21st Century Towing

About a year ago I got a midnight phone call from my son «I had a wreck.»
Fortunately, my son was OK, but the car was not. On my way out to go get him, I noted the phone number for 21^st century towing because they have a sign in the parking lot where I live.
As soon I arrived at my cars location in bufu vancouver, I was convinced that it was definitely not drive-​able. Half asleep and half panicked, I called 21^st century and they sent someone out to get my car.
They towed the car back to Tigard for a very fair price, and the driver was very nice. This made me a little nervous at first because I always heard that tow truck drivers were mean.
The charges were well under what my insurance company had expected to pay, so the ins. co gave me a little bonus when they reimbursed me.

These people held onto my truck like it was something they really didn’t want to give up, I get that is has nice rims but there was no reason for how hard they made it. I hadn’t parked in an incorrect space either and I’m pretty sure that someone just pulled a horrendous prank on me. I think these guys are sharks and just occasionally tow cars for the heck of it. Anyway, I got my truck luckily but I don’t want to ever have to deal with this company again.

I parked my car in a seemingly abandoned lot at 6^th and College and came back 10 minutes later to find it missing.
Holy shit, did I just get robbed?! Wait a minute… I didn’t see any tow signs… In fact I had just refused to park in the lot of a restaurant across the street for fear of being towed. I circled the block twice before pulling into this remaining option. I didn’t see any parking meters or signs coming in…
Oh wait, now that I’m looking, there’s a sign: the fucking Where’s Waldo of advertising, pasted inconspicuously under some overgrowing ivy, on the unlit wall of the abandoned building on the opposite side of the lot my car once occupied.
I dial the number posted for 21^st Century Towing, and a woman answers. I say that my car must’ve just been towed and ask what do I have to do to get my car back?
«You’ll need to come in and pay the fees.»
Ok, great. Where are we talking about? Surely public transit can get me there, right?
«We are located 6 miles away from you on Columbia Ave (the last exit before Van-​fucking-​couver) but we’ll be happy to call you a cab.»
Great. And how much will it be to get my car out? Technically, yes, I did park my car in a private lot. Whoops. Hey, an honest mistake, but surely a hundred bucks can cover this, right?
No.
This shameless bitch says I owe her $ 281.
ARE YOU FUCKING FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PAY THAT TONIGHT?!
«Sir, do you want me to call the taxi or not?»
…yeah…I guess that’s the least you could do… as along as you’re not charging me for it.
«ok.»
click
All the while this conversation is taking place, I see a 21^st Century Tow truck slowly cruising by the lot, scanning the area for more victims. I wave him on with one lone, hostile finger. Everything is just fine here, fucker.
As if on cue, as though this scenario had been perfected through repetition, the Radio Cab shows up within 5 minutes. He asks me how I’m doing.
«Well, you know where you’re taking us, you tell me.»
He goes on to explain that the tow drivers work on commission, that they have a circuit of lots that they monitor with spotters, and that the owners of the parking lots split the profit from each tow with the tow driver.
Allow me to put this into plain, everyday, WTF english: There are people in America whose quality of life depends on how many people a day they can fuck over by holding our cars for ransom. They are rewarded for the totals of their receipts, leading them to find ways to charge you the maximum amount for services rendered. This is why you’ve never received a courtesy call from a coveralled grease monkey. It pays better to hook your car up and drag it to the state line before you’ve paid for your rented movies.
The cabbie said that he once drove a driver to the tow yard who had parked his car, crossed the street (to the very restaurant we refused to park in), grabbed his take out, and walked back to an empty lot in less than five minutes. Once we arrived at the yard, I tipped the cabbie. I’m paying Mexico’s GNP to get my car out of a private impound, I might as well be generous to the one guy that DIDN’T screw me over.
This last June, Oregon unanimously amended House Bill 2578, which places regulation on predatory towing. Believe me, I spent all of my repressed rage tonight reading up on the new legislation. I’m going to try to see if there is any sort of loophole through which I might be able to wiggle my way out of my tow bill.
My banker suggested I report the credit card transaction as fraudulent.
That might actually work.
Somebody signed my tow receipt as «Go Fuck Yourself».

The funny thing is… all the negative reviews on here, are from people who got towed. Well
#1. If you didn’t park in the wrong places… you wouldn’t get towed
and
#2 Thanks to you parking in the wrong places, I scored an awesome car!
I thought the staff here was awesome, very personable (probably cause I wasn’t screaming at them to hand me back my car that was parked illegally)
They worked with me in finding a safe, reliable car for me and my kids, at a very decent price! I will most deffinately be recommending this tow yard to my friends who are on the lookout for new cars!

Always helpful and reasonably priced for towing. Their trucks may not be as fancy as some of the others but they are much cheaper. Generally have just charged $ 50.00 for tows when they can be done on their schedule as trucks are available. Much more for rush tows.

Can I make this a –1? It bothers me to have to put any form of star here.
My daughter borrowed my car so she could attend her friend’s birthday party. Her friend (who’s lived there for about a year) said to park in the «Future Resident’s Parking» spot. At about 11:30 pm on Saturday night, the car was towed. It wasn’t parked illegally. It wasn’t taking anyone else’s space. The office was closed. Nobody called in to complain. This tow company was just out doing some predatory trolling. It cost my daughter $ 250 to get the car back.
The big problem for me is they do not have proper signage in the parking lot. The law proscribes very specific verbiage and none of it was there. You have to go around the corner to find the name and phone number of the towing company. There isn’t one visible mention of the company’s name unless you actually park in a tenant’s space. There is no indication that the parking spot is off limits. This is against the law.
We’ll be taking this to small claims court in the near future. The tow co also damaged my tailpipe and bumper, so I’ll be seeking reimbursement for repairs. I’ll update in the future.

Ok, I think this is the place, but it’s not the yard where I had to go pick up the car. But this is the name on my receipt. Why in the world I ever had to go bail out my car will always leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
So when said nanny takes the car and pretends she’s going to her dad’s birthday party but ends up at boyfriend’s house where the car gets towed, you get two things:
1) One pissed off employer
2) One fired nanny
So that’s what led me to go bail out my imprisoned vehicle at 5:45 pm on a Friday evening. Thank God I made it before 6:00 or I would have had to shell out an additional $ 200 and wait until the next day.
I’m sure that there is no criteria for having a towing establishment. Because if there were, I can’t imagine it would include misspelling the name of the establishment; 21^st Century Columbia TOWNING. What??? I’m sure it wouldn’t include having no lights in the yard and having to stumble over rocks, potholes and who knows what else to find your car. It certainly wouldn’t be having the toothless woman behind the counter (ok, bad jab, she was actually pretty nice) asking you what language Umpqua is when she asks you what kind of bank card that is. She never heard of the ice cream either. I also know for a fact that the criteria wouldn’t be paying $ 202 which included a $ 25 fee for having her open the gate (apparently twice).
*sigh*
Anyone looking for a nanny job?