Truck looks good, but time promised to be ready, failed twice. Very friendly employees

come here if you want ur car damaged in under 3 hours of them towing and keeping ur car in I got my car towed yesterday at 6pm and I picked up the car at 9pm in those 3 hours of them having my car they charged me 410 to take out my car and when I got my car the driver door and right side fender were smashed in read more

Had a vehicle breakdown in Melrose Park the police called the tow company Area Towing we requested the unit be taken to our Elmhurst shop the driver from the tow truck refused to take it to Elmhurst instead took it to their lot I understand the police called them but still they should've done what we wanted done not do what they wanna do. They did it for extra money. $$1800 to tow a few miles and it took over an hour and a half for them to write the invoice, Towing companies are such a rip off when the police call them read more

Alisa is amazing! She is a real character. You are in a terrible mood when needing to call a tow company but when Alisa shows up she's going to make you laugh! I know what company I'm going to call the next time I need a tow and ask for Alisa. She is very knowledgeable so you can feel safe with your property when she's on the job. read more

Joey and Natalie are the best they came within 10 mins with a lockoutttt !!! There the best i recommend them to the fullest.

The owner was very racist and rude and cursed at me and was talking smart the entire time and tried to get me to pay more to get my car out then what I had to . read more

They are CRIMINALS. They auctioned off my car and REFUSED to allow me to collect my personal belongings. Robert lied and said I needed a release form for my personal belongings which included clothes, high value designer items, electronics, expensive makeup products, insurance cards, IPass, and even my own personal home garage door opener! I have contacted one of the local Police Departments multiple times concerning this situation and they stated that Robert was lying and I did not need any special documents to retrieve my vehicle due to NOT being the vehicles operator at the time of impound and completely innocent and free of any criminal charges between me and the station that originally had the car towed. After months of Robert's criminal lies they auctioned off the car with my personal items still inside and refused to tell me where they sold the car to, claiming it was "illegal and confidential". Yet they had no issue illegally not allowing me to collect my personal items no matter how many times I showed up to the place despite living so far away. Tow companies by law are supposed to do what's called an "inventory" and release the owner's personal items and documents but NOT the vehicle until they pay the Tow charges and/or police department charges. As a law student myself I will be filing a criminal report against them and taking any legal action I need to to ensure I get my personal belongings back or compensated to replace them. Whatever you do STAY AWAY FROM AREA TOWING unless you yourself want to be a victim of their crimes!!! They are liars and scammers. When I originally called they said the car wasn't even mine despite me having documents to prove it and they said someone named "Eric" was the owner! They can never get their scam stories straight! read more

Area Towing - Photo of the letter I received stating they could sell my car but illegally keep my personal items from me. - Towing Near Me - Melrose Park, Illinois

Wish I can rate this lower than one star. Extremely unprofessional especially the owner. I called over some damage but only four days later come to find out these crooks don't want to take care of their negligence but sure do charge a hefty fines. Extremely unprofessional, poor management feel awful for the staff that has to deal with Robert who's such an embarrassment for the company. Can't keep his emotions down, acting belligerent on the phone.truly pathetic service. read more

Amazing service from Lisa. She was welcoming and was very helpful in getting my car towed to the shop to get fixed. Highly recommend.

Area came promptly when my car needed battery services. Their price was reasonable and the tech was most friendly and helpful. Great service, good value. read more

Wish 0 rating was an option.They charge incorrect vehicle weights, extra unnecessary fees, only accept cash despite card logos being posted at door, and lie about local police hours, on top of being rude and not correcting invoice mistakes despite proof. I was towed on Thanksgiving morning at around 2am. Upon calling around I find out I was towed and showed up to tow office. Once there, they informed me they could not let me pay for my vehicle without police release form. They also informed me police station would be closed due to thanksgiving holiday and I would be charged to keep car stored an additional day due to that closure. I tried calling police station but kept receiving automated messages so I took their word for it. I later found out by police station that they were in fact open,but flooded with calls by many people being towed that night (many events going on since it was black Wednesday), I received the release form with no problem by PD. Area Towing charged me a flatbed fee despite my car not being AWD, and charged me over my vehicle weight despite me bringing correct weight documents to show them. I paid cash but people who were trying to pay with a credit card were being turned away stating their "machine didnt work" Ridiculous to pay $470 for 2 FORCED days of storage, not even city of Chicago charges those exorbitant fees. I have attached their fee list and my invoice for reference read more

Area Towing - my invoice - Towing Near Me - Melrose Park, Illinois

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Great quality service. Craig was very helpful and polite and informative. Service was professional.

