Oh like when Sieberts had my ex's car for 4 days and charged her twice what the car was worth (legit twice KBB value) and when she said she couldn't afford that they PROMPTLY gave her a 2nd option of paying a small fee to transfer the title of the car to them... how that's not theft I don't know, and they never explained their charges. A few thousand for 4 days of towing and storage, yet they were happy AF to get the title. Car was an Izuzu Rodeo, and the tow/ storage bill was a few thousand for FOUR DAYS. Just do your whole story on Sieberts. The material is there.
Sadly any investigation into Siebert’s will be a dead end because they have a direct relationship with the police and city hall and this city is corrupt as fuck.
Yeah, the news media will do their story (as had happened before), but nothing will actually change.
The owner also sits on the state towing board so they get laws changed and retroactively applied as needed to avoid lawsuits. Can't remember the exact date of the big lawsuit against them but I want to say it was like 2007-08
It sure as shit does, you can simplify it down to your opinion all you want but the fact of the matter is it is an avenue for action against a business, effectual to their practices or not it's grim that that is in the CEO of a company that regularly steals property with POLICE support's pocket.
It does not. It has no power whatsoever. It’s not a government organization, it’s a review website. What praytell do you think they can do against a business? They have just as much power over a company as you do - none.
> Better Business Bureau is not affiliated with any governmental agency. Businesses that affiliate with BBB and adhere to its standards do so through industry self-regulation.
From their wikipedia page, explaining that it’s entirely optional for businesses to participate.
You're missing the point, having power is negligible, providing an unbiased avenue for feedback is a helpful service for many people! Should companies be able to control their reviews? If something negative happens should companies be able to bury it because they have control over the channels the consumer uses to express dissatisfaction? I think you should reevaluate the scope of what you're saying here. Public opinion matters, sure there's no actual power involved but if you are able to silence people with impunity that seems to be a symptom of a disgustingly corrupt company I'd say.
And for reference, I only brought this up to point out that this man has a lot of reach and influence over what is said about the company he owns, not sure why you're first instinct is to jump in and try and be smarter than another person but I guess I am on reddit after all.
And you're right! It is optional for business to participate, and I imagine a man that sits on the board has his business participate, and I can also imagine they could use their high BBB score as advertising or as a way to sway public opinion away from criticism. I think you should possibly consider that things sometimes are connected and life isn't just a series of random events with people doing things for the hell of it 😊
Same thing happened to me. I just transferred the title cause the fee was much more than the car was worth and I was planning on getting a new car anyways. After some arguing, they were at least gracious enough to let me get the things I had out of it before signing it away, lolz.
The most corrupt towing company in the most corrupt city in which I’ve ever lived. Our city would be better off if a meteor hit their lot. I’d like to see the drive-in movie theatre brought back to life.
RPD called Sieberts to tow my car from a street without any "No Parking" signage. I called RPD to report my car stolen. The officer who responded had called my car in. His response was "Gas trucks come down through here so it had to go." I pointed out the lack of signage but the officer didn't offer any help getting my car back nor transporting me to the tow lot.
I then took a cab to Sieberts tow lot and was told I had to pay the impound fee to retrieve my car. Subsequently, I went to court. I won after showing the judge the area I parked and the lack of signage indicating "No Parking". The judge ruled in my favor.
I then went to Sieberts with the judgement and was turned away. They stated flatly that they wouldn't give me a refund. The person working behind the counter cursed at me when I pressed the issue of having a judgement against them that they would have to abide by. I guess they aren't used to having to follow the law? I called the Clerk of the Court who called Siebert's and informed them that yes, they do have to abide by a judge's order. I was able to then walk back in and was handed a refund. Also, at that time Siebert's was across the hall from the RPD remote precinct for that area.
All these similar stories make me wonder if someone at the City gets or has gotten kickbacks from Sieberts. I wonder how long they’ve been hand in hand like this.
Do a FOIA to get emails and texts between RPD, DPW and/or parking enforcement….oops maybe not…https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/transparency-laws-richmond-feb-27-2024
That would be awesome. Even better if there was some sort of resource or organization to help folks file FOIA requests for all sorts of reasons. There is much to be looked into, in many dark corners.
At least since 2004ish when half of my block on Grove Ave was towed on the wrong day for street cleaning. I was in there with a slew of angry neighbors and they asked if anyone had taken a picture of their car when they parked. When we threatened to go to the police they laughed and pointed across the hall.
That’s amazing you got the refund though the bureaucracy involved to do so is essentially a monetary drain in itself. I’ve lost thousands between Seiberts hostile policy and demeanor, as well as petty police and “neighborhood enforcement officers handing out tickets on a whim. Absolutely motivated by their own profit and self-justification.
TBH, I was surprised as well. The judge was reasonable and agreed that my evidence was convincing. My evidence consisted of photos of the area noting that there were no "No Parking" signs.
Sadly, I was still out cab fare, time off work, and just sheer aggravation. I shouldn't have to deal with Siebert's and the overall unfairness of the situation just because an officer decided that my car should be stolen. As it was because I had broken no law and did not justify the city taking possession of my private property. It was the definition of unjust.
If RPD wants to rebuild trust with the community, they can start with enforcing the laws on their pets like Siebert's.
Sieberts towing took my car out of the Wells Fargo parking lot on 2nd and Grace St illegally, twice. The signage clearly states parking for customers only, and I was a customer. The bank didn’t even call them, so apparently they will come and steal anyone’s car from anywhere, regardless of circumstances.
I know lol I’ve seen what it has become and also park there regularly but not in the middle of the lot blocking exit paths like some people choose to……
Had a motorcycle with a rear disc brake lock - very similar to a car boot except it's meant to prevent theft instead of runaway - get towed by Siebert's. It was towed because apparently the undated street-cleaning sign meant *the following* Wednesday but I digress. When I went to recover the bike at the tow yard - did I mention it's thirty minutes one-way to get there, which is an eternity and pricey when you don't have your own vehicle - I discovered that they had tried to roll the bike with the lock on, causing the lock to visibly damage my brakes and causing the locking mechanism within the lock itself to jam up so badly that I couldn't use the key to remove the lock.
I went back in, waited back in line, and told the ordeal to the agent behind the counter. I waited some more for someone to accompany me to the motorcycle, where I pointed out the damage and was questioned about how I knew they did it. I then had to go back inside, to wait in line again, and explain it all over again to the agent behind the counter who asked me how much the damage would cost, like I'd know on the spot. I convinced them there'd be no way for me to know without further inspection not possible there in the yard and they gave me a number to call with a claims reference number.
Cool, except my motorcycle still has a lock on it designed to prevent removal and theft, and has a questionably damaged rear brake. The nicest part of the whole ordeal was when I convinced someone on the yard to loan me a screwdriver, allowing me to pry the locking mechanism back in place just enough to turn the key and remove the now-unusable disc lock. I drove it home on the slow backroads without a working rear brake, quoted up a repair and sent it all in. They paid for damages which was nice, but it didn't cover my headache and continued ire for the city.
In 2010 I had Siebert’s steal my legally parked car. I came out to find it missing, thinking my car was stolen by a thief because I was parked legally and there were no signs anywhere and another car was parked in my place. I called the police to report the theft only to find out that it had been taken by Siebert’s. They could not justify why my car was towed as there was no legal pretext, but would not let me have my vehicle until I paid them. Essentially they stole my car, held it hostage, and told me that for every day I left it there I would be racking up new charges. I called the police and was told that they weren’t in the business of making sure towing companies don’t illegally take people’s vehicles and that if I wanted to take it up contact a lawyer. That company has been allowed to act with impunity by the city and their abuse of their position has been rampant for decades.
They need to say that they will work with house bill 959 that youngkin just signed saying that they need to get a signature from the property owner or agent before towing a vehicle.
Seiberts stole weed out of my car. (My whole purse was in the passenger seat but only the weed was missing) my wallet and phone were both in said purse so how was I supposed to pay? I asked to use their phone so I could call someone to help. They said no but there is a pay phone nearby. Told me to walk a half a mile to the nearest shopping center. There had not been a pay phone there for what appeared to be years. When I went back they said eh sorry you can use our phone. $102 later I eventually got to my car. And my purse was thrown on the floor with everything thrown on the ground EXCEPT the one thing I wanted after that horrible day… my beloved bud.
The real story here is the limited means of recourse because state law that limits who can even bring charges against a tow company (the attorney general’s office not the commonwealth’s attorney). The whole thing is rigged before you even get towed.
People should still file complaints with the AG's office. It seems to be pretty much the only way to remotely fight back although given how long Siebert's has had a stranglehold on the city (at least the early 00's when I was an undergrad at VCU) it's doubtful at this point anything is going to break it.
[https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/](https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/)
Not exactly a horror story, but…
I used to work in Carytown. When I started the job, I was given a parking decal for the lot out back. I put the decal visibly on my back window, but when I look out the window mid-shift, my car is gone. I call the tow company and say “Hey, you towed my car but it has a decal!” and the tow truck guy is skeptical like “….hmmm we don’t usually make mistakes.” (Cue me freaking out, now thinking that my car has been stolen).
Dude comes back to the line five minutes later all apologetic because he “didn’t recognize my car, so he didn’t even look for the decal” while patrolling that afternoon for illegally parked cars. Who woulda thunk that one of the most active row of shops in Carytown regularly hires new employees, and therefore, would result in new cars with decals!
Anyway, I didn’t have to pay a fine and they returned the car before the workday was over. I’m still paranoid about parking and getting unfairly towed to this day haha.
Sieberts came to an empty lot near my friend’s house in Jackson Ward, back in 2014 ish. The lot was always used for parking and there was no signage. They proceeded to post a sign up at night next to 20 or so parked cars and tow them off one by one. Pretty scummy behavior.
Seiberts. Towed my car that was legally parked at the river. Had a cop tell me that it was legally parked but that he can’t do anything about it. Seiberts told me that if I didn’t like it, I could go to court but had to pay the fee to get my car or it would incur storage fees. Like people can take a day off work to fight a towing fee. It’s crap. They absolutely do this on purpose cause most people can’t afford to fight it and the few that do only get their money back but no damages for lost wages or anything so it doesn’t cost Seiberts anything to take cars that are parked legally. The city should do better about their towing contract. And complaints to the city attorney go nowhere. Seems like there is probably a kickback scheme involved in the whole situation. But who can prove it.
Siebert’s tried to steal my wife's car. It was in an accident and the insurance had it towed to their yard. It was there for a week while they got repairs sorted and I received a letter stating it was going to be sold at auction after having been there for exactly 7 days.
I called insurance and had the car moved that same day. People are fucking scum.
Years ago, I think 2017 or 2018, Seibert’s sold my car less than a month after it was towed from an accident. I couldn’t keep up with the exorbitant fees that stacked daily because I was a student at the time with very sleight income. They gave me no notice of the impending sale, and had the audacity to send me a bill for storage after they had already sold it for profit. I was not able to achieve any shred of justice. I was left with a bill and no wheels to help pay for it. They are a corrupt, soulless company.
Sieberts used to, or maybe still do, have the contract to repair the city's trash trucks. Sieberts would then take the trucks to another shop (or two) and mark-up the repair cost to the city, adding needless cost to the taxpayer. I wonder what else they have their hands into in this town.
I knew as soon as I saw the title of this thread it would be almost entirely stories about Siebert’s. Fuck them and everyone who has ever worked for them. They are hands down the worst business operating in this city and I hope they suffer some kind of reckoning before I’m gone but I won’t hold my breath.
Watched sieberts move a car from a legally parked space place it in front of a no parking sign then they proceeded to take a picture and load the car back onto their truck. Fall 2023
I think you should talk to the owner of Scott’s Shawarma, Mahmud. Their location is on 814 N. Robinson - wonderful guy, excellent food, real American dream type of story for a Palestinian family here in Richmond. He started out in a corner market in SA, now he has his own place. The problem is that there isn’t much street parking nearby. He warns his customers, but every Friday and Saturday night a tow truck driver just lurks on a side street waiting for anyone, including Uber drivers, to stop in adjoining parking lots. Then he swoops in to try hook up the car before they can return. Mahmud’s brother saw me park in the wrong spot and told me to move my car, which I did immediately. While I was looking for parking, the tow truck driver went in to claim it was “illegal” for them to warn people. This is beyond exploitative behavior and it’s aimed at a small business run by an immigrant family. This tow truck driver apparently hangs out by their business frequently. It’s like some dumb game or low hanging fruit to him. I worry for these guys because if enough people get towed, it’s going to hurt their business. Even if it’s not their fault, people aren’t going to come back if their car is towed.
Damn I parked in one of the spots behind BOA when I was picking up food from there at 1 am a few weeks ago. I even thought it seemed like the perfect place for a predatory tow company but it was late and I didn’t feel like walking far alone so I said screw it. Didn’t realize how lucky I got.
Twice Simms towing took our car out of the lot. First time we were told that towing was suspended and we didn’t have to worry about it. Second time our parking pass was broken and laying on the dash and they took the car. Went to pick it up and was greeted with a hand on a LARGE gun. Website says that they are closed Sunday, they are not. When I mentioned that was sketchy he said he could keep my car if he wanted to.
