Beware!!!

FYI- I just told one of my co-workers about this-she lives in Purcellville. She said that Bodyworks also operates a used car lot... Food for thought...

 

I wonder if they do this kind of thing alot?

 

Has anyone found out why these cars were towed?

 

It's under investigation. I think bkkasmom will let us know when she can.

 

Man the registration for this site took forever.

I am the owner of the VW and thought I would jump in here and give the info that I have so everyone can know whats going on. I will start from the begining to clear up everything.

I got home on the 13th to notice my car was missing (this car is my passion, not just a car and I never intend to let it go), I go inside to find out that it was there at 2:30 when my stepdad got home. I call the HOA and find out they did not tow my car. So I call the police and they send out a sherrif. When he shows up my neighbor came up the street to inform us that her car was taken as well (explorer). I go over the paperwork with the sherrif, then he heads down the street to do the same with her. She made a call to fastoll to report it stolen and they informed her it was used at 1:22, she put me on the phone with them and mine was used at 3:10, both headed west on the toll road.

These parts I cant give a time frame on but it was all within 24 hours
-various neighbors say they saw our cars being towed, hers flatbed, mine snatch truck (pull up drop arms, lift up and go, used mostly by repo men, fast is the key), on both cars the plates had been removed
-neighbor has fastoll run reports to find out who used their fastolls or had CC transactions in the booth right before our cars, with them being towed they would have some sort or records. Both were registerd to a tow company

11am my neighbor calls the cops to tell them the new info and see where things were. They had no idea what she was talking about. The sherrif never put in the paperwork. She then fills in the stolen car devision guy. He gets a supena to get the info on the tow company from fastoll. Then he gets a warrent to go in to their place. 7pm we get a call from him to come get our cars from Bodyworks. We show up to just the one officer with one tow guy. He ends up being the guy who took both cars. He claims the HOA told them to do it and that the company had the paperwork. My bumper is scratched, her fender is scratched, baby seat gone and baby doll gone. The officer said he would be following up to see this paperwork they claim to have. I spoke with someone from the HOA and he told me that they showed that they have no contract with this company and by no means had them tow our cars. The officer told me on friday that he passed on the needed info to his cheif who would be deciding whether or not to press criminal charges. Which they better, if not I will be questioning the relationship of the police to this tow company.

I have other info on that relationship but I dont know if I should let that out or not yet. I have contacted a freind of mine who is a lawyer and we are gathering the needed info to go after the tow company if need be and if we feel possibly the police as well.

Special thanks to my neighbor who because of her persistance is the reason I got my car back. If we did it the sherrif's way we would be getting a check from our insurance and he never would have put the paperwork in, or would have done so to late.

Very special thanks to the tow guy who left his trail and made it very easy to get our cars back. I will be watching someone go to jail thats all I know.

 

I have seen Bodyworks trolling my street as well .... never quite understood what they were doing, thought maybe they were just "turning around". Now I know.

 

Good Luck! That company and person need to be punished or it will happen again.

 

Hi person with the Volkswagon, could you e-mail me? I have some info for you that you might find interesing... I could not e-mail you for some reason.

 

The following was posted in the Metro Section, Sunday edition of the Loudoun Extra, Washington Post.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

FRAME SQ., 21000 block, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 13. A green 1996 Ford Explorer was stolen.

FRAME SQ., 21000 block, 2:30 to 4 p.m. July 13. A green 1993 Volkswagen Corrado was stolen.

 

I tried contacting you to try and also find out additional info and was unable to email you directly.

 

My email address is wlong@vt.edu

I will also try and activate it on here so you can view it

If your info is good and could be of immidiate use please feel free to call me at any hour on my cell phone, it is long distance though the number is 540-845-4789

 

Just to let everyone know a little after 8 I was in the safeway parking lot and saw a car being towed out of the street that runs straight towards the shopping center. The tow truck was red and possibly could have been one of the Bodyworks trucks. I was a couple hundred yards away and it was getting dark. The car was a dark color 2 door sedan. One of the larger sized sedans like a buick or monte carlo. So if anyone hears someone say there car was stolen look no further than these bastards AGAIN!!!!

wlong@vt.edu

 

I saw the tow truck leaving Welby Terrace.
Red tow truck towing a red/dark red car with no tags.