Called to have a car removed from my reserved residential parking spot. Not only did they have me on hold for the longest but did everything they could to not do their job. Embarrassing considering there is a sign posted with their number right above my parking spot in order to have unauthorized vehicles removed. I honestly wish that zero stars was an option cause this is a very useless towing company avoid doing any type of business with them since their drivers are inexperienced and love driving like maniacs around the city. read more

This towing company is very unprofessional..I submitted a claim with my insurance company to get my car picked up and it's been way more than three hours and they didn't even take the time to follow up with me. I kept calling them and they kept pushing my time back and lying about the time they'd be here...they kept giving me the run around and no solution, then they mentioned that their tow truck was less than 30 minutes from me when I checked the location they provided where their tow truck was and that location was only 20 minutes from my location so I still waited patiently then another hour passed and I called them very upset letting them know that they were very unprofessional and incompetent and the person that answered didn't care to hear why I was so upset after waiting for about 4 hours and hung up the phone on me. To be honest I was completely furious when this person told me I'd have to wait another 30-40 minutes MORE on top of what I've been waiting!! The insurance company reached out I told them what happened and they'll be send someone better and expediting the situation!! My father is a diabetic and needs to get home for he's medication that's what pisses me off about people that work for customer service that shouldn't work in this field!!! read more

These people are cons and crooks. Lt Scatchell with the Melrose Park PD told me to go over there, talk to the owner Frank and give him a call back to come to an understanding. They towed my truck from a business where I was making a purchase. Frank Varchetto, the owner, is somehow unknown and unreachable by anyone and no one has a solution for any of the problems they cause. I think maybe Frank is actually the one who answers the phone, and I pissed him off, so he had his employees forcibly destroy my truck under the hood. You cannot accidentally break 3 fan blades over 2ft long and the top and sides of the fan casing. The plastic is very think, strong and behind the radiator. They have their prices listed by vehicle weight, but want to charge me for a weight 10000 lbs over what my vehicle states on the state registration. It doesn't work that way, that's criminal. They don't like you or the way you talk to them, they break your property. I have thousands of dollars in repairs due to the deliberate actions of a BUSINESS that doesn't even operate with any kind of sense or respectability. A business owner myself understands you have to make your money to cover your cost, but not retaliating against me and my property because you don't like my attitude. They state they take cash, MasterCard and Visa, but SURPRISE, SURPRISE, their machine doesn't work. You are forced to pay cash! Last but not least, they wouldn't even look at my registration to discuss the weight issue. They didn't ask for any verification of ownership or my right to take the vehicle. I guess because, really, Frank just wanted his $700, in untraceable funds. read more

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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 read more

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Horrible! Called last night, said one of the drivers called off and the other won't be in until midnight. Gave them pick up and drop-off address and was quoted a good price. We waited and called again at 11pm-ish to reconfirm and nobody picked up or returned our call. Called this morning, the dispatcher that is on said they don't service that area. WTF? What a waste of time! read more

I locked myself out of my car, with my puppy inside . Spoke to Natalie and not only was she professional, but very understanding and courteous. read more

My car broke down and I needed a tow and car repair. I called Area Towing and the driver came out quickly and towed my car in to their shop. Their mechanic gave me an accurate estimate and fixed my car quickly. When I came to pick up my car the office staff was helpful and courteous to me. My experience was great, the tow and repair were affordable. I highly recommend this business. I know people complain about towing companies, but Area Towing is a customer friendly company. read more

I have been meaning to write this review for weeks but better late than never. A huge thanks to Area Towing for rescuing me from a blow out near O'Hare Airport. My first instinct was to dial *999 for the Illinois help truck. Then I got transferred to the closest town (I won't name it) which offered a 2.5 hour wait. I called a friend who thankfully recommended Area--the driver was there in no time and he was an absolute genius at his job and a gentleman, helping me through the snow to the truck and to my usual tire shop. No one could ask for more. I am so grateful to Area for reminding me that people still do a great job and care at the same time. read more