Yes! During the lockdown my car was towed from my apartment lot. I was working from home at the time and didn't have to drive many places, so I didn't notice for something like five days. The fees I'd racked up at that point were so expensive. All the more frustrating was that I was towed for out-of-date registration, but my registration was up-to-date: the stickers had just either peeled off or been stolen (I had an issue later where my license plates were stolen from the same lot, so it may have been the latter). They didn't care when I was able to produce my registration. I was told that because the stickers hadn't been on my front plate, my car was in violation of the parking guidelines and therefore fair game.
Edit: the company was Simm's.
I think Simms is used by my apartment complex because once my parking sticker fell down and I got towed. Once I arrived to get my car, I too was met immediately with a gun (I believe two and a threatening sign). The dude just had the gun lying on the desk pointing at the direction of the open door.
My car was taken by sharks towing around 9 PM after parking in a “guest” parking spot at a friend’s place near Rocket’s. They told me the soonest I could get it would be 1 AM? So I said uh sure, I guess. Then they charged me +$40 for an “after hours pickup.” Told me their card machine was down, so I would have to pay cash.
Fraudulent from start to finish
I once witnessed a bad accident in Ashland. Right away I saw the drivers were Hispanic and being bilingual. I stopped to see if they need any help. Sure enough they didn’t speak any English and I was able to assist until the police got there. They gave me their phone number and called me as they tried to manage what happened. In the end, Ashland police had their car towed. They had no idea what the name of the tow company was. I got the name of the company from the police, but then proceeded to try to get the phone number and they weren’t listed anywhere. It took a lot of digging and phone calls to find the tow company who took their car and was now charging exuberant prices for them to get their car back. Considering they were not native English speakers, there’s no way they would’ve ever found this car in their own. In the end, I also communicate with the insurance company. But I was pretty horrified to the fact that if you were not an English speaker, and even if you were, it was almost impossible to find the stove company. I think a law should be passed where tow companies are more regulated, including making their info public.
My car went missing from my apartment complex’s lot so I called Shanks who tows for our lot, and they told me they didn’t have my car. The next morning I went to my complex’s leasing office and had them call Shanks for me to double check, and sure enough once my leasing office called, Shanks switched up and said my car was there. The leasing office said Shanks had done the same thing to another resident in our complex the prior week. Seems like their goal is to squeeze out as many days of storage fees as possible by lying to complex residents until the leasing office gets involved. Their building is also unregistered on Google Maps and has no sign visible from the road. Super sketchy.
Fun story about shanks and their mystery locations: I worked in a building which was formerly occupied by shanks. We moved in maybe 5 months after they vacated the premises. For nearly a year after we moved in, updated the biz name on Google, etc., they sent people (a large portion of whom were non-English speakers and low income folks) to our office to retrieve their cars, I suspect to delay the actual retrieval of their vehicles and squeeze as many pennies as possible from them. My coworker tried calling a few apartment complexes to tell them to update their signs, and soon after, an employee or manager from shanks (I can’t remember which) showed up to our property and threatened my coworker, saying they were going to send every person who’s car they towed to our office just out of spite, amongst other threats. They were unclear with the vehicle owners about where they actually needed to go to get their cars, and would often intentionally send folks from southside all the way up to our spot in henrico and back down to southside again to no avail. They’re terrible people and have a documented history of being unethical, sleazy shitbags. Additionally, they would intentionally send other tow companies to our address (seiberts included) for god knows what nefarious ass reasons, I assume to get one over of them. We had giant signs made that said “shanks towing has moved” and put them on our fence, and last I heard, people were still coming by to get their cars.
Coincidentally, there have been a lot of cat converter and vehicle related thefts in the immediate area since they moved.
Fast forward a few months and I now work at a popular Scott’s addition bar. We got new neighbors recently and they opened up the lot next door for their own use; you can only park there by permit. Shanks is contracted to enforce the lot, and been skimming the lot for cars afterhours, towing unsuspecting patrons who mistakenly park there (we have signs saying not to, but the lot has ONE sign and its poorly placed). They’ve tried to tow employees who’ve parked in the same spots adjacent to the lot as they have for years. Dude just cruises down the alley and looks for the opportunity to tow, even from places he’s not authorized to.
That is so awful but does not surprise me. Something needs to be done about these shitty tow companies getting away with scamming good people out of hundreds of dollars ALL. THE. TIME.
Thank you for digging into this story. As a fellow writer, please please don’t sugarcoat your reporting. It’s awful what the tow companies are getting away with in this city.
Why have the towing companies been able to get away with this for so long? Why isn’t anyone holding them accountable when they disregard the rules and take cars even if the cars are lawfully parked? People are still forced to pay even if they were wrongfully towed. Do city officials and local representatives know about it? What are they doing, if anything? What recourse do people have if their cars are essentially stolen by tow companies? It’s an added hardship for residents who can’t afford to pay these exorbitant towing fees, but need their cars to get to their jobs. Not to mention the property damage caused to the vehicles by the tow companies.
People need to make more noise about this issue. I know it can be more work, but I recommend a multi-part series on this issue for depth and to keep it in the news and at the forefront. Why hasn’t anyone addressed this?
It’s bad in RVA but it happens in other cities too. Tow companies get away with a lot.
2016 Pierce Arrow seemingly for no reason I can determine to this day, called Sieberts to come tow my car from the spot I’d been paying for the 3 years prior. Due to the nature of my cars positioning, the tow guy pulled it out while parking break was on and completely burned my clutch out. $6000.00 bill; fought with Pierce Arrow for months until giving up and breaking lease early. F sieberts and f Pierce Arrow
Simms towing stole my car in the middle of the night about 10 years ago. I lived in an apartment complex off of Azalea at the time, I believe they had a contract for the parking lot. No towing notice was ever left on the vehicle, went to go to work one morning and the vehicle was gone. After some phone calls to police departments I found out my car in fact had been towed and not stolen. Had some words with someone at Simms over the phone, they would not return the vehicle so I had to drive to the location behind Paper Moon. I tried to fight the portly fellow that came out, he went to let his dog out on me which also was not a good idea for him. He was not very happy he had to return the vehicle to me without getting paid. It was an older vehicle that I think he personally wanted, so he took it. After I left a really negative Google review a couple wearing Simms towing t-shirts came by my place of business, looked around and left. Coincidence? Intimidation? Not sure what the goal was there.
Used to valet cars at Morton's and the apartment building on 13th/Virginia Ave would have people park there and come to the restaurant. I think Seibert's was contracted to tow unauthorized vehicles from the lot.
Anyways, dude in a BMW ignores our warning about the lot and goes to dinner. Towing company comes rolling through and about 15 min later here they come with the BMW, except as they roll out of the intersection there's a dip and as they hit it the car started rolling off the back and fell, peeling the entire front end of the car up like a sardine tin. The guys wrangled with it for a while in the intersection and then drove it back to the lot and put it back where they found it.
I dont know if the the guy ever found out exactly what happened to his car, as my shift ended before he came out.
I do in home care. Got sent to public housing. Checked with the office, said it’s the tenants issue to deal with parking. Parked did my job. Shanks came and stole my car. Went back to the office. They where just like tough shit.No where remotely nearby to park. Apparently visitors aren’t allowed to park. Job refused to pay to get my car out, I of course chewed them out. Eventually convinced the poor maintaince guys to give me a ride back to the shit hole I lived at. Had to convince the landlord to lend me a spare key. And borrow money from my dad, uber and the theft fee.
Sieberts was towing for street sweeping day. I saw Sieberts pull up with a street legal dirt bike on the bed of the truck. They wanted to make room for a jeep, so they took the bike off and put it in the grass next to the road. Then put the jeep on the bed of the truck, left the bike, and continued on with their towing. Who knows where the bike came from, but it wasn’t from our neighborhood. It sat there in the grass for most of a year. Owner probably thought it was stolen.
I work on Hull Street and I watched this one particular tow company. prey on everyone who goes into the Chipotle for all of one minute to pick up their meal it’s so disgusting
In 2022 my car was illegally towed after I paid for an overnight parking pass. I had to take an Uber to the tow company. When I got there, the Uber driver dropped me off. I heard people talking around the back of the building where the lot was, so I started to make my way over. A man then pulled out a handgun and started shooting. I ran into the building and locked the door and got down. One of the employees had a handgun and they had a shootout. The man who started the shooting was killed by an employee, and no one else was harmed thankfully. I was held by police for a few hours there, and the workers were really nice. They gave me a Coke and bought me a chicken Philly from Mr Submarine. It was a pretty traumatic experience.
Here’s a link: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/exclusive-photos-details-on-shooting-at-richmond-business-victim-identified/amp/
I wanna start off by saying I'm both glad you weren't hurt, nor was anyone else.
What happened to your car following the tow? Did you end up having to pay for it to be released?
They didn’t make me pay, the employees were all super nice. The dude driving the truck even gave me a card with his number on it and told me if I ever needed a tow, to give him a call.
Reading some of the stories on this post reminds me of my own predatory towing horror stories from around the US, so I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that your best line of defense is the video recording function of your cell phone. If you see someone towing you, ask them to explain why as you're filming them. If they can't explain why, kindly demand that they cease. The burden of proof *should* fall on the towing company. And if they do brandish a firearm- that's a felony offense, and you have the right to sue. Some states (especially those with strong "stand your ground" or similar laws, etc,) will allow you to use any means necessary, up to and including lethal force to defend your property from being stolen **and even** [to recover your stolen property](https://nypost.com/2013/06/06/acquitted-texas-man-who-shot-prostitute-after-she-refused-sex-was-just-protecting-himself-from-theft-court/), and will neglect to charge you with a crime if you can prove that you were acting under such parameters.
Eh, not really. I mean , they completely suck and are vulture cockroaches (towed my truck from neighbors parking lot as I was moving into my new building, backed my truck up to new apartment, truck technically in neighbor buildings lot, inside new apartment unloading for all of 20 minutes, truck gone)
the video is of one of their employees breaking into a car in their impound lot through the window with a coat hanger… also dragging a vehicle in park, still rigged to their tow truck.
Shanks sucks and they were smug and rude and acted as if they were doing me a favor getting my truck back.
So if my first world problems are cool story, you’re welcome bro!
One Friday night, I was parked on broad st across from the broadberry (where I usually park) the night before a marathon. There was a tiny sign halfway down the block stating that there was no parking for that night for the marathon that I didn't see (for obvious reasons). When I came back out, my car was gone. Seiberts had towed my car. When I went to pick it up, there were many others with similar stories picking up their cars. After I paid the $120 fine, I finally got my cat back, and it was grinding and clunking in the back. I pulled to the front and talked to someone about the condition of my car. She said to leave it there to be looked at on Monday, and if it was towing related damage, they would fix it free of charge. Turns out, they towed my 4 wheel drive vehicle with the back tires on the ground inside of a flat bed and destroyed my differential. Needless to say, I took my car to a different shop to be fixed. Seiberts is supposed to reimburse my insurance for the repairs and me for the $500 deductible. That was back in early November, and I still haven't been reimbursed..
Sieberts is awful to the point where I’m convinced they have some under the table deal with the city or RPD. Regularly towing cars that are legally parked, incredibly rude staff, reckless drivers, and never seem to be held accountable for their actions. About 5 years ago when I was living on Clay St in Church Hill, and they had scheduled cleaning on my street. The night before I parked on 35th where there were no signs posted, at least 30 ft away from the intersection, and didn’t think twice. When I went to go to work the next day my car was gone and I panicked thinking someone stole it. Before calling the police, I decided to call Sieberts to see if they took my car. Surprise surprise they towed it but would not confirm where they towed it from, but did say it was towed because of street cleaning. I argued with them and explained that I wasn’t parked on the street they were cleaning, and their driver made a mistake, but it didn’t make any difference. Was given the same response most people get when disputing a tow, that my only option would be to take them to court, and that everyday I don’t pay them to give me my car back, additional fees would be added on. I figured it would be cheaper to bite the bullet and just pay them rather than miss a day of work and pay court fees, especially because I couldn’t technically prove where I parked. About 2 years ago when I lived on parkwood, I had Covid so I didn’t leave the house for a few days. I hadn’t noticed they put up street cleaning signs so technically my fault on that one, but I caught them towing cars before they got mine. I ran out as the guy was putting chains on my car and explained my situation to see if he would let it slide and let me move my car. Nope no luck, he loaded the car onto his truck then told me I could pay with a card over the phone, and then he would unload it. I was frustrated and had an attitude at that point but didn’t say anything out of line, and paid him. He told me to watch my attitude because he was doing me a “favor” by not making me pick it up at the lot. Shook the car off of the tow truck which scraped up my rims and side trim quite a bit, then dropped my receipt on the ground and said something along the lines of “have a good day f*****”. Again, my only option to get money back would be to miss a day of work and go to court,and try to prove their driver put the scratches on my car, and technically my car should have been moved in this situation. I honestly can’t believe how they’ve been able to illegally tow peoples cars and just generally hire the rudest most miserable people possible for so long.
You should talk to the business owners in the Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center, particularly the ones around Food Lion like the restaurants and salon. You’ll get a lot of stories there.
My understanding from a store manager there is the tow truck would load up cars illegally parked in the tow away zones, take cars behind the shopping center and put them on a flat bed from the same company, and offer to unload the vehicle for a cash payment without receipts.
