I was in a pinch. Ideal Hyundai pointed me to Dereks Towing. Alex, the manager, was patient and attentive to all my questions. I felt like he cared about helping(this isn't the case with many businesses these days). Dereks towing will now be my go to Towing Company. read more

Alex with Derick's towing was awesome! He was fast, professional and took great care of us. I would definitely contact them again.

Don't call them if you need them to actually show up. Waited over three hours for them. Called them multiple times. Mostly they don't answer but the one time they did I got a "oh he's ten minutes away." Well, that was false. Finally just called someone else but now one day shot because of car trouble has turned into two days shot because they wasted my time. Do yourself a favor and just call someone else. read more

My insurance company called them on short notice, they had my vehicle hooked up within the estimated window. s/t dispatcher as well as young man driving the tow truck- both were pleasant and helpful. overall- no problems or issues. thanks! read more

Had a great experience with driver Chris he showed up at my house in less than half an hour great driver!

Borderline ethics in effect perhaps motivated by revenue lost during Covid stay-home and relaxation of parking enforcement. Derek's twice in one night towed a homeowner in their valid assigned parking spaces without advanced warning, without consideration of emergency transportation for a vulnerable infant, without using Homeowner's Association list of valid license plates. HOA's and other businesses that use this company ought to establish clear rules, maintain accurate electronic records, and prepare to refund fees when tows go wrong. read more

Got hooked up with Derek's Towing through Audi roadside assistance... received a confirmation at 6:30 am that the truck was scheduled to arrive at 8:05 am. I called Derek's directly at 6:49 ( the guy who answered the phone was definitely still in bed) I explained where my car was located on Rt 340 and wanted to clarify that the driver would have to access me via Rt 15 and that if they accessed Rt 340 via Rt 70 they would miss us. I also verified pick up time was 8 and no one was available sooner. I barely understood the guys response...and having already paid through Audi I felt like I had no other choice but to wait. Now keep in mind my location was less than 3 miles from the shop location 620 E Church Street... Well the driver called me at 8 and said he was on Rt 340 but didn't see me yet.. of course he had accessed it via Rt 70, not that I was shocked that the guy who was sleeping when I called didn't pass the info. when he finally reached me, I told him I was disappointed it took them so long to pick up my car he advised he'd been at the shop since 7 am and had just gotten the pick up info at 7:50... I showed him the # that I dialed at 6:40 and he confirmed that it was the right # and said the owner was on vacation and he wasn't sure who was taking calls. The driver was pleasant and did a fine job getting my car to the Audi dealer but I wouldn't recommend Derek's if you want timely ser read more

Terrible communication....called at 4:30 PM, never showed up....claimed they called me and left message over night. I then called the number back twice, no answer. My insurance arranged another pickup next morning...they never showed up. How are they guys still in business?!?! read more

I don't normally post online reviews. However, my experience with this company has been so poor that I really feel the need to post a review. Let me start by saying that towing and recovery services are valuable. There are times when these services are very much needed. I don't begrudge people just because they have a difficult job. Having said that, these guys are prejudiced terrorists who hold senseless grudges. They lack both decency and commonsense. They are predatory in the way they enforce HOA guidelines. If you are looking for towing services, and you care at all about the people in the area they are being hired to look over, I would caution you to think twice before hiring these guys. Here's a brief description of my most recent experience (there are others): My vehicle was stolen yesterday evening outside of the WaWa on Ballenger Creek. I (foolishly) left the keys to my vehicle in the car as I went into the gas station. When I came out of the gas station, my vehicle was gone. I was able to get my vehicle back, with the help of the hard working people at the Frederick police department. I made it back to my home with my vehicle early this morning around 2 o'clock. When I woke up this morning, my vehicle had been towed. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the thief had taken my parking pass from the dash during the heist. This is the reason I was given this morning for why my vehicle was towed. Now... I'm well-aware that HOA guidelines dictate a parking pass must be in the window of all parked vehicles. I respect that rule. HOWEVER, the guy who towed my vehicle KNEW that my vehicle was both licensed by the HOA and he KNEW that I had a parking pass. He also KNEW he could look up the fact the vehicle was registered with the HOA. He willfully chose to ignore this knowledge because he wanted to "get me" again. There's clearly a very unprofessional grudge that's being held here. And when I went to pick up my vehicle, I got a "you should've follow the rules" response. I then proceeded to pay an exorbitant amount of money to retrieve my vehicle. I'm more upset by this experience than I am upset at the individual who stole my vehicle only 6 hours prior. At least the person who stole my vehicle wasn't doing it under the false disguise of "doing the right thing". To the HOAs out there: my experience with this company has been bad enough that there are times I wish I had bought a different property. They've constantly harassed both myself and my neighbors over the course of the last 3 years. Many of my neighbors and their guests have been similarly abused by these folks. Rather than seeking to achieve their overarching purpose (to enforce the guidelines provided to them by the HOA to ensure rules are followed), these guys look for any reason they can think of to tow. And once you've been towed once, they look for reasons to do it again, and again, and again, and again... and again. These guys work in a difficult industry where they're likely to upset a lot of people. I'm sympathetic to that. However, the way they've treated me on numerous occasions is shameful at best, illegal at worst. read more

