A1’s Towing permit suspended for 30 days after complaints
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The city’s Transportation Commission voted unanimously to suspend A1’s Towing & Hauling permit for 30 days during a hearing Thursday.
Members said the penalty was due to various ordinance violations concerning the fees they were charging for towing and storage.
Police say A1’s Towing vandalized semi truck after booting it
A1’s Towing & Hauling, also known as A1’s Xclusive Auto, had its towing and booting permits suspended back in November after the permits office received complaints from truck drivers from all over the country who claimed their vehicles had been illegally towed by A1’s and they were forced to pay thousands of dollars to get them back.
A1’s owner, Colton Cathey, appeared before the transportation commission, and Chairman Kevin Kane had some strong words about his business practices.
“In this situation, I’m having a hard time wrapping my personal arms around this because of the multitude of complaints that seem to be reoccurring,” said Kane. “There is something wrong here.”
The permits office presented several new complaints made by truckers over the last few months and said A1’s had violated ordinances dealing with towing and storage fees and payment methods.
Cathey claimed he was trying to work with Permits License Administrator Yolanda Fullilove but admitted he hadn’t contacted the truck drivers who filed the complaints.
“Some of them don’t have full names or contact info,” said Cathey. “In these, I asked her (Fullilove) what the remedy was and how I could talk to the person, and she did not respond.”
Tabrianna Foster addressed transportation commissioners over the phone. The Mississippi woman said she and her husband paid to park their 18-wheeler at a truck stop on East Shelby Drive, but A1’s Towing still towed it.
She said they were forced to pay nearly $3,000 to get the semi back.
“I heard them talking about all these large companies besides my complaint, and if I didn’t speak up toward the end, nothing was going to be done,” said Foster.
After Foster testified, commissioners voted unanimously to suspend A1’s towing permit for 30 days and said the business could be called back for another hearing if it continued to violate city ordinances.
Foster said she contacted the city and Better Business Bureau for help but isn’t counting on getting her money back.
“He had every excuse in the book on how he helps people, and if he gets a complaint, he responds, and that’s not true,” Foster said. “We are a small business. Our loads are terrible. We are barely getting paid. That $2,900 I had to pull out of my 401k just to pay it.”
The hearing comes as the state of Tennessee and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating the West Mallory Avenue towing company.
City Council members have also asked the permits office to create rules and regulations for tow truck companies to eliminate bad actors in the industry.
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