Earl's Wrecker Services Inc JunkYard in Wilmington (NC)

Several years ago I took the entire family to dinner and to a couple of clubs. Earlier around 9:00 pm I had parked my car in a dirt lot. I noticed there was a couple of other cars parked in the same area. About 2:00 AM, I returned to the lot and my car was GONE! There was a late night store near the lot. I went in and inquired if they had seen anyone hanging around the lot. The gentleman said that EARL'S Towing had towed in several cars that night that were parked in the dirt lot. I called Earl's towing and confirmed they had the car. This was Easter Weekend and I told them that I needed to pick up the car on Sunday. They said they were closed on Sunday's and would be closed Easter Monday too. I would be charged for 2 days storage as well. My conversation with the Towing service got heated over the phone. I finally said to myself "Don't get mad - just get even" By the way the three other cars in the lot had old expired license plates - they were their to bait other cars to park in the same spot! HERE IS THE EVEN PORTION OF MY EXPERIENCn the E WITH EARL'S TOWING. About six months later, I was driving thru Wilmington at 5:30 PM on a Friday July afternoon. The traffic was almost to a stand still. I pulled over a called Earl's Towing from a pay phone. I explained to them that my car overheated and would not run and I had my family with me along with another adult - and 2 dogs. I was desperate! I told him my car was parked on Nun Street. Earl said it would take a driver over an hour maybe even 2 hours to get to Nun Street. I pleaded with him and offered a $100.00 bonus for the driver of the tow truck. Earl finally agreed to send a truck out to tow my car to a repair shop. I thanked him and hung up the phone. I walked back to my laughing all the way! I went thru my conversation with Earl and the family laughed. I cranked up the car a proceeded to Oak Island - don't get mad - GET EVEN!!!!!! Earl Adams and Family plus 2 dogs

The worst tow. Arrived to find car getting towed because of a mishap with an Airbnb host. My car wasn’t “hooked up” as the driver said. The tow truck driver said I needed to pay in order to get my car (I was blocked in so unable to pull forward). I spoke to their boss about the car not being attached to the truck… I explained this and took photos. They still made me pay. I took a video when the tow truck driver pulled away and I was NOT attached to the truck. F these guys.

They tow cars where no signs are visible or even posted. Total scam!!! I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with these thiefs.

If it were possible to leave 0 stars I would but this is my third time dealing with Earls and needless to say it still disappointed. After being followed by their employees in a tow truck and even almost walked up on, I figured at least this issue would be resolved but when I asked the woman only said “it had been taken care of”. That’s when I knew it wasn’t actually resolved. The employees are all VERY rude and even after asking nicely 2/3 times, the drivers are uninformed and unhelpful and when you get to the tow yard, (the one that looks like an actual jail yard), the woman at the desk is very rude and disrespectful. My roommate isn’t as knowledgeable on cars and these type of incidents so when I went to help I expected it to be straightforward and explained, instead I was rudely talked too and when asked about previous engagement, she turned to my roommate asking if it was “her” car and not asking if it was coowned or mine. We got the car back the next morning and there was also a tiny dent in the hood. Will not be returning or using any tow services offered

The reviews speak for itself. Wish I could give 0/5 stars.. shady, stinky, and greedy company.

Was parked in MY OWN complex and got towed in the middle of the night, just recently moved to the area so I had not yet put on my permit for the area, regardless the property managers took down my license plate and registration when we first moved in so there is records of my car owning a spot at that complex. It was understandable the car was towed because I didn’t have my permit on there, however when I called and asked if I showed proof of residency with the sticker I was given if that would be enough to discount or void the tow since I do own a permit, the man I was originally on the line with said he’d be able to work something out, showed up today and forced to pay 160 so I could get my car back that was towed out of an apartment complex I live in. This business has no humility and did not try to help or alleviate the situation at all, hope if the owners are reading this you guys can reconsider your customer service tactics cause this was ridiculous

I live in student housing and TWICE have I have a car towed by them. The first time, my office did not notify me of the change of parking pass ($140 to take out) and they towed me. The hoarsely spoken lady said they sent out emails and that it will cost only cash to take out. They did this to another woman in my complex. The second occasion is when my friend had their parking pass ON THEIR CAR and it was towed. They went into their car in the lot to show the office their parking pass and again, this hoarsely spoken lady came out yelling and screaming that it wasn’t his car and he wasn’t allowed to go into it. Of course, it was my friends car and she was being extremely petty concerning this. We spoke to the other men who works there and they had said that if he hadn’t gone into the car that she would’ve waived the fee which is why I call her extremely petty. I don’t recommend ever giving them money, they make sure you’re vulnerable to make their money and their towers are incompetent. And to the lady in the office, stop smoking. Drink water :)

Picked up a U Haul. Very nice and professional staff. They made sure I was hooked up and safe before leaving the yard.

likes to tow people who are just trying to go to school and get an education. then also makes the businesses suffer for people parking in their lots. let people get at least try to get an education without having to pay $100+. also damages people’s cars. would give 0 stars if i could.

