I am submitting this complaint regarding what I believe to be predatory, unreasonable, and potentially unlawful towing and storage practices by Gene Meyer Towing in Washington State. On Saturday, my friend’s vehicle was towed in Seattle, Washington at approximately 4:55 PM and transported to Gene Meyer Towing’s tow yard in Renton, Washington. The company’s stated business closing time is 5:00 PM. Even if my friend had discovered the tow shortly after 5:00 PM, such as at 5:10 PM, Gene Meyer Towing’s policy would have required payment of an additional after-hours release fee. My friend ultimately arrived to retrieve her vehicle at approximately 9:00 PM the same evening and was charged a $140 after-hours fee, despite employees being present and actively releasing vehicles. Gene Meyer Towing stated that vehicles may still be picked up after 5:00 PM, but that any pickup after that time automatically triggers the after-hours surcharge, regardless of how soon after closing the tow occurred. The only alternative offered was to wait until the next business day; however, the business is closed all day Sunday, during which time storage fees accrue every 12 hours, further increasing the total cost. As a result, my friend was forced to pay approximately $500 to retrieve her vehicle, which had been in Gene Meyer Towing’s possession for less than six hours. I believe this conduct may violate RCW 46.55, which governs towing and storage practices in Washington and requires reasonable, good-faith access to vehicle redemption, as well as the Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86), which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce. Charging an after-hours fee under these circumstances appears misleading, coercive, and contrary to the intent of Washington’s consumer protection laws
The worst we’ve ever had to deal with! Our car was towed Saturday afternoon in Seattle. Unfortunately we were in Chicago when this happened. When we called to find out our options, we were met with rude accusatory comments and constant interruptions. Then the guy hung up on us! We had to book a flight on Sunday to get to Seattle during a snowstorm and the holidays which cost us dearly in money and time. Finally got our car out Sunday night for a mere $775!!!! Are you kidding me? Excuse? Their pricing is regulated by the state. Unprofessional extortionate opportunistic people with zero ethics or compassion.
They illegally towed my car then proceeded to over charge me and refused payment over the phone because my mom was at work making me wait until another day passed adding 135 approx to my bill then after talking to the police and verifying they were required to take credit cards (i looked up the law and they said they didn't interpret it that way) and I verified this with a man in the office they still refused to accept credit making my mom pay with cash only! This is illegal. I'm taking them to court. These companies can't keep breaking the law and messing with us financially. Who has 1000 for 5 days after an illegal tow?? No one. That's wild. The police told me to talk with the owner (she said she knew him) but the front office refused to tell me how to get ahold of him and were not helpful.
Going through these reviews is pretty funny to me. Why can’t people have any accountability. If anything goes wrong, even with life in general, it’s always finding something or someone to shift the blame to. I got towed and it was nothing and nobody to blame except for myself. $300 is pretty steep though for a 7 min. tow. The guy explained it was since he was called by the cops. Dude looks sleazy enough and probably lied about that, but I had to get towed anyways.long story short take accountability (like I did). Second takeaway is, never end up in Renton lol.
I understand that Gene Meyers Towing, is to towed vehicles. I do.
I spoke to, 2 different women over the phone on a Saturday afternoon between 12-1:45pm. Both of them very extremely rude,greedy, no compassion at all. We just wanted to know the amount per day /total ,we were going to pay because yes, our car did get towed. All they both said “ I don’t know, it might change” then after I insisted she provided a rough estimate, the tone and attitude they had. I also ask when driver was going to be available to released the car because it was a Saturday , my words were “ do you happened to have a rough ETA, she responded by saying , “No I don’t know”.
To pay over $660for a small car, that they only had for roughly 2 hours, it is just a ripoff. $660!!
No compassion, No humanity. We need to do better in this world.
