I give it one star for enforcement issues. Other than that, the process went smooth and impound fees are cheaper than other impound lots. I was there earlier today with a friend to pick up his car and he had a suspended license due to a recent situation. As I said, I was there with him because I was a licensed driver. The problem that I have is that they did not even check whether my license was good (which it is) or even verify his license although my buddie's was suspended and he did not have it on him. Other than that the guys that helped us was very friendly and polite especially since they brought the car to us and since I guess it had a dead battery they did jump start it for us. Other than licensing verification which I feel needs to be enforced, good experience over all. read more

They make up procedure as they go. Inept and just awful. I don't want a tip, this is a review. read more

Van Lingen Towing - Waiting in freezing cold for this inept mothafucka right here to get this vehicle. Paid extra, got less - Towing Near Me - Torrance, California

Had the pleasure of dealing with these guys on a recent work related impound issue on a commercial vehicle. The release was signed for by CHP but these guys gave us and the trucking company the run around. First they said they needed the CHP release. As mentioned it was provided. Then they said the guy on the CDL (my colleague) that was listed with the release needed to be present. Bullshit as confirmed with CHP. Then they asked for a hold harmless letter which we provided. After which they promptly backtracked and said that wasn't good enough and cited some phony contract they supposedly had with the CHP. Again, bullshit as confirmed with the CHP. We assumed these stall tactics were to get an extra couple days of storage fees tacked on the bill. After we contacted the CHP about these issues, the officer handling the case actually called the tow yard to see what their problem was. They lied and said that we never attempted any pickup on this vehicle. The officer told them to release the vehicle to the trucking company and said the CHP will be filing a formal complaint with the tow yard. And their employees had the nerve to complain about our lack of professionalism. Hard to match wits with professional ass holes, especially ones with so much experience. read more

I was very disappointed with the service at Van Lingen. I got in a fender bender on a friday morning and my car was towed to their tow yard. I had advised to the police officer assisting us that I had wanted to call AAA and go through my own towing process, but he called this tow service for me anyway. When the tow truck driver arrived he was very unhelpful and uninformative. I asked him which location they were towing my car and how to contact the office to release my car and he just handed me a card and said "call the girls" and walked away. I called and Monica was supposed to be helping me work with my insurance to release my car. Long story short- she required me to go through the DMV and go through all these pointless obstacles to release my car, while all this time not responding to e-mails with questions and concerns. I ended up calling back and talking to with Stephanie, who helped me release my car in a quick and easy process (turns out I had been misinformed previously and did not need to contact the DMV or take any further steps for car release). She was very helpful and polite. I would not recommend this company but if your car gets stuck in their tow yard as mine did, I suggest you request Stephanie when contacting the office. read more

Everyone we talked to was very rude and unhelpful. My boyfriend and I had our car towed and the driver was driving unsafely. He was driving through stop signs and such. After being rear ended his driving freaked me out and gave me more anxiety. read more

This place deserves -5 stars. One of the worst places of customer service you can ever meet. The two "ladies" behind just love to talk and chat rather than work. Was lied to by the tow truck driver, after my parked van was sideswiped by a driver. The tow truck driver said all insurance companies use the same tow yard. Let me just tow you there. Once there, they won't release my van to my insurance company without documentation. They don't want to help you. All they want is to keep your vehicle and charge you the per day storage. Had to jump through hoops to get anywhere. Right now I am sitting in the lobby waiting for over 1 hour just to pick up some personal items from the van. While the two worthless people sit in the office chatting and laughing about their day. read more

Car down. Needed assistance. Who you gonna call? Van Lingen. I was involved in a serious accident not too long ago and it occurred in an area that I had not visited in some time. I didn't have much time to react because the cops swarmed the scene and I was trying to grab insurance information from the driver who hit me. Van Lingen showed up within minutes of the accident and they approached me concerned about my well-being rather than what had to happen to the car. The driver could see the stress on my face and was very comforting. He explained what had to be done and gave me several options as to how to proceed with the towing of my car. He told me exactly where he would be taking it and when I could come and see the car. He even told me the insurance would be taking care of everything and that I should relax and worry more about making sure I am okay and uninjured. CONS: - none PROS: - service - drivers If you ever require vehicle assistance I strongly recommend calling this company to help you out in your time of need. read more