Incredible! Had a bad car crash on the highway where my car spun out and slammed the guard rail totaling my car. Rob happened to be getting off and saw the whole thing happen. Not only did he turn around and come to help me out of the kindness of his heart but he towed my car from the middle of the lanes to the side and stayed with me until I left. If he weren't there I don't know what I would have done. I can not describe how grateful I am for him.Beyond thankful to have found this place and amazed how well they worked with me after they towed it off. Thank you Rob for being my hero! read more

Our car was in an accident where it was hit by three cars on the 290 expressway and it was totaled. The trunk was crushed and 2 inches from the ground. The Melrose Police Dept. had the car towed to Area towing. After leaving the hospital, we went to retrieve our personal belongings and was told that could only retrieve medicine from the vehicle or pay all associated storage fees. I explained that Geico would be paying all the fees as well as picking up the car. My husband was told to give them his drivers license and Insurance and that would release the vehicle, which he did. After not getting anywhere with obtained our personal belongings, my husband had to go to work so he left. I stayed, called Geico and explained the situation. Geico called the tow company and told them that they would pay all the fees. Geico told me that now we could get our belongings. I went back in, spoke to the staff (extremely rude women) and they asked where my husband was. I said he had went to work. They refused to allow me to retrieve the items saying he had to get it himself. He had already given them permission to release the car and items. The next day the Insurance adjuster went there to inspect the car and he obtained the belongings (as my husband could not bend down due to the accident). The adjuster asked a male staffer if he could give us the items, that we would be there shortly. He agreed. My husband arrived about 20 minutes later and the women were telling him that he had to wait for the tow truck to take the car out of the yard to get the items. I called the office, asked to speak to the owner, was told he wasn't in and I asked for a manager. The "salty" woman claimed to be the manager. I asked what the problem was now and she said because I told the Insurance Company they were difficult to work with. Well...I didn't lie! It is apparent that these women have serious issues, misuse and abuse their positions, because they are having a bad day, or have family problems at home, they bring their funky attitudes to work and take it out on the customers. The lack of professionalism, funky attitudes, rude language and demeanor has no place in the workplace. Both of those "dogs" need to be fired!!! read more

I called them because they were close a driver showed up in about 15 20 mins pulled up to me and said he would be right back , I figured he had to take a dump or something I waited an hour and 15 mins then started calling no answer went straight to a mail box that was full if it had to cost mote could have just told me very unprofessional I called ohare towing and they came right away read more

Awesome fast service friendly and very helpful made a bad situation much better you won't be sorry try them out !

My car got stolen and towed here, talked to them on the phone, they couldn't give me any info of the condition of the car, tell me I need to go to the police station which was not true, I bring the title and insurance info and they were so rude and non cooperative, scammers and thieves come to mind, terrible place, avoid them if possible read more

I love this place! Their rates to repair my car are very fair. I had great experiences with the employees, and will continue to go there for my auto needs. read more

AREA TOWING ARE SCAMMERS and will damage your car! They work with Melrose Park PD to scam people. They towed my car (because it broke down in the street and the police wouldn't let it sit long enough for another tow company to make it, so they impounded it WOW) and then refused to release it to another tow company for 2 days. After I paid for the release, instead of leaving it in an area where it could be retrieved by another tow, they moved it and buried my car behind other cars and refused to move the cars even though I sent 4 tow trucks to get my car. They made it impossible for the other tow companies to pick up the car. This was in order to scam me out of more storage fees. Worst trucking company ever. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY YOU WILL BE SORRY!!! read more

had a wonderful experience with Area towing. I needed a tow as the wheel was about to fall off of my car. Called around lowest quote was twice what I paid with them. They charged me $80 to go from Franklin Park to Mount Prospect. They said they could be there in 15 mins, I asked if 25 would be ok they said sure no problem. They got there at the time they said they would. they were great about getting my car on the flatbed and even better about unloading it when we got to the house, He put a jack stand under the car for me and put the wheel in the garage for me. The gentleman went out of his way to help me when he got the car off of the flatbed. I would recommend Area towing in heart beat. Hopefully I don't have to use them again but I would. read more

The employees are very rude. The overweight black female at the front desk told me "you are getting on my nerves, it's my lunch time". I was only trying to get information about what I needed to do to get my car back. They notified me by mail 20 later days after having my vehicle on their lot. If I could give negative ratings, I would. They give you the run arounds when you ask them for information about a tow hearing. read more