The tow truck was from Henry's wrecker service.

Don't know who owned the car that was towed.

 

The plot thickens. From todays Loudoun Times:

Towed cars spark Sheriff's probe
By Emily Tjelmeland
07/20/2004

Two cars parked along Ashburn's Frame Square were towed July 13. That's a fact. The rest of the story – including why the cars were towed in the first place – depends on who you ask.

The incident has become a war of words, with the tow truck company saying the Broadlands Homeowners Association requested that both cars, a green 1993 Volkswagen Corrado and a green 1996 Ford Explorer, be towed. The association is saying they knew nothing about it, according to Kraig Troxell, Sheriff's Office spokesman.

After investigators were alerted to the incidents, they located the cars, which were impounded at the hands of Bodyworks of Virginia Inc. of Leesburg.

"What we are investigating is whether they were rightfully towed," Troxell said.

Troxell said the case has broadened to look into allegations that the Bodyworks tow truck driver who removed the cars also removed both cars' license plates, scratched the paint on both cars and stole personal items from one car. Both incidents are listed as a "motor vehicle theft" in the Sheriff's daily incident report, also noting the cars have an approximate combined worth of $26,000.

Larry Blevins, who lives on Frame Court, said he witnessed one of the cars being removed.

"The guy just stole the car, basically. He took the tags off the car," he said. "I suspected nothing. I didn't even give it a second thought."

Troxell confirmed that the cars were traced by the Virginia Department of Transportation Smart Tags still left secure on the dash. The cars were taken separately the same afternoon through the toll booth, headed west on Dulles Toll Road.

Bodyworks owner, Bill Lickey, said he's been in business for 30 years and never had a problem like this. He said the company simply responded to what he thought was a legitimate request from the association president.

Lickey said the car was already being towed when he called the man's number back for more information. Instead of getting the HOA president for Broadlands, he got a lifeguard at the Ashburn Village pool.

"That's when I realized I have been duped. I have never had this happen before," he said. "I am a victim, just like the people down there."

In response to allegations that personal belongings were stolen from one of the cars, he denied any sort of wrongdoing.

"We don't take anything out of the cars," he said.

He said he doesn't usually tow cars without a contract, and that he "was just trying to keep people happy" when he responded to this particular request. He extended his apologies to the car owners, who incurred no towing fees during the incident.

"It's a hoax," he said. "It was totally an honest mistake on my side."

But the HOA says otherwise. Although the HOA was reluctant to respond at first, HOA General Manager Wesley Schroeder was eager to dispel accusations that his organization had a hand in the incidents.

He said Broadland's bylaws allow for two written notices before a towing company is contacted via a faxed towing request, complete with Schroeder's signature. When asked if the association has a contract with a local towing company, Schroeder said although there is no formal contract, the same towing company is used in almost every instance – and Bodyworks is not the one.

"The association did not authorize any tows," he said. "No one else is authorized to tow there that I know of."

Troxell said investigators were just as confused by the situation as the parties involved, but are working hard to find out who was responsible for towing the cars and if it was legal

"We are still trying to determine what happened," Troxell said. "There is a possibility that charges will be filed."

http://www.zwire.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=12413293&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506035&rfi=6

 

I don't know anything about the tow industry. Why were the plates removed? Anytime my car was towed the plates stayed on. That sounds like theft to me. And I'm glad they didn't charge for the tow! Haha. They should be paying for the damages and they should be banned from doing business from within Broadlands!

 

Maybe it's a conspiracy by the people who own the Greenway!!!
They're gonna get their $2.00 even if they have to tow your car through the toll both!!!

In the spirit of perhaps the best Jon Cusak movie of all time, Better Off Dead, "Two Dollars!! I want my two dollars!!!!"

 

That's two "Better Off Dead" references this week! I'm surprised so many people know about this movie. Great flick!

"This mountain is pure snow. Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"

"It's a real shame when people be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that!"

"Sorry your mom blew up like that, Ricky."

 

There was an article the other day on WJLA about tow truck scams. Based on the Bodyworks owners own statements, they broke the law by not having the proper paperwork/permission in place before towing.

 

Lol! I love that movie too! What was the first BOD reference?

 

I can't find it. Maybe I imagined it. Or, maybe I just wanted an excuse to quote the movie!