Universal Towing & Recovery
reviews and complaints

The manager at this company is so unprofessional! I called to get an issue resolved for some ILLEGAL TOWING with no attitude or nothin'. The manager right away gets a smart mouth and disrespectful. He calls me out of my name and tells me to have my son come in person to fight. He says he can do whatever the *** he wants to do. This is so unprofessional! I feel like many people have been scammed by this company for all of the illegal towing they do! THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN or FIRE THE MANAGER!

This company is the saddest I've ever encountered. Unfortunately, my friend's car got towed illegally, and when we tried to retrieve the car, the nasty, unprofessional person who handles these calls gave us a huge runaround before the cat even got back to the tow yards. The lady was screaming at us like we were dumb, cursing and just completely unprofessional. I'm pretty sure she was intoxicated because her behavior was erratic and unnecessary. We simply just wanted our car back. After they made us pay $125 cash, it only took about 2 hours to find our car. This was the most ridiculously experience ever. This business has the worst reviews and seriously should be shut down.

If I could give them zero stars I would. This company towed my car illegally and ignored Florida laws about proper towing guidelines. Florida statute 715.07 5.C says that the notice must include the name and phone number of the towing company. Our car had a notice that only mentioned when it would be towed, but no information about where it would go. That's against the law. When I found out who towed it and asked for information, the representative refused to give me any details and told me to get a lawyer. I told him that the car was towed wrongly and I wanted to know where it was. The driver didn't even check our license plates, which were fixed right after we got the notice. They towed the car anyway and then tried to make us pay for their mistake. They also refused to give us information, and if we took more than one day to find the car, the price would go up. Luckily, we called our apartment complex and sorted it out, but the whole process of getting our car back was terrible and unprofessional. They broke several Florida laws and didn't give me information about my own car. I can't believe Florida lets this company keep operating and doing illegal things.

This place is the worst place ever to deal with. My car got towed from my residence and I work 3 hours away so I got to this place at 4am to get my car and go to work late. I get there (I call beforehand to make sure it's open), knock on the window, and no one answers, so I call and the same person tells me that there is no one available for an hour or more! I waited in 44° weather and no one showed up and they stopped answering the phone. I go home and decide to call out of work and come back at 8am. I call to make sure someone is there again and the same exact guy again tells me that they're always open. I explained that that wasn't the case when I was there and this guy (Edwin or Edward) tells me that he was there at 4am and watched me wait outside in the freezing cold for over an hour! This blew my mind and I said "You watched me in need of help and you refused to help and left me out there?" He got mad and started screaming on the phone "I don't give a damn come get your damn car" and hung up on me. I get another *** and show up to get my car. They charge me $125 to get it and completely fail to tell me that they only take cash. There is no signs displayed anywhere saying that they only take cash! I bring that up to the guy and his smart [censored] replies "well our customers usually call beforehand" Which at this point I've lost my *** and said "this is my second time here and I've called twice!". He then gave me a half assed apology and told me that the nearest ATM is at a gas station down the street. That gas station turned out to be a 20 minute walk there and 20 back! And they refused to help or give me a ride there. By the time I got back and got my car home it was 11am. This place is terrible and their employees are beyond rude, disrespectful, and will purposely screw you over! Especially if it's that Edwin/Edward (short, skinny, African American, with dreads) kid who has zero customer service sills.

I live in an apartment building and I've been parking in a handicapped spot for 3 years now. I always have my handicap card, the Picard, displayed in my front window. However, Universal Towing & Recovery towed my car claiming they couldn't see my card. When I went to retrieve my car, I couldn't find the handicap card anywhere, and they refused to show me the pictures they claimed to have taken to prove there was no handicap card in the car. I never remove the card, so this is very frustrating. They won't refund my $130, and when we tried to talk to them, they just hung up on us. It's not right. We clearly displayed our handicap, and now it's completely gone since they took the car. We even have to get another handicap card now. The apartment complex hasn't been helpful either. I spoke to them, and they were supposed to get back to me, but they never did. This company is a joke, full of thieves and liars.

04/04/22- They charged me $175.00 for towing my car from the parking lot in my gated community. The person who helped me was really rude and disrespectful. They even used bad language and told me to tell the ComplaintsBoard.com to go *** themselves. They said they don't follow any rules from the ComplaintsBoard.com. They also made fun of my clothes and how I dress. They compared my rights as a customer to those of prisoners. They first told me it would cost $75.00, but then suddenly increased it to $175.00. They wouldn't let me talk to Art L or the manager. They also refused to give me the correct address of their business or any information I needed to report the incident. The person even mentioned pulling out a gun if they felt threatened. I told them that the police would be with me when I picked up my car, but they didn't seem to care. They kept saying that the call was being recorded.

