Big Ben's Towing & Recovery in
Waldorf (MD)

This towing company has been illegally towing vehicles from my neighborhood every night around midnight. One of the workers appears to be on the spectrum, which makes it difficult to communicate with him, and the other usually wears camouflage overalls like a hunter. Their towing fees are outrageously high — nearly double the standard rate in D.C. When I returned to the spot where my truck was towed, I noticed a piece of duct tape about 20 feet from the stop sign — I can only assume that’s their version of “proper signage.” I plan to bring this issue up at the next HOA board meeting, as companies like this have no place in our community.

Got towed but I got car back. Loved the location. Got to meet the dog and it was so adorable.

This company is not worth the 1 star I’m forced to give it. Big Ben's Towing is predatory and shameless. My family member had a medical emergency at his house, in which I arrived at 01:01 and parked in a visitor’s parking space. The paramedics were present and left at 01:22. At 01:35, once his medical emergency was addressed and stable, he went out to put a visitor’s parking tag in my car, only to find Big Ben’s Towing Truck loading my car on the vehicle. When asked to get my car, the driver agreed at first to put it down for $125, but got aggressive once the homeowner questioned him for predatory towing and left saying that now it would be $280 to get it back. We were also explaining to the driver of the medical emergency in which him and his assistant saw the ambulance had just left, but he just shrug his shoulders and said that it had nothing to do with him. It's clear they were waiting for an opportunity to tow, and the circumstances didn't matter to them. Given the situation, it was impossible for me to put the visitor's tag in the car any sooner. The homeowner wasn't coherent enough to assist me until after the paramedics stabilized him. Big Ben's Towing's actions were unconscionable, and I would advise everyone to avoid them at all costs. I truly think that they would’ve towed my car sooner, but couldn’t get past the ambulance to get it. That leads me to believe that they were lurking the entire time, waiting for the opportunity to tow my vehicle. I really hope the HOA Board considers a different towing company in the near future.

Really love the how fast they came when I had my accident and worked with me to get my stuff out the driver was really nice and respectful

Definitely a predatory towing money grab towing company. Towed my vehicle and wrote on the service ticket, "parked close to fire hydrant." No measurements taken but stated "close." Last year I had HOA come out to take a look at my parking that's directly in front of my house. HOA took photos/measurements and advised that my car would not be towed by their partnered towing company. However, Ben's towing comes by at 2:30 am and leveraged an easy target. I also tried to show a Ben's employee some damage to my car mud flap that they could have potentially caused. Of course, he refused to even take a look. I'm a strong advocate of law/code/ordnance enforcement but will pursue legal actions against those that target citizens that may just pay and move on. Honest practices prosper.

This is easily the worst tow truck company around. Straight scammers. I went out to my car on Friday night (04/18) and seen a green sticker posted on the driver door window. The sticker said I have 72 HOURS until my car was going to be towed because of “expired tags/registration”. I knew something had to be wrong because we have always kept the tags of this car up to date and never had any problems with registration (I’ve had the car since 2016). And I had just registered the car not to long ago (new registration expires 2026). Knowing that, I called the company and asked them why they had left this note if my tags aren’t expired. The lady who had answered the phone (I believe her name was Amy ). Had told me the reason they left the sticker is because a driver had seen the tags on the back said 2018. So after she tells me that I get out of my car and go straight to the back to read the license plate. When I get to the back to read the plate, I see that the registration sticker has been ripped off and I could barely see the number on the sticker. But it seemed to say 18 Now like I said the car was purchased in 2016 and the car gets registered every two years like it’s supposed to. And every time we get the new registration sticker for the license we just put it right over the old one. So the fact that 1. The sticker is halfway ripped and 2. The sticker on there is reading 2018, tells me that somebody had to have tore it off or something. Not saying it was anyone from this company, but we’ve never ever had this problem or anything even close to it ever since purchasing the car. I share this with the lady on the phone and tell her that everything on the car is up to date and I have all the paperwork to prove so. The lady told me that a driver would be coming Monday (04/21) which would meet the 72 hour warning that was placed on my window. After her hearing that I had everything up to date and everything was fine with the car, she told me to put my current registration paper on the dashboard for the driver to see when they come. She even told me that she would let the driver know to expect a registration paper on the dashboard for them to see. She then said as long as I do that everything will be fine. Come Monday I make sure to do exactly what she said. I made sure to put the registration in plain clear view for the driver to see as well as the warning note they had left on my car. And luckily I trusted my senses that day because I took a picture of me doing exactly what the lady on the phone told me to do. That was around 12 pm- 1 pm on Monday. I come back out Monday night and the car was there. Nothing moved or touched, and my registration was sitting in the same place I left it. I came back the next morning (Tuesday) and the car is still there. Everything seemed fine. So the next day(Wednesday) I go in my car headed somewhere and decide to put my registration back in the glove department after having it out for 2 DAYS over the time they were expected to come. Come back Wednesday night park my car and go inside. I come back out Thursday morning (04/24) To my car completely gone. I called the company to see why was my car took if I followed the instructions given to me BY THEM!!? I explain what’s going to a lady at first but she seemed to not really know what to do so she put me on hold to get me who I’m guessing is the manager. After being on hold a man who said his name was Larry came to the phone and asked what was the problem. So I explained the situation again calmly. Larry tells me “they took the car because it read 2018 on the back”. I explain to him that the tag looks ripped, and that I literally followed the exact steps I was told to do in order to prevent anyone touching my car. I then told him I have the proof that I did exactly what they told me to do because I took the picture of me putting my registration on the dashboard. Larry then told me exactly “well are you coming pay for the car or just talk?” Just rude, unhelpful, and unprofessional. He had a careless attitude.

