Affordable Towing And Recovery
reviews and complaints

G. Timlin, Sunday, 1/20/19- We parked in a lot across from Young Veterans The Bunker on 21st street in VB, VA. We have wanted to visit the craft beer restaurant for some time now. We put our information and money into the automated parking machine and took the receipt. I did not place the receipt in the car windshield area since there was no lot attendant there to see it. One hour later we left The Bunker and our car was gone. Affordable Towing had struck. The sign in the parking lot said "Welcome Back Locals". I will have lived in VB for 35 years. This type of professional behavior from a towing company has to be dealt with by the police or city officials of Virginia Beach. My car was one of three in the lot at the time. Predatory towing by this company has gone on for years. Isn't it time to investigate? We walked four blocks after calling them, paid $60.00 since I had the receipt otherwise it was $145.00, and drove home trying to understand this unusual situation. "Welcome Back Locals"?

IF any one is curious about their rights here's the section governing towing on private property in Virginia Beach

(Sec 21-403.1) states about required written authorization:No tow truck service … shall remove any trespassing vehicle … without first obtaining, at the time the vehicle is towed, specific written authorization of the owner of the property from which the vehicle is towed, or the owner’s agent … This written authorization shall be in addition to any written contract between the tow truck service and the owner of the property or his agent.City code clearly states there are two conditions that must be met to tow a vehicle: a written contract between the tow truck service and property owner AND written authorization from the property owner at the time each vehicle is towed.

My vehicle was removed from private property (Linkhorn Bay Apts) by Affordable Towing and Recovery oon April 15, 2016 within 10 minutes of being parked in a parking lot with no towing signage. The driver hooked up my car and pulled around the corner to then call it in to the yard, so I was unable to locate him and have him drop the car. I arrived at the yard before the 5 minutes prior to the tow truck made it there with my car, my car never entered the lot. The driver stated "wow you got here fast"...and stated "and you did not, how did I make it hear before you?"... The drivers response was "well I had to call it in..."The driver took my payment, and did not offer me Survey and Comment form with my receipt as required by law. I called the company and the clerk told me I could come back between 9-5 tomorrow and get it. I advised her, that not only was the drivers practice predatory but it is the companies legal obligation to offer these document upon receiving the receipt. She stood silent, stated "I don't know what to tell you" and then hung up when I pressed about the companies legal obligation. Affordable Towing and Recovery felt it could tow trespassing vehicles simply because they have a blanket official agreement with a property owner or agent but per city guidelines the property owner’s permission is needed for every single vehicle towed, at the time it is towed. The driver did not have additional permission for my tow. I was charged $145 for an illegal tow. Affordable Towing and Recovery of Norfolk Inc. has numerous documented complaints regarding their business practices and violations of the very policy listed on their own receipt. I have filed a complaint with the BBB as well and I also filed a complaint with Virginia Beach Code Enforcement. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

I've been towed twice now within a months time. It's a shame living at your own apartment risks getting towed by these scam artists looking to just get your money. The first time the guest pass was in the car on the front seat and they still towed it. Extremely rude people who work there and Linkhorn Bay will do nothing to help you. The second time was today after retuning from an out of state trip in a rental car and was parked here only 5 hours to look outside and find the rental car had been towed. They are vultures constantly looking for someone to tow. I've given them over 300 dollars within a month and am looking for a different place to live now. What a joke. I guess shame on me for not learning the first time. I've been told to get a petition together so maybe that's a good start!

To DeMary who posted on 4/19/2013. I had the same exact problem. My car damage estimates over $2, 000.00 and I've only had it for four months. I'm in the process of filing a lawsuit against Affordable Towing, I would advise you and others to do the same. Good luck.

