Retriever Towing

Wish I could rate them ZERO STARS. Absurdly run business with absolutely zero common sense and logic from a customer service standpoint. I will speak to my HOA board and our management company and do everything in my power to eliminate the relationship with Retriever. My son had his car parked properly. His parking tag came off the window during the night but could still be visually seen from outside the vehicle. His car was towed anyway. At the impound garage, we showed the agent the sticker location before opening the vehicle and disputed the reasoning for impound. We were asked to leave the garage because we were complaining (send your employees to conflict resolution class). After a 40 minute wait outside my son was then charged $ 400 release the vehicle along with an additional $ 32 to open the door again. At transaction the Retriever agent liked our reasoning to «your foot on the gas going 70 and getting a ticket» (idiot). As a member of our HOA and former board member you’d think tow companies would want to work with their customers and not against. I understand now why Retriever Towing has such poor Unilocal and Better Business Bureau ratings. Avoid this company at all costs.

Awesome, love that they tow people who cant figure out where is appropriate to park.

Just witnessed some pretty incompetent drivers. I looked out the window of my apartment to check the weather. Security patrol was making a drive through. They stopped in front of the car parked illegally in the handicap area. I heard a vehicle pull in I assumed it was the tow company. It wasn’t it was another vehicle. It parked illegally as well. A few minutes later the tow truck arrived. Yes I was curious. I watched them try for the first vehicle. Could get to it. So they went for the second one that had just got there. I sat there in my window watching being nosy. As they pulled out they nearly tipped the vehicle over and had to block traffic in order to try and get the suv on right. It was a shit show. If there is any damage done to that vehicle it’s because they are obviously incompetent.

Wow where do i start. I guess i would start by saying i would not refer this company even to my enemy. They towed my wife’s all wheel drive from an accident scene and neglected to dolly the rear wheels. They only lifted the front. Next they held us up for two days because they lost the release papers. As if this wasn’t enough they lost our keys. Finally after my wife calling and informing them that the office personally handed their driver the keys they ended up finding them. Now three days later the keys were finally delivered to the body shop. I have left them a message via their on line complaint form about the damaged caused by their driver to the rear drive unit and viscous clutch but still no reply. I am surprised that the Gresham PD still refers them as one of their tow companies. I guess maybe the Gresham PD should read some of their reviews.

I wish I could give this company a negative 5 star review. It’s pathetic that the city has a contract with this towing service when it is apparent they lurk around the streets to tow cars for their petty commission. The blonde witch at the front desk is the worst to deal with and when I asked to speak to her supervisor she refused. Any company that has a sign banning recording audio is obviously sketchy and a horrible business.
They put up tow sweep signs the night before, when I was obviously in bed. I come out to get in my car for work the next morning and it is gone. I was never given a fair warning, and will be filing a complaint with the city.
Congrats on gouging money from your citizens, Portland.

Predatory??? Maybe… Just don’t park somewhere you are not supposed to and you will be fine. I have bought cars from the auction @ Retriever Towing and they are very professional and speedy. Thanks Guys…

LIARS! LIARS! LIARS!!! Don’t use this towing company. Ask their guy to jump start my car he said he doesn’t have jumper cables. LIARS!!!

Dangerous Drivers! Asshole nearly ran me off the road today. Hell of a way to be setting the example for your company out in public. Do Not Support this company in any way shape or form

I wasn’t even complaining about a tow. Six months ago they put signs up in our apartment complex parking lot stating that it is for tenant parking only. Upon several emails I requested a list of parking violations from Scott Williams. Mr Williams refused to speak with me or even give me a list of violations. Our management company has never asked for our vehicle information since they took over 3 years ago. My other request was, how do you know who is a tenant and who was not a tenant? Unfortunately Mr Williams was not able to answer my question yet again. Seems to me that this company has absolutely no customer service training and really does not care about their customers in any way shape or form. The only people that care about is the LARGE management companies which they have a «deal» with. How can a management company change the parking rules not notify any tenants and then punishes for not following those said rules. All I ask Mr Williams for was a list of rules so that we did not break them.

I just don’t get it. How can you charge $ 450 for a tow? Ok… maybe I’m just biased but seriously, enough with the entrapment and the ridiculous bill! Honestly speaking, I think all towing companies are thieves. Sorry but that’s just the truth. The lady working at the Tigard location was nice — I’ll give you that.

