NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What do you do when you suddenly get a flat tire or have some other sort of car trouble?
You probably call a tow truck to get your vehicle to a mechanic, right?
It should be a simple solution, but many customers say one local tow company made things much more complicated.
The company is Priority Wrecker Service, which NewsChannel 5 Investigates has found is a company that's not even supposed to be doing business in Nashville in the first place.
Yet, as we discovered, no one is stopping them.
"I've never experienced anything like this," Gabriel Allensworth shared with NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
He described how when he needed his car towed to a mechanic for repair work, he called Priority Wrecker Service, the first company that showed up online, a decision he said he now deeply regrets.
"They absolutely took advantage of me," Allensworth said.
And his experience with Priority Wrecker Service, we found, is not unique.
"[The Priority Wrecker Service tow truck driver] said it was going to be $525 to take it from where we are to Antioch," Allensworth recalled.
"$525 to tow your car from Bellevue to Antioch?" we asked.
"Yes," he replied.
Allensworth said the driver didn't tell him how much it was going to cost until after he'd already loaded up Allensworth's car.
And while the tow company's website seems to indicate they accept a variety of credit cards, Allensworth said the tow truck driver insisted he pay that $525 right then and there either in cash or through a cash app.
Allensworth had neither so he asked the driver to unload the car.
Allensworth said that's when the driver told him, "'It's gonna be $325.'"
"To do what?" we wondered.
"To put it back on the ground. That's it. The vehicle had not moved an inch," Allensworth explained.
Again, Allensworth did not have that kind of money with him.
So his dad, Robert, who had arrived by then, tried talking to the driver.
Robert Allensworth described that conversation further with us.
"And then he says, 'Well, I'm leaving.' And that's when I said, 'No, not at all. You need to put the truck down, I mean the car down.' And he's like, 'No, I'm leaving.' And I said, 'Well, then that's stealing.' And he said, 'I'll steal it. I don't care,'" Robert said.
"[The tow truck driver] decided to go ahead and leave with your car?" we asked.
"Yes," Allensworth confirmed.
Robert claimed the driver then tried to intimidate him by coming at him with his truck.
Gabriel said after that encounter, things then went from bad to worse.
He explained that every time he called Priority Wrecker Service, trying to get his car back, the amount they said he owed jumped even higher while the company, he maintained, even threatened to sell his car.
"I was in shock," Allensworth told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Priority Wrecker Service, we found, has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee, based on more than two dozen complaints from drivers who describe the same sort of experience with the towing company.
And the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, we discovered, has also received similar complaints, again from consumers who claim Priority Wrecker Service failed to give estimates, demanded cash on the spot, held vehicles hostage, and overcharged for services.
We also found that similar complaints were reported in Illinois, where Priority Wrecker Service operated before setting up shop in Tennessee.
In fact, the BBB there even issued an alert, warning consumers about Priority Wrecker Service's pattern of complaints.
Robert Allensworth recalled talking on the phone with Priority Wrecker Service, saying, "'This sounds like you're doing something illegal,' and the man on the phone said, 'No, this is the way we do business.'"
Allensworth had to pay more than $1300 to get his car back. According to the bill, that was $450 for the tow, another $440 for the 11 days Priority held the car, and $500 for some sort of administrative fee.
We asked Richard Rooker, the Director of Metro's Transportation Licensing Commission, "Does that sound like the way a tow company should be operating?"
"Absolutely not," he replied.
Davidson is the only county in Middle Tennessee that regulates tow companies and requires a special permit to do business.
"Does Priority Wrecker Service have a permit?" we asked Rooker.
"No, they do not have a permit to operate in Davidson County," he answered.
"And, yet they are operating in Davidson County?" we suggested.
"Yes, they are," Rooker confirmed.
In fact in 2022, Jonathan Maye, the owner of Priority Wrecker Service, appeared before the Transportation Licensing Commission and admitted that he knew he needed a permit and did not have one and yet, kept his company's trucks running in Nashville without one.
One Transportation Licensing Commission member scolded Maye, saying, "That's not okay."
The board denied Priority Wrecker Service's application for a permit then and did it again when Maye reapplied two more times because the company continued to operate without a permit.
Another Transportation Licensing Commission member admonished Maye, "You need to follow the rules. You need to follow the law."
But three years later, Priority Wrecker Service is not only still towing in Nashville, on its website it's actively promoting that it serves Nashville and Nashville drivers.
"It's like [Priority Wrecker Service] thumbing their nose at your commission?" we suggested to director Rooker.
"It would appear so, yes," he replied.
The company also claims to be operating out of Franklin and LaVergne, we found both of those locations have been gone nearly a year.
The building in Nashville's Woodbine neighborhood appears to be the company's only office in middle Tennessee.
We went there, after repeated attempts to reach Priority's owner, Jonathan Maye.
No one answered the door, but cameras surrounding the office appeared to indicate they knew we were there.
And minutes later, one of the company's trucks pulled onto the property and came straight for our photographer, narrowly missing him.
"There's nothing we can do to stop them," Rooker said, adding that the commission can only regulate tow companies that have permits and are legally licensed.
"It's extremely frustrating," Rooker conceded.
His advice? Do your research before you call for help.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Allensworth said getting his car towed back to Bellevue was a lot easier and cheaper.
"AAA only charged us $77," he said with some relief.
We made repeated attempts to talk with Jonathan Maye, the owner of Priority Wrecker Service.
He did not respond to our requests for an interview.
We know both the Davidson County District Attorney's Office and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office are aware of what Priority Wrecker Service is doing and have received complaints like Gabriel Allensworth's. But so far neither office has chosen to take any sort of action.
In the meantime, if you're in Nashville and need a tow truck, NDOT's Transportation Licensing Division has a list of nearly 50 tow companies (with contact information) that do have the correct permits and are legally allowed to operate in Davidson County.
If you have had issues with Priority Wrecker Service, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at jennifer.kraus@newschannel5.com.
