Robert’s Towing

By far and away the most unprofessional, shady company I have ever dealt with. They towed me from my own, private parking spot behind my apartment this morning. The same spot I park in every single night. The spot I pay extra money for, as a student, every month. How did they react to my inquiry/​concern when they called? The woman answering the phone got hostile and then hung up on me. No I have to pay $ 130 to get my car back for being parked in my very own spot, where its supposed to be parked.
This company needs to be investigated by the State.

Worst experience today. Ran into B.U. Dental today for my appointment for them to tell me the doctor needs to reschedule. Walk out 15 minutes later to find my car had been towed. I asked the parking attendant across the street why they towed my car and he said «there’s supposed to be a no parking sign there». Called the number, the woman was rude, told me the address and to bring 130 bucks. I asked the woman why I was towed and she said there’s no parking there. I said there aren’t even any signs. She says they don’t need to post signs at every spot. I arrange a ride (my husband luckily works at B.U. but has to clock out to get me) and she tells me cash only. Now we go to an ATM go back and she tells me $ 138! Luckily I had the extra money on me or we’d be going back to the ATM! I am not letting this go
My response to Roberts towing
How can the picture be «strategically“taken? A picture is a picture. There is a sign but it’s in the spot in front of the Camry. I know you told me the MA General law. That doesn’t make it right. If there is no parking on the whole street then the signs should say «no parking this side of street». How would anyone know that a sign above one spot saying no parking would mean no parking for the next 3 spaces either?
I realize you probably deal with disgruntled people every day but honestly you make the whole situation worse. I don’t believe I ever yelled and if I did then you were also yelling because we were talking the same. You got all upset when I asked for the name of the company that towed me because I was going to fight it. And talked very condescending. Why do you care if I want to fight this with the company. I don’t believe there was adequate signage. And I believe your company knows that, that’s why the tow truck went by twice in the half hour I was there!

I work with a property management company that needs cars towed about 3 times a day. Roberts is always there quickly and we’ve never had a problem with them towing the wrong car. I’ve seen the tow guys being yelled at and harassed by people who parked illegally and the workers always handle themselves professionally. They towed the wrong car ONCE in the 3 years I’ve worked with them and immediately brought it back and did not charge. I understand that everyone who has been towed by them would leave horrible reviews but as someone who actually uses the service regularly for the purpose of towing: they are great.

Robert, thank you for your candid reply and I would like to mention that just because the report and the video is from 4 years ago, it does not mean that Robert’s Towing has improved as you sound quite proud of your operation 4 years ago so why change it, so the time factor does not play an effect in your defense. I simply stumbled upon both the video and the interview and discovered the multifaceted predatory routines and techniques towing company employees utilize to maximize profit. To be honest, I’m not trying to single you guys out as I believe all tow companies do this (tbh, I think you guys are very lucky and good in acquiring the towing rights to many «hot» properties around Brighton and Brookline), but I simply discovered the behaviors through researching Robert’s Towing. Also, I don’t blame you guys in doing this as all businesses exist to make a profit, but I do think people should be given the chance to look into how Robert’s Towing became a multimillion dollar business in yearly revenue.
Furthermore, I would like to mention that I was in Blanchard’s Liquors when my vehicle was towed and your tow drivers did not make an announcement (or perhaps I missed it), so I don’t know what you’re talking about in trespassing a private property unless the lot is owned by Robert’s Towing and you guys can tow whomever you wish that happens to be on that lot. In fact, what made this an unjust and inequitable tow is that when I showed your employee my receipt from Blanchard’s, which was timestamped, your employee chose to ignore the evidence and held my vehicle hostage until I paid the fine. Also, the shady part of this transaction is that if I had waited in hopes to clear up everything, a fee would have been added based on the amount of time you held my car, so you employee and business had essentially cornered me into paying with no third party to regulate and to make a fair judgment of what should have been the correct outcome.