After two years of this review being up, I received the following blaming email from «Jake» indicating there has been no improvement in customer service:
«The only way your complaint would make sense is if you didn’t tell dmv you moved like you’re legally obligated to do.»
My response:
«Jake,
As it happened, I got the bill from Retriever and the letter from Portland Police telling me that they hadn’t had any activity on the case on the same day. So clearly there was no knowledge on their end at the time of Retriever’s billing.
Maybe you are suggesting that going to the DMV with the VIN counts as you „reporting“ it, but since I had lived at that same residence for 5 years, I am comfortable ruling that entire scenario out.
I don’t know what took 2 weeks, but if the Police weren’t informed and if they get their information from the DMV (and not directly from Retriever as I would expect) and I didn’t move, I am guessing the issue was on your end.
Well done on the late, botched AND misdirected customer service, though.»

The only reason I could give this company a two star is because of the pleasant gentleman who assisted in the release of my vehicle, and the fact that my car was stored in doors rather than just thrown into some junk yard.
However if dealing with a weekend or off hour pick up you’ll have to make an appointment 1 hour ahead of time to pick up your vehicle and if they have someone available then be prepared to wait as we did, 20 minutes past our scheduled appointment.
Try having a simple conversation and trying to get the price for the release of your vehicle and you will be pulling teeth with the receptionist when you call their customer service line and possibly be referred to their complaint link on their web page to request your exact price. Sound confusing and unnecessary? That’s because it is.
I called back Twice again to try to get my exact rate or request a retriever towing rate sheet, because Charles White (not sure exactly what his purpose or title is there), could not give me more than just a 6 word response to my complaint I was advised to file online, I was given the run around and told that they think and it looks like all the rate quotes were in and that it would be 357 but that was just an approximate amount because they couldn’t give me a definite answer.
If you are a company seeking a tow company that will get the job done and treat your tenants/​customers/​patrons/​well than I suggest seeking another company but if you are simply seeking a company to take out the trash then this one should do just fine.
It’s a shame because the gentleman who helped us to retrieve our vehicle was kind but perhaps he was a diamond in the ruff, who knows.

I will start by saying I was rightfully towed. I am not writing a negative review because I was towed. I am writing a negative review because employee Samantha provided false and misleading information and would not budge or ask coworkers for help. As a result I incurred additional storage fees.
As a note, double and triple check any information you are provided by Retriever Towing specially employee Samantha. My vehicle could have been release the same day, but because of Samantha’s lack of knowledge and or unwillingness to help someone already under extreme stress, my vehicle remained in storage longer than it need to be.
So if you have out of state registration and the Samantha tells you that is inadequate and will not release your vehicle, tell her a fax of the title from the lienholder is sufficient paper work to retrieve your vehicle and if you have to, go above her.

BUSINESSES BEWARE! Retriever Towing is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau and doing business with or employing this company will result in messy lawsuits and legal recourse. They have an F on the BBB Website for good reason. The company does not follow Oregon Law, patrols low income housing areas, as well as preys on communities of color and the poor.
We were given a list of fees with HANDWRITTEN increases in pen and my friend had to pay more charges than were required by the City of Portland. The driver outright told her to «go cry to a manager» and called her a «bitch» when she asked for more information.
He informed us that «no publicity is bad publicity» and bragged about all of the illegal towing incidents the business had been apart of from towing cop cars to people in front of their own homes.
I encourage everyone to file complaints of illegal activity directly to the city of Portland immediately. Also contact the Better Business Bureau and file complaints here:
If you care about your communities, your customers, consumers, your neighbors, friends, and those who do business with you, you will take no part in hiring, calling, or employing this disgrace for a company.

Predatory towing company that charged me extra because I was upset. The guy asked if we got an estimate before filling out the paperwork to assess how much to charge us.
I told him I was upset and pregnant. He asked me if I wanted to take it outside. I honestly didn’t feel like getting hit by a man while I’m pregnant, so I did what he told me to because he was scaring me.
He literally told me, «Yeah, I was excited to see your husband one spot over from visitor parking because that meant money!»
Some heavy guy at the Beaverton location with a scraggly goatee. Kiss his butt, you might only have to pay the low amount.