UNETHICAL ILLEGAL TOWING. On Saturday September 10, 2022 Derek's Towing and Recovery attempted to tow my mother's vehicle off of 5th Street at 6:15am when the sign clearly stated that cars need to be moved by 7:00am. My mother happened to look outside and see her vehicle up on the bed of the tow truck at 6:15am. She came outside and spoke with the driver. The driver said that he was following the instructions of the Frederick City Police. He then asked my mother for $75 to remove her car from the bed of his truck. He did remove the vehicle after my mother paid him $60 to prevent him from towing it. read more

Derek's Towing & Recovery - Sign posted on 5th Street on 9/10/22 - Towing Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

Their business must really be suffering, hurting for money. We as a community must make sure not to support businesses like Derek's Towing. They use predatory towing practices called "patrol" or "satellite" towing to tow vehicles between 2AM-9AM in residential lots. Without being called. This is a standard practice of this business, as it's happened to me twice in the last 3 months. Most recently, heading out to church services with my daughter, I discovered my vehicle was towed from my residential parking lot, where I have lived since May 1, 2019, on Sunday Sept. 15th by Derek's Towing. Called their number to see if it was towed, they confirmed it was in their lot. I requested info on who reported my vehicle for towing, as their are plenty of open spaces in the lot, they would not provide, then the story changed and said they're not authorized to give this information. Both of these statements are false under the law, by law as I understand they must provide who asked for the tow. Told them I'd go directly to their facility to pickup my vehicle. They said OK. Ordered an Uber to the facilty, arrived and the door was locked. Called the phone number and was told they'd be over in a moment. Sitting in the heat, my daughter and I dressed for church waited 30 minutes, finally a man named Alex arrived. I asked him if he wanted to go inside for payment, he insisted he could not get in building and must use the mobile app on his phone. I also requested, as I'm right to ask, for a schedule of their towing charges, as well as a copy of their business license. He refused to provide either to me. I again asked for who reported the tow, he would not provide info, just said he has authorization under the Community HOA to tow. Since the tow happened at 3:39AM, it was outside of the allowed hours to tow without express consent from the HOA for the specific tow, hence the implication of predatory towing practices by this company. They could not provide who asked for the tow. I believe they canvass the neighborhoods in the middle of the night, in order to tow cars for additional profit. He said I must show my permit hangtag, or I would be towed. This is true, but it's also stated explicitly on the back of the permit to "remove while vehicle is in motion". So we remove the permit when driving, it's not a permanent sticker. When arriving home Saturday evening, I did forget to put up the permit on my rearview. After I paid the fee, he told me the receipt would be emailed to me. I stopped in the lot and waited for the receipt, after 15 minutes it never arrived. Told him I'd wait for the receipt, he disappeared for another 5-10 minutes. Next thing I know, Frederick Maryland Police officers were at my vehicle. Said they were charging me with trespassing on the towing company property, when I was just waiting patiently and calmly in my vehicle. Alex gave the police the printed receipt from inside the office, which he had previously told me he couldn't enter. Then I was served with Trespassing on the company property by police, without provocation. Unbelievable to call the police when you're asking for a receipt for your payment for their illegal towing service. Do not call this business for towing. If you have AAA, beware, they work with this service and others for roadside assistance. Complaint filed with Better Business Bureau as well. read more

