Atlantic Recovery is a complete disaster. They towed my car during their sneaky nighttime rounds, claiming it had no parking sticker—wrong! My sticker was clearly displayed in my rear window, as my apartment complex instructed. They said they took pictures but couldn’t be bothered to look closely or use a flashlight. The apartment management wasn’t even notified, forcing me to file a stolen car police report.
The owner, Will Hewett, claimed my window was “too dark,” but they’re doing rounds at night, so how does that even make sense? When I arrived, he insisted the sticker should be in the windshield, directly contradicting what the apartment instructed.
Will offered no accountability, just endless excuses, and never even apologized. Their unprofessionalism cost me and my roommates hours of time. If you need a towing company, look elsewhere—this place has no integrity and is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I'm not happy that they towed our car, but we had parked in a reserved spot. But these guys worked with us too get the car back that night. Could've been a lot worse.
I am new to the area and had my car towed, but the manager was able to help me out with getting it back with no scratches or dents and I was in and out faster than I could say thank you. Very nice and friendly :)
This company towed my car without any valid reason and gave me zero notice. When I called to figure out what happened, the staff was rude, dismissive, and completely unhelpful. They charged outrageous fees and made the whole process as difficult as possible. It feels like they’re running a scam more than a business. I’ll never use them and would strongly warn anyone else to avoid this company at all costs.
Fustrating Experience - My car was towed with no signage anywhere to explain why. I had to get the police involved just to find out where it had been taken. When I called the towing company, the man who answered the phone was incredibly rude and dismissive—zero customer service. It felt like he enjoyed being difficult.
On the upside, the person who actually handled the payment ($260 cash) was accommodating and polite, which I appreciated after such a stressful situation. That said, the location was confusing—my Uber driver got completely turned around because of poor directions.
Overall, a frustrating and unnecessary experience that could have been handled with a little more transparency and professionalism.
I had an unfortunate event where I got behind on my car payments will came this morning and got my car he was very respectful he let me get my belongings out and told me what I needed to do for me to get my car back . I don't understand all the negative comments because he was very respectful to me .
Predatory towing company. They lie trying to justify their pathetic towing practices. This sign is an example, we went to both restaurants to decide where we wanted to eat and then asked for a parking pass, and by the time we went back outside to the car it was already gone. The worst of it is that this sign is not correct. The Manager at The Marina Grill said that they are not given any passes to put in customers cars for parking and our not affliated with Atlantic Towing. See a picture of the signs located in the parking spaces where they steal peoples cars.
I was told by numerous people that “towing companies” in Wilmington were scamming people and that what they were doing was suspicious and should be reporting.
Well despite me jumping to conclusions and accusing the towing company for numerous things, the man I was working with to get my car still treated me with respect and gave me a much better deal and worked with my situation better than any other towing company in town to get my car back. I feel embarrassed for my behavior towards them, as they are legitimately employed by companies and more often than not give people the benefit of the doubt in parking situations. I honestly feel bad for how they get treated by people for doing their job as the man I was working with was a genuine guy that explained the situation clearly and kindly. I am extremely grateful that I was working with the company I was and not another.
This towing service ran a scam on me for cash . The driver wasn't friendly and was very short with answering questions about a receipt for the cash payment. I received a email receipt that showed NO payment was made for the recovery of my SUV that had been towed by them. I was told to pay $180.00 cash to get my SUV out of the yard which I did. My issue with this tow is they ask for cash with no proof of the cash being received by the driver of the company. My claim is I can't get a refund to my company (photographer) because it shows $0.00 payment on the emailed receipt that was emailed to me. So I'm going to send a copy of the emailed receipt to the IRS and to the local news to see if I can report this as a scamming service that take cash and not repot or give paper receipts.
Paid to have my ex-girlfriend’s car released. They changed the key fob, never bothered to change it back. New scratches and dings. Their lot couldn’t hold another vehicle, parked about 3 inches from the next car that got towed. Redneck-backwoods trailer park in here. Hard to believe this place is considered a business. Security system from the Stone Age. Smokers haven! To all those that work for this establishment… Craigslist has better options than this one. Food for thought.
Rolled back miles on a car I bought from them last summer, no doubt he towed then fixed from an accident and swapped odometers. Don’t buy anything from Will and definitely don’t call for a tow, crooked liars.
Demanded money to his personal cash app to not tow my vehicle at my own residence. Neighbors came out and said the same thing happened to them and he got offended and upped the amount of money he wanted to not tow the vehicle. I understand it’s Christmas time and he most likely needs it to make ends meet, but this is highly unprofessional.
