn't have had enough time to write me a ticket.
The CVS employees didn't call for a tow, I asked them. It was a random bum who was standing on the sidewalk near where I parked. They pay him to call for a tow as soon as you get out of your car. Then they grab your car and drive away in less than a minute, you have no recourse!
This is a Violation of my 4th amendment rights! How is this not Illegal?!
I had to walk home and have my neighbor drive me to get my car. Unreal!
This place is a detriment to society. They are vampires who serve no purpose and they should not exist!
Read the FAQ's on this topic. The law says they can patrol and tow without anyone calling the second you get out of your car. http://www.arlingtonva...
I need to move out of "The Commonwealth." This is undemocratic. It makes me wish I had just gotten a $50 parking ticket. -
Review from Michael H.
Arlington, VA
10/21/2010 1 photo
What a terrible bunch of cons on work furlough
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Review from Todd P.
8/12/2010
Towed my vehicle from my home with my parking pass visible. Had to come up with a way to get to Ballston from South Arlington, pay the "ransom" to get my vehicle back since the person working on Sundays said she didn't have the authority to let it go without paying, and had to contact them repeatedly both myself and through my property manager to get a refund. I will give them a little bit of credit as the woman working in the lot admitted she could see my permit and noted it on my invoice and after several calls and emails I finally got my money back, but this is proof that tow companies in Arlington are legalized auto theft.
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Review from Christine A.
Arlington, VA
8/6/2011
They towed my car... while I was walking to put something in it. I have an all-well drive car... it was NOT towed on a flat, but rather, it was dragged. Because I was literally right there, the guy watched me try to run to him (had surgery the week before... still in bandages)... he drove around the block TWICE and smiled at me. When I called about my car, the stupid B told me, "you know you have a warrant, right?" I told her she was crazy and she said she'd get the police there. I agreed it was a good idea. I got a friend to drive me to get me car. Of course, no police were there. I requested that officers' name and badge number with whom she spoke so I could call myself. She, of course, couldn't produce all of that info. I did call the police, however, to report the name of the officer she gave me... he was apparently a friend of hers. Arlington PD apologized to for my ordeal and the lie... then thanked me for my work with the county. I didn't bother to tell her that I work for the county... I would know if I had a warrant. Moving forward, I requested Advanced's insurance info to have my car repaired; no one has been able to provide it.
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Review from Stephanie G.
Brookline, MA
10/21/2010
I think the fact that this company has a Better Business Bureau rating of "F" really says it all... Bunch of vultures, really.
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Review from Real E.
Oakton, VA
10/18/2010
was towed today from a parking lot called the police to find it had been towed by these people.
when i asked them why i was towed they couldn't answer,
I informed them i was legally parked and they ask what that meant
(beloieve me he was'nt being sarcastic he was that dumb)
then he told me the car was in front of a tow away sign.
I told him no
he tells me the signs arent in front of where the car was towed but at the exits of the lot.
Guess what ...?
NO SIGNS!
I ask him if he had proof as in pictures because it happen we did.
........He hung up the phone.