Today my family paid $ 141 for the biggest joke of this planet called Roberts Towing… enjoy…
Actually your tower showed his intend to hit me. He is rude as you are. Now I see that you have a time to write your stupid comments and humiliating people. If are looking to intimidate and get respect from me, you are dealing with the wrong person. I hope that you and you redneck buddies enjoyed the dope and booze you took from my money. Get a life!
Yes he did have the intention. Your camera sees what you want to see. The only talent you have is to reply your customers with your stupid comments, threatening them with your camera and proudly doing the scumbag job very well. Get a life!
Well, if you kept your cybermouth shot by not bringing any comment and show some respect to the public, you would not look like a douchebag.
I don’t need your crappy towing company at all. You are on my shit list definitively.
If I am wasting your time as you claim, why the hell did you respond to my review??? Duh!!!
After you did what you do, do you expect me to kiss your ass? Are you a kind of stupid?
As far as my concern, you may stick all the tows including your cameras in your ass.
Do yourself a favor, SHUT THE HELL OFF!!!
END OF THE STORY!!! a

My wife and I parked at the super cuts & 2 other businesses small parking lot at the corner of Hammond and Boylston Street in Brookline this afternoon (9÷17÷2015). Before proceeding to super cuts we went to Rockland Trust next door for less than 5 minutes. When my wife returned from depositing a check and was going to super cuts, our car was already attached to the tow truck to be towed away. We protested vehemently because we were previous customers of super cuts and could prove it. I called the Brookline Police and an officer responded. He informed me that the parking lot was private property and the towing outfit was within its rights. They had demanded $ 75 fine to prevent our car being towed. They lowered the fine for which I give them 1 undeserved star. We were, in effect, swindled out of $ 50 by an unscrupulous business which only serves business and has no regard for the individual or for unusual circumstances. I would recommend that nobody patronize a business whose parking lot has a sign prohibiting parking for customers not at that moment patronizing a business. Only when these businesses lose customers like super cuts has lost ours, will this unethical practice stop.
Carl J. Cedargren

Two words. Rude and Shady. In the city of Boston, all tow companies are SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN AUTHORIZATION PROVIDED BY THE DISPATCH COMPANY BEFORE THEY HOOK A CAR FOR A TOW.
Allston. I hate this disgusting city. When I visit my friend he calls his landlord every time I’m there, then his landlord calls Roberts towing and tells them my car make and plate, (it’s a vanity plate, NOT hard to forget) saying «hey this car is authorized to park.»
Tonight I parked visible to Longs Ave. not even 5 minutes at my friends we hear a tow truck swarming. Good thing I was there. According to this employee «Because my car didn’t have that white Roberts towing sticker» I was guilty.
When I asked this cowboy why he’s towing my car he had the balls to tell me to «let him do his job» after he hooks up my Mini. THEN he called his dispatch to ask if my car was authorized to park on Long Ave. YEAH IT WAS! My friend asked the driver if he would have called in my plate before he towed it if we weren’t there. He said «oh of course.» REALLY?! Would you have really?! Find that hard to believe seeing that’s protocol before you take someone’s private property.
Back up, Roberts. Stop being so greedy and assuming everyone is parked illegally. Follow the Massachusetts laws and start towing like professionals.
Maybe this company can take these stupid college kids for a ride. This isn’t my first rodeo. Not only should I have called boston PD, I will be filing a complaint with whoever I can Monday morning. I am sure Roberts could careless. If I could give these people less than a star I would.
⁸⁄₁₉ so it’s Roberts policy to hook up a car before they find out if they’re a no tow? Are you kidding me? Is that even legal?
I’m not claiming anything I have three witnesses. You even said your driver «didn’t recognize my car and thought I was good to tow». HOW THE HELL WOULD HE KNOW THAT WITHOUT CALLING YOU FIRST? Why couldn’t he have called while in the street? Why did he have to come up the driveway and hook my fregin car. You don’t get why I’m upset because it didn’t happen to you or your personal property. This is my review and I’m not sorry.

Prob. The rudest people I have ever talk to in my entire life. They wrongfully towed my car and I understand it’s the states fault too. However after speaking to the rudest women ever I have no problem saying don’t park in Brighton. If they don’t have a reason to tow you they will make a reason up and then yell at you for it. Welcome to the great city of Boston.