Car wouldn't start today. I was in a huge hurry and called Derek's. Even though the truck was not in my area another employee nearby WHO WAS NOT ON THE CLOCK brought his jump box and came to my rescue. Courteous, prompt and fair. Couldn't ask for anything more from a service organization. read more

I called this towing company yesterday when my car broke down , I called at 1140 and they said it would be there at 2 so I waited .. in the heat .. FOR 3 hours . risking my life, standing out in the 100 degree weather getting heat exaustion and and then I called so many times (at least 10 times) no answer. then I tried the company again today to go get it while I was at work , , it comes around the time to go they said theyd be there so I call .. and call and call. then when I get an answer I get someone calling me annoying for "wasting his time" when I've never done this before. so it just wouldve been nice for them to just calmly tell me what I did wrong , but he was belittling and belligerent & then hung up on me . I wanted to give no stars but I'm a nice guy . read more

Waited around for over 2 hours, only to have them cancel. Didn't answer their phone either. Super unprofessional.

I did not choose Dereks towing by choice BUT let me tell you... I will NEVER allow them to get near my car even if they tried. State Farm was more than amazing at helping me handle my claim & they later followed up with an automated call back telling me that "Derek's Towing & Auto Repair" would be towing my vehicle. Immediately I checked the reviews and was not pleased. After waiting AN hour (as State Farm told me that's how long it could take).. I decided to call Derek's Towing myself. I could not get through because they don't have a voicemail set up or the inbox is full? So I guess they don't want to get that fixed? Poor job on your end because that's a very simple task to fix. ANYWAYS..... FINALLY!! On the fourth call (I felt like I was calling for curbside pick up at a restaurant *pandemic joke*) a man picked up and was really snotty when I asked about my car. I nicely asked "Hi, I wanted to know the ETA on my car being towed" and the man responded so rudely "i have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 cars waiting to be towed" and I said "I'm not worried about about the other cars being towed, I called asking about mine" and he so rudely responded " ThEN YoU NeEd tO bE mORE SpeCiFIc aBOUt WhaT cAr YOu hAvE " I simply & kindly asked "can you please just tell me how long for a tow?" he said "15 mins". FIRST OFF, IM THE CUSTOMER! You should be kindly asking me what car I own and letting me know a tow is on it's way or having the tow driver contact me with updates. DO NOT LIE to me saying you're 15 minutes away because it's been 30 minutes now and YOU haven't ARRIVED. I've been in customer service for 10 years and I know how to treat people. I DONT NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. Please do not go here! You're welcome in advance. Update: After never showing up (1 hour of waiting and I then decided to call Derek's towing MYSELF - he told me it should only be 15 mins... i went ahead and waited another 30 minutes knowing he was lying) I called State Farm & made sure my car was dispatched to another company that deserves my service and 5 star review (SHOUTOUT to BLUE GRAY TOWING!!! They're located in Hagerstown but it was such a quick service. I waited maybe 10 minutes and Nick called me and said he was 6 minutes away. Can you believe that? It took less than 20 minutes & I was given incredible service! AMAZING customer service to say the least and the man Nick towing my car was INCREDIBLE!). Derek's towing company is awful, has poor manners, horrible customer service, and is unreliable. I will tell all my friends and family about this. TRUST me. read more

We called for service first thing in the morning and received a quote better than others in the area. I asked and it would take and was told it would be about 40 minutes. GREAT! Well, we waited 2 full hours for the driver to arrive. We were in the middle of an area that we were totally unfamiliar with, just waiting and waiting. I called several times to get status checks, and was met with "she said she would be there soon, let me find out for you" only for them to just completely stop answering my calls until the driver finally arrived. I still give them 3 stars because the driver was polite, and helpful when she did arrive and got us the tow we needed for our disabled vehicle. read more

We called Derek's Towing at 2:00 am on a weekend for an emergency tow. The phone was answered quickly and the driver showed up very fast. He was very professional and the rate charged was very fair. Would definitely recommend them! read more

Derek is very helpful and knows what hes doing! I would of gave them less stars since it took hours for a tow, but the weather was absolutely crazy and they had a lot of tows before me so i do understand. These guys work hard and will get to you when they can. No one can predict the weather. Thank you for the tow today! Next time i need a tow i will call you. read more

