Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromJean M

  Date: 03/24/2023

  1 star
  They are jerks to deal with, especially over the phone. They won’t let you pay any way but with cash. If you don’t have the cash, you incur more fees until you can pay in cash. It’s a self-serving, terrible business practice.

• Review fromBrandon F

  Date: 12/27/2022

  1 star
  12/21/22 I went to Crow Tow to pick up my car since they towed it from a parking spot that was snow covered. The spot had no signage that said no parking and I was only there for an hour until it got towed. I called them to retrieve it right away but they refused to let me til the morning. Upon getting my car back it was 2 degrees out. I ubered there and was immediately dropped off. Upon walking up to the office they had a sign stating only one person in at a time. I had to wait outside for a few minutes in freezing weather before I could talk to them. Furthermore, after getting in there they stated it’s cash only. They had an atm but I only had my credit card. After them not budging on that policy I finally figured it out with my credit card company for a cash withdrawal but while I was doing this I asked if I could at least warm up my car since it was freezing out. They refused. I tried to reiterate that it was freezing and I already had to wait outside. The other receptionist then raised her voice at me and threatened to make me wait outside again. All I was trying to do was avoid hypothermia because of their strict guidelines and unfair practices. This could have been avoided by telling me their new cash only policy, their lobby policy and instructions on retrieving the car back. I did not raise my voice at any point either and was asking respectfully. She had no reason to threaten my livelihood. They have been a problem with multiple people in the area and now I see why. Thanks for reviewing. Hopefully no one goes through this again in extreme weather.

  Crow Tow

  Date: 01/02/2023

  Mr. ******** car was towed from a spot very clearly marked no parking with slashed yellow lines designating such and without a trace of snow on the ground. A photo showing such can be provided. Mr. ****** called to check on his vehicle at approx. 11:45pm on the night it was towed and was told the procedure to release a vehicle including the pricing and the fact that it is a cash only transaction. All phone calls are recorded and record of this can be provided. When Mr. ****** was dropped off the next day inexplicably unprepared and realized he was going to have difficulty paying he was invited to wait inside the lobby while he figured what to do next. He then asked if our employees would leave their post to personally drive him around the city to figure out his financial situation to which he was advised was not possible. He was invited to be escorted to his vehicle to see if there was a debit card or something that would help him move along in there but he declined. He also did ask for someone to warm his car up that had not yet been paid for or released and was told that is not something we can do. Such was the same for everyone released that day and somehow there were no reports of hypothermia. Mr. ****** then got on his phone and proceeded to loudly denigrate the business and employees directly in front of them. He was told if he wanted to continue behave in such a manner he was welcome to do so outside but he needed to remain respectful if he wanted to continue to warm up in the lobby. Mr. ****** also then proceeded to take a photo of an employee without her consent and post it online along with a one sided and factually incorrect account of events to harass and bully her. All in all this should have been a straight forward, quick and easy transaction and anything that made it difficult or unpleasant in any way was a direct result of Mr Farhat's own actions and attitude.

• Review fromJ. M.

  Date: 12/19/2022

  1 star
  Crow Tow of Des Moines uses predatory business practices and has been dropped by the City of Des Moines as a result of complaints stemming from experiences with business owners and residents. They wait for vehicle owners to park and go inside homes or businesses momentarily, they then rush in, hook them up, and start towing them away. If you come outside and offer to move your vehicle, they will demand a ‘drop fee’ of 125$. This is taking advantage of hard working residents and holding their vehicles for ransom. This is the definition of predatory. They also only accept cash to avoid paying income taxes on payments. I will personably be asking apartment complexes around the city to drop them from contracts and ban them from their property, and directing them to other more reputable towing companies to serve their residents needs better.

  Crow Tow

  Date: 01/02/2023

  This doesn't seem to be a review tied to an actual experience. This seems to be a rant based on rumors/misconceptions of our business model and just a general effort to affect our BBB rating. If the complainant would like to speak about a specific interaction we would be happy to oblige. Also, Crow Two still holds the city towing contract and looks forward to continuing to serve the City of Des Moines for years into the future.

  J. M.

  Date: 01/24/2023

  The above review was a review based on an actual experience, and aligns with many other Google reviews from residents of the city of Des Moines. That’s why is says ‘Customer Review’ above it. As do the other poor reviews of Crow Tow on Google reviews.