I'm surprised at the negative reviews here, because my experience was great. I was in from out of town and my son put an expired parking pass on my car so it was towed. When I called, Will was very polite and reassuring. When I got there, the young lady at the desk was a little stiff, but not rude. When I got into my vehicle there was an issue that happens with many of the newer cars after towing. I called Will and explained what was going on, he immediately turned around and came back to assist. He simply had to disconnect the battery and told me to make sure I called him to let him know things were good. Said he would stay right there until he heard from me. The issue resolved almost immediately after I got back on the road. He called back to check on me AGAIN, and if that's not excellent customer service, I don't know what is. And fyi as a black woman, I saw the racist comments, and I can only speak for my encounter with Will but I never had
the slightest feeling that I was being treated differently. I hope I won't have to have my car towed again, but if so, I hope it's by
Atlantic Recovery.
I have never left a poor review in my life, but these workers are incredibly unprofessional. They also demand cash payments over the phone and did not notify owner of towing from our own neighborhood. The woman that works there also had an attitude and waved her hands in the air when I simply did not hear her yelling at me across the yard. Looks like they also have issues with blatant racism, which is disgusting and unacceptable.
I feel bad for the people that have to work for a towing company to make money. It’s no surprise majority of encounters that people have are negative. Dispatcher called me stupid and ignorant for asking a simple question that he refused to answer. Sounded like his words were slurred as well. If you hire drunks with hair thin patience you’re gonna have a bad time as a business.
Experienced racial slurs from one of their drivers, in the Pines of Wilmington at 1030pm on 7/11. My wife witnessed this as well, though I don't believe the driver realized she was there. Called and spoke to Ken who was pleasant but informed me Will the owner was on vacation til Monday. Ok, fine.Then this same tow truck driver returned the next night, waving a flashlight at my house!!! Why this situation wasn't looked into immediately shed light on what this company truly represents.
Please stop driving around in the dark with your lights flashing...and you're not towing a vehicle. It's distracting for drivers who are behind you for extended periods of time. Also pretty sure there's a statute that addresses this issue.
I understand when you're towing or on the side of the road. But that light is blinding on the dark roads when you are driving.
My car was towed from my daughter's friend's house. I called atlantic recovery within 15 minutes of it being towed about 9pm and they said I'd have to call back in the morning. I called the next morning when the office opened. They said I had to bring cash to the office. I had the 300.00 cash up there by noon and the car was supposed to be towed about 20 miles away. Around 3pm they called and said it would be an additional 65.00, but could make this by card I called several times to pay the 65 but the office staff and owner were busy and kept saying they would call me back. Online it said the office closed at 9pm so a little after 7 I called to ask if it would just be better to bring cash that I needed the car towed to have the engine replaced and only had a mechanic friend that could work a certain amount of time on it. They said that the office was closed and that I'd need to call back at 8am. I called at 8am spoke with the owner he said to call back at 9am and the office would take payment and the car would be towed by early afternoon. I made the payment a little after 9am and by 7pm the car still hadn't been towed. I called and talked with the owner again and he said his tow truck ended up needing breaks and that my car would be towed first thing in the morning. At 3 pm on the 3rd day I called because the car still hadn't been towed. The office guy said that the owner made promises all the time that he'd talk with the owner and have the car towed ASAP. I called back after 45 minutes to see if the car was gonna be towed extremely rude lady answered the phone said the owner was busy and that she couldn't interrupt him. She said she didn't have to answer questions and the beauty of a phone call was she could hang up. I called back asking if I should just get another tow company to come and get it she hung up again. Then she called me back and said your car is being towed now. The owner was extremely nice and so was the young man in the office but they constantly put things off didn't do what they said they would and the lady was just unreasonable. I hope to never have to deal with them again!
Wow!! This place is on it.!! Efficient, friendly and they took great care of my car. I also noticed that they were very nice to people when picking up their vehicles that were towed because of a parking violation. If you have to be towed, I hope you get Atlantic Recovery!
Predatory towing!
This company admittedly patrols college apartment complexes scouting cars to tow. I was in the wrong spot for about 45 minutes and then my car was taken. Upon getting my receipt when I picked up my car, I asked why the time between when the tow was “requested” and the arrival of the tow truck was only a minute. The unashamed answer: “the drivers patrol the lots.” It’s $160 cash only to pick it up the next morning. Clearly they’re working at night, so I wish they’d let you get your car during the hours they’re actually working. This practice is slimy plus the office is grimy and unsettling. Avoid if possible!