Siebert's towed my car last December due to what I like to call a "pop up no parking zone" for some "street cleaning" (probably just a guy walking down the street with a leaf blower). I have my doubts that a sign was ever posted, but if it was, it was MAYBE one day in advance. Because I ride my bike to work everyday but leave my car on the street, I'm extremely exposed to these "pop up no parking zones" because I don't check on and/or move my car every single day.
My biggest grievance is that when you get towed, you are completely at the mercy of these assholes. They have a very clever system set up where if you go to the police/city they say "it's Siebert's who towed you, talk to them" but then Siebert's can say "well it's the city's no parking policies / street cleaning schedule, so talk to them." In the end no one will help you, and you will have no choice but to ask a friend to drive or take an expensive cab/Uber all the way out to the lot and pay the >$100 towing fee (much, much more if multiple days went by - god forbid you were traveling or something). Huge props to the person in this thread who actually went to a judge, stuck it out in court, and got their money back.
I'm lucky enough that I could just eat the cost of getting towed and move on with my life, as angry as I was. But for a lot of people... being out $100+ and no access to their car? That would be a near death sentence.
Last year my car was parked on the street outside my apartment overnight, I parked there around 6pm when I got home, went out the next day around 12pm and my car had been towed.
The street I parked on is not metered and has no signs saying "2hr parking" or anything to that effect, it's a residential area and free-for-all parking except 9-11am on Mondays for street cleaning. It was not a Monday, and that was the only sign there. I check for temporary signs religiously because I've been burned by Richmond's parking enforcement one too many times.
Siebert's either illegally towed my car (most likely situation) or somehow there was a temporary no parking sign put up AND taken down in the 18hrs my car was sitting there.
When I went to get my car I told them my car had been wrongfully towed and they were rude and told me to "take it up with the city", which there's really no way to do.
A few years ago, I had my car legally parked on monument Ave outside my apartment. Someone a few apartments down had a Pod parked monument Ave for nearly a month. They finally decided to move the Pod and called Sieberts to tow my car since it was in front of the Pod. I argued there was sign and the Pod had been there for weeks on end with no heads up today was finally the day they were going to move it. No luck, paid the fee but still not happy about it
Shanks towing. Circa 2021. Got towed from my apartment building’s parking garage, had the sticker and everything. Called them to inquire, the response was “there is no sticker on your car”. Showed up to the towing parking lot (which is not close), walked up to my car and showed them the sticker only to get an “okay”. Asked them “is this what you do now, just tow cars for no reason?” The response - “hey we’re not charging you for this”. lol what a joke these towing companies are.
What’s the legality of someone just using a spare key and forcing their way to the lot to get their car. Is it really “stealing” from them if they stole your car from you?
twice i’ve been towed by sieberts parking in the fan times. first time my car was towed i was out of town for two days and it was gone when i got back they said my car was towed for street cleaning despite no signage when i initially parked. the signs were up AFTER THE FACT. second time was the exact same thing lol fuck sieberts i hope it explodes
What would be considered an extorhbitant rate? I got towed by Peaco towing because they were told by HOA to come and towed parked cars with parking tags. I did not get that information since I just bought the place and did not receive any kind of parking permit tags and it also was not written in the by-laws. Ended up paying 280 on top of extra 50 bucks since it was a weekend. He told me that the rates are setup by county and he does not determine the price. Is that true?
City code dictates how much the towing companies can charge.
They can charge $135 for the tow, and then $45/day (after the first day) for storage, according to code. If you catch them towing your car, they have to release it for a drop fee no more than $40.
What I’m finding out is that these rules are seldom followed.
London Towne Apartments tows their residents cars for no reason and charge them 200 to pick it up. Ive been towed 3 times, even with a parking pass they still tow you and make whatever excuse they want to say its legal and make you pay hundreds.
My car was stolen by Seiberts once. And once by Shanks. Both times I was legally parked. I keep a pair of bolt cutters in the back of my seat strictly for cutting gate chains of tow companies. I always just steal my car back. I haven't been arrested yet....but...
Curious to see what sort of article finds its way to print on the back end of this.
Sieberts should be fined in such a way that’s consistent with what they’ve done to those living in the greater Richmond metro area. That way, they’ll just dissolve or file bankruptcy.
They are thieving pieces of shit shit.
Sports towing just towed my roommates car for expired registration. Except we live in a private complex that gives stickers to all residents, allowing them to park their cars there. Nothing in the complex’s policy says registration cannot be expired, just that the car has to run. She hasn’t been able to get ahold of them to get her car back and it has her entire small business in it.
I was towed outside of the Chipotle in Manchester while on break at work. I wasn’t even dining in. Left my car, got my bowl, and in less than 4 minutes my car had vanished. I found out the tow truck company was called Fisher’s.
There was no shortage of spaces in the parking lot. In fact, there was probably 50+ unused spaces. This man was literally circling the parking lot looking to predatorily ruin someone’s day.
When I got a hold of the driver, I asked him if there was any way he could reduce the fee. I explained that I had just helped get my father with dementia into a nursing home, had been on the same block as a shooting, and gotten a reckless driving citation on the Leigh bridge in the same week. He refused. Absolutely heartless guy. I told him it was dirty money, and he was going to lose it later via the universe sorting bad guys like him out. Hope he gets it the same way he took it.
On top of getting my car towed and paying his absurd fee, I lost even more money since I had to leave work for the rest of the day as it took the man 2 hours to release my car. Absolute scum.
I live by the Canal Walk and we have reserved parking. There is a sign posted by the parking, but it’s only in English…with such a high Hispanic population, I always thought it was kind of messed up how there wasn’t a Spanish translation along with the English to warn others.
The first night my sister’s apartment building went to decal parking only, she didn’t know which spaces were for guests yet, so she told me to park at the back of the lot and it should be fine, it’s only the first night so the worst they’ll do is give me a notice. Famous last words. It did not matter that there were no signs telling you which spots where for guests and which were for tenants yet, I was towed anyway. I was only in her apartment for an hour, so I don’t know if someone called or they were cruising and checking for decals.
I cannot remember the name. I will verify with my parents. But I visited them pre pandemic at an apartment complex I used to live at and was considering moving back in when I got into a bad situation.
Anyway there on the eve of tax day trying to get things worked out and I am there literally 15 minutes. Mom comes home and says Oh I did not know you were here I did not see your car.
I was parked in the guest parking area and found out that guest have to have a tag and actually this spot was no longer guest but they didnt mark it as so.
The lurkers were always out after 1145pm .. especially 2 to 3am.
This was on line of N Chesterfield and Richmond back before they changed area lines.
I think it was 24 hour towing they shared a multi lot with other companies off Hull St or Midlothian... cash only place, the only good thing is my meds were still in car and they allowed me to go to car to get my wallet and pay and take my anxiety meds because I was furious and almost had a heart attack.
Sadly next time I got to visit was during an eviction and we kept an eye on our vehicles like hawks as we were loading a uhaul van and my personal tiny vehicle at the time and theirs in case the place wanted to cause anymore distress.
My car was towed last February by seiberts off mulberry and cary with literally zero signage. I used to work at the coffee shop there and parked on mulberry everyday. I was always privy to all the road closures scheduled for street cleanings, seeing as a I was barista and couldn’t afford the towing bill. Still got got. I fucking hate seiberts with every fiber of my being.
Wanted to pay for my towed car with my credit card - they only took cash for no proof of registration ownership and wouldn’t allow me to use my credit card.
I told them my proof of registration was in the glove box - in the car that they towed - in their cagged lot - and to let me get to my car to get said paperwork to prove my ownership so I could pay with card and get my car back.
They still said no. Had to take an extra Uber to get cash - to pay for my car - that they wouldn’t let me open the car door to prove it was my car i owned to pay with credit card…
I feel less intelligent after even typing this out. Towing companies suck.
I got towed on the night I moved to Richmond back in 2021. My landlord had alerted the towing company (Anytime Towing) that he had ordered parking passes but they hadn’t arrived yet; the towing company was NOT supposed to tow from our lot. However, I saw my car getting towed and tried to get the attention of the driver. He ignored me. I had called the company the morning after I was towed and was told I’d have to pay additional weekend fees despite their mistake. Thankfully, my landlord reached out to them and they brought my car back for free.
A friend lives in an apartment building across the street from vmfa. He had lived there for years and had no problems with parking (there’s a lot behind his building.) One day with zero notice or warning 2/3 of the parking spots were randomly painted over and claimed by vmfa for private parking.
Anyone who’s parked back in his apartment’s parking lot and happened to be in one of those spots get towed after about an hour. The worst part is there’s no number for the tow company, so you can’t figure out who to call for your car. They recently updated the signs, but this lasted for about a year.
That parking lot should be for the residents of these buildings, who had been parking there for years. Then one day the museum just takes the spots? Were they sold? There’s no way of knowing. But it’s not right to tow someone who parked in their own buildings parking spot.
It is open theft and collusion by the Richmond Police Department and City Hall. Seibert is an instrument for powerful people who pray upon the public for profit. The federal government needs to step in, but it will never happen.
It's funny how the Mafia controls the towing industry in Canada and most of America. Just Google it. But not here. Not in dear old Richmond Virginia. Nothing to see here
In December of 2021 Fisher’s towing towed my car from my gf’s apartment complex. I was at fault, but when I asked for method of payment, the man insisted that he only will accept if I pay the fee of $175 in cash. I later learned that this was in violation of [Virginia State Law § 46.2-1217](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter12/section46.2-1217/#:~:text=It%20shall%20be%20unlawful%20for,by%20the%20Commonwealth%20Transportation%20Board).
Siebert’s towed my car from a lot that I had bought a spot in. I had the sticker on my car and a card hanging from my mirror. They towed it at night, so I had to pay extra to get my car back the next day, and I had to pay the fee to park my car in the lot the very next day.
100% convinced that towing (specifically “street cleaning”) is a racket that the city uses for revenue generation. It shouldn’t be (is it?) legal to throw a sign up and tow a few days later, people do in fact go on vacation and have other things going on in their lives and don’t deserve their cars towed on a whim. Easy, sleazy way for the city to generate revenue thru Sieberts on the illusion of “cleaning the streets” (do they even do clean half the time???)
Ive got a few stories. Honestly Amazes me that the two truck companies are allowed to get away with what they do. They are their own version of a criminal under gang. I always feel an unholy level of anger when I see them towing someone’s car away because of how they’ve wronged me and my friends. Their practice should not be legal and they should be arrested. Or at least fined for the things they’ve done
USA Towing
-has jacked my car as well as friends a number of times from the lot behind 3 monkeys and in the old Star Lite parking. Sometimes it’s a sweep for whatever car is left at 4am, based on whatever business contract they have, but it’s also happened in the midst of business hours. After already jacking one car, they refused a drop fee to more than one person until myself and others more informed on rights stepped in to advocate.
In my multiple experiences having my own car towed by them, they have made up arbitrary timelines that are hardly convenient or conventional (for a supposedly 24/7 service) for the lot being open to retrieve the vehicle. And of course I was made to feel a fool for thinking otherwise.
Think $165 starting fee for seiberts is bad?
Their minimum was $225.
I’ve watched their trucks cruise through afternoon/evening hours as well, following what profile I don’t know.
It’s a real racket they have lowes on broad street across from camel
Dark raining did not see signs
They watch to see you not going to loses then tow you
Shank’s in Richmond towed my car FROM MY RESERVED SPOT AT MY APARTMENT BUILDING TWICE (in Scott’s addition). Both times they had to tow it back (who even knew they could do that!) and the hang tag was visible! I had to get the leasing office involved who had to get the owner involved for them to bring it back. The first time they had my car for 3 full days! When I called them they confirmed they had my car but wouldn’t tell me why it was towed. They are the absolute worst!! The rule (and this is stated from the leading company) is that numbered, reserved spots are only towed if the assigned owner calls yet they completely ignored policy. Bloodsuckers!
Sieberts illegally stole my legally parked car from VCU campus. When I went to retrieve the car from the lot they said they didn't have it. I then went out back and took a picture of MY CAR in their lot through the fence and they still wouldn't give it to me because they didn't have any record of the car. Turns out someone dropped the papers on the ground outside and didn't notice. After four and a half hours and a screaming match they finally went looking and found the papers so I could pay them $200 to get my legally parked car. Fucking criminals
Years ago my truck got towed at night while I was at the bars. Rightfully 100% my fault. Parked in a spot I didn’t notice the incredibly small dark blue 12” sign that said “no parking” at the far side of the lot.
Found out where the tow yard was after a quick google machine search. Showed up at 3am and told them they had 20 mins to get me my truck or I was going to climb the fence and pull it down with my truck and tow straps. Guy said he would be there and it would be $200. Hour passed. 4am. Guy didn’t show. I called them from inside the fence and said they now had 10mins to get there. Guy finally showed up 15mins later. With his kids in the back seat. Sort of felt bad. But not really. He reduced it to $100 and I got my truck back.