Our car was blocked in our garage when some strange person parked in our driveway and Gene Meyer's towing came to save the day! Friendly service from the dispatch team and the tow truck operator.
absolutely heartless people up at gene meyer, I was helping my friend who's mom had blood cancer and is on hospice. they came and towed my truck that had only been there for 20 mins. which pretty much stranded me I had to stay at the park all night, I'm broke. I expressed how this would potentially make me homeless, and they didn't try to help me out or give me a discount or nothing. none of them displayed an ounce of humanity, I just moved out here from five states over and I'm trying to get adjusted. and now I'm probably gonna end up living out of my truck and homeless soon thanks to gene meyer's everybody
Worst company and horrible people working there. They came to my apartment towed my car when I had all tabs up to date available. All because someone called and they just came and towed it for no reason! And the customer service these two guys who came, omg disgusting. We live in a world where decency just doesn’t exist anymore.
I don't have Choice Zero Star. my car for less than 30 minutes they charged me $662 to pick it up.
Is the worst towing company. Totally it's legal Thief.
Not only did they have my car for less than 12 hours, charging me $500 to pick it up, while my car was in their possession got broken into. Great job Gene Meyer
Well they were called to tow my car to the impound lot after I filed paperwork against the impound they were instructed by Renton courts to place my car off to the side and not auction it off or anything until the hearing was handled. Someone didn't do there job and they auctioned off my car when it wasn't supposed to be. I find out by fluke and they inform me of the mishap and tell me the buyers of my car will have it returned in 5days...oh but it gets better. They get it back and didn't bother to tell me that it had been CRUSHED by the people who bought it at auction. No they let me and the tax payers pay for my hearing that was scheduled 4weeks later. That didn't need to take place cuz I don't want a CRUSHED car back nor would I pay impound fees for a CRUSHED CAR....
Even though the circumstances of our tow were unpleasant, these people were so nice and easy to work with. I know impound lots have a bad name but it's not their fault they got called to haul off your stuff so why take it out on them? They really did make it so much less painful to pay the fee just because they were pleasant to work with and willing to negotiate where most other lots would have been difficult and rigid. Much appreciated guys!
Towing is a thankless business. People are unhappy when thier cars get impounded etc. Gene's went above and beyond for the recovery of my stolen machine. Do I wish it was cheaper, sure, but you pay for good equipment and knowledgeable people. No additional damage getting the machine out.
Thanks Everyone.
Great quick service, used them on 3 separate occasions and they were a lot quicker than AAA. Professional tow drivers that took care of my vehicle. Great customer service on the phone as well.
They are rude, they came out to help me to get a car out that was in my parking spot and he said I need to have my lease. Who would just have their lease lying around the house after living there for a year?I went into my apt to find it,and 5 minutes later he called me and said "I'm leaving and no one will comeout if you call this number again".To make matters worse when he saw me I knew he disliked me because of my skin color and how I was covered.
Can't speak for their towing, but I just saw one of their drivers (and white bearded man roughly in his 40's or 50's) acting extremely entitled and rude to an Ezell's cashier because their system was down. So yeah, won't ever use this service.
Excellent service fast response. When Dustin found out that my intoxalock interlock was faulty he offered to call his boss to see of they could fix it because they are an authorized service center. Dustin is damn good with his truck he was able to put my truck almost exactly where i normally park it only off by about 6 inches.stay safe slow down and move over.
They towed my car from where I had permission to be sent me a bill in the mail after I called I was told it'd go auction and then I'd be responsible for the rest. Well they sold it and instead letting me pay my bill off and reaching out after the date I was told they would they sold my debt to collections without even trying anything else no letter in the mail, no phone call back nothing. They have some shady practices and I'm thinking about contacting the Washington State General Attorneys office because there's gotta be some kind of legality surrounding that issue.
