Area Towing

exceptional fast towing! i was stuck in a ditch and they were there in 15 min and had the cheapest price quote. thanks alot driver was very polite– dennis

had a wonderful experience with Area towing. I needed a tow as the wheel was about to fall off of my car. Called around lowest quote was twice what I paid with them. They charged me $ 80 to go from Franklin Park to Mount Prospect. They said they could be there in 15 mins, I asked if 25 would be ok they said sure no problem. They got there at the time they said they would. they were great about getting my car on the flatbed and even better about unloading it when we got to the house, He put a jack stand under the car for me and put the wheel in the garage for me. The gentleman went out of his way to help me when he got the car off of the flatbed. I would recommend Area towing in heart beat. Hopefully I don’t have to use them again but I would.

It’s bad enough to be towed, but being towed from a business when you are an actual consumer is a beat down.
Someone overcharging you against their posted rates claiming they are charging you by weight, but refuse to charge according to the registered weight on the cab card from the DMV, CRIMINAL.
Not willing to accept posted payment options, tax evasion? YES, CRIMINAL.
Deliberately Damaging my vehicle costing me unknown amount of damage of thousands and loss of business because you got mad and you didn’t like the way I talked to you. RETALIATION
THIS IS A DISGUSTING BUSINESS, OWNED RAN AND OPERATED BY DISGUSTING PEOPLE.
IF YOU SEE THEIR SIGN IN A PARKING LOT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT WORK WITH THIS TOWING COMPANY DONT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.
FULL DETAILS BELOW:
My trailer is in the repair shop and I needed something for my business from Best Buy. Today, August 29^th, I went to Best Buy in my tractor only (State of Florida Apportioned Cab Card Weight of 16,785 lbs). I came out from Best Buy and my vehicle was nowhere to be found. I determined through investigation that Area Towing has towed my vehicle to their location 1.3 miles away from the shopping center.
1. Overcharge:
There is a sign posted with their rates. The sign very clearly stating there are three prices for towing and they are determined by vehicle weight.
Vehicles 8000 lbs and under — $ 196
Vehicles 8,001 to 26,000 lbs — $ 520
Vehicles 26,001 lbs and over — $ 700
As I stated previously, my vehicle’s official government issued weight is 16,875lbs. They said it doesn’t matter and if I wanted my truck I would have to pay $ 700.
At this point, I would like to say this is really offensive to tell me it doesn’t matter what the sign says and I have to pay them whatever they say or they won’t release my vehicle, which is how I eat, feed my family and pay my bills.
2. Payment Method:
Back to the signage that is posted (which I read on the ILCC website is what they have to abide by): It clearly states «CASH, MASTERCARD & VISA ONLY.»
They stated that their credit card machine isn’t working so they can only take cash or some kind of check that you have to have an account at a truck stop to get (not to mention that they have towed my only method of transportation, but there is not truck stop here).
Being a business owner, I had a solution. I advised that all merchant service providers have a service number that will provide you with an over the phone authorization in the event that your terminal is down, because it would be horrible to lose tons of business not being able to charge cards. They said they would not do that and if I want to pay with credit card, I would have to wait until AT&T fixed the terminal. This is where I have a big problem. I wasn’t born yesterday and AT&T doesn’t offer merchant services.
They refused to take the listed forms of payment, making up bogus excuses that they couldn’t even follow their own lies, and forcing me to pay cash or wait and pay daily until AT&T would fix their terminal, which I know isn’t going to happen for a few years or never when AT&T gets into the merchant services business (highly unlikely).
3. Major Deliberate Damage:
Through all of the disagreements and harsh words delivered, I was forced to pay cash and they gave me the truck, without checking for any form of my right to remove the truck (ownership, registration, insurance, nothing). When I drove off, the truck was shaking and vibrating and making a horrible noise that was not present prior to my visit to Best Buy. It was dark, so I drove the 2 miles back to my hotel and with more light and in a safe location, I opened the hood. What I discovered was by far the worst and scariest part of my whole experience with this business.
The fan casing was destroyed with massive chunks cleanly severed off and gone as well as 3 fan blades very neatly and cleanly sliced/​severed/​destroyed. This is not an accident that occurred to my truck. They did this deliberately as a retaliation against me because I confronted their shady business practices and dishonest behavior every step of the way.
Doing a thorough inspection after I determined the cause for the serious issues that are now preventing me from safely operating my commercial vehicle, I discovered they also put two dents in my front bumper, however they hooked up the tow.
4. Miscellaneous Unprofessional Things:
–The man who drove my truck out of the lot to me was smoking a cigarette in my truck. I don’t smoke and now my truck smells disgusting.
–No matter how angry a customer is, you don’t match and raise their anger with yours and you definitely don’t destroy property.
–I believe they towed the truck with the improper tow truck

These people are cons and crooks. Lt Scatchell with the Melrose Park PD told me to go over there, talk to the owner Frank and give him a call back to come to an understanding. They towed my truck from a business where I was making a purchase.
Frank Varchetto, the owner, is somehow unknown and unreachable by anyone and no one has a solution for any of the problems they cause. I think maybe Frank is actually the one who answers the phone, and I pissed him off, so he had his employees forcibly destroy my truck under the hood. You cannot accidentally break 3 fan blades over 2ft long and the top and sides of the fan casing. The plastic is very think, strong and behind the radiator.
They have their prices listed by vehicle weight, but want to charge me for a weight 10 000 lbs over what my vehicle states on the state registration. It doesn’t work that way, that’s criminal.
They don’t like you or the way you talk to them, they break your property. I have thousands of dollars in repairs due to the deliberate actions of a BUSINESS that doesn’t even operate with any kind of sense or respectability. A business owner myself understands you have to make your money to cover your cost, but not retaliating against me and my property because you don’t like my attitude.
They state they take cash, MasterCard and Visa, but SURPRISE, SURPRISE, their machine doesn’t work. You are forced to pay cash!
Last but not least, they wouldn’t even look at my registration to discuss the weight issue. They didn’t ask for any verification of ownership or my right to take the vehicle. I guess because, really, Frank just wanted his $ 700, in untraceable funds.

This is the worst towing company ever! I think if they didn’t tow for the police departments in the area they wouldn’t be in business. They have lazy people in the window. Forget customer service, I do not think they know what that is. They are the worst ever.
DO NOT USE THEY IF YOU DONT HAVE TO.

My car got stolen and towed here, talked to them on the phone, they couldn’t give me any info of the condition of the car, tell me I need to go to the police station which was not true, I bring the title and insurance info and they were so rude and non cooperative, scammers and thieves come to mind, terrible place, avoid them if possible

They «legally» steal cars and trucks from private lots and laugh all the way to the bank taking advantage of innocent consumers.

I love this place! Their rates to repair my car are very fair. I had great experiences with the employees, and will continue to go there for my auto needs.