They are shysters. The man at their published number wanted to charge me $10 for a replacement receipt and rudely said that by talking to me I was using up their time. I called up the traffic dept and they told me that I do not need to pay for the receipt. So I called him back and then he quickly gave me a different location/number where they kept records. I called up this number and a very courteous woman took down my information to retrieve the record which apparently was stuffed in a box in the attic. She said that they tolled hundreds of cars a day. My car was tolled when they changed street cleaning from Tues to Friday and they posted signs after you were already parked there. I am disputing the ticket and by doing that, I found out that I could dispute the tow as well. read more

If you have a choice, do NOT use this company. They are not used to dealing with real customers...they are used to dealing with people who's car was towed because they were illegally parked, and who don't have a choice about dealing with them. The customer service people are so used to giving the response "It's not our fault, it's the law" they give it without really listening to your actual question. My car was towed by them after an accident, at my request. The people I dealt with were VERY rude They insisted that they couldn't let my car out without permission from the cops. When I asked if insurance companies usually go to the trouble of getting permission, they just got confused and abusive. The person I was talking to was getting whispered instructions from someone else, and getting an answer was like puling teeth. They must get other car accident cases, this can't be an unfamiliar situation for a towing company. After a car accident I was shaken up and didn't want to comparison shop at 1:00am in bad weather...but I should have. ALWAYS inquire about their fee structure. They also charge an additional $90.00 if a car is towed off their lot by another company. The driver was nice, but the people at the office were arrogant and rude. read more

I don't want to give these people any stars. Purchased a car on Gov.Deals with these people as the sellers. Waited one month for a title after multiple contacts. Got the title and it's the wrong title! I'm beginning to think either they never had the title and falsely advertised on Gov.deals or they are trying to stall me because they never had the title in the first place. Sure hope they get me my title by the end of this week or legal action may ensue. read more

They are really good at towing your car silently. I mean, amazing. They are also really good at taking your sunglasses out of your car and keeping them forever. I keep forgetting the word for that. Oh yeah stealing. They stole my glasses. Took em'. They are skilled at ignoring your 6 phone calls that you make over the span of 2 weeks to get the glasses back. Really gifted at telling you that some fictitious person named Steve Jones will call back. Give my brown Oakley breadbox sunglasses back that someone is wearing, and I'll take this review down. Or pay me the $70 that they cost. I love you. read more

I don't think i've ever been treated more poorly by another company than the way I was treated here. My car was towed from the scene of a bad accident. The guy who towed the car gave me a card that had the wrong address on it. I went to the wrong address only to find a small cold office with all the lights off and doors locked. Called the number on the card was told "oh no we haven't been at that office in years." Then why did I get a card with that address on it? Called a few weeks later to see when was a good time to come take my plates off the car. Was put on hold twice, and hung up on both times. I called back again and explained that I was hung up on and gave them options for two times that I could be there to see which worked for them. The person behind the phone interrupted me multiple times before I could even finish my sentence. I arrive the next day to take the plates off the car, with my license in hand am asked for a license plate number, something I did not have memorized because unfortunately this accident was a hit and run on my brand new car that had brand new plates. However, I had more than enough information to give him so he could locate my car without knowing the plate number. The worker behind the counter proceeded to roll his eyes at me and sigh loudly. I would have given this place 0 stars if it weren't for the amazing tow truck driver who brought me from the tow office to the lot to see my car for the first time after the accident. He had been there for a long time and spent the entire time joking with me and made sure I had everything I needed. I wish I knew his name because out of the 5 or 6 people I dealt with here, he was the only one who treated me with respect and wasn't immediately rude to me. read more