So I know it's my fault for not having my parking pass displaying as it should have been this is my 4th time getting towed h From my home I play the game fair as it seems to be a game $280 for towing my car 3 hours ago is one thing but making me wait until 6 AM to pick it up I'm pretty sure is not the law I should have 24/7 access to my vehicle now i am out 280 and I'll be late for work

1-Star Review If I could give zero stars, I would. (Typical statement I'm sure) Let me be clear—I’m not even writing this because I got towed. I didn’t. But they attempted to tow me simply because they’ve towed me in the past and assumed I’d be an easy target again. I caught them in the act, proving that their business model isn’t about enforcing parking rules—it’s about exploiting the people they think won’t put up a fight. Instead of doing their job fairly, they take the laziest route possible, going after the most convenient vehicles rather than actual violations. It’s not about maintaining order—it’s about making a quick buck by targeting the same people over and over. Their predatory practices are beyond shady, and their enforcement is nothing but selective harassment. If you park anywhere they operate, be warned: they’re not looking for real violators. They’re looking for easy money.

They’ve sided with law enforcement and abusing power. All they’ve don’t is cause chaos in our County and community —in contradiction of bringing safety and peace as promoted on their irregular website . what goes around comes back. I feel sorry for their family business. Updated: there is nothing else to say and you’ve done the damage. You don’t know what it means to be professional. Please stop with your rehearsed comments and replies.

The female owner of Big Ben's is very nasty. She has a smart mouth then play victim when you give her the same energy. Keep your Head and Ears on a swivel when dealing with them.

I was prepared to leave a decent review for this company although they towed our VW Atlas, but after this second experience tonight, they are rude, naturally money hungry (given the business) and racist. I am a firm believer of telling the whole truth whether right or wrong, as I explained to one of the ladies I encountered recently. Perhaps if she reads this, she’ll remember me. Our MB was in a visitor space without the temp ticket displayed, our error. I don’t know if it’s for all Mercedes or just ours but this car cannot be towed with just a single hatch, it needs a flat bed. The men in the tow truck released the car because we 100% would have sued for any damage when trying to move it. He then proceeded to tell my husband (who now at this point has displayed the temp tag in the window) that he needed his license “for their record.” My husband refused because the car was not technically towed. I called the office 3:32am asking for an explanation as to why the license needed to be given and the answer did not match what the driver was saying. She proceeded to cuss me out (mind you I’m not an unruly person and we don’t use profanity as I told the lady in the office during our last encounter. I’m in school for mental health therapy ; even extended and invitation to my graduation, so I must first be an example). I hung up the phone because there’s not need to argue with a business when you can leave reviews with the BBB and file civil suits for verbal harassment. Charles County’s finest arrives and the officer BAGLEY was out the gate on the business side. He told us “I don’t know what you’re saying so I’m going to go speak with the driver.” The officer walks around to the driver and speaks with him and when I tried to hear what was saying (as they did when we spoke) he told me to go back to the other side of the truck. The officer also stated that “it sounds like they are trying to work with you” as though they didn’t have a choice, considered the car could not be towed the way they wanted it to be. If they were so confident as he kept saying about having the rollers on the back wheel, he would’ve done it. They released the vehicle. I proceeded to tell the officer that was unequal treatment. The officer came back, called for back up and said that we were not cooperating EVEN AFTER I told him I would go get my license because at that point, the decision was already made in his mind to paint us as unruly. I come back with my license, another DECENT officer is present who actually took time to listen to the whole matter. At the end of the day, companies have a business to run but you all should take a page out of a book, any book really and seek help for your anger. Neither my husband nor I was rude, but we do have a right to speak up and ask questions when there are discrepancies; that does not make black people aggressive. In the end, we won because we paid $0. And guess what, our permanent parking passes were in the mailbox so when you come down our street, enjoy the view of knowing you lost. Edit to revise @ 5:10am since we can’t reply to their response. Abeg, in 2024, use ChaptGPT or AI of some type to help you with your many grammatical errors in your responses. Also, nobody was rude, post the video, recording, whatever it is you have. Gotta keep a pure heart with the right intentions to be blessed; unfortunately you clock your towing as blessings but the blessing is you letting it go because your men had no confidence that it could be towed in their way. But guess what, we paid $0. So in the end, you’ll be mad forever baby boos.

