THESE GUYS ARE CROOKS! Location: granville near drake in front of subway. I came upon my car when the tow driver had just unlocked my door. It WAS NOT lifted,so the tow driver upon seeing me quickly goes over and STEALS (yeah like a ninja) he grabs my parking ticket in front of me. He then tells me I have to pay $40 for a "drop" charge..WTFF! What drop charge!? The car wasnt lifted!!..was he going to make machine noises with his mouth pretending my car was being released to the ground and then give me a cookie!? I could tell he knew he wasnt fast enough to get the car or had anything to get me so he resorted to EXTORTION. And what about stealing the ticket? Was busters going to bill me for a tow that never happened. Luckily my friends were there for support and we all knew the car wasnt in his possesion. He was threatening to call the cops etc.. What a low life. Eventually he gives back my ticket after some talk, but what a town we live in where aholes with tow trucks can try to extort honest working folks. IF YOU ARE EVER IN THIS SITUATION: -Call the police. Sooner they are there, the less likely they will try to bully you. -RECORD EVERYTHING ON YOUR PHONE, making sure you get all the details including driver and license of tow driver. You have the RIGHT to film anyone in a public place. If he touches you that is assault. -Stand your ground and stand in front of your car and dont allow them to tow unless they have a right to do so. You have the right to move your car even after receiving a ticket. -YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEAVE if they have not lfited your car up.They are just pissed because they lost a commision and will resort to trickery and deceit to get you to give them money. THEY POCKET THE MONEY AS WELL. IF THEY HAVENT LIFTED YOUR CAR, THEN THEY HAVENT GOT SHIT. We all need to make a living but extortion and hostility shouldnt be rewarded. read more

The evil car towing company circulating downtown Vancouver like hawks. Rude, sketchy and with bad vibes. I understand that they are evil because of what they do, but why do their personnel have to be so evil too? If you've ever experience a car tow with them, I'm sure you can relate, as I find so many others instantly can once I share my experiences with them! Busters is among the worst businesses in Vancouver to deal with and it angers me that the City has outsourced all downtown towing to this company in particular. If you drive and park on the streets of downtown Vancouver often like I do, you know that this very action can be stressful! The City issues parking tickets the very moment you're overdue on the meter and Busters tows within seconds. I swear there`s some kind of Big Brother video cam watching over us and a big red beeping button that lights up to target us like we're pons! So, I was towed a couple weeks back and I deserved it. I missed one of the signs on the meter. I thought that I could park after 10PM until 9AM in the morning, but I missed the extra time restrictions in smaller print on the side that said no stopping, 7AM-9AM. Fine. Tickets suck, but it takes a lot more to get me upset, so I went to pick it up on Main. Just like last time, the attendant was so rude, disrespectful and acted completely annoyed with the logistical questions I asked. This was what ruined my day. I felt like she assumed I was going to be angry at her, so she felt she had to be mean, rude and condescending first. I've experienced this before with them, and so many people have shared similar stories with me. In another case a couple months back, my dad's friend was towed after misreading a sign with the small extra restrictions on the side (just like I did). Busters dented the front of her BMW in the towing process. When she brought it up, they treated her with disrespect, argued vigorously with her and said they could do nothing about it. It cost her over $1000 after the damages. Busters is full of bad vibes, bad practices (CBC: http://bit.ly/toeQMY) and personnel that need to learn how to work with people better. They're in need of a rebrand, reassessment in unlawful business practices and corporate culture update. No one likes them because of how they do what they do and the perception they create for themselves: They are the evil car towing company that inconveniences busy people and treats them like dirt in the process, and were just very lucky for the City to guarantee them business... However, I think there is hope that they can do better, but only if they care to improve themselves: They could be the car towing company whose priority is to maintain clear traffic patterns and good traffic flow in the City, especially in busy rush hour, so that commuters can get from A to B without any backups ... and who strives to treat their customers well by guiding them through the process easily and with respect. Perhaps, one day. read more