Facts of life from a frequent towed: They only take cash. Not because they want to inconvenience you, but if they let you use a credit card or a personal check, you might dispute it with your bank afterwards. There is a Bank of America ATM in the Twin City plaza, next to the Dunkin Donuts (McDonald's-Gold Gym's-Shaw's plaza). Another BoA ATM across from the T station and a Citizen's 2 blocks down, both on Cambridge st. Have $150 with you minimum. If you are walking, take the T/bus to Lechmere station and walk towards the McDonalds. Go up the bridge and you will see the lot on your left, on the bottom of the bridge. If you are driving, when you pass the Target plaza towards Lechmere, do not go over the bridge. As soon as you pass on the left side of the glass replacement store, you will see a tiny side road on your right hand side. That's the entrance to the lot. Yes, they are behind a glass divider because every one takes their anger on them. This is not a parking garage. Cars are constantly brought in and taken out so they do not have time to track down where your car is located. Yes, they might be rude sometimes because you are the millionth person that day who has been towed and is in a hurry and pleads for a discount. If you are towed, go there immediately and do not wait for the morning or next day if you do not want to amass daily storage fees in addition to the ticket and the tow charges. They have contracts with various municipalities and private parking lots so if they get a call, they get priority than you. They are always very busy, day or night. If you leave your car in a parking like the Twin City Plaza and then leave instead of visiting a store there, watch out. There are spotters who monitor for people like you and you will be towed within 10 minutes. If it is a small lot they have a contract for, they drive around once every hour to check whether all cars have resident sticker. If there is impeding snow, especially if the governor sends all employees home, the city has to declare snow emergency and they will do as they get state transportation funding. For those towed from Cambridge during street cleaning, how can you have missed the barking voice from the loudspeaker that starts at 7 AM for the 8 AM street cleaning? Every 2 minutes for an hour and again when the sweeper approaches your block, "Street cleaning, no parking on the odd/even side of the street. You will be tagged and towed." They also send texts and automated recorded calls. Yes, you might have missed the latter as Big brother Cambridge calls multiple times daily with an idiotic automated call for minute things. But the loud speaker? As loud as Charlie's ice cream truck music. No they do not start ticketing and towing until at least 5-10 minutes past the posted time, which can be different from block to block, but it is always on the sign near where you parked. Be thankful. At the Boston side, when the sign says 7AM, it means that at 7:00:01 AM, you have already been tagged and towed. Whether it is raining, it does not matter. It has nothing to do with cleaning and polishing the streets but with removing the trash so you will not deluge the city with calls after seeing giant rats. That's why we do not have declaration of war on rats like they have in Somerville and Boston, just the occasional mini rats around Area 4 (saw 2 last week walking from Central to Kendall, on trash day eve.) and the raccoons. read more

This is a service that deserves the impossible 0 star designation. From its rude employees to its outrageous fees, I continue to be amazed by the fact that they seem to have the highest tow prices in Boston. Amazing me further is the fact that the city of Boston allows its private meter maid service to send cars to this lot for street cleaning violations. There are plenty of worthy tow lots within city limits, Boston -- why waste the tax dollars here? Listen, I'm pretty awesome at getting my car towed. Despite its somewhat shady location, the city lot in Southie is totally user-friendly. I've gone to tow lots in Hartford, Worcester, Taunton, and once in Philly. I'm an expert. I know good towing. Good towing is a friend of mine. Pat's, you are no good towing. read more

Maria V. You have every right to tow someone who parks in your parking spot or who parks in any spot they shouldn't be park in. No one can really argue with that especially if it is clearly marked that there is no parking. However, Pat's Towing is a dirty operation. If you really need to tow someone how about giving business to a company that is above board? read more

It's definitely a rite of passage to have a crappy experience with Pat's Tow when you move to Cambridge/Somerville. Although I don't at all doubt some of the lousy things people have to say I have a story from a different perspective. I was in a vespa accident a few days ago and had to be scraped up by an ambulance while I was going SOMEONE MOVE MY BIKE OUT OF THE ROAD HOLY FRAKKING OUCH WHERES MY KEYS O NOES. A police officer met me at the ER and left me a Pat's towing receipt so I knew where my ride was. I called Pat's when I got out of the hospital to figure out what was up and the guy was really nice to me once he ascertained that I didn't have an attitude problem. I reclaimed my ride for $110 (plus $20 per day I'd left it there). For all the times you don't want Pat's around, when you actually need them to know where your vehicle is if something like this has happened, you can appreciate them. read more