A company led by a man who is willing to drag a family for his own profit. My yellow bug was my car. It was my car when I was a teacher and reminded me of my good old days before I had a baby. It was my dream car. We fell on hard times and couldn't pass the state inspection to get a new registration, so it stayed at a family member's for a while. (Being young parents isn't easy.) Eventually she needed it off of the property. My husband was then able to get another state inspection and was able to afford the repairs to make it pass. Only, he lost his job due to COVID and unemployment has been cut in half. We have two little boys (had the second before he lost his great job). We had the car for a while until one day we looked out the window and it was gone. We called the police. They told us Derek's towing has it. Even they were surprised. He was supposed to give the police 2 hours notice. I am pretty sure it is illegal to tow without notice. Derek's said it was fine because they warned us about this in 2017. Derek's does night patrols in the middle of the night, where they mark and tow cars. (But if you look at the reviews, my car isn't the only they towed without warning.) My husband talks to Derek and asks if there's a COVID relief plan. Derek says "Cant help you." So I write a review on Google reviews, giving him one star. My husband then gets a call from a man who says in a menacing tone, "Follow the rules. Get the registration" and hangs up. I look up the number and it belongs to a Derek. My husband tries to go back the next day and ask if he can get our belongings, including car seat and baby carrier. They say no. Again, I am pretty sure this is illegal. But what can we do? He finally gets an appointment with the MVA. We couldn't register online and had to go in person, because of the repairs involved in the car. He also asks Derek if we can be billed later so we can afford both the registration and the towing fee and he says, no. However, he says, "I will give the car to you for $200 if you change that 1 star review to a 3." My husband comes home and tells me this, honestly wondering what I want to do. I do it. I'm no fool. We will have $14 for the rest of the week. Today of course we realize something. Insurance benefits have more or less stopped for the unemployed, so we can't get a registration. He is on the phone with the MVA and GEICO and nobody can help us. We don't have any friends or family to park the car at anymore, so my husband says, "Either we surrender it or find another way." I can't play this game anymore with Derek so I choose to surrender it. I then look it up and see that police have relaxed during hard times and probably wouldn't have pulled us over for expired registration anyway. It was all because of Derek's predatory nighttime patrols that we don't get it back. We really tried, especially my husband. He knows this was my dream car. But because we are poor due to COVID, we are being judged as delinquents who choose to not follow the rules. (Look at his response below.) I call the police about this matter and they said while this is civil law and not their wheelhouse, this is definitely unethical. The officer even told me I should definitely change my 3 star review back to a 1 star. So here is my 1 star review. I hope you enjoyed the money, Derek. It came out of our groceries. read more

This company is really shady as reviews in the past have stated. Ethical practice is not their strong suit and apparently timeliness is lacking but a friend shared with me that now her vehicle is being held hostage because their systems are down so they aren't sure they are going to get paid. First off, they were late, secondly rude and unprofessional and now to top it all off they are trying to extort her for more storage fees bc they cannot process a payment. If the owner doesn't want to run a business, perhaps its time to hang it up. If there is an issue to go wrong this company will find it and make sure its executed to the fullest. If you're people cannot even answer the phone, perhaps 24 hrs is too much to handle. In your business you see people on really bad days so i the you get that sometimes people are rude but when you start out that way yourself, bad reviews and experience happen. Also, pay attention to the bad reviews on google and yelp. Owner like to argue back constantly. Maybe less time defending your "honor" and instead trying to execute it. read more

My sons truck was towed and when we called to find out the address of the lot to pick the truck up I asked the gentleman that answered the phone who towed the truck? At first he didn't tell me and then said "f--- it I did." When we arrived at the lot my husband said that's Derek standing there. When I got out of the car I said are you Derek? He said no. His shirt had the name Alex on it. I said to my husband, I though you said this was Derek, he said it is. So this business owner is wearing a shirt with someone else's name on it and lying to the customers about who he is. He proceeded to tell me he also wears law enforcement shirts. Impersonating a cop, it's that a federal offense? This guy volunteers as a fire fighter in our community and I believe that as a business owner and volunteer firefighter you should be an upstanding citizen and this guy is far from that. He is crooked and runs a shady business. I believe you don't shit wear you eat and this guy is definitely doing that. Having towing contracts in a community where you serve as a volunteer fireman and lying about who you are is not a good mix. I don't have an issue with doing your job, I have an issue that he is a liar and isn't trustworthy. By reading his reviews today's this experience is normal for his company. read more