Took my car with child seat. Left toddler and mom stranded in rain. No coat or carseat. Advised to put child in cab without carseat. It is MY JOB to keep MY CHILD SAFE. Carseat safety is #1. Cash grab by City of Vancouver. I spend my entire life trying to keep my child safe and you "advise" me to put him in a cab without a car seat? Car accidents happen. Would you assume full responsibility for him if injured? Nope I would. I would also end up in a mental health institution if something happened to him based on your unsolicited and UNSAFE advice. No solutions. Just pay up! Apparently according to traffic officer it is okay if she parks there. You should be ashamed of yourselves. This is horrific. CHILD SAFETY TRUMPS CASH GRABS. Busters Towing and The City of Vancouver are a class act. read more

Slime plain and simple. Some of the employees are probably good people and the job needs doing. If you park illegally you should get towed, but why does this shady company get the contract for it. They treat your vehicle like shit the guys that run this are literally scum If you need to call a tow truck call someone else anyone else read more

They overcharged us, charged us tax twice, however, not worth the company's administrative hours to correct this. Even though we had authorized a certain amount to be charged on the card they over twiced us on double the tax. Staring at both the receipt and CC to confirm this. read more

They towed my scooter even though it was in a legal spot. Who tows a scooter. What a rip off - City of Vancouver just encourages crap like this. read more

Fast and affordable!! Helped me with my stupid lock out. Would use again if I space out and lock myself out.

Awful experience. My car got towed for NO REASON, at a place whre the parking sign ALLOWED me to park past 3 pm. Bullshit. This is a business that is somehow legal and allowed to charge people MONEY for CREATING inconveniences for them. If you work at this place and for this company, and get your paycheque from here, how do you sleep at night knowing you just made a whole bunch fo people's lives miserable? You provide ZERO service to society and are a pest and a parasite to every poor person who is already being crushed by the high costs of living in this city. Seriously. does ANYONE aside u benefit from this??? Think twice. You may just have a heart and a passion to actually CONTRIBUTE to society. Contribute POSITIVE things. read more

Worse customer service. These guys should close down. City of Vancouver and ICBC should look for different towing company.

Our car got towed the other day when we accidentally parked in a zone that does not allow parking after 3pm. Our fault, sure, but the cost to recover our vehicle at 3:30 pm was ridiculous. $150 is an outrageous amount, and a $60 ticket from the city on top of that? The City of Vancouver is complicit in this and it's a huge money grab. I'm getting sick of living in a city where greed is so rampant... it's making it difficult to want to continue living here. Disgust is all I feel... zero stars for a company that just makes people's lives more difficult. Unfortunately I had to give them 1 star just to post this review... but they deserve 0 read more

My advice if you have to deal with Busters, record EVERYTHING. Called Busters to try and get my car started (on recommendation from ICBC, with instructions to see if car could be started or if the engine malfunction was related to read-end accident that happened the previous day - it wasn't) The guy showed up 50 minutes later, managed to get the car started and drove it out of the parking lot I was in. All good, right? Wrong. Even though the car was clearly able to start and go, the guy insisted that he had to take it to their lot under orders from ICBC. Practically yelling at me and over any counter point I tried to make. I asked if he could at the very least give me a ride from the East Side to their lot. Told me he couldn't possibly move some of the papers on his front seat and took off with the car. So I walked the 30 minute hike to the lot. When I got there, I immediately went to check on the car. I find the key in the ignition and the car ON. Sitting there draining the battery. If I had come back the next day or maybe even a few hours later my battery might be dead - and he could point and say, "See, the car won't start." There were no scratches, at least. As if that wasn't enough, when I went to pay for the unjustified impound fee, I was told that there was no ICBC claim number attached to the tow job! Huh, but wait I thought they were under orders from ICBC to bring it in? I actually caught up with the car thief in the lot, I called him a liar to his face and then he proceeded to yell at me some more at the counter. I spoke with ICBC, they spoke with Busters, round and round deny deny. In the end I was left to take it up with Busters myself, which I will be doing. For anyone wondering, the number to file a complaint against a driver is 604-685-8181. Ask for Jim Dent. To be fair, the office staff at the lot were polite and generally helpful. They were hesitant to give me the truck number of the guy who stole my car but I got it eventually. read more

EXTREMELY DANGEROUS- BE ON HIGH ALERT AND FEAR OF The Tow Truck with the license plate MJ-5363 he tried to speed up to cut me off when his merge lane was ending. Then swing over to the other lane to give me the middle finger and when he had the opportunity tried to run me off the road, pushing his massive truck into my lane. HE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!! read more