I was in an accident and my car was declared unsafe to drive. Gene Meyer's was the only tow company with the room to take it. When I recovered from the accident and showed up to clear out my car, it had been completely ransacked and everything that had been inside it was gone except the trash, most of which wasn't mine. I had recently moved and had had nowhere to put most of what I'd taken with me at the time, including hundreds of dollars worth of books, games, and figures that were in my trunk. My sketchpads had been torn up. My house and work keys were gone. The woman at the desk was uncaring and just told me they lock the gate at night and that no one had been in my car, which was obviously a lie. Extremely untrustworthy place.
I recently had my vehicle stolen and recovered by law enforcement. The vehicle was not drivable so the decision was made to have it impounded. I was unsure of the process and called the towing company first thing Monday morning. Holly was my first contact with Gene Meyer's Towing. She was professional, informative and generous with her time. I interacted with multiple staff while at their office/lot and all were pleasant despite the fact that they were extremely busy.
My van broke down.. initially I called a different tow company but was referred to Gene’s. It was on my way to work so I didn’t really have time to look at any reviews and determine if I’d call. I called and got a driver in about 30/45 mins. The lady(can’t remember her name) was nice.. didn’t have a problem with customer service. Fast forward to the driver, Matt. That guy is super nice! We talked while he loaded my van and until the Uber showed up. I told him where to park the van once he got to the destination and all went well. I’ll use them again... hopefully not anytime soon though. The reviews aren’t that great but honestly everyone has different experiences based off mine I’ll recommend them to others.
They impounded a car that i had sold 9 months prior (the buyers did not register) and without billing me they went straight to collections. No questions. I am poor and they are legally extorting me out of $500 plus. Do not do business with them. They are shady.
My car was towed to Gene Meyer last week, after 2 days I paid to towing my car back to my house, I thought that I can
drive it home to safe $200. The girl there at customer service said that she can’t refund back my money. I said to her how is that, you should be able to refund. I told her that if I didn’t like your customer service, I can dispute that . She got angry and refunded my money back and said to me that the only option to get my car out to pay full amount in cash. I didn’t do that and I let my insurance company take care of it and get it out. It is definitely the worse customers service I have ever had in my life. They were very rude and greedy, they only care about getting your money, I will definitely will never use them again and you should not as well.
Getting your car towed is never an enjoyable situation, however Holly made a bad situation a thousand times easier. Not only was her customer service impeccable, her smile was contagious. She went above and beyond to work with me and to try to figure out a solution ... Not only did she ease my mind she was able to give me something that now days we don't see to often anymore . She gave hope in humanity . That kindest and manners and willingness and just plain human compassion still exists in a few good hearted people. She is just that... Good people. . If your car is towed , I'd pray it gets towed to Gene Meyers Towing! Thank you Holly for everything you have done . Much appreciation. T.A
Our car battery died and the car was left behind and unfortunately towed to this yard by Bankers towing. When we arrived we requested help jump-starting the car, or being allowed to bring another car in to jump it ourselves. The staff member told us jumping the car wouldn't solve our issue, that our alternator was the problem. We wanted to try it anyway but his phone started ringing so he stopped talking to us and left us locked in the lot. We had to call the front desk to let us out. Front desk told us we will have to pay more to tow it to a nearby repair shop. No offer to let us jump the car. They recommended a repair shop that said they could look at it the next day. After we paid and the towing truck left they tell us they actually won't be able to look at it until next week. Fortunately the driver was kind enough to bring it to our house instead. Well it turns out, the car actually just needed to be jumped and now it is running. Thanks for refusing to let us jumpstart our vehicle and forcing us to pay to have it brought in, and pay again to get it out. Poor customer service and shady business practices.
They charged me an extra $200 because my truck is lowered so they had to take more time with it which would have been fine if they didn't completely destroy the rear of my bed. And then sit there and deny it to me saying they didn't do that. This place is criminal. Never use them. The lady in the office is unbelievably rude to customers as well. Stay away from this company! I admit I made the mistake of not looking over my truck better when picking it up. When I noticed the damage and called them the lady in the office said we didn't do that, when I insisted that they did she then said well you already left the lot to bad. Are you serious lady? I hope they all get what they deserve.
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