My truck broke down, called my insurance company that hooked me up and said Derek's towing would be there within the hour.....after an hour and a half, with no word from the tow company, no answer when I called, I had to call insurance company. They also tried to contact Derek's towing, and they couldn't get an answer back from them either. They found another company, Harrison towing that came within 30 minutes... I had my elderly father, our dog, because we were at the vet...90* outside and we were there for 3-4 hours waiting. read more

Shady, rude, and unprofessional af. My insurance contacted him to tow my car to the body shop on a Sunday. He claimed he couldn't tow it to the shop as it was closed, no mention of a 2nd tow order. Driver showed up late but was friendly and said he'd be in at 7am and would get my car to the body shop by 8am - again, no mention of a 2nd tow order. 8am next day, no car at the body shop. All phone numbers for towing company have an automated message for incorrect phone number. I text him, he texts me about 2nd tow order, I text back saying that's ridiculous and to get my car to the body shop as expected or I'd contact my insurance and the police for vehicle theft. Guy calls me while he's on the toilet and complains *I'm* interrupting *him*! And then curses me out because I wouldn't let this absolute cretin talk over me! I haven't seen my car since they towed it, but I have photos from before they towed it and it was recently detailed so I have a witness to how it looked before they took it. I totally wouldn't put it above them for taking their little temper tantrum out on my car. Unfortunately for them, my insurance has been made aware and will be advised to take appropriate action should any additional damages be incurred. I hope the extra pittance for storage and the second tow was worth it. read more

Avoid at all costs. My vehicle broke down on the side of the highway and Derek's confirmed that they were coming to tow the vehicle. They never came and cancelled the request without letting me know. I sat on the side of the highway for 4 hours waiting for a truck that never came. read more

If you need a tow...DO NOT CALL THESE PEOPLE! Not unless you have 4 hours to spare. Long story short, called AAA and they dispatched Dereks. Many phone calls later, they said our driver got a flat tire or our insurance company canceled the call. WRONG! Called Vinnys towing, dispatcher said they could have someone on site in 35 minutes. 15 minutes later, Vinnys showed up. Read many reviews on Dereks and they all stand true. Hell, good luck getting someone to answer the phone with them. Go with your gut people and call Vinnys right out the gate. read more

Driving on Interstate 70 West between New Market and the DMV when I saw one of DEREK's tow trucks on the side of the road. I started slowing down, while keeping an eye on the operator. The operator then threw something at my vehicle as I passed. I do not think I will ever use Dereks towing service if this is the type of attitude their operators have. I understand that they have a treacherous job, but you do not throw things at passing vehicles. Time was between 9:30am and 10am on Sunday February 14th. read more

I had them coming to jump my car and they decided they weren't coming after two hours of waiting. We called and asked where they were and they said "they weren't coming" and hung up abruptly. We called back multiple times and he just ignored the calls. DO NOT USE THEM!!!!!! read more

Last year I had my Jeep towed. They send a guy out that was unsure how to tow the Jeep. At the dealership he drop the Jeep off in the middle of the lot and left. The dealership called me and asked why I just left the jeep blocking other cars. I told them I had it towed. Derek did not leave the key and the dealership and myself had to call to get the driver back out to the dealership to get them the key. Drive acted hung over and come to find out they he dropped my Jeep off the flatbed and broke the front sensor in the front bumper. read more

Not good people to do business with at all very unprofessional!! Thought I could trust this guy to get the job done and I was wrong!!!