This "busness" took my sons car from his residense. He been living there several years with same car since 2017. And has resident tag. My son called universal towing this responsive and responsible busness owner said they didnt know if they had the car. Since I am the registered owner, (I co-signed for his loan) I tried calling, I was told they out right didnt have the car. And didnt know where it is and suggested I call the non emergency number. I thanked them for info. I called non emergency and was informed my sons car was in fact at universal towing, and if I needed help in retrieving my car I should call the non emergency in Orlando. I called universal towing, once again to try and locate my sons car. I told them what the non-emergency said and this is where the rudeness from some kid began. Said he didnt care and hung up. I tried calling back and I could only get the voice mail. I am not sure when the car was towed. My son was away and only found out a few days ago.

My car got towed from an apartment complex while I was nearby. I chased down the truck, and the driver asked for $130 in cash. After trying two different credit cards, he didn't care and threatened to tow my car if I didn't find a working card. He ran the card as a debit instead of a credit card. I asked him to run it as a credit, and finally, it went through. He was really unprofessional, smelled like marijuana, and insisted on cash instead of a credit card. I'm worried that this company is doing the same thing to others, as I've seen in the reviews. Many people have been charged with fraudulent fees after their license and credit card pictures were taken, and this driver did the same to me. The local law enforcement office just tells me to complain to the Orange County government. I'll do that, but I'm not sure if it will actually solve these aggressive practices. Maybe if enough people pay attention to Universal Towing & Recovery, and we complain to the local media watchdog groups, it might help?

I went out of my house on February 22 at 7:30 am and my car was gone. I was freaking out, thinking it got stolen. A neighbor told me that our HOA now enforces street parking rules. My car was parked in front of my house, but there was no note saying it had been towed. Finally, I found out the towing company's name and called about my car. The guy who answered was really rude and told me to call back and talk to a supervisor. I called again at 3 to find out their closing time so I could arrange to get my car. They told me it would cost $125 in cash and I had to be there before 6. I got there at 5:20 and there was no one there. I called them back and they said they had to call a driver to open the gate, and they would be there within an hour. I was so mad. No one told me I had to make an appointment to meet someone. The recorded phone calls will prove it. The driver showed up at 6:05 and started getting the information to release my car. I gave him the $125, but he said my bill was actually $155. I told him I was told $125 and he said they were charging me a "gate fee" because it was after 6. I tried to argue and explain that I was there at 5:20, but he refused to give me my car until I paid the extra $30. This is just a scam to keep my car hostage. I believe he purposely showed up at 6:05 to collect the extra money. I had to leave work early and missed a prepaid workout because of all this nonsense. It took me 3 hours to resolve everything. They took my email to send me a receipt, but I never received it.

My car got towed because I parked it illegally, and I understand that. I asked the tow truck guy how I could get my car back, and he told me in a really unprofessional way that I had to pay $125. He never mentioned that I could pay with cash, so I took out my credit card. But then he tried to run the card and told me they only accepted debit cards. My wife had a debit card that she never used before, so she gave it to him. He also asked for her license, and he took pictures of both her license and the debit card. He charged $125 to the card. We had never used that card before, but two days later, we saw a charge of $389.64 from Expressway Authority on our account. We never used that card for any tolls or anything, but after the tow truck driver took the pictures, all these fraudulent charges started showing up. I contacted Expressway, and they said the card was used to pay for some tolls for Larry #8, but they didn't give any more details. I called the bank, and they're investigating it as fraud. I also contacted the tow company, and this is what they said in their reply:

"That charge isn't from us. We're not deleting the pictures. You don't get to talk to the owner (you're not special). You should have paid cash if you didn't want us to have pictures of your ID and card."

Universal Towing & Recovery
206 6th Street Orlando, FL. 32824

I'm worried that they used our debit card for fraud. Thanks.

On 9/30, I was sent by my employer to retrieve a vehicle for which we hold the legal title. I arrived with all the requested documents, including a notarized hold harmless agreement, electronic lien, notarized letter confirming my employment, business card, driver's license, and cash for payment. I waited at the gate for 45 minutes until someone finally arrived. (It's illegal for a tow yard in Florida not to have someone readily available.) When the driver showed up, I handed him my documents, and he called his supposed boss, Edwin. Edwin asked to be put on speakerphone so he could speak to me. He then became verbally abusive, insisting that I was someone he had spoken to earlier, even though I had only spoken to women in the office. He used vulgar language and told me I wouldn't be getting the car. I tried to reason with him and explain that I wasn't the person he spoke to earlier and that I just needed to retrieve my company's car. He made endless excuses, claiming that I needed a repo company present, even though it wasn't a repo and I didn't need one since I was representing the lien holder as an employee. He refused, so I called the non-emergency line, and two officers showed up to try and reason with him as well. After about four hours of being given the runaround and having to send more unnecessary documents, he finally agreed to release the car. However, he increased the rates at the last minute. It was a frustrating experience that wasted the tow truck driver's day, my time, and the officers' time. Later that day, he texted me on my personal cell phone (which he must have obtained from the office's caller ID) and used derogatory language towards me and my company. I chose not to respond to the text, as I knew that's what he wanted. In all my years in the car business, I have never been so disrespected, and I have never encountered a tow company that tried to illegally hold a car. He also refused to provide me with a W9 form, stating, "You ain't reporting me on no *** taxes, ***."