• Review fromAnthony J

  Date: 12/17/2022

  1 star
  They towed my flatbed tow truck from 11th and Crocker Street to Southeast 21st on Friday, December 16th at 8:00 a.m. to their crow tow lot they(Crow Tow) charged me $977.26 which I paid on Friday, December 16th at 1:30 p.m. stating he had to charge me for two tows which wasn't possible I had a car on the back of my tow truck when he towed my tow truck but there's no way for him to get the car off the back of my tow truck without him starting my tow truck engaging the PTO and releasing the cable he(Randy Crow) knows this because he(Randy Crow) has multiple tow trucks that operate in the same fashion I called multiple other businesses and they quoted me $179 to $200 to tow one flatbed HANIFEN is one of his competitors or company in the same field that quoted me this price I am just astonished by the almost $1,000 bill he did not want to look at me one time but took the time to wave at me as I'm walking out his building

  Crow Tow

  Date: 01/02/2023

  Seeing as this customer also drives a tow truck he should know the difference between a standard breakdown tow and towing an unattended vehicle without keys, let alone a loaded flatbed tow truck that has shredded tires. The alleged price quote from another company is in no way reflective of the work we were required to perform. This wasn't a standard tow, but a recovery and impound. Just loading the vehicles took a heavier capacity truck and three times the time as a standard car tow. Also, each vehicle has to be impounded, stored and processed separately by law. I understand this bill wasn't something the customer looked forward to but such fees come with the responsibility of his line of work. He left his vehicle and it's cargo unattended on private property without notification or permission of the property management and they requested we remove it. We did as requested and such fees reflect our cost of doing business.

• Review fromMiller N

  Date: 11/26/2022

  1 star
  Horrible business ! They towed my backwards which messed up the back end also broke into my vehicle I didn’t have anything in there for them to take thank god but I’ve heard other story’s about them stealing from people, they left my driver door unlocked & when I called asking how can I make a report they stated “ you can’t it won’t happen “ then hung up

  Crow Tow

  Date: 11/28/2022

  Your vehicle was towed for not having a permit in a permit only lot. Your Traverse was loaded on a flatbed, not towed from the rear as stated. You inspected the vehicle and made no comments about its condition. Your vehicle was never entered. You stated someone had driven it there and had no idea where it was towed from. All lines are recorded. Pictures were taken and body cameras were worn. There are 70 cameras on our property to insure the security of your vehicle. All calls are recorded.

• Review fromIsmail I.

  Date: 11/12/2022

  1 star
  They wrongfully toe my car from apartment complex I was delivering an order to claiming I needed permit to park which I was not even parked in any market with paint parking “spot” it’s not fire lane as well it’s for this purpose to load unload deliver mail, etc.. no signs that says no parking for whatever reason only visible clear sign in front says “future resident parking” although the upon entering the property there are signs stating without permit you could be towed that’s not an issue I am delivery driver and I go in and out to drop off orders. They tow my. Vehicle demanded I pay unreasonable fee of $280 when they only wanted $180 and I don’t know if they stole parts out of my car or what they did but the very next day when I picked up the. Vehicle it bought new battery thinking it’s the battery no. Car I never had any issue with that run stops all the electrical shut off no power Whatsoever. They have the audacity to Claim I threatened guy on wheelchair which is beyond unimaginable I’m having hard time trying to under register in mind. This people have no fear for god and they tell soo much lie when someone is telling what they doing is wrong they find another lie to cover under and another and another. I Have no reason to threaten the man I gave him comfort by for filling his request when he asked me to come inside which I did. This is very bad people and very bad business I pray no one else becomes victim of their barbaric butchering people for money and they allow them to do this to people

  Crow Tow

  Date: 11/16/2022

  Mr ****** was towed from a permit only lot for a host of violations of their parking policy including no permit, not being parked in an actual parking spot, and blocking in other vehicles. The complex actually has a designated spot for food delivery that he did not use. Later that evening, around 11pm, Mr ****** broke into our facility by climbing under the front gate and attempted to steal back his vehicle from impound. As the gate was shut he could not leave so he harassed our overnight dispatcher, a wheelchair bound veteran with only one leg, repeatedly until the police arrived. As we were unable to open our gate, this impacted our ability to continue to conduct business until Mr ****** was ultimately arrested. Mr ****** was charged for the original impound as well as an additional charge for labor for the downtime and filing of police reports his actions caused. The following day, Mr ****** returned from jail to redeem his vehicle after the office had closed for business for the day. Instead of turning him away and charging another day of storage, we had a police officer escort Mr ****** to pay his bill and collect his vehicle. Mr ******* vehicle started up and drove off without issue in front of the officer. Not only did Crow Tow do no wrong, we made additional accommodations for him that we did not have to. Any electrical issue he may have with his vehicle now are in no way related to the tow (done by staff wearing body cameras at all times) or storage (on a lot covered by 70 cameras).

• Review fromJazz C

  Date: 10/15/2022

  1 star
  THEY HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER WITH ABSOLUTELY NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!! 10/10 WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND! THEY HAVE TERRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES! THEY TARGET LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES THEN ADD ADDITIONAL COST TO CERTAIN ETHNICITIES.

  Crow Tow

  Date: 02/20/2023

  We have no record of towing anything with your name.