I had my car towed illegally from an apartment complex. There is only one sign there and it is hidden by trees. I even had a visitor pass in the window. Since the window was down a bit, they removed the pass and put it under my seat. I called Affordable Towing and the lady on the phone was extremely rude. Anyway after paying $145 to get my car out of the impound yard, prior to leaving I noticed quite a bit of damage done to my 350z convertible. The tow truck driver was there and acknowledged damaging my car in his I don't care just give me your money attitude. I took pictures before getting into my car and leaving the yard and also placed a call to their office. Yet again, the lady was rude and said she will give a message to the district manager Chris Kawolski (sp) and he will call me back. It has now been five days and four more calls from me and still nothing from the district manager. I live in Fredericksburg, VA and took my car in for an estimate on the damages, over $2, 000. worth. I just reported them to the BBB and in the process of filing a lawsuit. Unfortunately, I will have to make another trip to VA Beach to fight these guys, but it will be worth it. If anyone else has recently had the same issues with this company, please contact me. Maybe we can all go in the lawsuit together. This is a very crooked company and needs to be out of business. The district manager has very poor professional skills but I doubt he cares.

On 4/19/13 Affordable Towing and Recovery towed my car because of illegally being parked, which costed me $135.00 to retrieve my car. When I went to retrieve my car there was dents and scratches on the drive door and back panel. When I complained about the issue the driver tried to deny damage until I showed him my bill of sale stating that my car was only a week old. I have a phone record of 25 phone call to the office to speak to the General Manager (Chris Kowalski) about repairs to no avail. No one has returned mine nor my insurance companies calls. My insurance company estimate the damage to be 1178, which a $1000.00 I must pay to met my deductible. However, I believe this is unfair to me for I am not the cause of the damage regardless of where I parked, people's personal property should be handled with care. The company have proven to be very unprofessional because I was denied pictures of the car before towing and videos tapes of the car while on the lot to the time I came to remove it. As stated early I have a phone record of my attempts to collect payment for damages. This company should be put out of business

This place makes me sick! I am a resident in the gates of west bay complex and affordable towing has made quite the pretty penny off of my friends and now me over the years. My buddies often come over way after the office is closed. Theyll park in MY designated parking space since only a handful if spaces are numbered upon request to the rental office. Since I'd figure if I'm paying for this spot, who's to say what or who can park there without my permission right? OH NO! Affordable towing graciously took his truck and the next morning it was gone. Why is that you ask? Because there was no parking pass on it! 135$ later, we were pissed! Second time my buddy came over, I told him to just put a note on the dash saying you're a visitor and the office is closed with my apartment number and contact info. Well guess what, no call no nothing, 135$ AGAIN for towing. Finally I got him a pass and but oh what's this? A neighbor saw my same friends truck get towed again and immediately stopped it and screamed at the tow driver "ARE YOU BLIND?! There's a tag on it!" They tried to extort my friend to pay 135$ to get it off bc once it's "hooked" there's no way to "drop it" so I screamed at them and threw my lease in his face. They released the vehicle no charge. Today I got my car towed for "altered tags" wtf does that mean? Well let me tell you! I had ny plates and just registered my car in va. I still had my old plates so I threw one on the dash next to my tag. They still towed me and still charged me 135$ again! Resident or not they said it wasn't a vehicle registered to my apartment.

I honest to god hope this place gets shut down! They are appalling, rude, and blood thirsty for money! What a rip off!

I just had an unfortunate incident with Affordable Towing. They towed my friends car from my numbered parking spot b/c there wasn't a decal displayed in the window. Ok that's fine, however, first the car hadn't even been there 24 hours and second they ripped off the brush guard from underneath his new car. They left a trail of it down the parking lot and we had to go gather all the pieces to take to the place. Upon arriving the man that came outside was extremely rude, we asked him what we do if there was damage done to the car by their company and he didn't even look at us. He just smirked and smarted off to us like we were full of it. He then had the audacity to yell at me (female) and then when I took pictures of the damage under the car he had the gall to step in the way which was an inch or two from my face. He then proceeded to yell some more and told me to get off the property. Great customer service. He also told my friend to sign the paper which clearly stated that once they release the vehicle they are no longer responsible for any damages. That's when I spoke up and told him not to sign and that's of course when the big man decided to start yelling at me. Horrible horrible manners, shady place and damage done to the car. Not sure how they are still in business.

My wife and I got a towing notice on Oct 19 saying if the registration and inspection wasn't done in 72 hours they would tow. By Oct 21all of our information was correct. A temporary registration does not state it needs to be displayed however for 4 days it was displayed in the windshield. We woke up on Oct 26 to find our vehicle towed by affordable towing. Why? The vehicle is legal. They want 135$