I bought a new car in August and the dealership told me they would take care of the registration. All the dealership did was transfer my plates and my registration expired 3 weeks later and I never bothered to renew because I thought they had done it. I take full responsibility for this, even though, I believe, the dealership should have made this part more clear to me. However, prior to realizing that my car's registration had expired I was telling the police that I had the registration in the glove compartment. The police told the towing company to let me into my car to find the registration (which they apparently don't have to do.) So, I go to Pat's who have been notified by the police and they tell me that I can go into my car, but I can only get my registration and nothing else. I asked then "Can I get my medication out of the car?" They told me no only the registration. Frustrated, I ask where my car is and they tell me it's "in the lot". No shit, huh? So I wander around until I find it. When I enter my car, the small back pillow that is always on my driver seat had been moved the the passenger seat indicating that someone had been in the car. I'm not sure if a towing company has a right to enter your car when they impound it or not, but Id prefer it if you stayed out of my vehicle. Anyway, I start frantically looking for the registration. This started to take a few minutes and one of the half-wit tow guys came out of the towing office, got into a tow truck and drove 100 yards across the parking lot to my car. He gets out of the truck and I asked him what he wanted. He said they "wanted to know what was taking so long." I told him I couldn't find the registration, and he sat there and watched me the rest of the time I was looking. I found my (expired) registration, finally, and I left the lot. I went back to the apartment of the friend I had been visiting and renewed my registration online in about three minutes. The police re-ran my plates and gave me a ticket to get the car out of impound. And Pat's made $130 off of my little administrative error. read more

I just had a really horrible experience at Pat's towing. After having my car stolen and recovered by the Somerville Police, the car was found by the police and towed to them by Pat's. After they carried out their forensic investigation, they towed it back to Pat's and they then proceeded to charge me for their tow to the police (even though the police had told me I would not have to pay). I tried to clear this before hand and had nothing but rude sexist responses on the phone from various male employees at Pat's. When I got there, the dispatcher "PJ" demanded that I apologize to his rude co-worker. I finally had to call the police to come and assist me in clearing my car, and still had to pay $158. Why do these people get a city contract to abuse their residents and taxpayers in this way??? read more

REALLY ?! like 15 MINUTES of Erica picking up the phone and saying "Thanks for calling Pat's, this is Erica, how can I help you ?" When I say, "my name is Krystal, and I'm calling to........" She says "please hold" After hearing that the 2nd time, I should have hung up and just called somewhere else. All I needed was a car picked up at one place and dropped off at another. It litterally took 15 minutes and 3 seconds to be exact, and within the 4 times she picked up and gave her speech about where I was calling and who was answering, and if I minded holding, she could have just got the information and had the tow truck on its merry little way. This wasnt the only bad experience, I had to go to Pat's to pick up a car after it was towed during the snow emergency, which yes I know, my fault, I'm not complaining about the actual towing, it was when I went to pick up the car. After paying the bill, I was told "there's not row number, just use your remote to make the horn beep" as I was directed out of their little office and into a huuuuge yard !!! I work in a similar field and I can't imagine doing this to my customers. Time to get a new tow company whos reliable and timely !! Its 2 hours later and I still haven't seen or heard from a tow truck driver ! read more

Absolutely outraged! My car was towed from the front of my apartment "in error". I got several reasons as to why it was towed and none sufficed. My children were late to school, missed several hours of non paid hours of work and was disrespected. The manager of this establishment was rude and confrontational. Squared up and came so close to my face I could smell his breath. I am a woman! i did not back down and recorded all of it! No apologies just excuses. Made several threats that he will make sure he would patrol my street every night. his intents to intimidate only infuriated me! TRY me not. read more

I have been parking my car in the same lot for over 3 years. I have a permit to park my car in that lot. Pat's towing illegally towed my car and now wants over $400 in cash. I believe this is extortion. read more

