Consider this a public service announcement: Lethal Wrecker is changing their name to After Five Towing. They’ve gotten such a terrible reputation that apparently they figure a name change will allow them to leave it behind. (From the Whisper Ridge School of Business?) The company is also planning to file for bankruptcy, not because they’re going under, but to avoid having to pay up after being caught overcharging their victims, as well as to avoid paying up in the $20M suit recently filed by a man left crippled after his car was crushed by a Lethal tow truck.
I think I may have to run PSAs on the site periodically to remind people that After Five Towing is one and the same as Lethal Wrecker. I’d hate for anybody to forget.
I have a good friend that owned one of the largest towing services in Central VA for over twenty years and he tells me that these guys at Lethal are flat out ass wipes. I have never dealt with them on any level but I have, on my occasional trip to Riverside, Tubby’s, or Jack ‘n Jill, been nearly run off the road, run over, or cut off by those trucks, they drive like no one exists but Letal Wrecker. Judging by what has been said here and what I’ve heard from an experienced wrecker service owner, these guys will come and go in due time, let’s just hope it is sooner than later.
sounds to me like they’re going for a name that will play more favorably to a jury. kind of like when “the hardly-ever-misfires ammo company” and “sir maimsalot farm equipment” had to change their names in response to pesky litigation.
Before I realized there were limits to how much towing companies could charge in VA I was dooped by Lethal a few years ago. I was charged $200 for a simple tow and they did not give me a receipt. How many others have had this happen I wonder?(Hint: I’m sure it’s more than the 20 in that lawsuit) Other towing companies stay in business charging the proper amount for services…how is Letahal bankrupt even after gouging people for years.
I like Colliers.
I remember taking a friend to Lethal’s lot under the Belmont Bridge so that she could pick up her car. They gave her the run-around, claiming that she would have to pay for two day’s storage because, even though we were there at 11:00pm the night the car was towed, the paperwork could not be completed until the morning. Ridiculous. They were holding her car in bailment just by intimidation. She paid it just to get out of there.
I used Charlottesville Towing the other day to have a large piece of industrial equipment moved on a flatbed. It was not a simple thing like moving a car. They showed up on time. The driver was courteous, competent, and they charged me $75 for an hours work, which seemed like a bargain to me. I haven’t a connection with them, etc, but I will call them the next time I need towing services.
I have no doubt that Lethal Wrecker is bad news, and it sounds like they should just go ahead and get out of town, but in the interest of balance, I’m compelled to note that they’ve picked up my broken down car probably 6-or-so times in the past few years, and each time they’ve gotten me and the car to my destination in a timely manner without incident. Happily took my AAA card and all that.
i’ve had the same experience as ratboy. i had a “troubled” vehicle that lethal towed via AAA many times. they were never anything but courteous and professional. it’s a shame they can’t act the same way when dealing with a non-voluntary tow.
Ditto. They’ve never given me a problem. I call them directly, since the wait via AAA is forever and a day. They tow my car, take my info, and wish me a good day. My car has never been damaged by them and they’ve always been courteous and prompt.