This was my review of this horrible company in February. Why I found it in the «not recommended» category is beyond me. So I’ll post it again!
My elderly, disabled mother who is battling kidney cancer, parked her car on the street because she couldn’t get her walker up the driveway, Retriever Towing towed her car. She struggles to eat and wears torn clothing but had to pay these people $ 369.00 to get her car back or she’d miss chemo appointments. How they sleep at night is beyond me. Horrible!!!

So many stories I can’t even tell you the amount of preditoring these tow drivers do!
If anything should be illegal its was these people do for a living. I watch day after day of these imbeciles scavenge money from people in a low income housing apartments to get as much money as possible. These are men and women and children who are barely making ends meet that get towed on a regular basis for as little as you backed into a parking space. Are you serious!!! I have been towed twice equaling to 445 dollars. I’m really sick of these people and there desire to make money off from destitute people. Get s real job and some heart. They need to be investigated and closed down!

I thought seeing this heavy set older guy run 2 stop signs, weaving in and out of traffic, using NO blinkers AND speeding though a crosswalk WITH a mom and child in it, all in the congested, construction ridden alphabet district, was jaw dropping enough… NO, WAIT THERE’S MORE!
Then this guy starts to barrel down on me and my small car. Tailgating me AND flashing his brights. I swear he tapped my car at a intersection, while I waited for people to cross, but didnt dare stop or get out. Guy was pretty domineering looking, even in my mirror. I did have a friend in the car, just leaving minor emergency, who was super scared and tried to call the company directly on speaker, only to be laughed at and hung up on!!! I couldn’t believe the rudeness and disrespect, however, reading the other reviews, I DO BELIEVE IT!
When I finally got home and was talking to my landlord about it, who owns multiple properties throughout town (and well versed w tow companies), his eyes got big and he said, «Add this to your review, DIRTY CROOKS!» He went into a pretty shitty story, but I’ll leave that for him to review, not me.
I’ve never seen such disregard for other fellows while driving, and that’s saying a lot. Even the 17 yr old punk stops for kids in crosswalks. Gosh I wish I had gotten that trucks number. Guy driving was a dick. Yea. I said it.

If I could give them a zero I would. They towed my son’s Alamo rental car from a guest parking spot in December because he didn’t have a parking tag. The problem is, Retriever is responsible for installing the insufficient headlight height wall signs that are not at all visible to a guest driver. The minimum signs are placed in front of other parked cars so drivers can’t see them.
Villas on Oswego Lake contracted for this predatory towing company from 10pm to 8am which makes it completely dark and impossible to see any signs at all.
This way, Retriever can tow innocent unaware guests cars and charge them over $ 300 to get their car back.
Two weeks ago, a condo resident left a note in their car, and Retriever towed the car anyway…
Then, Retriever tried to tow at 2pm last Saturday, but were stopped before the car was removed. The tow truck driver said he had permission, but he did NOT!
.

We parked in the parking lot at SE Hawthorne and SE 12^th at 9pm on a Friday thinking it was okay. There were signs that said Customer Parking Only, but it was unclear of which business you have to be a customer of since there are no doors near the parking lot and the building’s signs are covered up as the WL May Co which apparently used to own the place has since shut down and relocated. There were other cars there, everyone else also seemed to be going to the food trucks across the street. So we thought we were in the clear. 20 minutes later, we walk back and find our car is gone. The car, mind you, that my friend purchased only 5 days ago. We go up to one of the signs to get the # for the towing company and find stickers all over it covering up the information. Great. Found another sign, called the number, went to the impound lot in NW.
The people we dealt with were friendly enough, it’s not their fault, although I wonder why they would choose to work for such a shady predatory company.
We had to pay $ 230 to get the car back, including an «after hours» fee despite the fact that they were fully staffed with at least 4 drivers and 2 office employees on-​site while we were there. If you’re open, it’s not after hours. In fact, this was prime time. We witnessed 3 more cars get towed in right as we were there processing our payment. These guys are making easily $ 1k per hour on a Friday or Saturday night.
Everything I’m seeing about this company shows their drivers are just lurking around these lots to tow people for commissions. Awful. To lurk around and tow cars for profit in just minutes from lots belonging to closed businesses is just a really shady practice.
I too will make an effort to not support businesses that employ Retriever Towing for their towing needs as this company is 100% predatory.