A Memphis-based towing company has issued a response to outcry from the trucking industry over booted big rigs at truck stops.
Complaints Against Memphis Towing Outfit Continue To Multiply
For months, A-1’s Towing and Hauling has made headlines for allegedly booting or towing semi trucks from truck stops in the Memphis area and then charging thousands of dollars to release the vehicles.
Earlier this week, a new complaint emerged from a Little Rock trucking company claiming that A-1’s Towing held a truck hauling a $70,000 pharmaceutical load “hostage.”
A truck driver recently said that they spent 33 hours locked in their truck at a truck stop to prevent A-1’s Towing from taking the vehicle.
City Councilman Responds
In response to these and other recent complaints, City Councilman Frank Colvett told WREG that he plans to investigate and take action if the accusations of improper booting and towing are correct. “If it’s true, it’s reprehensible and the council will take immediate action,” Colvett told the outlet
The Memphis City Council was supposed to address booting and towing at a November 21 meeting, but the item was pushed to a later meeting.
A-1’s Towing Says They’re Doing Nothing Wrong
An attorney representing A-1’s Towing responded to WREG with the following statement:
“If you park on private property, and refuse to pay, what are you supposed to do? The signs state that will happen. … In downtown Memphis people are booted and towed every day for not paying for parking, but somehow outside of downtown booting and towing is illegal. My client is not doing anything different than these companies.”
In the past year, the City of Memphis Permits Office opened an investigation after receiving nearly two dozen complaints from truckers over what they call illegal booting and towing.
A-1’s Towing recently filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, and Memphis police officers claiming discrimination against A-1’s Towing because it is a minority-owned company.