If I could give negative stars, I would. These guys are well-known in Somerville to be overpriced and total jerks. They are also NOT Better Business Bureau Accredited. Despite that, if you get pulled over for an expired registration, the cops make you get towed by them. I was told it would be a $90 minimum despite it being 2 blocks. I told the tow guy I'd walk since it would be faster than going with him with the one-ways (and duh, getting into a cramped dark vehicle with a strange man). We talked about the fee and he watched me take the money out of an ATM. 30 minutes later when my car hadn't shown up, I called the police because I wasn't at the time sure who the tow company was. They said the tow company had said it wasn't delivered because I couldn't pay; see the part where he watched me get the money. 3 phone calls, 1 being put on hold, 1 being hung up on mid-sentence, 1 asking to speak to a manager (and being told they don't have managers), and 1 starting the call with "You're holding my car hostage and I want it back immediately" later, and they sent the guy back with my car (very "graciously" for *only* the original $90 fee). Oh yeah, the woman on the phone also said (when I complained about being put on hold and hung up on) "We're sorry, we're very busy with police calls tonight", confirming that the cops went "hey, it's the beginning of the month, let's go generate some revenue off people whose registrations and inspections are now expired!" When the tow guy got here, he got out of the truck and immediately started yelling at me - "I was parked right there (pointing several houses down from mine) for 10 minutes!". Me "I was in my house the whole time, you didn't pull up to the driveway or so much as knock on the door". Him "I'm not going to get out and knock on the door!" in a tone implying I asked him to go find me a unicorn. Me "Whatever, just put my car in my driveway", and, because it's freezing out and I didn't have my phone on me (and wanted to in case this escalated further and I needed to call Pat's or the cops), I went inside. Since he continued to just stand there in the middle of the street, I came back out with my phone and he said "I need the money first". You couldn't have SAID that instead of standing there like an idiot (still not bothering to knock or ring the bell)? So I said ok, do you have change (having of course had to go to an ATM to get the money, because who carries $90 on them, it was all 20's). "No, we don't carry change". WTF?!?! So I came in and scrounged for $10 in a 5 and 1's because I'll be damned if they get one penny extra. Then I asked "how do you plan to get it into the driveway from here?" since he again parked down the street from my house. "Oh, we can drive it down the street, you just can't", which is a total lie. His driving it down the street was just as illegal, especially since it meant backing it down a one-way. Then despite my HUGE, EMPTY driveway, he parked it on the mulch under the tree, and almost hit the tree. I wish he had so I could sue them. I've also filed a complaint with the BBB, where I discovered they are not accredited, and will be filing a formal complaint with the city of Somerville, since it's an absolute racket that if you get pulled over and have to get towed, your only option is to use this crappy, overpriced, scammy, non-accredited company. read more

my car got towed, totally my fault, but still a bummer. while walking to pat's to get it, i stepped in dog shit and almost fell, and a truck almost hit me while i was walking on the sidewalk. it also drove through a giant puddle, thus covering me with nasty greasy somerville street water. this was all REALLY horrible, but not even close to as horrible as pat's towing. any other tow place i've dealt with (phil's, b&b) are not jerks at all. first time pat's towed me i went to pick up my car and the guy was smoking a cigarette in the booth and told me some sort of bogus price (cash only mind you) of like $135.50 and said i had to pay cash and that he didn't give back change. i walked all the way to target in the rain to change a 20 because there was no way this ass was getting more than he was asking for. second time they acted really sketchy when i questioned the price and wouldn't give me a straight answer which made me mad. i called the city of somerville about them and every single person i talked to on the phone made some sort of comment agreeing with me about how awful pat's is. ugh. read more

I had my car towed by them after an accident. They guy that picked it up promptly drove it into a concrete pillar on the side of the road. It needed a new bumper from the accident anyways so I didn't care too much. It took a few days to get all the paperwork and have my insurance assess the damages. When I went to recover my car and they had left the driver side window open a few inches and it was pouring outside. Again, there was no real damage to the car but its poor practice on their part. They had left it unlocked with the key I provided them on the driver seat. When I got in I noticed that my center console had been opened and rifled through. I noticed that someone had stolen my phone charger, my auxillary cable, and the driver seats all-weather floor mat that I had purchased. I filed a claim for damages and 2 weeks later I have not heard anything back. I am not prejudiced against them since they towed my car at my request, but my experience was extremely negative. read more