This towing company looks for car to hunt every day The truck driver saw me out side and waited for me to go back inside and took my car. When I went there they were nasty to me very much. The manager asked me to leave and pushed the door on my hand. I called to police to come. They are so nasty and rude to customer. I had the blue card but he took my car. I am going to file the claim against them. This happened on 6/24/2024 I don’t understand who gives to them a license. They are all so stupid.

Illegally towed my vehicle and my fraudulent statements saying I had a parking violation . I requested what was the violation and the reason provide proof . The picture shows no signs of no parking outside of the townhome association located there. The tow junkies who towed it couldn’t give me any direct feedback to illegally towing my car . It was a money making move for their business and they had no idea that I will not allow them or anyone else get away with this type of fraudulent conduct running a business in the county I pay taxes! One of the owners inside showed negativity due to me asking questions regarding my vehicle and the reasons their business towed my car. She got very sassy, I said wouldn’t you ask questions if it was your car. No stars. I have no respect for direlicts ! Hoa or anybody shouldn’t do business with them ! No intergrity no respect and a disservice to the community!

This is by far the WORST towing company I have ever experienced. Everyone from the dispatchers to the office employees are RUDE! They are inconsistent with answering the phones, they speak to you very rudely, they tell you to come at 7:30-8am on the phone but the sign says 10am. They have no customer service skills and definitely do not value anything but a dollar. It’s a family run business so reporting them to themselves doesn’t work and is why they’re able to have this many bad reviews and no changed behavior. If your car is towed you’re already having a bad day, paying $280 doesn’t make it better, but to be disrespected and treated so poorly during the process is unacceptable. I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau to see if there is anything further I can do. Looking through the previous reviews analyzing others experiences is disheartening.

This is the worst tow company in Md. The people there have a nasty disposition. My son’s car was towed off the property I live at. Now, they pick and choose who they are going to harass. The first of the month is when they start towing people cars for any dumb reason. If you on the line, if you didn’t put the pass in the right spot, anything. Don’t use them as a tow company for any of your business.

I am a president of an HOA that Big Ben's Towing is contracted to. We have been having several problems with them. As some of the other people have stated if I could give them a "0" I would. Very unresponsive, a lot of empty promises and not urgency to rectify a situation. We have people storing their cars in our parking lot. The management company sends several messages on our behalf and we are made promises that visits will increase and violators will be towed and they are not. We also order signs to be put up and they have been with holding them for months. Also not replacing the faded signs they have in our neighborhood. I am really unhappy with this company and clearly they do not want money because if they did they would have cars to tow everyday if they did their jobs.

They will tow your car charge an outrageous fee even for a let down then call the police on you because they scary for no reason. You gonna be ready to fight trust me. Worst tow company I’ve ever been towed from you can tell they broke and press for every penny. Be careful if they in your zone Waldorf Maryland

Towed our uhaul and tried to charge us $775. The sign in front of our complex states they can’t charge over $500 they refused to change the fee we got police involved and then they changed the fee. If you get towed by this company please make sure you’re being charged correctly. They will try to get what they can.

I typically don't like to leave negative reviews but my experience with this company was unbelievably the worst!! This is the most unprofessional company!! Customer service is absolutely terrible! Every negative review posted is TRUE...Ann is extremely rude, disrespectful, belligerent and should have no contact with the customers whatsoever!! She's a huge part of the problem within this company and will most likely be the reason for them losing current, potential business and / or revocation of their license...

Every bad review is the TRUTH!! Stay away from this business!! I have filed a compliant with the Better business bureau with actual video of the old lady and guy with missing teeth threatening to fight me and my co worker for an illegal tow! They must not know what social media will do a unprofessional business like theirs. STAY AWAY BUNCH OF SCAM ARTIST! I would give this place negative stars if I had the option!

I have used Big Bens Towing on several occasions and each time the staff have been so respectful, on time, and professional. Big Bens Towing have transported several of my vehicles when I have been stranded both day and night instances, no job have been too small or too big. There are several tow companies around the Charles County area but if you want that professional and touch and want to be treated with respect and know your vehicle will be handled with the utmost care, ALWAYS use Big Ben’s Towing!!!!!!

Customer Service is terrible believe me! Any bad comment is exact. Customer service is still horrible, towed my car for the second time, not displaying a parking permit, ok cool why aren't they following the law???? I am suppose to be able to retrieve the vehicle 24/7 by law called them 4:34 am and I still have no access to my vehicle and it is 8 am and I need to work. $280 and this is the service I get smh! I have lots of patience, I know you reading this, you on the clock.