Accidentally locked my dog in the car and Derek's towing was here in nine minutes in rush-hour traffic! He also gave me a bottle water for my dog once he got him out of the car. That is great customer service!!! read more

Derek's Towing & Recovery - Towing Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

used them twice through warranty took over 8 hours on the first second tow after 6 hours they canceled had to get another company

I can not begin to tell you how disappointed I am in this company. I can sum it up in two words, broken promises. Don't believe a word that comes out of their mouth. Save yourself the phone call and time wasted on waiting for them to show up. Choose another company. read more

Derek literally saved my life! I drove off the road on a extremely cold, rainy and foggy night which I couldn't see anything in front of me! He was able to find my location very fast and was able to pull my car out of the ditch without damaging my automobile. I am truly thankful for his wonderful work and I truly appreciate his help! read more

Derek left me high and dry no shoes no wallet no car no shirt no car left me to pay the full asking value on my car just to get it back f*** you Derek read more

I would give them negative stars if I could. They were called to tow my vehicle and never showed up. They never called or answered when I tried to reavh them. Even the company who was sending them tried to reach them and no answer. Another towing co was called and they arrived before they said they would be. read more

Today March 24, 2021, I had to contact this company to get a paid in full receipt from them concerning the towing on my car on March 6, 2021, my first call a female answered and I spoke with her regarding what I needed, she sent me a copy of an unpaid receipt to send to American Auto Shield, note, it was not a paid in full receipt, as well looking over the receipt this company typed in the incorrect mileage on my car, when I called back to get this issue resolved someone that said he was the owner of this company was very rude as I attempted to explain to him concerning the mileage issue and the receipt issue, as a form of fraudulent information they placed on the receipt and why didn't they look to get the correct information he informed me that the worker was probably tired and just but in the 111,1111 as the mileage, and then tried to say maybe the battery was dead and he could not get the correct mileage, No No No, the battery is perfectly fine, so now this gut is trying to outright lie to me concerning this, by this time he has gotten very angry at me questioning him and wanting some explanations to why these things were done incorrectly, at that moment this guy starts to shout out Trump 2024 over and over again and telling me I must live a bad life, and Trump will be back in 2024, By this time we are at it cussing each other out lol, Did this Racist fool thing I would let him get that mess off on me oh nooooooooooo, and then he tried to contact American Auto Shield on me telling them lies lies lies, And still this company have not sent the paid in full receipts to them Wow, Smh, I will be contacting to News on this company and reporting them to the BBB.......I will NEVER NEVER NEVER use this unprofessional low down company again.........Stay AWAY FROM THIS RACIST COMPANY AND THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR THEM....... read more

Do Not Use Dereck's Towing and Auto Repair in Frederick!! I waited 2 hours for the tow truck driver to be there for less than 5 minutes!!! I got a flat tire and used my insurance for roadside assistance. Waited ~2hours for a tow truck. When the tow got here, I hopped out the car happy and smiling and said "finally"...still smiling btw. I then started telling him that I wasn't sure if I had a spare tire or not, then we started walking towards the back of my car. He stops before he even really reaches my car and said "wait, did you just say "finally"" and I said yes with a smile. He then turns around and said he was leaving if I was going to be rude. What?! He never introduced himself, nor apologized for being nearly 2 hours late. I told him it was rude of him to show up 2 hours late and not apologize or be sympathetic. There was no discussion. He was there for less than 5 minutes total. I am still waiting for a tow from another company. NEVER using Dereck's Towing and Auto Repair Again!!! read more

My subaru roadside assistance called them. 90 min later. Still no show. Called them back 8 times no answer. Subaru called them again and finally someone answered. and Derek claimed he did come ( he actually never came) he refused to go out again since he is drinking beer and do not want to go out. This is 24/7 service and they should honor that service. Not reliable towing company. Subaru agreed and called another company to come out and helped us. read more

The worst service I can imagine. Just terrible service and terrible attitudes. I had my car towed to Derek's Towing after the driver said he could fix my damaged tail pipe. I agreed, but the quality of his work was awful. The welder later admitted he had little experience, explaining why the welds were so terrible. Worse, Derek's team left my driver's side window open over the weekend, allowing a heavy rainstorm to drench the interior. When I protested, no one listened. When I finally had another garage take my car to their shop, Derek (real name: Alex) said he would charge me for storing my car over the weekend. I finally had to get VISA involved. It took dozens of hours to resolve the matter and get a refund. Avoid Derek's Towing at all costs. read more

My husband had a flat tire, fortunately at our home at Lake Linganore, MD. Called USAA and they sent out Derek's Towing to the rescue. They called to keep him informed of arrival of technician. Robert arrived and was so kind and helpful. Instead of towing the car he changed the tire and put the spare tire on so we could drive to our service shop. Can't thank you enough Robert thinking out of the box and for your care and concern. Highly recommend Derek's Towing!! read more