I would just like to say the people leaving bad reviews are the ones Who don’t know how to read or just simply ignore the signs and think they can get away with it! They are more than willing to work with you in Special circumstances, they constantly deal with people, yelling and cussing at them And still to the best of their abilities, They try to remain calm and de-escalate the situation being as nice as possible! I don’t know about you, but if someone’s yelling and cussing in my face oh boy it’d be on like donkey Kong (;

Their towing services are great, reading and comprehension however was a class they missed in school. They came in the middle of the night and towed multiple parked cars from our apartment complex that HAD parking passes in them. When we went to retrieve our cars they charged us $100 to get them back because “the passes weren’t completely visible”.

Predatory towing, $160 to tow 1.2 miles and hold for ransom for a few hours. 0/10, would not be extorted by again. Lying thieving scam artists judging by the rest of the reviews. Residents parked in all the guest spots because they have no reason to care. Dozens of "resident" parking spots available. You also towed three of the four residents in the single apartment I was visiting even though they had passes because your driver doesn't bother checking. The profit from one person paying is worth "accidentally" towing 20 cars that you have no legal right to even touch because it's not even a gallon in fuel for you and you have no care for the issues you cause people that have done nothing wrong. There is no excuse for these practices.

I highly recommend them. Honest and very helpful. Very informative so no surprises. Thank you all!

If a negative star review were an option, you’d get it. Terrible customer service. Horrible people. They literally stole my truck from Firestone after being serviced and parked by the tech overnight. If any song were more fitting by the Dixie Chicks, well you know it…

This place engages in a dubious game of "I've stolen your car and I'm going to make up reasons why I've done so". After thinking my car was stolen for multiple hours, having an officer call to tell me my car was towed almost felt like a relief. I figured my sticker for parkijg at my complex fell off or maybe I forgot to put it on. Upon visiting Earl's and looking at my car though I quickly realized that no, everything was in order on my end. Confronting the person up front led only to them straight up lying about the situation. Before knowing I verified that I had my sticker before coming in they stated "well you didn't have your sticker". After showing them I did the answer changed to "You were in someone's space" - my apartment doesn't have assigned spaces, you're towing for the complex and don't know that? There were other empty spaces near my car when it was towed, the person towing would have seen there are jo identifiying labels on any spaces. Then a third person chimed in with "I think they were in a handicapped spot". I have the camera footage, try harder to lie please! The person at the front desk then acted all righteous and essentially said I should feel grateful they worked with me to wave the fee. Seriously? You stole my car and held ransom through dubious-at-best legality and I'm supposed to feel grateful for missing work trying to deal with what I thought was a stolen car situation? These guys are con-artists, nothing more.

The owner is extremely classless and has no couth whatsoever. It is an embarrassment to our community to have persons with this type of behavior representing Wilmington. Regardless of the problem that takes you to his office , there is never a need to speak to customers with such vulgar language .

It's $160 to get your car on the DAY OF it is towed. It goes up $40 a day and after five days, it's another $160. *Chuckles* To make matters worse, they won't let you even clean out the car unless you pay them something. But I digress. Karma always has a funny way of coming back.

I came home from one of my morning classes at UNCW only to find out that my car was towed from my own apartment complex - even though I have a valid parking decal. I contacted Earl's Wrecker Services and asked if they had my car, she said they did. Naturally, I asked why they had my car when I have a valid parking decal to which she responded, rather rudely "Well, where is it huh?!" I told her it was on the back right windshield of my car, she tells me to wait a second while she looks, then complains that she had to wipe the dust particles from my back windshield to "properly" see it. THEN, I am informed that I have to go get my car that was towed, even though it was their mistake. I had to have a friend drive me to Earl's so that I could get my car in order to make it to work on time. Once I get there, she is a little nicer, most likely because I am now standing in front of her, and not a voice on the phone, and she tells me it was dark and they couldn't see it, and it was a new driver that towed it. I suggest they invest in flashlights to look at vehicles since at night time it is in fact dark, and for them to not be so money hungry and tow the first car they see. Thankfully, I didn't have to pay for my car that was illegally towed, but I still had to take time from my day, and the person that drove me, to get my car. I completely understand towing people that are parked illegally. For it''s quite annoying when I as a resident, have a parking spot for my apartment taken by someone without a decal. I also realize that most people who write reviews for wrecker company's are people who have had their car towed and are mad...but this isn't the case. This company literally preys on people's cars in a lot; then they tow someone who has a valid sticker, then blames it on the fact that it was dark outside - it is absolutely ridiculous.

