My review is similar to B.J.'s from 5/15/2015. Like B.J., I was also a victim of predatory towing and illegal spotting at Silver Spring's Metro Plaza - obviously a hot spot. This company cares more about profit and making a buck than keeping parking spaces clear for customers. Believe me, they are not doing anyone a favor or providing some public service.
I am an ordained Presbyterian minister and hospice chaplain. I was buying coffee and donuts for my hospice colleagues the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving roughly around 8am. I was gone maybe 5 or 10 minutes, and my car was gone when I came back. I was in shock standing there with the donuts in one hand and coffee in another and no car to get into. It felt like such a violation!
People say, "If you don't want to get towed, don't park illegally." But if you have ever tried to park in the Washington, DC area, you know it is not that simple. While there are signs saying that you will be towed where I parked, it is not clear which customers can park there and which cannot - are those parking spots for FedEx customers? Starbucks customers? Einstein Bagel customers? Dunkin' Donuts customers? If I had known that those parking spots were not for Dunkin' Donuts costumers, I would not have parked there! If the tow truck driver had more decency, maybe s/he would have told me or warned me, but they wouldn't make any money that way, would they?
The Henry's Wrecker Service employee towed my car so fast, it hadn't even arrived at Garfield Ave yet (which is only 2 miles away from where it was towed!) when I called. It was still en route from Metro Plaza. I must have just missed the towing. As soon as I walked off of the parking lot and turned the corner, the tow truck driver must have hurried over, grabbed my car, and took off because s/he knew s/he was wrong and doing something shady.
Henry's Wrecker Service is not BBB accredited and has a C rating from the BBB due to "Failure to respond to 1 complaint(s) filed against business" and "6 complaint(s) filed against business that were not resolved." There have also been "Ripoff Reports" filed against this company calling them "thieves" and "vultures" not unlike other reviews listed here.
It's unethical and immoral companies like you that tear at the fabric of this nation. You can keep my money (money I earned providing spiritual care to the dying) - this review is about helping, informing, and empowering others, not getting my money back. I know laws have been changed as recently as July 2015 regarding, in the words of Councilmember Roger Berliner, "unscrupulous business practices of predatory towing," but I want Mr. Berliner, Office of Consumer Protection Director Eric Friedman, and others like me to know that these practices are still going on, that Henry's Wrecker Service is a culprit, and that it's not ok. More needs to be done. Those signs at Metro Plaza where I was towed are not clear enough.
I have a clear conscience and can sleep feeling good about the work I do knowing I am making a difference in people's lives at end of life. You tow a hospice chaplain's car in just a few minutes time while he buys coffee and donuts for his hospice colleagues the day before Thanksgiving. read more