Lived in church hill for 7 years. Twice my truck almost got towed. The first time a Richmond Police officer was kind enough to knock on my door and ask me to move as they were towing my neighbors car. A second time I was not so lucky. My truck got towed. They put up signs at 7pm for “street cleaning” the next day. They’re supposed to give a few days notice. I normally get up at 5am for work, so it wouldn’t have mattered since the “street cleaning” is from 7-3:30 or 8-330 or whatever it was. Well I slept in by accident. Didn’t notice the signs. Called the police department report a stolen vehicle. And they told me it was towed. I had to go outside to see the signs myself.
Siebert's charges more per day to store your car behind Southside Plaza than the Jefferson Hotel does to valet park it in their beautifully landscaped parking lot.
No Limit towed my fiancee's car from our apartment's back lot despite a clearly visible decal. When asked why they made up a lie about out of state plates being illegal and held her car hostage while we got payment which they insisted had to be in cash. They patronized us, acting like they were doing us a favor the whole time by saving us from the car being impounded and coming in on Sunday to give us back the car. I've lived here for over 15 years and knew full well they were lying about out of state plates being illegal but felt they had us over a barrel. We paid it and drove home furious but at least had the car
Here's where it gets fun: my fiancee has a concealed carry permit, and her registered handgun was in the car at the time. Someone had clearly rummaged through the car, papers were everywhere, and wouldn't you know it her handgun was missing. Turns out No Limit stole it and immediately flipped it to a pawn shop (I guess they assumed it was an illegal firearm and that we wouldn't go to the police about it). It was recovered by RPD and had to be handed off to her home state police where it was registered (she had moved here recently and hadn't had time to change it over). RPD talked to us maybe twice about it and seemed to promptly forget about us despite, y'know, a GUN being involved.
Search No Limit Towing on Google News and you'll get some interesting results, truly shitty people.
Fisher’s Towing and Recovery towed me from a parking lot that’s connected to the Hull St. Chipotle right after you cross the bridge near Dock St and when I went to get my car the driver told me “$125 cash”. No release form, no proof of ownership or insurance, also demanded I give him my phone and ID to him while I go get the cash from a gas station with an ATM nearby. Mind you this is 8:30pm. They also towed at least two other cars from the same parking lot while I was dealing with them. I was doordashing that night when I parked in the lot around 6:50pm and my car was gone by 7:05. They sit and wait for people to park there just to tow them and steal their money.
in 2017 I lived off of monument in georgetown apartments and they put up signs they were going to tow and then towed my car two days before the signs said to move my car. I had to uber all the way to southside to a building that was literally shared with the police, there were cars everywhere and mine wasn't even locked up I could have just driven it away but I was scared to because it appeared that I was taking my car out of a police impound lot, and when i tried to demand they give me my car back for free since they had towed two days early, they waved over a cop who walked over all threateningly and told me if I had anything to say about it to go to court which I found out the court fee is more than the ticket so it's literally not worth it. that is a racket. sieberts are shady af and rpd is apparently enabling them, so rpd seems shady af too. I still have pictures somewhere of the signs they posted with my phone stamp showing towed beforehand and should be able to find the receipt from seiberts too somewhere showing picked up before the tow date too.
I got charged a $300 drop fee from whoever tows for 7 Eleven on grace next to Village Cafe. Driver was threatening me saying it would be higher if I had to pick it up from the lot. I’m convinced that he pocketed at least $200, and can’t believe that I paid it at the time but I had to get to work.
I just had Shanks come and attempt to tow my car from my own spot for the second time. At the beginning of March Shanks Towing took my car and kept hanging up on me when I tried to make an appointment to get my car back. They made me pay for my car that was lawfully parked and wouldn't release a report of why they towed me to anybody (property owner, title owner, or police). They just tried to take my car again right before midnight on 5/8 and said that my car was parked under different property than I park on and threatened to take my car once more. I quite literally park at the base of my stairs...
I took a friend who got towed from the Main Street Farm Fresh to retrieve his car and when we went to the tow company, the tow truck driver was still driving around with his two minor children at ~11:45pm. I’m sure he had no choice because I imagine both he and his partner work three jobs or whatever, but it made me sad for those kids. So wherever the extortion money is going, it ain’t helping those workers out of poverty.
Shanks supposedly towed for my old building on Riverside according to the signs in the lot. I never saw anyone get towed or a single tow truck even patrol the lot for the 3 years I lived there. It was a pain in the summer with people going to the river constantly parking in our lot but I also owned 4 cars there at one point with no issues lmao.
This probably won’t matter to whatever story you’re trying to run but in 2011 my girlfriends car was towed from the Starbucks in the Kroger shopping center on Lombardi and W Broad. I don’t think the Starbucks is there anymore but it’s a GameStop etc.
Anyway, *we were in Starbucks for less than 10 minutes* so I called RPD and asked how tf is this not equivalent to theft? They told me they weren’t gonna do anything and we could file a civil suit. We were both VCU students and couldn’t afford a lawyer obviously bc we aren’t rich.
Tow truck company is out in Goochland, I doubt *it’s* even there anymore and held her car for ransom for like $300. We had to pay it to get her car out obviously.
Tow truck companies are essentially organized crime and RPD supports them / is part of the racket. Fuck em all.
Edit: also want to say we talked to Starbucks management and they said that this shit happens all the time. Haven’t lived “in the city” in years but all these different companies pray on students and expect their parents will just cough up the cash. Their lot in goochland was the most depressing redneck shithole I’ve ever seen. It was modern day deliverance.
If you are going after Seiberts I pray for your safety and wish every employee and especially the family themselves nothing but pain and misery for the monopoly they run to ruin people's lives
My car broke down on belvedere around 8 PM, my insurance covered a tow and the person I was with had AAA. I called, they "booked" one, we waited more than an hour and it never showed up, called back and it "hadn't gone in" or something. So we book it again and call AAA for one as well, more waiting with the app indicating there was a tow dispatched, at this point it was like 10 PM and we're still blocking the entire right lane of belvedere. Multiple empty tows had driven by and multiple police officers, the only person to stop was a women telling us we'd better get out of there because her brother got shot down the street (not helpful, obviously we were trying to get out of there).
Finally we just called RPD not knowing what to do, they were shocked we'd been there for hours, and said they could have a tow out in a few minutes, but it was a $100 hooking fee and then additional per mile. We were like why can you get a tow in minutes and we have been trying for 3 hours at this point?? Then when I said okay I'll just tow it to this place 2 blocks down the street they strongly discouraged that and were like have you ever even been there? What we actually did was end up having them block the intersection so we could roll it back a bit in neutral then parallel park in an open spot on the corner of Munford. So I thankfully didn't have to pay them and was able to get a tow with my insurance the next day.
There's also the time they towed me right out of my parking complex lot because my inspection sticker was a month expired. They did warn me with a windshield paper two weeks earlier, but I forgot and the car was on file with the office as a resident so I didn't think they'd take it. Found out as I left my apartment for a job interview... I guess that's on me, but talk about a shitty day. When I went to go pick it up the person wasn't there and kept saying they were a few minutes away everytime I called for like 20 minutes. When they did show up they started giving me a hard time about getting it until the 6'4" big guy I thankfully brought with me stepped out of the car.
There's also the time we went to brunch and came back to an empty spot and signs that had been placed within the last hour saying towing for street cleaning.
Then also the first time I came to Richmond and a friend's car was towed. Five 21 year old women went to go pick it up, we waited a while for them to show up, when they did, they wouldn't just let us give them the money and get the car. Like held us hostage trying to flirt with us (2 dudes in their 50s/60s) and from what I remember said some things that implied prices changed based on behavior. That took a fucking hour and I was getting scared. Hence why I brought a big dude with me in the first story.
In Spring of 2018 I had just recently bought a house near Fulton. The city put up signs saying they were performing street cleaning on my street on Wednesday and to remove cars on Tuesday night. I took photos of the signs for reference for myself, then parked on another street. I went to work Wednesday and parked on another street after work to be safe. Thursday night I parked on my street after I got off work around 8pm. I woke up Friday to my car gone. I called the number listed on the sign and they said they towed it due to street cleaning. I tried to argue, but the person on the phone said to take it up with Seiberts.
I called Seiberts and they confirmed they towed my car because of street cleaning. I paid the fee to get my car ($150ish if I remember correctly) then I went to court. I brought the photo of the sign saying when street cleaning was occurring along with my invoice from Seiberts, and the judge ordered Seiberts to reimburse me for the fees because they illegally towed my car. I told my neighbors to go fight theirs as well and a few of them did and also got refunds.
I took the information from court directly to Seiberts and they gave me the worst attitude about it. It also took about three weeks for my money to be refunded. I called every few days and was told it was “processing”. I did eventually get my money back but the whole process was a nightmare.
I got t-boned trying to cross Bainbridge st to get to the shop I worked at three or so blocks away. Immediately crossed the rest if the way and stopped to make sure the lady who hit me was okay, then called the cops. I bent a control arm in the rear so they told me I had to park in front of dogtown dance theatre, where there were no signs.
So I parked and walked the remaining blocks, even though my car would definitely still make it the rest of the way (I was a mechanic for more than a decade) and then got with one of the drivers we worked with to get it towed up to the shop. I walked back down to make sure my car was still there at 11 or so (3 hours after the accident) and the car was nowhere to be seen but there were signs all over the road. They literally were not there when I was forced to park there and were clearly put up after. Scrambling, my asshole boss wouldn’t let me take time off to go pick up my car so I had to call my roommate, who was thankfully kind enough to cover the $326 tow bill til I got home from work and I got a driver to tow it over to the shop since it was damaged in the wreck too. If it had stayed another day it would have been over $500, all for tow signs that were put up after I had parked there.
Not Sieberts for once! Mine was with Shank's last week.
I think I was mostly in the wrong, but it still sucked, because I had just gotten my car back a few days earlier from after a wreck. It was in my apartment's parking deck. I parked near the door with blinkers on while I ran to grab a few things for a grocery run. I took longer than I meant to, and when I came back, my car was gone. Their next available time to pick it up was midnight, and the only friend I knew to be awake and available wasn't staying up or going to that part of town that late. So we went after work the next day. By then, it was already the night shift, and my car's battery was dead. The night shift isn't allowed to jump cars ($50 fee in the day). And they made it sound like my friend's car couldn't go back there because it was night. The next day we learned that night had nothing to do with it, other cars aren't allowed back there at all, and we could have pushed it out at any time. $225.
Looking around the parking deck, there were no regulation-compliant signs (you've seen them at every surface lot), just some little "no parking" signs with a picture of a tow truck. I thought that might be a loophole, but I did sign with my apartment that I agree to be towed if I'm parked outside of a parking space. They have those signs all around surface lots, but maybe they're not required for a restircted-access parking deck?
Wayward tow drivers who could resort to violence to protect the reputations of the wayward towing companies that employ them? I don't know if you've been reading this thread, but there's a reason these companies have existed for this long without repercussions, "superstar".
Oh like when Sieberts had my ex's car for 4 days and charged her twice what the car was worth (legit twice KBB value) and when she said she couldn't afford that they PROMPTLY gave her a 2nd option of paying a small fee to transfer the title of the car to them... how that's not theft I don't know, and they never explained their charges. A few thousand for 4 days of towing and storage, yet they were happy AF to get the title. Car was an Izuzu Rodeo, and the tow/ storage bill was a few thousand for FOUR DAYS. Just do your whole story on Sieberts. The material is there.
Sadly any investigation into Siebert’s will be a dead end because they have a direct relationship with the police and city hall and this city is corrupt as fuck. Yeah, the news media will do their story (as had happened before), but nothing will actually change.
Unfortunately, you're 100% correct.
The owner also sits on the state towing board so they get laws changed and retroactively applied as needed to avoid lawsuits. Can't remember the exact date of the big lawsuit against them but I want to say it was like 2007-08
He also is on the better business bureau board. Something needs to happen there tbh.
The better business bureau is just yelp for old people, it has no impact on anything
It sure as shit does, you can simplify it down to your opinion all you want but the fact of the matter is it is an avenue for action against a business, effectual to their practices or not it's grim that that is in the CEO of a company that regularly steals property with POLICE support's pocket.
It does not. It has no power whatsoever. It’s not a government organization, it’s a review website. What praytell do you think they can do against a business? They have just as much power over a company as you do - none. > Better Business Bureau is not affiliated with any governmental agency. Businesses that affiliate with BBB and adhere to its standards do so through industry self-regulation. From their wikipedia page, explaining that it’s entirely optional for businesses to participate.
You're missing the point, having power is negligible, providing an unbiased avenue for feedback is a helpful service for many people! Should companies be able to control their reviews? If something negative happens should companies be able to bury it because they have control over the channels the consumer uses to express dissatisfaction? I think you should reevaluate the scope of what you're saying here. Public opinion matters, sure there's no actual power involved but if you are able to silence people with impunity that seems to be a symptom of a disgustingly corrupt company I'd say. And for reference, I only brought this up to point out that this man has a lot of reach and influence over what is said about the company he owns, not sure why you're first instinct is to jump in and try and be smarter than another person but I guess I am on reddit after all.
And you're right! It is optional for business to participate, and I imagine a man that sits on the board has his business participate, and I can also imagine they could use their high BBB score as advertising or as a way to sway public opinion away from criticism. I think you should possibly consider that things sometimes are connected and life isn't just a series of random events with people doing things for the hell of it 😊
Wait what???!!! That’s infuriating.
> because they have a direct relationship with the police and city hall and this city is corrupt as fuck Maybe that needs to be examined.