These people towed my truck on parent’s weekend within minutes from an apartment I pay for. They should be cited by the BBB for towing on a day they are closed. Our family was almost trapped in Wilmington overnight. Do not trust or use them! They are money hungry and lack shame.
Didn’t personally use this business but our truck was taken here. Not only did they damage our yard and neighbors yards picking the truck up, but when we finally got the information and called this morning to get at least some of our belongings out of the truck before we get it back later in the week we were told we could just come down, no appointment necessary. We show up, after driving over an hour to be told that our belongings weren’t ready, they’d been pulled out of the truck, and bagged up, and because we hadn’t called ahead of time we didn’t have an appointment. We told them again we called this morning and read the number confirmed it was them, and was still told we had to come back another time. 0/10 would never recommend using them.
DO NOT HIRE THEM TO TOW YOUR CAR!!!
I made the unfortunate mistake of using this company. I had them tow a car off the side of the road . It was a brand new car and had something break while driving, and had to get it towed in monkey junction. They dropped it off at the shop, leaving it outside the fence. I got there as soon as the mechanic shop opened, and my car was damaged when I arrived. There were scratches on the drivers door, and the mechanic said they must of drug the car quite some distance. The parking pawl was destroyed. There were also flat spots on the tires where they drug it. I've contacted my insurance company and can't wait to find out how this plays out. Dont make the same mistake that I did. If the prices don't scare you off, and you decide to use this company, then you don't really care about your car.
Car was towed from an apartment complex because of a bitter manager. Vehicle had been used and been in complex since June 2020. Then when I called owner was very nice. His employee Kylie on the other hand isn't and I gave him some choice words. It's crazy how they can steal your car and say because of a tag. Mind you the police nor dmv takes bad tags when the car is insured and tag is registered to car. I know from experience.
I had an amazing experience with Atlantic Recovery! I have already, and will continue to recommend them to people. My car was towed to their lot. It was on their lot for six days before I was able to get out there during business hours. The woman I spoke to on the phone was polite and helpful. When I arrived she explained, in a respectful and professional manner, what I needed to do in order to retrieve my belongings. My car was in exactly the same condition it had been when it left for their lot. All of my belongings were present and clearly HAD NOT been disturbed.
While in the lot gathering my items I interacted with three of the male employees, one I believe was the owner. All three were incredibly friendly and helpful. One even went out of his way to talk with me for a few minutes to cheer me up, it was evident that I was distraught.
When I went back to pick up my car a few days later I was again treated with professionalism and respect, both on the phone and in person. The woman in the office was a pleasure to deal with. The gentleman who was present, Ken, I had spoken to multiple times on the phone- all pleasant experiences, made sure to point out two concerns inside the car that did not have places on their report. He could have very easily just shown me the report saying there were no damages, so I appreciate him taking the extra step to point those out. He also offered to attach my tag, which I had brought with me, without my needing to ask for help.
All in all I was impressed with the level of service I received and have saved their number in case I ever need a tow in the future.
A very careless company! You have been contacted by me personally on multiple occasions to remove cars that have been in the way of residents parking and you have a contract with my apartments! I will be letting my apartments know of the attempts to contact you and you not doing anything. Not to mention the one time y’all did come out here it was actually my car that was towed, and the guy was drunk the morning I picked my car up. I’m starting to think this is a race issue also as I have my neighbor on camera calling you and reporting MY car and you came with the quickness! I’ll continue to document on your company’s page and for the Better Business bureau.
Absolutely aweful business. If your car gets towed be prepared for the company to rifle through your car and belongings! This does not exclude your purse, bags, or wallet. “Tony” the woman who assisted me with my vehicle had no explanation other than we have to take inventory of what is there. My question is why would you need to look in my wallet unless you are looking for something. They will also have you sign all paperwork releasing them from liability if any damages incurred on their lot without discussing with you what you are signing for. Not to mention charges me an additional 100$ when I arrived to pick up my car after paying them $300 before driving down there for 12 hours of holding my vehicle. Very poor business and customer service skills. By the way try not breathe in their office as the smell of dirty dog and mold are so pungent it makes your eyes water. Avoid ever doing business with these people if possible.
This company is extremely unprofessional. I was trying to park in front of my home and they refused to move their truck or pull it off to the side to allow me to park. I waited at least five minutes and asked them politely to move their truck and they were too busy trying to tow another car on top of the one they were already towing. The driver’s name was Sean and only after I threatened to get higher authority involved did he move his truck. I am all in favor of towing cars that do not belong in a certain area, but a professional towing company would hire people who have the courtesy to not bother the residents. If you are a complex considering this towing company please go with a more reputable towing service.
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