The City of Memphis Transportation Commission voted to temporarily suspend the towing permit for A-1’s Towing following a slew of complaints from truckers about the company’s practices.

Tow Permit Temporarily Suspended

According to WREG, Memphis city officials voted unanimously on Thursday, March 7, to suspend the towing permit of A-1’s Towing for thirty days for ordinance violations related to the company’s tow and storage fees.

This is the second recent permit suspension issued to the notorious tow company. In late November 2023, the company was issued a similar 30 day permit suspension after multiple complaints from truck drivers and motor carriers about excessive fees and potentially illegal booting and towing practices.

Trucker Complaints Against A-1’s Towing Keep Growing

A-1’s Towing has frequently been in the news over the past year for allegedly booting or towing semi trucks from truck stops in the Memphis area and then charging thousands of dollars to release the vehicles.

A-1’s Towing made headlines earlier this week when an employee attempting to tow a semi from a Memphis truck stop on Monday night allegedly threw a bag of human feces at the driver of the truck during an argument. The truck driver then remained in his truck overnight to keep it from being towed. He later said that A-1’s employees attempted to enter his cab and vandalized his vehicle overnight, leaving him fearing for his life.

In November 2023, there was a complaint from a Little Rock trucking company who accused A-1’s of holding a truck loaded with a $70,000 pharmaceutical load “hostage.”

In another instance also in November 2023, a trucker said that he stayed in his truck for 33 hours at a Memphis truck stop to prevent an A-1’s employee from towing his semi.

A-1’s has also been investigated by the U.S. Postal Service for allegedly towing a UPS vehicle.

Tow Company Denies Wrongdoing

The company has consistently argued that they are not violating any laws by booting and towing trucks.

Last year, A-1’s Towing 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.