ComplaintsforSocal Tow & Impound

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On Monday 2/13/2023 at 3:59pm SoCal Tow ******* Towing impounded my car after towing it from the *************** parking lot in ***********, **. I parked my car at 2:15pm and when I returned to the car at 4:15pm it had already been taken! I had parked in this same lot many times before, for I'm sure longer. There were even at least 2-3 other cars parked in the lot at that same time and no signs indicating time limit parking.Believing my car had been stolen, I called the police who had to tell me it had been towed and gave me the number to SoCal Tow *******.Like the other claimants against SoCal Towing *******, I was targeted by these PREDATORS who abuse their power to basically steal shoppers cars to hold for randsome. I believe they waited to take the car as close to closing time at 5:00pm so they could charge extra fees such as either a second day storage fee, or emergency release fee, because there would be no way to get to ******* from ***************** in time to avoid it, guaranteeing a minimum of $255 per vehicle they grab.The following day, Tuesday 2/14/2023 at 11:57am, I paid $255 with my debit/Visa card to get my car back. Around 2pm I received a fraud alert because after leaving the SoCal Tow ******* lot, my card had also been used by a "*****************" to make an online $80 purchase from the WingStop located at ********************************************************************************* at 12:24pm. The order was delivered to this "*****************" at SoCal Towing *******! Not only do I not live in *******, I have NEVER eaten at a WingStop in my life. I had to cancel my card and file a fraud report with my credit union.All the BBB complaints filed against SoCal Tow ******* shows I am not the first, and definitely not the last, person to be victimized by these predators. Of course their BBB rating is an 'F'! All anyone has to do is walk into their small brick, bobbed wire 'office'...it is a fortress with no windows, a buzzer, and a small cashier's 'window' made of one way glass so you can't see or identify anyone behind it. There is literally only a slit of an opening big enough to slide paper back and forth. Besides that, you'll see that the door has indents where someone clearly tried to kick it in. That tracks because the frustration of being victimized by faceless criminal organization operating with anonymity...victims like me never see the face of the tow truck driver taking the car, nor of the person you have to hand your randsome money over to. So of course what is to stop them stealing my, or anybody's, property or credit card information to engage in identify theft?! They need to be prosecuted, fined, and definitely lose their license to operate as a business! Hold them responsible for their criminal, even cruel, activities. Their criminality is so brazen that they clearly believe they can get away with anything. How is SoCal Towing allowed to operate and NOT be affiliated with the Better Business Bureau?!The longer they are allowed to operate without regulation or accountability, they will only continue to escalate in practicing ways of victimizing the unwitting public. Instead they are actually being rewarded every time they are able take a single dollar.I am requesting that SoCal Towing refund me a total of $335, which includes both the $255 fees and the $80 WingStop online lunch purchase charged on my now cancelled ********** card. The refund will have to be in cash or cashiers check because I will not allow them access to have access to my new **** card.

• Initial Complaint

  05/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This is most definitely a predator towing company. They illegally towed my vehicles from 2 different hotel parking lots in 2 different cities both had parking passes ******* and didn't inform the authorities that they did for expired DMV tags. If it was legal then I would have had to go to get a release proving that I paid the current registration but as long as I paid their fees which is double the price of any other place then they would release it and only accepted cash and have absolutely no parking what so ever made it impossible for me being in a wheelchair not able to get out of car on busy street to take care of it. The 1st hotel that they took 2 of my cars while I was in hospital but not behind in rent is when I couldn't afford to get both out so the **** Altima got auctioned off and they're suing me for their fee's that they didn't recover for storing and had to pay nearly **** for my van that had all my medical equipment along with everything I owned. Then a few months later at a different location they took another one from my caretaker when he drove me to the dr in NY car 2 days before thanksgiving since they were closed for them. Entire holiday weekend come Monday 6 days later 760 bill because the fees over holiday is more expensive how the heck is this legal they have to be giving those hotels some kind of incentives to allow this to happen but I have pics of others parking illegal blocking me in on both sides parking on blue handicap lines prevents me from fitting in between cars in my wheelchair and nothing done and without any placard this is so wrong and inhumane to cause such unnecessary pain and suffering taking from those who are all ready struggling to survive. This company gives the meaning to predatory tow companies and should be held accountable for their actions they are not the police and didn't involve the police so it had nothing to do with a safety issue or illegal parking how is it their job to determine who can park on private proper

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