EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – A metro towing company is under fire, accused of taking money, ghosting and leaving customers high and dry.

Towing companies often respond when you’re most vulnerable. But folks in Edmond say a local business has been adding insult to injury.

“It’s a hard lesson learned,” said Kelly Caldwell. “I won’t be so naive and trustworthy next time.”

Kelly’s car broke down late last month, puttering out in a gas station parking lot.

“A lot of vapors started coming out from underneath my hood,” she said. “Decided to call my mechanic, and he said, ‘Do not drive your car, just have it towed to the shop.'”

Kelly’s daughter Brittany knew just who to call.

She tells KFOR a friend of hers owns Edmond Towing LLC, and they were quick to respond.

“[Edmond Towing] asked where,” Brittany Harvey said. “Then he did call me and said he was personally going to meet his driver to pick [the car] up and tow it home.”

Andrew Sabatino says his Edmond Towing experience started similarly. He was in need after his truck broke down on the side of the road.

“Came across Edmond Towing on Google. It was the first tow company available,” said Andrew. “I called them. They seemed pretty legit.”

Both Andrew and Kelly though say payment proved slightly problematic.

Edmond Towing owner, Sean Haddock, requested payments be made upfront through Cash App.

“Sean told me, ‘I can take care of it, just Cash App me, because my credit card machines are down,'” said Andrew.

Andrew tells News 4 he sent $280 to Edmond Towing, and never heard from the company again.

“[Edmond Towing] never showed up to come get a vehicle. He never returned my phone calls,” said Andrew. “I sent a dispute, a dispute through Cash App, and he just denied it.”

Kelly and Brittany say they were strung along for two days after payment.

The two ultimately had to find a temporary fix, working on the car in the gas station parking lot.

“In the rain, we popped the hood and put the hose back on the radiator,” said Kelly. “Filled it back up and drove it home.”

The story of Edmond Towing is puzzling. By all accounts, digging through online reviews, it was seemingly a successful business at one time.

But something seems to have changed of late. Their Edmond location has closed.

DPS officials tell News 4 the business was taken off their call list in May for “failure to take rotation calls”.

Edmond Towing has since had their wrecker’s license revoked.

News 4 attempted to reach the business, but calls to Edmond Towing were not returned. Facebook messages to both the business and owner Sean haddock also went unanswered.

Andrew, Kelly and Brittany can now only hope others won’t fall victim.

“I don’t want him to do this to other people,” said Kelly. “It’s it’s too expensive, and people just don’t have the money to get taken over right now.”

In Your Corner bottom line, when dealing with such services:

• Consumers should avoid using phone apps, because often there is little recourse in getting your money back.

• Drivers should also consider calling their insurance, as sometimes they are able to facilitate a car being picked up.

• Always make sure the towing company provides a contract with an itemized bill, prior to paying.