This is the absolute worst towing company of all time. I encourage the Torrance Police Department to stop working with them as many others have run into issues gaining access to their own property. My friend was unexpectedly t-boned and due to out of state expired registration, they won't let her get her underwear. HER DAMN CLOTHES! They made us jump through multiple hoops and we were compliant the entire time, and had the very companies they told us to go to, call them to tell them to let her get her belongings again HER PROPERTY, and they said no. I hope this company goes under and wish all their current employees work elsewhere. This company is trash and don't care about people. I wish I could give them a 0 star review but I guess one star will have to do. read more

I was involved in a big accident this morning on the 405 and their heavy duty driver came out to tow my ford f650 off the freeway he was super professional and I would like to recommend anyone that needs roadside assistance to call them or give them a chance read more

So I understand most people don't want to go And pay for the car to be released after it has been towed by the police. However, I knew my mistake and I told myself it won't happen again. Being a student I tried to use Apple Pay to get at least two or 3% cashback on the payment that I made. There was a clear sign on the window that said we ACCEPT Apple Pay With an Apple Pay symbol on it. But the fromt desk said no with an attitude. So i politely asked " Can I at least take that sticker off so that other people aren't miss guided by miss leading information" SHE SAID "NO" read more

Very unprofessional, this older guy as soon as I walked in he kept repeating "we're closed, we're closed" & the lady in front had a bad attitude. If you don't want to work then don't work read more

I recently purchase new equipment for my business and needed it picked up in Gardena and delivered to Torrance. Van Lingen delivered the crate, removed it from their truck, uncrated it, and pushed it into my building. The driver was fantastic and service was exceptional! read more

This place wasn't that bad. People probably leave bad reviews cause they're in the heat of the moment. It is messed up that they work with the police department and have to pay them 150 when they have nothing to do with it tho lol. read more

My friend and I just came here to release the car. It was very easy and simple, the lady at the front desk was supporting and helpful( she has red hair). Very good experience, they took my friend to her car so she could get her stuff without any hesitation. The whole process of releasing the car took less than 10 minutes. Thank you so much for making this go easy and smooth! read more

Van Lingen Towing - Towing Near Me - Torrance, California

Leaving town and needed my cars towed to the shop. A driver was there to greet me within 30 minutes of my call. He was professional and courteous, and took extra care when loading my 67 which made me extremely happy. read more

Van Lingen Towing - Thank you Van Lingen Towing for getting my cars to the shop safely... - Towing Near Me - Torrance, California

These guys are the best. Needed a heavy tow, rotator crane, after an accident that left my car at bottom of ditch surrounded by large trees,etc. called them around 7 pm and by 8:30 pm they were on site evaluating the situation and brought in the equipment. After about 3 hours, extraction complete with no additional damage. Very professional and prompt service. They even walked me through some insurance questions, too. read more

Van Lingen Towing - Towing Near Me - Torrance, California

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Poor service, when you come to pick up your car they have no urgency. You can be the only person inside a9md they still have you waiting for an hour. read more

Terrible service. Was finally able to get someone after hours... the dispatcher took forever filling paperwork and then all of a sudden had to take an emergency call. So I'm left outside waiting for another 30minutes (this is after an initial 30minute wait) until a new dispatcher arrives and does the process all over again. Note to everyone.. DO NOT GET TOWED!! haha read more

Had the "luxury" of getting my car towed here after an accident. Every bad image you can muster about grimy, sleezy tow truck companies can be found here. They had to scrape the bottom of the barrel pretty hard to find employees this bad - it's almost a compliment. Beware the "only 1 person can clean out a car" policy, especially if you have a broken hand. Two trips was apparently 2 too many for their guy who was tired of watching me unload Christmas presents from my car. Had to bed and plead with him in Spanish to make sure I got all of my belongings (you just know they're gone the second you walk off the lot). If presented with the option of getting a tow from these guys or pulling my car home with my teeth - rest assured that I (and you) can always get dentures. read more

