For the past few months, truckers have been beset by a scourge: Predatory towing companies that boot and tow big rigs at truck stops, then charge thousands of dollars for the safe return of their livelihoods.
Now, it seems truckers are taking matters into their own hands. A driver who traveled to Memphis to pick up a stolen trailer had his truck booted while he was in the process of paying for fuel, so he did the only reasonable thing: Refuse to leave the truck for a full 33 hours. WREG spoke with the owner of the trucking company:
The owner of MHT Group Inc. said his driver gassed up at the Shelby Express on East Shelby Drive, pulled into a spot, and was in the process of paying for parking through his dispatch when A1’s booted and blocked in the vehicle.
“We got a receipt. We called the gas station. We showed the receipt. We called the towing company, and they said ‘Oh, we booted you ten minutes before you had this receipt,’” said the owner of MHT who did not want to be identified.
He said his company offered to pay A1’s $7,500 to drop the truck, but they were told it wasn’t even close to what it would cost to get the truck back. He said police were called to the lot at least six times but told them they couldn’t interfere because the tow company had sued them.
“They were honking their horns and using the boom of the tow truck to shake the truck, so we called out the police. The driver wanted to file a harassment charge against them, and the police said that wasn’t enough to file a harassment charge,” the MHT owner said. “Our legal team told us because we were recovering a stolen vehicle, they cannot hold it.”
This is A1’s Towing’s whole method of operation: Boot trucks immediately after they park at truck stops, then tow them and reap those sweet sweet five-figure fees for their return. The company has haunted Memphis, even suing the local police for their attempts to intervene.
After those 33 long hours, this trucker was eventually able to continue on his way. Police told A1’s Towing that, because the trailer was stolen, the company couldn’t boot the truck. The tow company responded that the key had been lost, and the boot couldn’t be removed, so police told the trucking company to simply cut the boot off.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from literally every piece of trucker media, it’s that truck drivers love to take offenses lying down. They’re not at all interested in fighting back against the people who wrong them, and are easy marks for this kind of scam. Surely, the folks over at A1’s Towing have planned this well, and will face no repercussions.