Universal towed my vehicle out my parking lot that I pay monthly for at Amelia Court. I called Stacy & she said I would still have to pay the tow. On 09/10 Universal towing towed my vehicle out of my parking spot that I pay for monthly at Amelia court. I called the company and was told that I would still have to pay no matter what. I had the Apartment Management Fabian call and she still wouldn't release the car. She was more interested in the money to be paid. She was very unprofessional and lack customer service skills. I would like a refund of the money paid

My car was towed from my building (building 6) to available parking around building 2 across the complex. I informed the office that a part from my 2018 Nissan Rogue was missing and per the dealership, it was the towing port located on the front bumper. They provided me with Universal Towing's number, but when I contacted them, They denied having the part and said there was nothing they could do. I need someone to contact me regarding the defacing of my vehicle. Also, that same towing company has been roaming through the parking lot for hours every night and illegally towing residents' cars but allowing people without parking decals to stay with warnings

My car was towed away by this company from my residence. They say it was because my tag was expired and didn't belong to my car. Of course I'm upset due to the inconvenience. When I called I spoke with a female about coming to get my car she was rude about it. I asked for the address to get my car back. I had trouble finding the location. Which was on the back end of a dirt road with multiple large pot holes. Once I got to the location the gate was locked and no one was around to assist. I called again spoke with the same female and was told someone would be out to unlock it. 30 minutes go by and still no one around. I called once again and spoke with a male who I explained that I'd been told someone was going to help me. He rude stated that someone might be there in an hour to assist. After the call ended a male driving a tow truck came & unlocked the gate. I went to go inside the gate when he stopped me saying I needed an appointment. I was never told by anyone I spoke with that I needed an appointment. I called again and spoke with a female again. She stated that the male truck driver did not know what he was talking about and that it will be an hour or more before someone could come.

Towing company taking advantage of low income community On the morning of Saturday, August 29th my husband, *** and I,*** came home from grocery shopping. We reversed our vehicle to back up to unload the vehicle. We both grabbed groceries and went inside to drop off. By the time we went back outside to get more groceries our vehicle was gone. Universal Towing hooked up vehicle between 9:24 to 9:27am. I tried to call local patrol for community, no success. My husband found the number for local towing and called at 9:33am just minutes after the removal of the vehicle. The lady over the phone knew our community and make and model before we even indicated. She went on to say we needed to take the bus and bring cash of 125 to pick up vehicle. We do live in an income restricted community, So I'm pretty sure that's why she made the comment about taking a bus. She was very rude. I asked if they could bring the vehicle back since it was only minutes from the property at this point. She said no repeated herself and gave us the address to Orlando. We only reversed the car to unload the vehicle for groceries. In speaking to neighbors the same thing has happened to other residents. When they go inside to drop off groceries, vehicles are being towed. They have found a loophole if you will to make a quick $125. We have the correct parking passes on the vehicle, in a designated parking area. They are taking advantage of low income community through a pandemic, where we have had losses of income taking away our only means of transportation. Please investigate further as to how many vehicles have been towed, reasons for towing. I know many are being removed unlawfully. They are not placing a proper warning either. The vehicle safety of our community is being compromised and it is incredibly disturbing as we felt like our backs were against the wall. In less than 10 minutes they robbed us of $125.

On November 17 i renewed my registration via online application. It was approved and paid for. On November 30 i still hadn't received my new registration. I called the Osceola tax collector to see what i could do. She advised me to either arrive in the next 20mins or wait til morning. I had no choice but to wait because the tax collector's office was further than 20mins away. On the morning of December 1. My vehicle was towed away. When i called they told me it was expired when in it was actually current. The lady on the phone wouldn't let me show her the email stating that it was paid and kept sayin we don't know if it's been paid or current but wouldn't let me send her the info. When i talked to the manager. He told me that i was the problem sayin that it was my responsibility to contact them if my tags hadn't arrived in time. Who are they to tell me who i need to contact. The person i need to contact about my tags is not universal towing it's Osceola tax collection. So even tho i have a current registration. I'm being penalized for the postal service not delivering my tags on time n being penalized for not letting them know about my personal life. That whole tow company is a bunch of scammers looking for anything to take money. I parked by a dumpster which is in a legit parking space. I got towed cuz the trash collector dropped the dumpster close to my truck. They. Told me i was parked illegally. How am i illegal if im in between the white lines. Again. How is that my problem. I was there first. After that no other vehicle has been towed now. Yet the dumpster is closer to other vehicles and they don't get towed. I've witnessed vehicles in far worse positions. No residential decal. Cars backed in. Yet they still there. But I'm current on vehicle and i get penalized for it. They are crooks. They take your vehicle and tell you you should've contacted us about what you got goin on. Why do i have to contact someone that's not associated to my problem