Got the job done, could work on customer service and catering more towards their clients. The facility itself wasn't bad, rather simple and dated but well maintained. read more

Not sure how this place is still open... Try to avoid any parking lots that show their signs. BBB should definitely look into this business and company practices. Will be filling some reports as a yelp review does not help me in any way. read more

I would not even give the van lingen towing company one check o Lomita Blvd! The person running the office in the afternoon on March 27 was certainly rude to say the least. My son tool me in after I got out of the hospital from my car accident to provide them with my registration, my insurance card and my drivers license. I wanted to select things left in my car to bring home and since I could not walk well and my breathing was difficult, i wanted my son to help me. They would not let him go with me. I had to do it myself with an employee watching me who would not help me. I had to walk back to the office and ask my son to finish up. The non-caring employee could care less Do not go there if you can avoid it read more

Thieves! Can you give 0 stars? I had the misfortune of having an accident and Van Lingen Towing was called to tow my vehicle. As I went through my vehicle I noticed that a $10 roll of quarters, $10 cash, change from my coin purse (all of this was inside the arm rest), the cable to my bike rack AND my license plate tag were all missing! I tried to call and complain to the manager, but not surprisingly, I never got a call back. Hope you never have to have your car towed by them. read more

Brunette lady that works front desk is rude. She doesn't answer any of your questions and isn't helpful at all. I understand you deal with angry customers all day but you shouldn't take your anger out on everyone that walks through the door! read more

Poor and rude customer service and very uneducated and unintelligent staff members. When asked for a break down of the fees and an explanation, the front staff lady stated she will print them out. When i asked her all I needed was an explanation she turned around and asked the lady sitting on desk what the fees are. Her response is "nobody ever asked me that before". She said that twice. Very lazy and rude staff. It was like I was being inconvenient to them by asking questions. I had no to low expectations going in and they proved me right. read more

The two ladies on duty pay no attention to me even though I was standing there for more than 10 mints.

My parents donated a car to charity in early 2020. At some point, 8 months later in October 2020, Van Lingen towing was involved in a tow of the car and began trying to collect $500 for the service. Despite receiving multiple documents showing that the car was donated to charity, that a proper letter was sent to the CA DMV and that my father is literally dead (he passed 6 months prior to the tow in April 2020), Van Lingen and their debt collection company called Lien Enforcement, Inc. is continuing to collect this improper debt. I've called their accounting department several times in the past months to attempt to resolve this amicably. I've been told multiple times that the issue is resolved by a person named Danielle but we (both my mother and I) receive debt collection calls from new numbers trying to collect the same debt. Today, I connected the debt collector phone call directly with Danielle in the Accounting department, who claims that a letter was sent on January 29th, 2021 to A Keith Baker at Lien Enforcement, Inc. The debt collector woman at that point hung up and Danielle assured me that Van Lingen is not trying to collect the money. I called the debt collector back to confirm that they have received a release from Van Lingen. They assured me that as of today, nothing has been received (Per Randy Richard) But we continue to receive calls. My mother continues to be harrassed by their debt collectors despite her (bless her heart) writing them letter after letter including documentation and details. In addition to multiple written documents sent to them, Van Lingen has now completed 3 phone conversations with me personally claiming that the debt collections should stop. But they are not. Any company with this type of power, to tow cars, to place liens and debts on people, should have a higher level of responsibility. They are an official police towing garage. They claim to be ethical and to work for the public good. But they have proven to me over the course of many months to be unethical, unwilling to resolve simple situations and to use language and tone that assumes some type of guilt despite all evidence to the contrary. In addition to leaving this Yelp review, I intend to follow up with the agencies that have made the mistake of contracting with Van Lingen towing. The public deserves better. read more