The woman you have working at the front desk needs to be fired. She yelled at me and then hung up on me when I called to come retrieve my car. When I got there, she continued to be unforgivably rude, yelling at me «YOU PARKED IN THE WRONG PLACE, YOU PARKED IN THE WRONG PLACE HONEY,» then held my debit card and my license for a good few seconds, smiled with glee and said, «cash only.» There was no sign. It was an illegal tow to begin with for which I am being reimbursed by my landlord. I say this because my property manager is now gearing up to fire the whole towing company because they have cost my landlord $ 130 that he now has to take out of my rent. Perhaps if she behaved like a human being, people wouldn’t consistently complain and there wouldn’t be an impending investigation … (Sounds like some shady tax-​evasion and scam artistry is going on, won’t take long for someone to do something about it… I hope)

If you don’t believe that there can be nice people that tow your car then believe it now. The guy doing the towing was VERY nice and actually listened to the person he was towing and tried his best to work with her. After that the women from the tow company took time and called me back to figure out who was supposed to be where so the wrong people wouldn’t get towed. I wish I could remember her name but she was just so concerned about making sure everyone was settled and where they should be.
Most of these places seem like they don’t care they just want as much money as they can get, this place really went above and beyond to not make you feel that way. I know it’s not a good thing to need a tow but she made me want to call everyday she was so great!
If you own a company and ever need a tow company this is the way to go!

I hope I can have a tow business this profitable one day. These guys do great work. Their drivers are hauling tons of cars all the time! I can’t remember the last time I saw one of their trucks empty. Giving 4 stars because a lot of their trucks can only carry one or two cars.

I am not slandering anyone just stating facts. I didn’t say he was arguing with anybody just that he was yelling at other drivers, which he was.
It was 5 car lengths that the vehicle was dragged if that’s more helpful.
The e-​brake was definitely on everyone in the area was watching and hearing what happened and was wondering how someone could be so incompetent.
The driver seemed flustered which maybe was why he was doing his job improperly or it could have been vice versa either way it happened.
Also you haven’t fought my claim of your driver not securing the car being towed properly, so I’m taking that as an admission of guilt. This is extremely dangerous and should not being taken lightly. I saw your employee knowingly put at risk other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and himself.
It is a very great to hear that the car didn’t fall off the truck as that could have been a terrible situation for anyone involved including your business. Thank you for updating me.
All I know is that if a business owner thinks it’s worth their while to respond to nearly every review on Unilocal with the kind of overly defensive and combative attitude that is portrayed through your posts, without the intention of actually getting to the bottom of a legitimate complaint, the claims stated here are more likely than not true.
Please admit to the fact you don’t care about any claim presented here and that you only respond to feed some sort of self righteous need to defend your poor business practices.

Bloodsuckers

Only because –5 stars is not an option. These low-life’s left us standing at the lot gate for over a half hour in –1 degree weather to pick up our car that was towed during Boston’s worst winter storm to date.

I needed a tow to the body shop this morning, and called 4 different companies. Robert’s Towing was the only one that had trucks in the area that could get me into the shop within a reasonable amount of time — and the only one that could get me into the shop before it closed for the holiday weekend before the blizzard hit (which was extremely important to me).
The tow truck driver was to my car within 10 minutes of the call being placed. He actually saved me money by using a winch to pull me out of my spot so I could drive to the body shop instead of a full tow. The driver was pleasant and easy to work with despite the freezing conditions outside on a narrow, busy, one-​way road, and I really appreciated his help! Thanks again for getting my car off the street before the blizzard!

19 BBB complaints in the last 3 years, 7 in the last 12 months. 98% of reviews for this company are negative. Numbers don’t lie. This business partakes in predatory towing.