you should be offering a student discount since you make all your money off uncw students. i was parked at carleton for five minutes and my car was towed but they didn’t think to tow the 6 other cars in carleton that were parked there overnight. utterly rude employees.

My college age daughter was visiting her friend in Wilmington at her apartment complex. My daughter parked in an area that she thought was for visitors. She was there less than24 hours and her car was towed by this business. They charged her $ 135.00 to retrieve her car. This business seems like a scam to rip off unsuspecting college students . We called the business to discuss and they were only interested in received the money . Do they have a lookout in the apartment complex that helps them with this quick money scam ?

Towed from off campus housing, with my car being there only a little over an hour, even though ALL visitor spots and office parking lot were taken. Had to pay $160, after the lady that works there sarcastically joked that she sold my car because i only had “12 hours to get it”. It’s really sad this is how you would want to earn your living.

Please don't use their services they stole items out of my car and said it was secured and it was not. And What is funny both Earl's and the Martin Edward both said. Your vehicle was locked an secure but nobody knows about my stolen items. So with that being said both company don't practice good business. My livelihood was stolen.

You can't give 0 stars unfortunately. We're not college students. We're in our early 30s and mind our business. We had one tire off our driveway and thought the car was stolen when we woke up (before 8am). It was not. Earl's would not give us a number to who called them. 911 told us where to find the vehicle and that it was "parked in grass". There's never been grass where the tire was. I hear they're contracted to just drive around and look for anything. $135 and a couple hours later we've got the vehicle back with no explanation given to why it was towed by Earl's.

WORST PLACE EVER. They're simply incompetent. They towed my car from my own apartment. That's not even the annoying part: When I and multiple members of my family called looking for my car, they said they did not have it. I HAD TO REPORT MY VEHICLE AS STOLEN and go through the trouble of writing a statement as well as the emotional turmoil of thinking my own car had been stolen. My dad also drove 3 hours to Wilmington to talk to the police. The cop found my car in Earl's lot; we were furious. Why did you tell 4 people you didn't have my car if you actually did? Ah, because it adds money the longer you leave it. To make things worse, they still denied having my car when we showed up, WHILE WE WERE LOOKING AT IT. I couldn't even get mad at them because they were so stupid. They said they had forgotten the paperwork, but there were only about 6 cars in the lot and mine was one of them. Simply walking 2 ft to look into the parking lot would have showed them that my car was in fact there.

My sons truck was towed because they claimed he didn’t have a parking pass. In fact he did have a valid parking pass. They changed their story to his vehicle was hanging over into the towing zone. He has a 2500 truck you can’t get but so close to the vehicle in front if you. They only agreed to split the bill!!! We are business owners and this is definitely not how you get someone’s money. Honesty is not their mission!!

Can you give negative stars?? First off, these ass hats are predators. They lurk in.the bushes waiting for you to walk out of sight then they drag your car around the corner and hook her up and gone. Something to consider, the tow cap (highest price they can charge) in NC is $125...they tried to get us for $150. Then made up a bull story about how the car had been there over an hour, they never tow a car after only a few minutes....hey Earls, in today's age, with GPS records, maybe spew your story to someone else. When I proved my car had been there a few minutes when you towed your story changed dramatically. Stop lying and own the fact that you are predatory trolls who shouldn't have a license to operate. I hope you all find karma in the form least desirable to you. You prey on everyone, good bad or ugly and you deserve to be shut down, fined and thrown in jail. May you rot...eternally...by the looks of you all, life hasn't been kind. Maybe consider your path.

This shady company took it upon themselves to tow my sons car from his apartment complex even though his parking permit was clearly displayed on his windshield. Apparently the genius driver Could not see it even though it was in plain sight. When I called the oh so helpful lady at the front desk she proceeded to tell me that it was cash only to get it out if he could not show them that there was a sticker on the inside. Horrible business practice and even worst customer service.