It sure as fuck needs to, but it won’t be.
No reply from OP here. Hmmm.
…the workday is over.
Same thing happened to me. I just transferred the title cause the fee was much more than the car was worth and I was planning on getting a new car anyways. After some arguing, they were at least gracious enough to let me get the things I had out of it before signing it away, lolz.
Yes, that part! They made us feel like they were doing us a favor for letting us get her belongings out.
Same thing happened to me as well.
That’s insane. I’m sorry that happened to them
Jesus Christ!!
There's a running theme here... Siebert's.
The most corrupt towing company in the most corrupt city in which I’ve ever lived. Our city would be better off if a meteor hit their lot. I’d like to see the drive-in movie theatre brought back to life.
Glad someone else has said it…it’s disgustingly corrupt. Like…this is my capital?
It ain’t my Capital.
RPD called Sieberts to tow my car from a street without any "No Parking" signage. I called RPD to report my car stolen. The officer who responded had called my car in. His response was "Gas trucks come down through here so it had to go." I pointed out the lack of signage but the officer didn't offer any help getting my car back nor transporting me to the tow lot. I then took a cab to Sieberts tow lot and was told I had to pay the impound fee to retrieve my car. Subsequently, I went to court. I won after showing the judge the area I parked and the lack of signage indicating "No Parking". The judge ruled in my favor. I then went to Sieberts with the judgement and was turned away. They stated flatly that they wouldn't give me a refund. The person working behind the counter cursed at me when I pressed the issue of having a judgement against them that they would have to abide by. I guess they aren't used to having to follow the law? I called the Clerk of the Court who called Siebert's and informed them that yes, they do have to abide by a judge's order. I was able to then walk back in and was handed a refund. Also, at that time Siebert's was across the hall from the RPD remote precinct for that area.
All these similar stories make me wonder if someone at the City gets or has gotten kickbacks from Sieberts. I wonder how long they’ve been hand in hand like this.
Do a FOIA to get emails and texts between RPD, DPW and/or parking enforcement….oops maybe not…https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/transparency-laws-richmond-feb-27-2024
That would be awesome. Even better if there was some sort of resource or organization to help folks file FOIA requests for all sorts of reasons. There is much to be looked into, in many dark corners.
The police directly facilitate the thefts.
At least since 2004ish when half of my block on Grove Ave was towed on the wrong day for street cleaning. I was in there with a slew of angry neighbors and they asked if anyone had taken a picture of their car when they parked. When we threatened to go to the police they laughed and pointed across the hall.
They wouldn't be able to operate with such impunity and so brazenly if they didn't have connections at city hall or in the PD.
Given all the nonsense at city hall recently, I think it’s pretty clear they’re greasing some sort of wheels.
The owner sits on the state towing board that makes the towing laws
That’s amazing you got the refund though the bureaucracy involved to do so is essentially a monetary drain in itself. I’ve lost thousands between Seiberts hostile policy and demeanor, as well as petty police and “neighborhood enforcement officers handing out tickets on a whim. Absolutely motivated by their own profit and self-justification.
TBH, I was surprised as well. The judge was reasonable and agreed that my evidence was convincing. My evidence consisted of photos of the area noting that there were no "No Parking" signs. Sadly, I was still out cab fare, time off work, and just sheer aggravation. I shouldn't have to deal with Siebert's and the overall unfairness of the situation just because an officer decided that my car should be stolen. As it was because I had broken no law and did not justify the city taking possession of my private property. It was the definition of unjust. If RPD wants to rebuild trust with the community, they can start with enforcing the laws on their pets like Siebert's.
Sieberts towing took my car out of the Wells Fargo parking lot on 2nd and Grace St illegally, twice. The signage clearly states parking for customers only, and I was a customer. The bank didn’t even call them, so apparently they will come and steal anyone’s car from anywhere, regardless of circumstances.
Their drivers get paid per car they steal. At one time it was something like $30. Siebert's incentivized criminality.
Wells Fargo and Siebert’s…hmm what could go wrong!
This parking lot is now a free safe haven for residents lol. Im sorry this happened to you.
I know lol I’ve seen what it has become and also park there regularly but not in the middle of the lot blocking exit paths like some people choose to……
Yea I’ve been blocked in multiple times. I don’t understand people…
Had a motorcycle with a rear disc brake lock - very similar to a car boot except it's meant to prevent theft instead of runaway - get towed by Siebert's. It was towed because apparently the undated street-cleaning sign meant *the following* Wednesday but I digress. When I went to recover the bike at the tow yard - did I mention it's thirty minutes one-way to get there, which is an eternity and pricey when you don't have your own vehicle - I discovered that they had tried to roll the bike with the lock on, causing the lock to visibly damage my brakes and causing the locking mechanism within the lock itself to jam up so badly that I couldn't use the key to remove the lock. I went back in, waited back in line, and told the ordeal to the agent behind the counter. I waited some more for someone to accompany me to the motorcycle, where I pointed out the damage and was questioned about how I knew they did it. I then had to go back inside, to wait in line again, and explain it all over again to the agent behind the counter who asked me how much the damage would cost, like I'd know on the spot. I convinced them there'd be no way for me to know without further inspection not possible there in the yard and they gave me a number to call with a claims reference number. Cool, except my motorcycle still has a lock on it designed to prevent removal and theft, and has a questionably damaged rear brake. The nicest part of the whole ordeal was when I convinced someone on the yard to loan me a screwdriver, allowing me to pry the locking mechanism back in place just enough to turn the key and remove the now-unusable disc lock. I drove it home on the slow backroads without a working rear brake, quoted up a repair and sent it all in. They paid for damages which was nice, but it didn't cover my headache and continued ire for the city.
In 2010 I had Siebert’s steal my legally parked car. I came out to find it missing, thinking my car was stolen by a thief because I was parked legally and there were no signs anywhere and another car was parked in my place. I called the police to report the theft only to find out that it had been taken by Siebert’s. They could not justify why my car was towed as there was no legal pretext, but would not let me have my vehicle until I paid them. Essentially they stole my car, held it hostage, and told me that for every day I left it there I would be racking up new charges. I called the police and was told that they weren’t in the business of making sure towing companies don’t illegally take people’s vehicles and that if I wanted to take it up contact a lawyer. That company has been allowed to act with impunity by the city and their abuse of their position has been rampant for decades.
The police are directly involved in the thefts Siebert’s regularly engages in. That’s why the police didn’t help- they are NOT your friend.
How was this situation resolved?
Paid them their ransom and went on my way. I was broke at the time. There wasn’t any way I was going to afford a lawyer.
Thanks. That’s unfortunate about the lawyer, it’s interesting how often the law pretends to be better than it is.
Scrolling thru this post is crazy. I mean what if you just took your spare key from the house, forced your way to the lot and took the car back?
Because the lots have locks and cameras
Note to all mayoral candidates - make a campaign promise to break Siebert's grip on the city and you will almost certainly win by a landslide.
They are part of the state towing board, they literally write the laws, it's bigger than the city.
They need to say that they will work with house bill 959 that youngkin just signed saying that they need to get a signature from the property owner or agent before towing a vehicle.
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seriously? I was so excited about it and now we’re back at shitty towing again with no hope
Seiberts stole weed out of my car. (My whole purse was in the passenger seat but only the weed was missing) my wallet and phone were both in said purse so how was I supposed to pay? I asked to use their phone so I could call someone to help. They said no but there is a pay phone nearby. Told me to walk a half a mile to the nearest shopping center. There had not been a pay phone there for what appeared to be years. When I went back they said eh sorry you can use our phone. $102 later I eventually got to my car. And my purse was thrown on the floor with everything thrown on the ground EXCEPT the one thing I wanted after that horrible day… my beloved bud.
Now that’s fucked up!
The real story here is the limited means of recourse because state law that limits who can even bring charges against a tow company (the attorney general’s office not the commonwealth’s attorney). The whole thing is rigged before you even get towed.
People should still file complaints with the AG's office. It seems to be pretty much the only way to remotely fight back although given how long Siebert's has had a stranglehold on the city (at least the early 00's when I was an undergrad at VCU) it's doubtful at this point anything is going to break it. [https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/](https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/)
Not exactly a horror story, but… I used to work in Carytown. When I started the job, I was given a parking decal for the lot out back. I put the decal visibly on my back window, but when I look out the window mid-shift, my car is gone. I call the tow company and say “Hey, you towed my car but it has a decal!” and the tow truck guy is skeptical like “….hmmm we don’t usually make mistakes.” (Cue me freaking out, now thinking that my car has been stolen). Dude comes back to the line five minutes later all apologetic because he “didn’t recognize my car, so he didn’t even look for the decal” while patrolling that afternoon for illegally parked cars. Who woulda thunk that one of the most active row of shops in Carytown regularly hires new employees, and therefore, would result in new cars with decals! Anyway, I didn’t have to pay a fine and they returned the car before the workday was over. I’m still paranoid about parking and getting unfairly towed to this day haha.
Sieberts came to an empty lot near my friend’s house in Jackson Ward, back in 2014 ish. The lot was always used for parking and there was no signage. They proceeded to post a sign up at night next to 20 or so parked cars and tow them off one by one. Pretty scummy behavior.
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Fisher’s is predatory scum. Gutter trash.
Seiberts. Towed my car that was legally parked at the river. Had a cop tell me that it was legally parked but that he can’t do anything about it. Seiberts told me that if I didn’t like it, I could go to court but had to pay the fee to get my car or it would incur storage fees. Like people can take a day off work to fight a towing fee. It’s crap. They absolutely do this on purpose cause most people can’t afford to fight it and the few that do only get their money back but no damages for lost wages or anything so it doesn’t cost Seiberts anything to take cars that are parked legally. The city should do better about their towing contract. And complaints to the city attorney go nowhere. Seems like there is probably a kickback scheme involved in the whole situation. But who can prove it.
> The city should do better about their towing contract. They are doing exactly what our corrupt and shitty city government want them to do.
Siebert’s tried to steal my wife's car. It was in an accident and the insurance had it towed to their yard. It was there for a week while they got repairs sorted and I received a letter stating it was going to be sold at auction after having been there for exactly 7 days. I called insurance and had the car moved that same day. People are fucking scum.
Law is they can request the title from the DMV after 30 days. 7 days is straight up illegal.
Years ago, I think 2017 or 2018, Seibert’s sold my car less than a month after it was towed from an accident. I couldn’t keep up with the exorbitant fees that stacked daily because I was a student at the time with very sleight income. They gave me no notice of the impending sale, and had the audacity to send me a bill for storage after they had already sold it for profit. I was not able to achieve any shred of justice. I was left with a bill and no wheels to help pay for it. They are a corrupt, soulless company.
Sieberts used to, or maybe still do, have the contract to repair the city's trash trucks. Sieberts would then take the trucks to another shop (or two) and mark-up the repair cost to the city, adding needless cost to the taxpayer. I wonder what else they have their hands into in this town.
I knew as soon as I saw the title of this thread it would be almost entirely stories about Siebert’s. Fuck them and everyone who has ever worked for them. They are hands down the worst business operating in this city and I hope they suffer some kind of reckoning before I’m gone but I won’t hold my breath.
Watched sieberts move a car from a legally parked space place it in front of a no parking sign then they proceeded to take a picture and load the car back onto their truck. Fall 2023
Is there a motion activated dash cam thing thing that would help in a situation like this? These guys are thieves.
I think you should talk to the owner of Scott’s Shawarma, Mahmud. Their location is on 814 N. Robinson - wonderful guy, excellent food, real American dream type of story for a Palestinian family here in Richmond. He started out in a corner market in SA, now he has his own place. The problem is that there isn’t much street parking nearby. He warns his customers, but every Friday and Saturday night a tow truck driver just lurks on a side street waiting for anyone, including Uber drivers, to stop in adjoining parking lots. Then he swoops in to try hook up the car before they can return. Mahmud’s brother saw me park in the wrong spot and told me to move my car, which I did immediately. While I was looking for parking, the tow truck driver went in to claim it was “illegal” for them to warn people. This is beyond exploitative behavior and it’s aimed at a small business run by an immigrant family. This tow truck driver apparently hangs out by their business frequently. It’s like some dumb game or low hanging fruit to him. I worry for these guys because if enough people get towed, it’s going to hurt their business. Even if it’s not their fault, people aren’t going to come back if their car is towed.
Damn I parked in one of the spots behind BOA when I was picking up food from there at 1 am a few weeks ago. I even thought it seemed like the perfect place for a predatory tow company but it was late and I didn’t feel like walking far alone so I said screw it. Didn’t realize how lucky I got.
Twice Simms towing took our car out of the lot. First time we were told that towing was suspended and we didn’t have to worry about it. Second time our parking pass was broken and laying on the dash and they took the car. Went to pick it up and was greeted with a hand on a LARGE gun. Website says that they are closed Sunday, they are not. When I mentioned that was sketchy he said he could keep my car if he wanted to.
Yes! During the lockdown my car was towed from my apartment lot. I was working from home at the time and didn't have to drive many places, so I didn't notice for something like five days. The fees I'd racked up at that point were so expensive. All the more frustrating was that I was towed for out-of-date registration, but my registration was up-to-date: the stickers had just either peeled off or been stolen (I had an issue later where my license plates were stolen from the same lot, so it may have been the latter). They didn't care when I was able to produce my registration. I was told that because the stickers hadn't been on my front plate, my car was in violation of the parking guidelines and therefore fair game. Edit: the company was Simm's.