This morning, I was towed for the first time in my life while being (supposedly) illegally parked behind an apartment building in the Mission Hill area. I came to visit a friend in the area and this is my first time visiting the city of Boston. After immediately calling the company and explaining my situation, I realized that any plea I made with the dispatcher would be to no avail.
After retrieving my car the following morning, I was delighted by the theatrical performance provided to me by Robert’s staff. It was unique to actually experience a first-​hand interaction with workers that are notorious for their involvement with a towing company. I wanted to see if these people were really as bad as everyone made them out to be, which they were… and this deserves appraisal. Everyone played their role expertly.
I first witnessed your quintessential loud-​mouthed, ragged clothes-​wearing tow truck driver that seemed to be too proud driving his hunk of metal. Then I went to speak to the woman at the booth. After explaining my grievance, not only did she show remarkable indifference (just as she was trained to do), she continued on to insult me by telling me that I «sound like a lawyer». Little was she aware that this is in fact a compliment, and being educated is considered an asset by most. Her act as «booth office bitch» was spot on.
The point is, these people are doing their jobs. Having to deal with limitless complaints, they’re not going to show you compassion when you come with your own story. They are hired to be a certain way and nothing you say will make them do their job differently. There is a problem, but Roberts Towing Company isn’t it. These people are hired by private property owners to collect cars illegally parked. They will get the job done even through means that seem predatory.
The main problem is the lack of government-​mandated provisions requiring property owners to maintain their signs. Any honest individual with two eyes would understand the difficult of spotting any legible sign prohibiting parking near the area I parked yesterday, especially considering it was night time. These private owners are only required to have signs within the premises and it is the driver’s responsibility to find them. This means that a sign lodged behind a fence with only a few visible letters was sufficient enough in having me get my car towed 48 hours after arriving to a city I’ve never been to before and having to pay $ 143 as a result.
I’m giving this company 4 stars because dealing with the staff was entertaining and everything it was made out to be. I understand these people may actually be decent but are required to have a certain demeanor. I can’t give a 5^th star because Roberts towing company was an accessory to a event that has left me financially burdened (as a recent college graduate working full time to try to save up and pay for loans) and with a bitter taste of a city I had been so excited to visit.

Being towed sucks, we all can agree on that but I have to say this was one of the more pleasant experiences

Maybe I just don’t write well. Let me try again so even a Towing company owner can understand…
«It is completely untrue that anyone was „waiting for your wife to leave the premise“. Our drivers would have no way of knowing 1) which car was hers, or, 2) that she intended to patronize Peet’s „for over an hour“ then leave the premise to patronize another business „15 feet away“.
— Roberts Towing
My wife was at Peets for over an hour and THEN SHE went with me next door for 10 minutes. In that 10 minute period, you found our car and fully hooked it up. Unless you guys had perfect timing, it is a more than fair statement to say ‘The towing company was APPEARENTLY waiting for her to leave». Also, there was no «she intended to patronize Peets for 1.5 hours». She DID patronize Peets for 1.5 hours prior to being towed (and we offered to show your employee the proof in the form of a credit card charge… but of course he had no interest in that).
«By your own admission, you appealed to the property owners, The Growth Company, who stood firm, they do not want people parking their vehicles in their parking lot to patronize neighboring businesses who do not have their own parking.»
— Roberts Towing
Birds of a feather.
«This is obviously not a „misuse of their parking policy“. In fact, the only one misusing their parking policy, frankly, was you.»
— Roberts Towing
This back to understanding simple English… She WAS at Peets for 1.5 hours, then we went next door for 10 minutes. In that 10 minute period you found us and you hooked us up. Add on the fact that the parking lot was EMPTY. That WAS CLEARLY a misuse of the parking policy, and one that is echoed multiple times in the many 1 star reviews your company has received. You can try to talk your way out of this, but sadly all a person has to do is read what others have said to glean the truth.
The correct answer is ‘sorry sir, we’ll refund the fee”. The wrong answer is «bla bla twist the facts to make yourself sound less guilty»

I was ready to hop on here and write a mean review just like the rest of the pack, but then I came to my senses once I cooled down. These guys are just doing their job, bottom line. My car got towed because I was parked in a spot that wasn’t mine, simple as that. Sure you’re angry, but don’t throw a tantrum and bring the business down. Also, did you ever think that the drivers can be rude because they have to deal with bullshit ²⁴⁄₇? Cut ‘em a break.
I’d give you guys 5 stars, but you did tow my car. ;)