Triangle Towing

It was about midnight and I was running to the store and was gone for no longer than 5 minutes. To my shock I came back to see my car in the process of being hooked. It appeared he had just arrived since there wasn’t much hooked on my car yet. I asked the man towing my car what’s going on, he tells me I’m parked on a private lot. In my defense, I had parked on what I had believed to have been a side street encompassed by lots for private apartments. I misunderstood however, because the multiple signs that were placed off of the street were in fact an indicator that the street I was on was part of a private lot that tows if you do not have a permit. It was late, I wasn’t thinking, my mistake, I should’ve been more careful, etc… I’m taking full accountability for my actions. He was just doing his job and I had to accept that.
I very briefly tried to explain my situation and he didn’t care because he’s probably done this a million times– he was not being mean, he just straight up didn’t care. I then asked what I needed to do to get my car and he said he needed $ 105 here, or $ 225 at the impound lot. Being a college student already in financial arrears, I did not have $ 105 on hand, so naturally I decided to call my mother for help. She wanted to speak with him to let him know she was going to transfer money into my account so I could go to an ATM and retrieve it. I informed him that she was on the line but he declined to talk to her and kept hooking my car without listening to what I was saying.
Feeling disrespected, I realized I needed to get the money regardless, so I asked him how much time I have and he says «not much because I have other jobs to do». So, I look him dead in the eye and say «okay, I’m getting it, I’ll be right back» and I SPRINT away to the nearest ATM a couple blocks away. I SPRINT back (fastest I’ve ever run in my life. I was gone for maybe 60 seconds) and the car is gone. He’s gone.
I ask bystanders if they saw a tow truck leave and they tell me he had just taken off right before I got there. I sprint in the direction he was headed only to see him drive off further and further. I felt completely embarrassed and disrespected even more. I was enraged.
I call the towing dispatch to try and understand what’s going on. All they said to me was that if I try to reason with the tower and talk to him, I am hindering him from completing his job and he won’t wait for me because he has other jobs to do. I have yet to understand how communicating and talking to me is not part of his job, since I am directly affiliated with the car he is towing, but I realized there is nothing I can do but get over it and go to the lot.
My mom picks me up, we get to the lot, and they only accept cash, so now we have to drive to another ATM and back. All in all, with other minor complications not worth mentioning, it took over 2 hours and $ 225 settle.
I would not be writing this review had I not felt cheated, disrespected, extorted, and belittled by the actions of the tower and this company. I whole heartedly understand the need for them to do their job and tow my car, but I felt that since I respected the situation of the tower, he should’ve (at the very least) respected my understanding and willingness to comply.

I visited a colleague’s apartment to drop off a project item, and parked in his apartment lot (admittedly, permit required), for 13 MINUTES. There were at least 10 open spots when I parked, and just as many open also when I came right back out to find that a Triangle truck was hitching my car to tow. I explained to the driver that I had just been in the building briefly, and he shrugged.
He informed me that I had two choices: 1) have my car towed, and pay $ 275 to recover it or 2) pay him $ 105 on the spot, and he would unhook it. I tried to reason with him about the very short time I have been parked there, and the fact that I had visited a tenant. He refused to budge, stating that he was «just doing my job». He also indicated that «they already know that I hooked you up». Furthermore, he would only except cash – when I told him I didn’t have $ 105 in cash, he immediately directed me to the closest ATM in a nearby liquor store (clearly not the first time he had recommended that location to a «customer»). I will say that he was not mean or nasty, despite my repeated requests that he understand my situation.
As I was over a barrel, I walked to the liquor store, paid an exorbitant fee to withdraw cash, and he unhooked me. I subsequently called the towing office and asked to speak to the manager, who apparently was the one who «knew that I had been hooked up». He explained that the owner of that particular lot had requested «frequent patrolling» by his company, and that his drivers are contractually obligated to tow cars without permits, or collect cash at the side of the road. He also shared the same indifference as his roadside colleague (I got the sense that he received this kind of call not infrequently)
So, I learned three things about Triangle towing:
1) they can spot a car without a permit within 13 minutes
2) they can make $ 105 in less than 13 minutes
3) they know where all the ATMs are in town
In the end, I did park in a lot without a permit for 13 minutes, but would like to think that isn’t a $ 105 mistake.
Needless to say, I will not be calling Triangle for service, if I ever have a choice.