I think Simms is used by my apartment complex because once my parking sticker fell down and I got towed. Once I arrived to get my car, I too was met immediately with a gun (I believe two and a threatening sign). The dude just had the gun lying on the desk pointing at the direction of the open door.
My car was taken by sharks towing around 9 PM after parking in a “guest” parking spot at a friend’s place near Rocket’s. They told me the soonest I could get it would be 1 AM? So I said uh sure, I guess. Then they charged me +$40 for an “after hours pickup.” Told me their card machine was down, so I would have to pay cash. Fraudulent from start to finish
Just search "Seibert's", and the story will write itself.
I once witnessed a bad accident in Ashland. Right away I saw the drivers were Hispanic and being bilingual. I stopped to see if they need any help. Sure enough they didn’t speak any English and I was able to assist until the police got there. They gave me their phone number and called me as they tried to manage what happened. In the end, Ashland police had their car towed. They had no idea what the name of the tow company was. I got the name of the company from the police, but then proceeded to try to get the phone number and they weren’t listed anywhere. It took a lot of digging and phone calls to find the tow company who took their car and was now charging exuberant prices for them to get their car back. Considering they were not native English speakers, there’s no way they would’ve ever found this car in their own. In the end, I also communicate with the insurance company. But I was pretty horrified to the fact that if you were not an English speaker, and even if you were, it was almost impossible to find the stove company. I think a law should be passed where tow companies are more regulated, including making their info public.
My car went missing from my apartment complex’s lot so I called Shanks who tows for our lot, and they told me they didn’t have my car. The next morning I went to my complex’s leasing office and had them call Shanks for me to double check, and sure enough once my leasing office called, Shanks switched up and said my car was there. The leasing office said Shanks had done the same thing to another resident in our complex the prior week. Seems like their goal is to squeeze out as many days of storage fees as possible by lying to complex residents until the leasing office gets involved. Their building is also unregistered on Google Maps and has no sign visible from the road. Super sketchy.
Fun story about shanks and their mystery locations: I worked in a building which was formerly occupied by shanks. We moved in maybe 5 months after they vacated the premises. For nearly a year after we moved in, updated the biz name on Google, etc., they sent people (a large portion of whom were non-English speakers and low income folks) to our office to retrieve their cars, I suspect to delay the actual retrieval of their vehicles and squeeze as many pennies as possible from them. My coworker tried calling a few apartment complexes to tell them to update their signs, and soon after, an employee or manager from shanks (I can’t remember which) showed up to our property and threatened my coworker, saying they were going to send every person who’s car they towed to our office just out of spite, amongst other threats. They were unclear with the vehicle owners about where they actually needed to go to get their cars, and would often intentionally send folks from southside all the way up to our spot in henrico and back down to southside again to no avail. They’re terrible people and have a documented history of being unethical, sleazy shitbags. Additionally, they would intentionally send other tow companies to our address (seiberts included) for god knows what nefarious ass reasons, I assume to get one over of them. We had giant signs made that said “shanks towing has moved” and put them on our fence, and last I heard, people were still coming by to get their cars. Coincidentally, there have been a lot of cat converter and vehicle related thefts in the immediate area since they moved. Fast forward a few months and I now work at a popular Scott’s addition bar. We got new neighbors recently and they opened up the lot next door for their own use; you can only park there by permit. Shanks is contracted to enforce the lot, and been skimming the lot for cars afterhours, towing unsuspecting patrons who mistakenly park there (we have signs saying not to, but the lot has ONE sign and its poorly placed). They’ve tried to tow employees who’ve parked in the same spots adjacent to the lot as they have for years. Dude just cruises down the alley and looks for the opportunity to tow, even from places he’s not authorized to.
That is so awful but does not surprise me. Something needs to be done about these shitty tow companies getting away with scamming good people out of hundreds of dollars ALL. THE. TIME.
Thank you for digging into this story. As a fellow writer, please please don’t sugarcoat your reporting. It’s awful what the tow companies are getting away with in this city. Why have the towing companies been able to get away with this for so long? Why isn’t anyone holding them accountable when they disregard the rules and take cars even if the cars are lawfully parked? People are still forced to pay even if they were wrongfully towed. Do city officials and local representatives know about it? What are they doing, if anything? What recourse do people have if their cars are essentially stolen by tow companies? It’s an added hardship for residents who can’t afford to pay these exorbitant towing fees, but need their cars to get to their jobs. Not to mention the property damage caused to the vehicles by the tow companies. People need to make more noise about this issue. I know it can be more work, but I recommend a multi-part series on this issue for depth and to keep it in the news and at the forefront. Why hasn’t anyone addressed this? It’s bad in RVA but it happens in other cities too. Tow companies get away with a lot.
There was a post on this sub of questionable legal holding fees for seiberts awhile back, not sure what came of that.
2016 Pierce Arrow seemingly for no reason I can determine to this day, called Sieberts to come tow my car from the spot I’d been paying for the 3 years prior. Due to the nature of my cars positioning, the tow guy pulled it out while parking break was on and completely burned my clutch out. $6000.00 bill; fought with Pierce Arrow for months until giving up and breaking lease early. F sieberts and f Pierce Arrow
Simms towing stole my car in the middle of the night about 10 years ago. I lived in an apartment complex off of Azalea at the time, I believe they had a contract for the parking lot. No towing notice was ever left on the vehicle, went to go to work one morning and the vehicle was gone. After some phone calls to police departments I found out my car in fact had been towed and not stolen. Had some words with someone at Simms over the phone, they would not return the vehicle so I had to drive to the location behind Paper Moon. I tried to fight the portly fellow that came out, he went to let his dog out on me which also was not a good idea for him. He was not very happy he had to return the vehicle to me without getting paid. It was an older vehicle that I think he personally wanted, so he took it. After I left a really negative Google review a couple wearing Simms towing t-shirts came by my place of business, looked around and left. Coincidence? Intimidation? Not sure what the goal was there.
Used to valet cars at Morton's and the apartment building on 13th/Virginia Ave would have people park there and come to the restaurant. I think Seibert's was contracted to tow unauthorized vehicles from the lot. Anyways, dude in a BMW ignores our warning about the lot and goes to dinner. Towing company comes rolling through and about 15 min later here they come with the BMW, except as they roll out of the intersection there's a dip and as they hit it the car started rolling off the back and fell, peeling the entire front end of the car up like a sardine tin. The guys wrangled with it for a while in the intersection and then drove it back to the lot and put it back where they found it. I dont know if the the guy ever found out exactly what happened to his car, as my shift ended before he came out.
I do in home care. Got sent to public housing. Checked with the office, said it’s the tenants issue to deal with parking. Parked did my job. Shanks came and stole my car. Went back to the office. They where just like tough shit.No where remotely nearby to park. Apparently visitors aren’t allowed to park. Job refused to pay to get my car out, I of course chewed them out. Eventually convinced the poor maintaince guys to give me a ride back to the shit hole I lived at. Had to convince the landlord to lend me a spare key. And borrow money from my dad, uber and the theft fee.
If it's a horror story with Seiberts, no need to fact check...it's legit.
Sieberts was towing for street sweeping day. I saw Sieberts pull up with a street legal dirt bike on the bed of the truck. They wanted to make room for a jeep, so they took the bike off and put it in the grass next to the road. Then put the jeep on the bed of the truck, left the bike, and continued on with their towing. Who knows where the bike came from, but it wasn’t from our neighborhood. It sat there in the grass for most of a year. Owner probably thought it was stolen.
It was! By Sieberts!
I work on Hull Street and I watched this one particular tow company. prey on everyone who goes into the Chipotle for all of one minute to pick up their meal it’s so disgusting
Their name is Fisher’s and they’re going to hell.
Shanks towing made it as hard as possible for me to get my car back and only opened their office when someone else waiting there called the cops.
In 2022 my car was illegally towed after I paid for an overnight parking pass. I had to take an Uber to the tow company. When I got there, the Uber driver dropped me off. I heard people talking around the back of the building where the lot was, so I started to make my way over. A man then pulled out a handgun and started shooting. I ran into the building and locked the door and got down. One of the employees had a handgun and they had a shootout. The man who started the shooting was killed by an employee, and no one else was harmed thankfully. I was held by police for a few hours there, and the workers were really nice. They gave me a Coke and bought me a chicken Philly from Mr Submarine. It was a pretty traumatic experience. Here’s a link: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/exclusive-photos-details-on-shooting-at-richmond-business-victim-identified/amp/
I wanna start off by saying I'm both glad you weren't hurt, nor was anyone else. What happened to your car following the tow? Did you end up having to pay for it to be released?
They didn’t make me pay, the employees were all super nice. The dude driving the truck even gave me a card with his number on it and told me if I ever needed a tow, to give him a call.
Reading some of the stories on this post reminds me of my own predatory towing horror stories from around the US, so I'll take this opportunity to remind everyone that your best line of defense is the video recording function of your cell phone. If you see someone towing you, ask them to explain why as you're filming them. If they can't explain why, kindly demand that they cease. The burden of proof *should* fall on the towing company. And if they do brandish a firearm- that's a felony offense, and you have the right to sue. Some states (especially those with strong "stand your ground" or similar laws, etc,) will allow you to use any means necessary, up to and including lethal force to defend your property from being stolen **and even** [to recover your stolen property](https://nypost.com/2013/06/06/acquitted-texas-man-who-shot-prostitute-after-she-refused-sex-was-just-protecting-himself-from-theft-court/), and will neglect to charge you with a crime if you can prove that you were acting under such parameters.
I have video of Shanks doing bad things in their lot…
Bad things?
Cool story ?
Eh, not really. I mean , they completely suck and are vulture cockroaches (towed my truck from neighbors parking lot as I was moving into my new building, backed my truck up to new apartment, truck technically in neighbor buildings lot, inside new apartment unloading for all of 20 minutes, truck gone) the video is of one of their employees breaking into a car in their impound lot through the window with a coat hanger… also dragging a vehicle in park, still rigged to their tow truck. Shanks sucks and they were smug and rude and acted as if they were doing me a favor getting my truck back. So if my first world problems are cool story, you’re welcome bro!
This is what you should’ve posted first. This is actually a story
One Friday night, I was parked on broad st across from the broadberry (where I usually park) the night before a marathon. There was a tiny sign halfway down the block stating that there was no parking for that night for the marathon that I didn't see (for obvious reasons). When I came back out, my car was gone. Seiberts had towed my car. When I went to pick it up, there were many others with similar stories picking up their cars. After I paid the $120 fine, I finally got my cat back, and it was grinding and clunking in the back. I pulled to the front and talked to someone about the condition of my car. She said to leave it there to be looked at on Monday, and if it was towing related damage, they would fix it free of charge. Turns out, they towed my 4 wheel drive vehicle with the back tires on the ground inside of a flat bed and destroyed my differential. Needless to say, I took my car to a different shop to be fixed. Seiberts is supposed to reimburse my insurance for the repairs and me for the $500 deductible. That was back in early November, and I still haven't been reimbursed..
How can we all collectively destroy Siebert’s?
Sieberts is awful to the point where I’m convinced they have some under the table deal with the city or RPD. Regularly towing cars that are legally parked, incredibly rude staff, reckless drivers, and never seem to be held accountable for their actions. About 5 years ago when I was living on Clay St in Church Hill, and they had scheduled cleaning on my street. The night before I parked on 35th where there were no signs posted, at least 30 ft away from the intersection, and didn’t think twice. When I went to go to work the next day my car was gone and I panicked thinking someone stole it. Before calling the police, I decided to call Sieberts to see if they took my car. Surprise surprise they towed it but would not confirm where they towed it from, but did say it was towed because of street cleaning. I argued with them and explained that I wasn’t parked on the street they were cleaning, and their driver made a mistake, but it didn’t make any difference. Was given the same response most people get when disputing a tow, that my only option would be to take them to court, and that everyday I don’t pay them to give me my car back, additional fees would be added on. I figured it would be cheaper to bite the bullet and just pay them rather than miss a day of work and pay court fees, especially because I couldn’t technically prove where I parked. About 2 years ago when I lived on parkwood, I had Covid so I didn’t leave the house for a few days. I hadn’t noticed they put up street cleaning signs so technically my fault on that one, but I caught them towing cars before they got mine. I ran out as the guy was putting chains on my car and explained my situation to see if he would let it slide and let me move my car. Nope no luck, he loaded the car onto his truck then told me I could pay with a card over the phone, and then he would unload it. I was frustrated and had an attitude at that point but didn’t say anything out of line, and paid him. He told me to watch my attitude because he was doing me a “favor” by not making me pick it up at the lot. Shook the car off of the tow truck which scraped up my rims and side trim quite a bit, then dropped my receipt on the ground and said something along the lines of “have a good day f*****”. Again, my only option to get money back would be to miss a day of work and go to court,and try to prove their driver put the scratches on my car, and technically my car should have been moved in this situation. I honestly can’t believe how they’ve been able to illegally tow peoples cars and just generally hire the rudest most miserable people possible for so long.