After towing my car, the company had caused damages to it, which they deny it and did not take any responsibility. Call 7 times, Jim Dent, the one that respond to claim business, I send him an email showing how my car is damaged. Wait for a week, I call again. now he cut off my phone right after I spoke. Trash company, trash people. Buster towing you SICK FUCK read more

THE WORST TOWING SERVICE EVER. First of all, the guy towed our car to BUSTERS TOWING, when we asked for it to be towed to ICBC. We dealt with several different customer service representatives: one rep swore at us, a couple of them hung up on us, and we kept being asked to hold and then transferred to different people. Not a single one of them were helpful or knew what they were doing. Never dealt with such poor service in my life. On top of all that, I phoned and spoke to the manager, JIM. He was apologetic and asked us to email him all our info and the details so he can look into this. Two weeks later, OF COURSE we have not heard back from him...... Really shocked at this company. Surprised they're allowed to run like this. read more

OK, I know they are going to get bad reviews because they tow cars for the city. Fair enough. However, my friends at city hall tell me they provide city hall with a party once a year, to make sure they keep the contract. I wouldn't care, except that when they towed my new car it had a scrape down the wing when I picked it up. They said it was there when they towed it, which it wasn't. It cost me a great deal to have it cleaned up, because some dufuss who earns $12.00 an hour was too lazy to do his job properly and look after my property. This company needs to shut up shop and our city staff need to reassign this contract. read more

This place is one of the worst businesses in Vancouver. They don't store cars properly, the parking lot is tiny and cramped, and the staff is crude and careless. They don't care at all about how your car fares, and just simply leaves it there to rot. They leave the keys inside the car, so anyone that got into the yard can easily hop onto a car and go. They don't even take extra caution for rare and expensive cars, and still leave the keys inside and at the edge of the parking lot. They are overpriced and basically suck. I hope this business can go bankrupt and be replaced with a more proper, better towing service. read more

WORSE ever. I call a truck takes 2hrs plus while i am stranded in the middle of nowhere. City calls to tow you takes 5 minutes. Such crap.

When my car was undrivable after a collision, Busters showed up almost instantly to bring my car to safety.... And steal the contents of my vehicle, including my external GPS unit (which was hidden), before bringing it to ICBC for inspection. They also did not surrender my keys over to ICBC. read more

I called Buster's to get an estimate on how much it would be to pick up my car after a 3 day impoundment. The service guy tells me he "doesn't know" and is avid about it - why's HE mad?????? I was polite and asked him about the rates..so I could calculate it myself. He tells me that I have to come in to find out. Am I delusional or is this guy absolutely out of his mind???? He's not willing to tell me how much I will need to pay. Further, he tells me there's "nothing" he can do. What about doing his job and telling me how much the rates are?????????? I really didn't understand the conversation as he was withholding information from me that I was requesting. There is no reason that he needs to withhold this from me. I am a CUSTOMER asking about PRICES. This is my first experience with Buster's and I am going to do my upmost best to ensure it's the last time. What thick-skulled service...not even a service! He's just a warm body there. read more

These guys towed my car with my dog in it, and when I frantically asked where they took the vehicle they laughed at me and said, "over there near Main." I had to press the guy to give as much information as "Industrial and Main." The service at the desk of the impound office was slow and glib. Okay guys, you already have a terrible job where you do terrible things to people, do you have to make it worse by being so uncaring? Also, City of Vancouver, how is it legal to sponsor certain towing companies? read more

This company has a carte blanche to do whatever it wants. There is quite a bit of speculation that the drivers are writing the violation tickets themselves (of course, they deny this). The best part is, after writing a frivolous ticket (for parking too close to a driveway, for example) they will break into your car to try to release an emergency break or pry your club off. The city needs to revoke its contract with busters and do its own job for a change. read more

Lady on the phone was so rude.. wait time to change a tire is so long. Wouldn't call them again.