I hated this place! i was involved in an accident last may when my car was totaled.read ended and pushed into another vehicle. as if this wasnt bad enough, the tow yard was giving me such a hassle. in ri,if i wanted to get anything from my car i didnt need permission to do so.my vehicle and my belongings are my property noone else's.so after tracking down where my car was,(pats) i called them to ask if it would be ok for me to come and get my personal belongings. sure enough a guy named mike says to me sure not a problem.just come down! so i head down there and the guys actually tried to deny me getting anything from my car!when i told them well i talked to mike and he said not a problem they begrudgingly let me get my things. of course they also demanded that when i get them i bring them back to the office to be marked down.what??!!?? these are MY belongings not theirs! so after loading up my garbage bags,i had my ex sneak a bag or two back into his truck to avoid having to detail everything.i honestly felt it was none of their business as to what my items were in my car.so then i tell them i wil be back for my cd player,they told me i had to leave that in there.(it was after market 12 disc changer!) i had to pick it up finally at the junk yard later,but i felt this business not only put me into a huge inconvenience,they also were rude,disrespectful and condescending. read more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER !!!!!! with exception of the younger girl working the reception desk.. my car was towed because the pee brain tow truck driver doesnt know how to write a date on a form id be suprise if he made it pass the 6th grade. . then charge me a towing and storage fee then despite their screw up said it was not them after telling me it was them then said it was somerville cops who ordered the car towed.. the car was just bought at johns auto and had plates which they fell behind on and did not have time to register that day .. next day 1st thing in the morning car was registered by johns auto then when i went to pick it up every single person in that office argued and yelled with me that they never take the keys with the car even when i told them two other people saw the pee brain tow truck driver take the keys they said "nope we have nothing to do with the keys " and would not even check cause they were 110% sure the keys were not there an hour later after more arguing miraculously they had the keys!!!! just dont get it U GUYS WORK IN A TOWING YARD HOW CAN YOU MESS UP SO MUCH not only that at least have the descnecy to check before hollaring like a pack of wolves that it was not there each time me and my wife ended up spending over 40 in cab rides that were not necessary.. and FROGET MANAGEMENT ESPECIALLY THE BLONDE WITH THE OVERDONE MAKE UP .. and again only regret is that the keyboard doesnt have a key or symbol to flip them the middle finger read more

Tonight marks officially my worst night in Boston. I came back to my classmate's apartment after the baseball game only to find out that my car was towed outside her place, it was almost 11 pm and she dropped me off at Pat's and left. I went into the office totally willing to just pay and go home. They run my drivers license and said my name is not the owner of the car so I cannot take it. The car belongs to my friend but I am on his insurance and we live in the same house, my drivers license address matches wherever the plate is registered. They wouldn't release my car unless my friend (the car owner) can email or fax them with written permission and his license copy, but he's in China on a business trip. What's worst, my iPhone has dead and the charger was in the car and the bitch manager said I can't even go near the car to just get my stuff. I'm a young girl with no phone, no car, no key to go home ( the garage romote was also in the car and I don't carry keys), I live 15 miles from Somerville, and it was 11 pm with literally no one in wherever that lot was located. She's putting my life in danger by making me a homeless, if anything happened to me when I walk out of that office, is she gonna be responsible for that! All I wish is something like this should happen to herself or her daughter, she will then understand what exactly she did! If I can't even go near the car that I was give permission to drive? Who gave them the right to tow it away? read more

my daughter was in an accident and the police had pats towing company on mcgrath hwy tow it when she asked how much it would be she was advised by the tow truck driver it would be 113 for the tow and next day storage would be and additional 20 dollars for a total of 133 when she went to retrieve the car they tried to charge her 283 which would be 150 more than the driver told her when she asked why so much she was told that they had to use a wench funny thing was she was there when they towed it and he never used a wench and the woman there said im not going to argue with you cash only and then the 2nd women said ya cash only so 3 women sitting there price goes up by a 150 dollars and they repeat to cash only hmmmmm i wonder why thank god i have insurance and had the insurance company deal with them horrible horrible customer service maybe they should take classes in how to deal with the public hope i never ever have to deal with them in anyway read more