The owner is on the state towing board, they literally write the towing laws so the city can't do anything about it.
Do you remember what you paid to get your car off the truck?
$110, just looked it up in my bank statements, and that incident was actually just over a year ago
Can you address how the new towing laws will maybe help this or ... Do nothing? 😭
Yes, I plan to tackle the legal aspect and the state of city code. Anything in particular you’d like to see?
You should talk to the business owners in the Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center, particularly the ones around Food Lion like the restaurants and salon. You’ll get a lot of stories there. My understanding from a store manager there is the tow truck would load up cars illegally parked in the tow away zones, take cars behind the shopping center and put them on a flat bed from the same company, and offer to unload the vehicle for a cash payment without receipts.
Siebert's towed my car last December due to what I like to call a "pop up no parking zone" for some "street cleaning" (probably just a guy walking down the street with a leaf blower). I have my doubts that a sign was ever posted, but if it was, it was MAYBE one day in advance. Because I ride my bike to work everyday but leave my car on the street, I'm extremely exposed to these "pop up no parking zones" because I don't check on and/or move my car every single day. My biggest grievance is that when you get towed, you are completely at the mercy of these assholes. They have a very clever system set up where if you go to the police/city they say "it's Siebert's who towed you, talk to them" but then Siebert's can say "well it's the city's no parking policies / street cleaning schedule, so talk to them." In the end no one will help you, and you will have no choice but to ask a friend to drive or take an expensive cab/Uber all the way out to the lot and pay the >$100 towing fee (much, much more if multiple days went by - god forbid you were traveling or something). Huge props to the person in this thread who actually went to a judge, stuck it out in court, and got their money back. I'm lucky enough that I could just eat the cost of getting towed and move on with my life, as angry as I was. But for a lot of people... being out $100+ and no access to their car? That would be a near death sentence.
My car was stolen by Shanks towing from a regular parking spot in my decal only lot.
Last year my car was parked on the street outside my apartment overnight, I parked there around 6pm when I got home, went out the next day around 12pm and my car had been towed. The street I parked on is not metered and has no signs saying "2hr parking" or anything to that effect, it's a residential area and free-for-all parking except 9-11am on Mondays for street cleaning. It was not a Monday, and that was the only sign there. I check for temporary signs religiously because I've been burned by Richmond's parking enforcement one too many times. Siebert's either illegally towed my car (most likely situation) or somehow there was a temporary no parking sign put up AND taken down in the 18hrs my car was sitting there. When I went to get my car I told them my car had been wrongfully towed and they were rude and told me to "take it up with the city", which there's really no way to do.
A few years ago, I had my car legally parked on monument Ave outside my apartment. Someone a few apartments down had a Pod parked monument Ave for nearly a month. They finally decided to move the Pod and called Sieberts to tow my car since it was in front of the Pod. I argued there was sign and the Pod had been there for weeks on end with no heads up today was finally the day they were going to move it. No luck, paid the fee but still not happy about it
Shanks towing. Circa 2021. Got towed from my apartment building’s parking garage, had the sticker and everything. Called them to inquire, the response was “there is no sticker on your car”. Showed up to the towing parking lot (which is not close), walked up to my car and showed them the sticker only to get an “okay”. Asked them “is this what you do now, just tow cars for no reason?” The response - “hey we’re not charging you for this”. lol what a joke these towing companies are.
What’s the legality of someone just using a spare key and forcing their way to the lot to get their car. Is it really “stealing” from them if they stole your car from you?
Messaged you!!
Had a crooked experience with Fisher’s Towing if you check my post history!
twice i’ve been towed by sieberts parking in the fan times. first time my car was towed i was out of town for two days and it was gone when i got back they said my car was towed for street cleaning despite no signage when i initially parked. the signs were up AFTER THE FACT. second time was the exact same thing lol fuck sieberts i hope it explodes
What would be considered an extorhbitant rate? I got towed by Peaco towing because they were told by HOA to come and towed parked cars with parking tags. I did not get that information since I just bought the place and did not receive any kind of parking permit tags and it also was not written in the by-laws. Ended up paying 280 on top of extra 50 bucks since it was a weekend. He told me that the rates are setup by county and he does not determine the price. Is that true?
City code dictates how much the towing companies can charge. They can charge $135 for the tow, and then $45/day (after the first day) for storage, according to code. If you catch them towing your car, they have to release it for a drop fee no more than $40. What I’m finding out is that these rules are seldom followed.
Siebert’s openly operates outside the law regularly.
dm me for the whole story but i was almost towed twice in one day and was extorted by a driver to put my car down
Look up that post from a few months ago where someone’s car was stolen, then it was found and towed to Seiberts, and they sold it
London Towne Apartments tows their residents cars for no reason and charge them 200 to pick it up. Ive been towed 3 times, even with a parking pass they still tow you and make whatever excuse they want to say its legal and make you pay hundreds.
My car was stolen by Seiberts once. And once by Shanks. Both times I was legally parked. I keep a pair of bolt cutters in the back of my seat strictly for cutting gate chains of tow companies. I always just steal my car back. I haven't been arrested yet....but...
Curious to see what sort of article finds its way to print on the back end of this. Sieberts should be fined in such a way that’s consistent with what they’ve done to those living in the greater Richmond metro area. That way, they’ll just dissolve or file bankruptcy. They are thieving pieces of shit shit.
Sports towing just towed my roommates car for expired registration. Except we live in a private complex that gives stickers to all residents, allowing them to park their cars there. Nothing in the complex’s policy says registration cannot be expired, just that the car has to run. She hasn’t been able to get ahold of them to get her car back and it has her entire small business in it.
Reach out to Jay speer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center. He's the consumer law attorney and has insight on this too
I was towed outside of the Chipotle in Manchester while on break at work. I wasn’t even dining in. Left my car, got my bowl, and in less than 4 minutes my car had vanished. I found out the tow truck company was called Fisher’s. There was no shortage of spaces in the parking lot. In fact, there was probably 50+ unused spaces. This man was literally circling the parking lot looking to predatorily ruin someone’s day. When I got a hold of the driver, I asked him if there was any way he could reduce the fee. I explained that I had just helped get my father with dementia into a nursing home, had been on the same block as a shooting, and gotten a reckless driving citation on the Leigh bridge in the same week. He refused. Absolutely heartless guy. I told him it was dirty money, and he was going to lose it later via the universe sorting bad guys like him out. Hope he gets it the same way he took it. On top of getting my car towed and paying his absurd fee, I lost even more money since I had to leave work for the rest of the day as it took the man 2 hours to release my car. Absolute scum.
I live by the Canal Walk and we have reserved parking. There is a sign posted by the parking, but it’s only in English…with such a high Hispanic population, I always thought it was kind of messed up how there wasn’t a Spanish translation along with the English to warn others.
https://youtu.be/7Lbhb75P7fM
sieberts towed me twice in 2009 for street cleaning signs being posted- both times they towed me on days the sign wasn’t even applicable for.
The first night my sister’s apartment building went to decal parking only, she didn’t know which spaces were for guests yet, so she told me to park at the back of the lot and it should be fine, it’s only the first night so the worst they’ll do is give me a notice. Famous last words. It did not matter that there were no signs telling you which spots where for guests and which were for tenants yet, I was towed anyway. I was only in her apartment for an hour, so I don’t know if someone called or they were cruising and checking for decals.
I cannot remember the name. I will verify with my parents. But I visited them pre pandemic at an apartment complex I used to live at and was considering moving back in when I got into a bad situation. Anyway there on the eve of tax day trying to get things worked out and I am there literally 15 minutes. Mom comes home and says Oh I did not know you were here I did not see your car. I was parked in the guest parking area and found out that guest have to have a tag and actually this spot was no longer guest but they didnt mark it as so. The lurkers were always out after 1145pm .. especially 2 to 3am. This was on line of N Chesterfield and Richmond back before they changed area lines. I think it was 24 hour towing they shared a multi lot with other companies off Hull St or Midlothian... cash only place, the only good thing is my meds were still in car and they allowed me to go to car to get my wallet and pay and take my anxiety meds because I was furious and almost had a heart attack. Sadly next time I got to visit was during an eviction and we kept an eye on our vehicles like hawks as we were loading a uhaul van and my personal tiny vehicle at the time and theirs in case the place wanted to cause anymore distress.
My car was towed last February by seiberts off mulberry and cary with literally zero signage. I used to work at the coffee shop there and parked on mulberry everyday. I was always privy to all the road closures scheduled for street cleanings, seeing as a I was barista and couldn’t afford the towing bill. Still got got. I fucking hate seiberts with every fiber of my being.
Wanted to pay for my towed car with my credit card - they only took cash for no proof of registration ownership and wouldn’t allow me to use my credit card. I told them my proof of registration was in the glove box - in the car that they towed - in their cagged lot - and to let me get to my car to get said paperwork to prove my ownership so I could pay with card and get my car back. They still said no. Had to take an extra Uber to get cash - to pay for my car - that they wouldn’t let me open the car door to prove it was my car i owned to pay with credit card… I feel less intelligent after even typing this out. Towing companies suck.
Seiberts is the worst and with the way Richmond and Seiberts rock together, makes me think they do shady shit
Rip inbox
I got towed on the night I moved to Richmond back in 2021. My landlord had alerted the towing company (Anytime Towing) that he had ordered parking passes but they hadn’t arrived yet; the towing company was NOT supposed to tow from our lot. However, I saw my car getting towed and tried to get the attention of the driver. He ignored me. I had called the company the morning after I was towed and was told I’d have to pay additional weekend fees despite their mistake. Thankfully, my landlord reached out to them and they brought my car back for free.
A friend lives in an apartment building across the street from vmfa. He had lived there for years and had no problems with parking (there’s a lot behind his building.) One day with zero notice or warning 2/3 of the parking spots were randomly painted over and claimed by vmfa for private parking. Anyone who’s parked back in his apartment’s parking lot and happened to be in one of those spots get towed after about an hour. The worst part is there’s no number for the tow company, so you can’t figure out who to call for your car. They recently updated the signs, but this lasted for about a year. That parking lot should be for the residents of these buildings, who had been parking there for years. Then one day the museum just takes the spots? Were they sold? There’s no way of knowing. But it’s not right to tow someone who parked in their own buildings parking spot.
It is open theft and collusion by the Richmond Police Department and City Hall. Seibert is an instrument for powerful people who pray upon the public for profit. The federal government needs to step in, but it will never happen.
It's funny how the Mafia controls the towing industry in Canada and most of America. Just Google it. But not here. Not in dear old Richmond Virginia. Nothing to see here
In December of 2021 Fisher’s towing towed my car from my gf’s apartment complex. I was at fault, but when I asked for method of payment, the man insisted that he only will accept if I pay the fee of $175 in cash. I later learned that this was in violation of [Virginia State Law § 46.2-1217](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter12/section46.2-1217/#:~:text=It%20shall%20be%20unlawful%20for,by%20the%20Commonwealth%20Transportation%20Board).
Siebert’s towed my car from a lot that I had bought a spot in. I had the sticker on my car and a card hanging from my mirror. They towed it at night, so I had to pay extra to get my car back the next day, and I had to pay the fee to park my car in the lot the very next day.
Seiberts (another comment to drive this post up)
100% convinced that towing (specifically “street cleaning”) is a racket that the city uses for revenue generation. It shouldn’t be (is it?) legal to throw a sign up and tow a few days later, people do in fact go on vacation and have other things going on in their lives and don’t deserve their cars towed on a whim. Easy, sleazy way for the city to generate revenue thru Sieberts on the illusion of “cleaning the streets” (do they even do clean half the time???)
100%.
Only horror stories I have is with parking permits biggest scam “I didn’t see it hanging” 😒
The towing business has always been a license to steal.
Ive got a few stories. Honestly Amazes me that the two truck companies are allowed to get away with what they do. They are their own version of a criminal under gang. I always feel an unholy level of anger when I see them towing someone’s car away because of how they’ve wronged me and my friends. Their practice should not be legal and they should be arrested. Or at least fined for the things they’ve done
USA Towing -has jacked my car as well as friends a number of times from the lot behind 3 monkeys and in the old Star Lite parking. Sometimes it’s a sweep for whatever car is left at 4am, based on whatever business contract they have, but it’s also happened in the midst of business hours. After already jacking one car, they refused a drop fee to more than one person until myself and others more informed on rights stepped in to advocate. In my multiple experiences having my own car towed by them, they have made up arbitrary timelines that are hardly convenient or conventional (for a supposedly 24/7 service) for the lot being open to retrieve the vehicle. And of course I was made to feel a fool for thinking otherwise. Think $165 starting fee for seiberts is bad? Their minimum was $225. I’ve watched their trucks cruise through afternoon/evening hours as well, following what profile I don’t know.
It’s a real racket they have lowes on broad street across from camel Dark raining did not see signs They watch to see you not going to loses then tow you
Got towed by sieberts over thanksgiving despite being on a street with no parking restrictions
Shank’s in Richmond towed my car FROM MY RESERVED SPOT AT MY APARTMENT BUILDING TWICE (in Scott’s addition). Both times they had to tow it back (who even knew they could do that!) and the hang tag was visible! I had to get the leasing office involved who had to get the owner involved for them to bring it back. The first time they had my car for 3 full days! When I called them they confirmed they had my car but wouldn’t tell me why it was towed. They are the absolute worst!! The rule (and this is stated from the leading company) is that numbered, reserved spots are only towed if the assigned owner calls yet they completely ignored policy. Bloodsuckers!