RESPONSE TO OWNER'S REPLY: You never tried to do anything about the damage to my car caused by your wreckless towing. I can show you the pictures of the broken fog light and under the front fender on the same side that has drag marks on it, which was clearly caused by the tow. Not once have you asked to see the pictures or offer a resolution. Poor business practices, no customer service, just all around unprofessional. You will reap what you sow, believe that. ORIGINAL REVIEW: If I could give zero stars I would. This business is highly unprofessional. My car, a brand new car was damaged in their possession. A guy side swiped my car in their lot and my fog light on the side he side swiped is perfectly fine, however, my fog light on the opposite side is cracked, which clearly happened when they towed my car. Instead of the woman, I guess her name is Ann trying to assist me in coming to a resolution, she keeps telling me to call back, yelling and screaming at me and hanging up on me. Now, when I call back, she isn't answering and I have left voicemails. I don't know what type of business this is, but they have been known for being shady, they need to be put out of business because this makes absolutely no sense. How is it that a company can tow your car, damage it and blame it on everyone else, but themselves on top of the highway robbery that they charge for towing. She had the nerve to insult me by saying maybe I don't remember what happened as if I was drunk. Mind you lady, I didn't have a single drink. Had you left my car where it was, which was in a parking space, no where near a towing sign, then none of this would've happened in the first place. You gladly took my car and charged $300 to give it back. You would think that you would take responsibility for your actions. How is it that my car was side swiped on the left, but my right fog light is cracked. The guy's insurance company is taken care of the left side that he damaged, which doesn't have a cracked fog light, by the way. She talking about lady I don't know what you're trying to do?! I'm trying to get my brand new car that was spotless before your company touched it fix, that's what I'm trying to do and instead of you listening and trying to help, you're throwing insults. I will be reporting this business to the BBB. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!

If I could give this so called business no stars I would. Our vehicle was wrongfully towed, when I called in the morning to have my car returned the woman I spoke with was very rude. When my husband picked up his vehicle they informed him they had to charge him that price but Maryland State law there is a charge cap for towing not a set price. Also we called to ask how much they charge for a vehicle that was towed and storage fee and it was less than what was charged to us. If you read any of these reviews it’s honestly so sad to see that business instead of trying to get to the root of the problem they are stating that the reviews are from fake accounts or they are arguing with the customer. It’s really sad that this is where we are in the world now that professionalism is no longer with businesses. I wish you the best of luck but I would never suggest you to anyone nor would I ever use your business. XoXo Madison

The negative reviews may be true. Called to give benefit of the doubt. The guy act like he didn't want to answer the phone. If you are a business state the business name in a clear voice not like I just woke you up. Then he answers my question about the cost for call $75 and $5 per mile. I verify then thank him and hang up. No more than a minute later after thinking yeah let me use this company. I call back and the phone clicks I'm thinking to myself someone is about to say something. I listen for a little bit no "Big Ben towing how may I help you" Even a "Big Bens how can I help you" nothing! These jokers didn't say a word and just HUNG UP THE PHONE! USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! They have the nerve to say people are putting fake reviews out there. I don't know about that but one thing I do know is busines. Apparently you don't have any customer service skills. I wouldn't trust you with my vehicle just from the phone exchange and if my insurance uses you I'm reporting to them to remove you from their listing as well. What a shame for you to try to respond to bad reviews and it's apparent there may be some truth to them. You actually get a NO STARS!! If you don't feel like working then don't advertise. FROM A REAL CUSTOMER WHO NEEDED WHAT YOU OFFERED!

Worst company ever.. Not worth the one star rating just to write this review.. I was charged ~$14 a mile~ by these guys.. Had to pay cash.. They don't do credit cards.. And no paper work either, you dont get a receipt for payment made for your records. So if you don't want to get rooked, stay away from these guys.. Update: not a fake Google account, have the ATM receipt to prove what I was charged. You can report my claim all you want. It's accurate and my review of your company will stand. I'm a firm believer in karma, and one day you're going to rook the wrong person.

****DONT USE THEM**** I wouldnt have giving them one star if i didnt have to in order to write this review. I called them and they agreed to come tow my car and said they would be the there in 20 min. Im sitting in a parking lot for 3 hrs, kids and all, i called multiple times to see when i could expect them. Sometimes they would answer and other times they wouldnt. Eventually they took my number and said they would call when a truck was on the way. After i hit the 3.5hr mark i called a different tow company and had them tow my car. Needless to say they never called me back and never sent a truck to tow me. So if i hadnt called another company i would probably still be sitting in that same parking lot today waiting on them. Very unprofessional. Also the other company that came said that Big Bens is known for doing this to people. Why? Im not sure. ****DONT USE THEM****