Why do they need a rating....THE MOST WORST EXPERIENCE with the front desk ladies. As long as we entered she shouted at us saying that only one person needs to come inside. We asked why so?....then we were told why did you not read outside at a corner there was a paper that said so. When I came out i found a small fonted notice that a like a paragraph and was supposed to be read by the people who are coming in otherwise you were being shouted. Are we criminals for you to shout at us?...why? we missed to read...whats the big deal? They took my paper in from the small window and were not giving me back when I told them that I need it for making claim. I was then favored to take a picture of the paper that police gave me. Any word of dialogue was extremely difficult with them. The one standing leady was bursting and making fun of me. Created a quick high stress for me. We were slapped $200 and when asked why so much then they said the charges are same if you are involved in an accident or as simple as your vehicle is impounded. The treatment is insulting and not fair. On one hand people are dieing and on other hands these people are making money. Some legitimized chareges are okay but whats this?...guys I will pray for others to not get trapped like me. read more

People who call on Van Lingen are already distressed, so I suppose that explains some of the negative reviews. But I have nothing but compliments for this company. When our pick up truck camper unexpectedly died as we were leaving for a trip, AAA sent another company who could not help us. Van Lingen was the one who eventually came to our rescue. Carissa, whom I spoke with on the phone, was understanding, helpful, and efficient. She assured us that the problem would be solved despite the late hour (our truck was blocking an alley, so we could not wait until Monday as another towing company had suggested). She also promised that we would not be left hanging, although help was not available immediately, because we needed a heavy-duty tow truck and none were free at that time. Carissa called back just as she said she would to keep us posted about when the drivers would arrive for both the first and the second towing attempt. The first driver was very reassuring. He introduced himself by saying, "Hi, I'm Chuy, and I am here to help you." What wonderful words to hear when you're distressed! In the end, Chuy was not able to help us, but it was not for want of trying. He was very persistent in his efforts and did everything he possibly could, all with a positive and cheerful attitude. I think if he could have hauled the truck by hand, he would have! When he finally had to give up and leave, he told us more help would be on the way, and not to worry. Carissa called us before we had a chance to get anxious and explained that an even bigger truck would be coming as soon as the driver finished another job. The price would be higher, which upset me at first, but when I thought about much they had already done for free, I realized I was being unreasonable. I did not get the name of the driver of the Big Truck, but despite the late hour (it was now well after midnight), he was also cheerful, professional, and competent, and in no time at all, our truck was hooked up and towed a half mile to the repair shop. Overall, we were very pleased with the service and felt the price was quite reasonable for all that they did. I would definitely recommend Van Lingen to anyone who needs to have a large vehicle towed. read more

I called for my commercial truck (14' Isuzu) to be towed to the nearest tire shop. Bob shows up and gets the job done in 30-45min. Happy I didn't have to deal with the front office based on these reviews and happier to get a that knows how to get a job done. Will contact again if commercial truck services are needed. Thanks bob! read more

I was just perusing yelp and came across Van Lingen's page and thought I should add my two cents. A while back my BMW was stolen, it was recovered after a traffic stop a week later. Everything was stolen from the car, everything! After the police released the car I went to the tow yard on Lomita Blvd. to pick it up I was told I needed a copy of the registration, I informed them that it was in the car and that it was stolen (literally cleaned out). They offered to get me a copy for $35, I had no choice. When I asked for a copy of the copy, they refused. They brought my car out after I paid the $85 impound fee. When they brought the car out it was out of gas, kinda weird since I was told that it was recovered during a traffic stop. I asked if they could sell me gas and they said sure... $12 a gallon, I said whatever give me half a gallon. No problem, they said $12 per gallon plus $45 service/trip fee... At that point I told them all to f*** off and called a buddy. If anyone wants to know who the biggest group of thieves are in Torrance, just look for the Orange and White tow trucks. read more

OMG the dark haired women behind the counter could care less about customers. She actually made christmas plans on her cell while I waited on her to find my information on MY car in their lot. She was rude to talk to and uncaring. Unfortunately their drivers and yard workers were so awesome and helpful! I wish they could outweigh the review but it all starts in the office for the company in my opinion. read more