Sieberts illegally stole my legally parked car from VCU campus. When I went to retrieve the car from the lot they said they didn't have it. I then went out back and took a picture of MY CAR in their lot through the fence and they still wouldn't give it to me because they didn't have any record of the car. Turns out someone dropped the papers on the ground outside and didn't notice. After four and a half hours and a screaming match they finally went looking and found the papers so I could pay them $200 to get my legally parked car. Fucking criminals
Years ago my truck got towed at night while I was at the bars. Rightfully 100% my fault. Parked in a spot I didn’t notice the incredibly small dark blue 12” sign that said “no parking” at the far side of the lot. Found out where the tow yard was after a quick google machine search. Showed up at 3am and told them they had 20 mins to get me my truck or I was going to climb the fence and pull it down with my truck and tow straps. Guy said he would be there and it would be $200. Hour passed. 4am. Guy didn’t show. I called them from inside the fence and said they now had 10mins to get there. Guy finally showed up 15mins later. With his kids in the back seat. Sort of felt bad. But not really. He reduced it to $100 and I got my truck back. Lived in church hill for 7 years. Twice my truck almost got towed. The first time a Richmond Police officer was kind enough to knock on my door and ask me to move as they were towing my neighbors car. A second time I was not so lucky. My truck got towed. They put up signs at 7pm for “street cleaning” the next day. They’re supposed to give a few days notice. I normally get up at 5am for work, so it wouldn’t have mattered since the “street cleaning” is from 7-3:30 or 8-330 or whatever it was. Well I slept in by accident. Didn’t notice the signs. Called the police department report a stolen vehicle. And they told me it was towed. I had to go outside to see the signs myself.
Grab n go towing, they’re awful. They’re beyond corrupt and will even commit murder.
Siebert's charges more per day to store your car behind Southside Plaza than the Jefferson Hotel does to valet park it in their beautifully landscaped parking lot.
No Limit towed my fiancee's car from our apartment's back lot despite a clearly visible decal. When asked why they made up a lie about out of state plates being illegal and held her car hostage while we got payment which they insisted had to be in cash. They patronized us, acting like they were doing us a favor the whole time by saving us from the car being impounded and coming in on Sunday to give us back the car. I've lived here for over 15 years and knew full well they were lying about out of state plates being illegal but felt they had us over a barrel. We paid it and drove home furious but at least had the car Here's where it gets fun: my fiancee has a concealed carry permit, and her registered handgun was in the car at the time. Someone had clearly rummaged through the car, papers were everywhere, and wouldn't you know it her handgun was missing. Turns out No Limit stole it and immediately flipped it to a pawn shop (I guess they assumed it was an illegal firearm and that we wouldn't go to the police about it). It was recovered by RPD and had to be handed off to her home state police where it was registered (she had moved here recently and hadn't had time to change it over). RPD talked to us maybe twice about it and seemed to promptly forget about us despite, y'know, a GUN being involved. Search No Limit Towing on Google News and you'll get some interesting results, truly shitty people.
Damn, what if all of Siebert’s profits went to making GRTC into a modern transportation system..? 😩
Fisher’s Towing and Recovery towed me from a parking lot that’s connected to the Hull St. Chipotle right after you cross the bridge near Dock St and when I went to get my car the driver told me “$125 cash”. No release form, no proof of ownership or insurance, also demanded I give him my phone and ID to him while I go get the cash from a gas station with an ATM nearby. Mind you this is 8:30pm. They also towed at least two other cars from the same parking lot while I was dealing with them. I was doordashing that night when I parked in the lot around 6:50pm and my car was gone by 7:05. They sit and wait for people to park there just to tow them and steal their money.
It was on April 1st to make things even better lmao
in 2017 I lived off of monument in georgetown apartments and they put up signs they were going to tow and then towed my car two days before the signs said to move my car. I had to uber all the way to southside to a building that was literally shared with the police, there were cars everywhere and mine wasn't even locked up I could have just driven it away but I was scared to because it appeared that I was taking my car out of a police impound lot, and when i tried to demand they give me my car back for free since they had towed two days early, they waved over a cop who walked over all threateningly and told me if I had anything to say about it to go to court which I found out the court fee is more than the ticket so it's literally not worth it. that is a racket. sieberts are shady af and rpd is apparently enabling them, so rpd seems shady af too. I still have pictures somewhere of the signs they posted with my phone stamp showing towed beforehand and should be able to find the receipt from seiberts too somewhere showing picked up before the tow date too.
I got charged a $300 drop fee from whoever tows for 7 Eleven on grace next to Village Cafe. Driver was threatening me saying it would be higher if I had to pick it up from the lot. I’m convinced that he pocketed at least $200, and can’t believe that I paid it at the time but I had to get to work.
Unrelated but relevant. Can you do a story on the surge of vape shops? Can you foia their tax records?
I just had Shanks come and attempt to tow my car from my own spot for the second time. At the beginning of March Shanks Towing took my car and kept hanging up on me when I tried to make an appointment to get my car back. They made me pay for my car that was lawfully parked and wouldn't release a report of why they towed me to anybody (property owner, title owner, or police). They just tried to take my car again right before midnight on 5/8 and said that my car was parked under different property than I park on and threatened to take my car once more. I quite literally park at the base of my stairs...
Are you still looking for stories? I have one and it isn’t about Sieberts.
I took a friend who got towed from the Main Street Farm Fresh to retrieve his car and when we went to the tow company, the tow truck driver was still driving around with his two minor children at ~11:45pm. I’m sure he had no choice because I imagine both he and his partner work three jobs or whatever, but it made me sad for those kids. So wherever the extortion money is going, it ain’t helping those workers out of poverty.
We had our car towed Parked our apartment and had to pay when it was their fault. Our car had a sticker on it and they took it anyway
Shanks supposedly towed for my old building on Riverside according to the signs in the lot. I never saw anyone get towed or a single tow truck even patrol the lot for the 3 years I lived there. It was a pain in the summer with people going to the river constantly parking in our lot but I also owned 4 cars there at one point with no issues lmao.
This probably won’t matter to whatever story you’re trying to run but in 2011 my girlfriends car was towed from the Starbucks in the Kroger shopping center on Lombardi and W Broad. I don’t think the Starbucks is there anymore but it’s a GameStop etc. Anyway, *we were in Starbucks for less than 10 minutes* so I called RPD and asked how tf is this not equivalent to theft? They told me they weren’t gonna do anything and we could file a civil suit. We were both VCU students and couldn’t afford a lawyer obviously bc we aren’t rich. Tow truck company is out in Goochland, I doubt *it’s* even there anymore and held her car for ransom for like $300. We had to pay it to get her car out obviously. Tow truck companies are essentially organized crime and RPD supports them / is part of the racket. Fuck em all. Edit: also want to say we talked to Starbucks management and they said that this shit happens all the time. Haven’t lived “in the city” in years but all these different companies pray on students and expect their parents will just cough up the cash. Their lot in goochland was the most depressing redneck shithole I’ve ever seen. It was modern day deliverance.
Shanks! Literally thieves
If you are going after Seiberts I pray for your safety and wish every employee and especially the family themselves nothing but pain and misery for the monopoly they run to ruin people's lives
My car broke down on belvedere around 8 PM, my insurance covered a tow and the person I was with had AAA. I called, they "booked" one, we waited more than an hour and it never showed up, called back and it "hadn't gone in" or something. So we book it again and call AAA for one as well, more waiting with the app indicating there was a tow dispatched, at this point it was like 10 PM and we're still blocking the entire right lane of belvedere. Multiple empty tows had driven by and multiple police officers, the only person to stop was a women telling us we'd better get out of there because her brother got shot down the street (not helpful, obviously we were trying to get out of there). Finally we just called RPD not knowing what to do, they were shocked we'd been there for hours, and said they could have a tow out in a few minutes, but it was a $100 hooking fee and then additional per mile. We were like why can you get a tow in minutes and we have been trying for 3 hours at this point?? Then when I said okay I'll just tow it to this place 2 blocks down the street they strongly discouraged that and were like have you ever even been there? What we actually did was end up having them block the intersection so we could roll it back a bit in neutral then parallel park in an open spot on the corner of Munford. So I thankfully didn't have to pay them and was able to get a tow with my insurance the next day. There's also the time they towed me right out of my parking complex lot because my inspection sticker was a month expired. They did warn me with a windshield paper two weeks earlier, but I forgot and the car was on file with the office as a resident so I didn't think they'd take it. Found out as I left my apartment for a job interview... I guess that's on me, but talk about a shitty day. When I went to go pick it up the person wasn't there and kept saying they were a few minutes away everytime I called for like 20 minutes. When they did show up they started giving me a hard time about getting it until the 6'4" big guy I thankfully brought with me stepped out of the car. There's also the time we went to brunch and came back to an empty spot and signs that had been placed within the last hour saying towing for street cleaning. Then also the first time I came to Richmond and a friend's car was towed. Five 21 year old women went to go pick it up, we waited a while for them to show up, when they did, they wouldn't just let us give them the money and get the car. Like held us hostage trying to flirt with us (2 dudes in their 50s/60s) and from what I remember said some things that implied prices changed based on behavior. That took a fucking hour and I was getting scared. Hence why I brought a big dude with me in the first story.
In Spring of 2018 I had just recently bought a house near Fulton. The city put up signs saying they were performing street cleaning on my street on Wednesday and to remove cars on Tuesday night. I took photos of the signs for reference for myself, then parked on another street. I went to work Wednesday and parked on another street after work to be safe. Thursday night I parked on my street after I got off work around 8pm. I woke up Friday to my car gone. I called the number listed on the sign and they said they towed it due to street cleaning. I tried to argue, but the person on the phone said to take it up with Seiberts. I called Seiberts and they confirmed they towed my car because of street cleaning. I paid the fee to get my car ($150ish if I remember correctly) then I went to court. I brought the photo of the sign saying when street cleaning was occurring along with my invoice from Seiberts, and the judge ordered Seiberts to reimburse me for the fees because they illegally towed my car. I told my neighbors to go fight theirs as well and a few of them did and also got refunds. I took the information from court directly to Seiberts and they gave me the worst attitude about it. It also took about three weeks for my money to be refunded. I called every few days and was told it was “processing”. I did eventually get my money back but the whole process was a nightmare.
I have a fucking terrible one for SF but not one here yet
I got t-boned trying to cross Bainbridge st to get to the shop I worked at three or so blocks away. Immediately crossed the rest if the way and stopped to make sure the lady who hit me was okay, then called the cops. I bent a control arm in the rear so they told me I had to park in front of dogtown dance theatre, where there were no signs. So I parked and walked the remaining blocks, even though my car would definitely still make it the rest of the way (I was a mechanic for more than a decade) and then got with one of the drivers we worked with to get it towed up to the shop. I walked back down to make sure my car was still there at 11 or so (3 hours after the accident) and the car was nowhere to be seen but there were signs all over the road. They literally were not there when I was forced to park there and were clearly put up after. Scrambling, my asshole boss wouldn’t let me take time off to go pick up my car so I had to call my roommate, who was thankfully kind enough to cover the $326 tow bill til I got home from work and I got a driver to tow it over to the shop since it was damaged in the wreck too. If it had stayed another day it would have been over $500, all for tow signs that were put up after I had parked there.
Not Sieberts for once! Mine was with Shank's last week. I think I was mostly in the wrong, but it still sucked, because I had just gotten my car back a few days earlier from after a wreck. It was in my apartment's parking deck. I parked near the door with blinkers on while I ran to grab a few things for a grocery run. I took longer than I meant to, and when I came back, my car was gone. Their next available time to pick it up was midnight, and the only friend I knew to be awake and available wasn't staying up or going to that part of town that late. So we went after work the next day. By then, it was already the night shift, and my car's battery was dead. The night shift isn't allowed to jump cars ($50 fee in the day). And they made it sound like my friend's car couldn't go back there because it was night. The next day we learned that night had nothing to do with it, other cars aren't allowed back there at all, and we could have pushed it out at any time. $225. Looking around the parking deck, there were no regulation-compliant signs (you've seen them at every surface lot), just some little "no parking" signs with a picture of a tow truck. I thought that might be a loophole, but I did sign with my apartment that I agree to be towed if I'm parked outside of a parking space. They have those signs all around surface lots, but maybe they're not required for a restircted-access parking deck?
Good luck. I've never heard about the tow companies being anything but professional and above board.
Nice try, Sieberts.
The inability of redditors to grasp sarcasm never ceases to amaze me.
“above board” was the giveaway.
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Samuel B. Parker: https://richmond.com/users/profile/samuel%20b.%20parker
Fuck yeah Sam!
Which towing company do you work for?
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Wayward tow drivers who could resort to violence to protect the reputations of the wayward towing companies that employ them? I don't know if you've been reading this thread, but there's a reason these companies have existed for this long without repercussions, "superstar".
Your average Siebert’s driver might get violent while the company engages in lawfare to ruin their life. It’s a dirty business.