Got into an accident and my car broke down about a block away from this company's towing yard. I had my roadside assistance enroute to my location. He was about 15 mins away. Then the police pulled up and demanded that i get my car towed immediately. I told him I had already called my roadside assistance and that they would be there shortly. He said that we couldnt wait. I told him i didnt have any money. So he said dont worry about it and called these guys out. By the time they got to my car, my own tow truck had pulled up also. So i told the police that i didnt need his tow, i would just use my own. He says its too late cause he already called them out. So Area Towing took my car to their lot, which was less than a minute away. So me and my tow truck followed them. When we pulled up, we noticed them taking my car behind the gate and closing the door on me. I asked the guy what he was doing and he said i'd have to get my car in the morning and that i had to pay over $218. Why the fuck would i pay for a tow that i didnt ask for when i had free roadside assistance there? And why would the police officer tell me it was free. Seems like they are all about the money. The officer must get a cut of the towing costs. $218 to go a few hundred feet! Makes no damn sense! Greedy bastards! read more

Horrible horrible horrible experience! Worst customer service , not helpful AT all! They try to keep your vehicle there as long as possible to charge you more money or to milk your insurance! I released my vehicle to a body shop... They go pick it up and won't take a check?? The guy at the window gave us a hard time and would only take CASH..seriously?????? The worst part of my experience with this towing company was that at the time of the accident my truck had no fluids (windshield wiper fluid etc)released anywhere but outside the truck and this towing company had it's driver shovel in a mountain of liquid absorbent (gravel rocks) INSIDE the whole passengers side floor. Literally was all the way to the top reaching the bottom of the seat! sERIOuSLy? Was this necessary? Absolutely not! I was furious!!! What in the world!? I understand it's suppose to be in the vehicle but it's suppose to be in a container definitely not just shoveled INSIDE!! Ugh! Worst towing company AVOID it if possible!!! If it wasn't for local police towing there ,they wouldn't have any kind of business ! read more

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"This place is run by mafia! To call every individual working inside a scumbag, would be an utter understatement. If I can give negative stars I would and will certainly be reporting them to BBB for their non-existent professionalism and con artistry. My wife and I came to get the contents from her rolled over vehicle (hit by drunk driver) and they would not have it. Gave us a complete run around over the phone. Then, when I took time off work and dragged still hurting wife to Melrose Park, because they would not release her belongings to anyone but her. Once there the BS and run around continued. The front desk women would not know what customer service, respect, and professionalism is. They started insulting myself and wife from behind the glass and door. When I asked the douchebag to repeat what he said, he threatened to call the cops, which I welcomed. Our attorney was then on the phone with them and after agreeing to follow the attorney's advice and let my wife access to her totaled car for belongings, they played dumb and said the person attorney spoke to did not exist. After multiple other phone conversations with our attorney and a threat of legal action did they finally grant my wife access. Please be aware! read more

I crashed my car and used Area Towing to have my car towed to the body shop. The driver was so kind and professional. He could tell I was upset about the damage to my car and was compassionate and professional to me and was careful when he loaded the car onto the truck. It was nice to encounter this after being shaken from the accident. read more

So to start with, our vehicle got stolen and ended up here from. The lady at the front desk was So RUDE about the whole situation. After receiving beyond poor customer service from these delinquents we asked to see our vehicle to see if it was worth spending the 600 dollars to get it back, they refused. Said they only take cash and if we don't have it we don't get our vehicle. They only take cash so you can't call the credit card company up and decline it after they try to SCAM you and LIE about the condition of it. They said it was completely fine and nothing was wrong with it when we asked them 7 times if we can see it first. We even offered for them to just keep and it give them the title if it was in bad condition, but they said no again. The vehicle now is not worth the money we paid to get it back. Try and AVOID this business all together, it's run by nothing but criminals and con artists and they work with the police to stay in business. It looks like a run down crack house and all the crack heads there are toothless and lazy. This thing doesn't have negative stars or else I'd give them it. read more

horrible horrible customer service. lazy idiots that work the window. they overcharged and lied on my receipt saying my car was there for 2 days and it got picked up in the morning. i was in accident at 8 pm on thursday and picked up my car on friday at 4pm and they want to charge me for having it there for 2 days. i will be going in this week and personally speaking to the owner for giving false information on the receipt. read more