This company towed my car and when I came to pick it up.. they said, '' you are missing a battery''. before the car was impounded the car had a battery, but now after they towed it the battery is missing all of a sudden, along with the change that I leave in car for backup money. This company is a rip off and they are THIEVES .. they are not to be trusted.. do not use this company.. and if they impound your car, your screwed, because they will not admit nothing read more

Completely horrible experience! The guy who towed my car was very nice. However I had my car towed after dealership hours so it had to go to their yard. I called the dispatcher in the morning she says I'll have your car to the dealership by 8:30am....2 hours of waiting at the dealership I call back and her response was "oh we had other priority calls" WTH who tells a customer that after they've been waiting two hours. Now if she had called me and said that I would have went home...no biggie but I was given no follow up phone call then to get me to stop calling she says I'll call you when we can come out. Finally I got fed up and went to pick up my broke down car myself. While on the way my roadside calls me and says "the tow truck company can not tow you for another 24 hours." All of this for a tow that would have taken them 13 minutes. If you can help it avoid this company. I would have given them 0 stars but it isn't an option ‍ read more

I am torn in providing three stars for this company . it only gets the three due to my first contact with one of the night shift workers . He was polite friendly and helpful. But my encounter with the Saturday morning worker was pathetic. the guy was rude and tried belittling me asking if I could read As he is pointing at the writing on the door telling me it says If no one is in the office to call the phone number I said no what it says is if you want access after hours to call the phone number and I also pointed out that it said and above that it says office hours Saturday 8 to 10 and there's nobody in the office he got upset with my correcting him and said well if you're going to act like that I'll just go back inside. I could continue on with the story but let me just add that he tried to overcharge me by $70 when I was going to pay for the car the guy was terrible the service was terrible I wouldn't recommend them except for the night guy he was good read more

I called for a tow from Simi Valley to Lawndale. They suggested I call a company in Simi Valley because it would save me money! I called them because I have used them before and always found them honest and reliable. They will keep my business because they were more concerned with my well being than their own pocket-book! I spoke to Shawn Van Lingen, the owners son. He's a good young man. read more

The red headed girl (I think her name was monique) was very helpful and kind hearted to my situation. The business it self was professional but exhausting. Great staff. read more

I don't understand why this employee is so rude. She is just an ass0le + b1tch. She didnt even explain the statement before ask for my signature. So I asked her, what is this about? and she answered "That's what I'm trying to tell you. You just didnt pay attention!!!" She is the one keep talking to walkie talkie and answering the multiple calls right in front of me. I didnt pay attention??Huh?? I was super mad. This b1tch is ranked #1 the worst employee and customer service I ever had!!! I thought she doing this just at me and guess what. She treated all customers like that. She hates whoever comes into the office even to her coworker. Thank God I don't have any coworker like her. read more

Such bad customer service!! The brunette lady in the front office is extremely rude and very condescending. Every time you ask her a question or she has to get up out of her chair, she rolls her eyes and makes sure you realize how much you are bothering her. If she hates people so much, she should work in a cubicle where she doesn't have to interact with anyone. I left the ER and came straight here after my car accident. There was not one ounce of sympathy from her...all she did was give me a minute by minute countdown of how much time I had left before the office closed. She kept repeating "we close at 5! We close at 5!" The guys in the yard seem very nice, and one guy actually tried to apologize for her rudeness. I guess he has to do that often! I'm sitting in their office right now, and I just keep hearing her complain and talk smack about the people calling in. Van Lingen needs to get rid of her ASAP!!!!!!!!! Not helpful, not friendly, and a complete waste of oxygen!! read more

I'd like to give them zero. So terrible service. Never let police tow your car to this company. It's so hard to get your car back from this company . They always say : we didn't get your email ,which is an authorization they ask me to write to allow my insurance's tow company to tow my car. Sucks!!!!! And my car stayed there one week. So terrible service. read more