Area Towing Inc SCAM ARTISTS, CONS, CROOKS, THUGS - THIS IS A JOKE OF AN OPERATION Melrose Park Illinois

It's bad enough to be towed, but being towed from a business when you are an actual consumer is a beat down. 

Someone overcharging you against their posted rates claiming they are charging you by weight, but refuse to charge according to the registered weight on the cab card from the DMV, CRIMINAL. 

Not willing to accept posted payment options, tax evasion? YES, CRIMINAL. 

Deliberately Damaging my vehicle costing me unknown amount of damage of thousands and loss of business because you got mad and you didn't like the way I talked to you. RETALIATION 

THIS IS A DISGUSTING BUSINESS, OWNED RAN AND OPERATED BY DISGUSTING PEOPLE. 

IF YOU SEE THEIR SIGN IN A PARKING LOT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT WORK WITH THIS TOWING COMPANY DONT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.

FULL DETAILS BELOW: 

My trailer is in the repair shop and I needed something for my business from Best Buy. Today, August 29th, I went to Best Buy in my tractor only (State of Florida Apportioned Cab Card Weight of 16,785 lbs). I came out from Best Buy and my vehicle was nowhere to be found. I determined through investigation that Area Towing has towed my vehicle to their location 1.3 miles away from the shopping center.

1. Overcharge: 
There is a sign posted with their rates. The sign very clearly stating there are three prices for towing and they are determined by vehicle weight. 

Vehicles 8000 lbs and under - $196
Vehicles 8,001 to 26,000 lbs - $520
Vehicles 26,001 lbs and over - $700

As I stated previously, my vehicle's official government issued weight is 16,875lbs. They said it doesn't matter and if I wanted my truck I would have to pay $700. 

At this point, I would like to say this is really offensive to tell me it doesn't matter what the sign says and I have to pay them whatever they say or they won't release my vehicle, which is how I eat, feed my family and pay my bills. 

2. Payment Method: 

Back to the signage that is posted (which I read on the ILCC website is what they have to abide by): It clearly states "CASH, MASTERCARD & VISA ONLY." 

They stated that their credit card machine isn't working so they can only take cash or some kind of check that you have to have an account at a truck stop to get (not to mention that they have towed my only method of transportation, but there is not truck stop here). 

Being a business owner, I had a solution. I advised that all merchant service providers have a service number that will provide you with an over the phone authorization in the event that your terminal is down, because it would be horrible to lose tons of business not being able to charge cards. They said they would not do that and if I want to pay with credit card, I would have to wait until AT&T fixed the terminal. This is where I have a big problem. I wasn't born yesterday and AT&T doesn't offer merchant services.

They refused to take the listed forms of payment, making up bogus excuses that they couldn't even follow their own lies, and forcing me to pay cash or wait and pay daily until AT&T would fix their terminal, which I know isn't going to happen for a few years or never when AT&T gets into the merchant services business (highly unlikely).

3. Major Deliberate Damage:

Through all of the disagreements and harsh words delivered, I was forced to pay cash and they gave me the truck, without checking for any form of my right to remove the truck (ownership, registration, insurance, nothing). When I drove off, the truck was shaking and vibrating and making a horrible noise that was not present prior to my visit to Best Buy. It was dark, so I drove the 2 miles back to my hotel and with more light and in a safe location, I opened the hood. What I discovered was by far the worst and scariest part of my whole experience with this business. 

The fan casing was destroyed with massive chunks cleanly severed off and gone as well as 3 fan blades very neatly and cleanly sliced/severed/destroyed. This is not an accident that occurred to my truck. They did this deliberately as a retaliation against me because I confronted their shady business practices and dishonest behavior every step of the way.

Doing a thorough inspection after I determined the cause for the serious issues that are now preventing me from safely operating my commercial vehicle, I discovered they also put two dents in my front bumper, however they hooked up the tow. 

4. Miscellaneous Unprofessional Things:

-The man who drove my truck out of the lot to me was smoking a cigarette in my truck. I don't smoke and now my truck smells disgusting.
-No matter how angry a customer is, you don't match and raise their anger with yours and you definitely don't destroy property.
-I believe they towed the truck with the improper tow truck as I saw no one operating a vehicle capable of properly towing my vehicle.