Sunday night in Ann Arbor, my daughter’s car wouldn’t start – battery issues. Called AAA and a truck from Triangle Towing was sent to give it a jump. After hooking up the cables, the car got a spark, but didn’t ignite. The tow truck drive, SWITCHES the battery cables on the posts (??) and… nothing – no lights, no starter turn over, etc. After apologizing, he left. The next day, called AAA to tow the vehicle to the dealership, who confirmed the driver had put the jumper cables on incorrectly. Fortunately, Honda Accords have a fuse that blows when this error is made to protect the electrical system. They confirmed it was the battery and after replacing it and the fuse, the car was good to go. The service manager confirmed the cause of the fuse failure on our receipt and I’ll be contacting AAA to file a complaint. You have no control over who Michigan AAA sends out for a service call, but if you need a tow truck and need to contact someone directly, I would be careful about calling this outfit.

Update: Tow guy came yesterday. His name was Dan and he was both nice and competent. He handled everything quickly and me, being a good customer, gave him a $ 20 tip. That’s pretty standard in our house for AAA because the service is free, if you ignore our annual dues.
Never heard anything from Belle but figured with this weather they are probably swamped and I just worked from home yesterday. So this morning I call and Belle Tire is COMPLETELY confused. I give them two different phone numbers it could be under: nothing. I give them my name: nothing. I explain my car: nothing. Another employee walked past the guy I was on the phone with and said, «There’s a black ford edge out there but no one knows why,» and yes, it’s mine.
Triangle Towing just LEFT IT THERE. They didn’t go inside and start a ticket. They simply left my car in the parking lot at Belle Tire. Needless to say, I will not work with them anymore. If we have an issue for the remainder of our time in Michigan we will call someone else and have them do it and I will also be sending AAA a well-​documented complaint. They should be ashamed to be represented by Triangle.

This company was dispatched via AAA roadside assistance to tow my car to a nearby shop. It was 9 degrees and post-​snow storm. They arrived 11 minutes after I ended my call with AAA.
The driver was polite, courteous and efficient: total time spent from call time to dropping my car off at the shop was 35 minutes. I’ve waited hours for tow trucks in better weather, so I was pleased that this experience was seamless.

Unreliable and incompetent. This company claimed the tow from the service my insurance company uses, and then didn’t show up, and didn’t call me to notify me of the delay. After I had to leave and come back later so my wife could get to work on time, they again claimed the tow and then, 5 hours after the first time they didn’t show up, finally realized they couldn’t actually get into the garage my car was parked in anyway, even though they’d known where the car was all day and I had specifically told them the height clearance of the garage. So that’s two times these people claimed a tow they never actually performed. To make it worse, by the time they stopped delaying my car from being towed, no other company had time to do it that night. It was in a spot where it couldn’t be between 6 and 10 am, so it would’ve been ticketed if I hadn’t managed to get it moved myself. (I’m kind of sad I got it moved, because I was looking forward to suing them for the cost of the ticket.) Anyway, avoid this unbelievably bad service.

Our road service called Triangle Towing to fix a flat on my wife’s VW Passat. The Passat comes with one lug nut on each wheel that is keyed to a pattern to prevent theft. The «Key» that allows you to remove the lug nut was missing after their driver changed our tire.
When I contacted the manager, Bill Shaw, he told me that his driver says he didn’t take it, and that I have no proof otherwise.
I argued, but it was clear he didn’t care about anything other than denying responsibility. He could have purchased a $ 30 «key» and replaced it and I would have become a loyal customer.
Instead, when I told him my wife was sure the driver didn’t «hand it back to her», he said, you’re wife is wrong and aluded that a women would not «understanding» what she was given by the tow guy. Like women don’t get tool-​y things.
The conversation degraded from that point, with him saying, at one point «Why don’t you take me to court, I site in the 15^th district all day long listening to people like you whine about parking tickets. I’ll beat you like I beat them every time.»
Avoid this place like the plauge.