Unprofessional, aggressive, rude, bottom feeders. Starting with their fleet manager - Curtis Robinson. Got my car towed early August. I deserved it; that's fine. As I see from other posts, the same happened to me. They trashed my car's under carriage and wheel well. As soon as I reported it, I was told I drove it over a curb and expect Buster's to pay for the damage. Are you serious? It's been nearly 4 months and no progress made in the claim even though I've sent multiple photos, follow-up emails, a trip to ICBC, etc, etc. Clearly this company thinks it's acceptable to damage a customer's car and chalk it up to doing business. That doesn't work for me. I write to the BBB and get a call from their so called fleet manager - Curtis. I call him back the next day and ended up putting him on speaker phone so my wife could be a witness to the belittling, threatening comments from this guy. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with my claim. All he did was bitch about how I'm complaining about a $450 claim when his kids just came back from a trip to Africa where they saw poverty, and that he went to a funeral last week. Listen, I get it. There are definitely larger world problems than my issue. But really; I'm didn't call to listen to this loser dump his baggage. Remember, I'm the customer and your company owes me money. Anyhow, he goes on to say that I need to go down to his office so he can observe my demeanour to see how I react to his questions. I'm not on the stand here loser. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't need to drive an hour for you to get your kicks. After listening to him for 12 minutes, he goes on to say how I'm wasting his time. I was shocked at this guy's attitude. Total bottom feeder. I don't expect much from tow companies and fortunately I haven't had much experience dealing with people like this. I STRONGLY advise anyone towed by these hill-billies check their vehicle top to bottom BEFORE leaving their lot. And if you've got a lawyer, you may want to engage him or her as well because if you vehicle gets damaged by Buster's there's no way in hell you'll see any compensation. Karma sucks Curtis Robinson - shame. read more

These people towed my car from Parking spot where no parking was written in fine prints. They have not even left the note about the towing and the place where I can pick my car leaving 2 hours of wonder less search for my car. read more

Nobody likes towing companies. Wanna know why? Busters and the nasty piece of work dispatcher I dealt with today tells you all you need to know. My Vespa scooter was stolen and a few days later I got a call from the police that it had been found a block from my home. I called Busters immediately to tell them I didn't want it towed as I would drive it home because I lived so close. And besides who wants to pay some tow truck a-holes $100 for the pleasure of taking you recovered property even further away from where it belongs. The dispatcher I spoke with told me they hadn't picked it up yet and that only the police could cancel the tow. Meanwhile i was on the block where it had been found and couldn't find it. I called the police and they said only I could cancel the tow. So I called Busters again. This time they tell me it's been picked up and is en route to their yard. So I ask them to have the driver turn around and bring it back. I'm put on hold for 10 minutes and then put through to the original dispatcher. Now she's telling me it's already arrived at their yard. I ask her why they towed it when I had asked them not to, especially considering it was a recovered stolen vehicle. She repeated that only the police could cancel the order. I told her that wasn't true and that the police had told me the opposite. I also pointed out to her that all she had to do was ask the driver to wait so I could provide ID and then take it home. The police had confirmed it was my right to do this with my property. She told me that according to their contract blah blah blah they couldn't do that which is a lie. I thanked her for her compassion and understanding and told her she was a good person for doing so much to help out a fellow human being. No I didn't. :-) read more

waiting close to 2 hours before being told no one was sent my way in the first place, do not use them as they're extremely unorganized.

Our daughter ran into a road check and had our car impounded early on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, she forgot to get her winter coat, wallet and house keys from the car before it was towed away. When we called Busters to ask if we could retrieve them from the car, they told us that they weren't allowed to give us access to an impounded car on a weekend and asked us if we could call them back on Monday. We told them that that would be too late, as our daughter was flying baakc to her home in the east on Sunday afternoon and needed her things before then. The lady took our number and shortly after called us back to tell us that the security guard had gone out and retrieved our daughter's things frrom the car and that we could come down and pick them up. When we got there my wife discovered that our daughter's cell phone was not in the coat pocket and asked if there was a chance that the security guard could go back out and look for the phone in the car. He smiled and said that he would be pleased to do so and and, after a search, finally found the cell phone jammed down beside the seat in the car. The guard, the lady on the phone and the receptionist were all totally gracious and considerate and treated us with great courtesy. When we offered them a small token of our appreciation, they turned it down and said they were pleased to have been of assistance to us. Thank you, Busters, for being so kind in a very difficult sutuation for us! read more