My vehicle was towed from my housing complex after I had been away from my place for a month. At the time I did not have sufficient funds to pay Active Towing & Recovery to get my car back. I asked Active Towing to allow me to collect my personal belongings from my car, as I had important documents in my vehicle such as IDs, etc, as well as possessions like my Garmin GPS unit. They refused to do so unless I paid them the money they requested to release my car. Then, without my knowledge or consent, they got in my vehicle and took out my belongings. The following week, I went to Active Towing to reclaim my possessions, though the Garmin GPS unit was not among the items present. When I asked where it was they indicated nothing like that was found. I find it curious that Active Towing could collect my personal belongings, including my ID cards and papers, which were in the compartment between the two front seats, yet somehow could not find the Garmin GPS unit in that exact same compartment. When I asked to see the vehicle to show them where it was supposed to be, I was informed they had already transferred it to the wreckers. It is convenient that I was not allowed to open the vehicle to gather said belongings, including immediately necessary items like personal IDs. Instead Active Towing broke into the vehicle without allowing me to be present to personally collect belongings and verify Active Towing does not remove items for itself which do not belong to the company. Active Towing was informed several times through the phone to allow me to come and remove immediately necessary items from the vehicle, each time the response was that I had to pay Active Towing's fine before I can open up the vehicle to retrieve said belongings. This is apparently the policy of Active Towing: To hold the personal belongings of a person for ransom until their fine is paid, even though the vehicle in Active Towing's possession is security enough for the towing company. This is a dubious practice and unethical business decision. Additionally this may well be illegal. Since the Garmin GPS unit was in fact in the vehicle in the space between the two seats when the vehicle was towed, one must conclude the item was taken by company representatives for gain when I was not allowed to be present and is not being returned. I had not realized the apparent cost of doing business with Active Towing included the pilfering of my belongings. read more

I have used them twice. First time my car wouldn't start due to a key issue (the tumblers got stuck) but the gentleman fixed it, and didn't charge me anything. They also have a nice receptionist who answers the phone and tell you when to expect them, and it's been fairly accurate. I haven't used towing services a lot (thank goodness) so I don't have anything to compare them to, but so far their service has been great, so I do call them first and would recommend them. read more