Howard's Towing & Auto Repair

On 05/05/16 Olympia Towing and Auto was dispatched by the Olympia Police Department toan abandoned vehicle accident involving a 2003 Dodge Durango, Washington State license plate[redacted]. VIN: [redacted] Silver in color.After speaking with the tow truck operator about the incidents that took...

place that morning,reviewing the fees charged, and examining the police inventory list of the vehicle, I am not findinganything that leads me to believe that there were actually any items in question missing from thisvehicle, or that there was any overcharging done on this bill.On arrival, the tow truck operator was informed by OPD that the driver of the Dodge Durangohad fled the scene. The tow truck driver noted that the left rear window of the Dodge was broken out,because of this, we were unable to secure the vehicle any further. At times, it is common for the driverto attempt to lock up any valuables left in a vehicle (GPS, cell phone, wallet, etc.), but nothing of thatnature was present at the time of the tow, or listed on the vehicle inventory list provided by OPD.The police officer also informed our driver that when the suspect fled the scene after theaccident, bystanders were basically looting the vehicle prior to Olympia Towing's arrival. This wasdocumented and witnessed by the employees of Sharie's restaurant on the comer of Fones Rd. andPacific Ave. in Olympia.After going over the paperwork provided by the police department, and a personal inspection, itappears that the officer on duty had done a thorough inventory of all of the items in the vehicle. ListingMisc. tools, ladder, nail gun, tool belt, and he even went as far as to count 5 CD's. There was nothinglisted about a GPS, speakers, or anything that they were claiming as missing.Our employee also stated that the driver of the Durango who fled the scene returned with hisfather shortly before we took the vehicle to the impound yard. When they returned to the accidentlocation, they were removing tools and other items from the vehicle BEFORE it went into our lot. Atwhich time nothing was stated or mentioned to Olympia Towing, or the Police Officer on duty aboutany so-called "stolen/missing" items.Enclosed you will find copies of all the paperwork pertaining to the vehicle transaction file. Toclear things up, here are our regulations and policies.All accidents and impounds are billed at an hourly rate, not by the mile. All accidents andimpounds are billed to the nearest ~ hour. These guidelines are set forth and are on file withWashington State Patrol and Department of Licensing. A copy of our rate sheet is enclosed for you toreview. The reason for this is because of recovery time, clean up, standby, any special equipmentrequired or needed, or investigation done by law enforcement. With this said, this vehicle was fourwheel drive and required a dolly as extra equipment and there was some investigation time.The vehicle arrived at our storage on 05/05/16 at or near 0139 AM. Our policy is that if thevehicle has been in storage for 4 hours, it is billed as a half day storage. If it has been in storage for 16hours, it is billed as one full day. At the time of release, the vehicle had been in impound for 2 full days,plus over 10 hours, therefore it was billed correctly at 2.5 days storage at $60 per day. Totaling $150 forthe storage fee. There is a late release fee of $90 on all impounds and accidents that are released afternormal business hours, weekends, and holidays.Enclosed you will also find a picture of our operating hours and rate sheet clearly posted on thefront of the building close to front door. The towing office is open from 8am-5pm Monday- Friday, andclosed on the weekends, as well as, all observed state holidays. It also clearly states that shop personnelDO NOT have access to any of the towing paperwork, nor do they have the authority to release anyimpounded vehicles. While we do have an automotive repair shop at the same location, it is a separateentity from the towing portion. We reserve the weekends for fleet work or appointments for repair inthe shop. Therefore, a qualified and trained tow truck operator must be called in after operating hoursto perform any vehicle releases. After reviewing the file, it has come to my attention that the vehicle,allegedly, did not leave the scene until after 2 Am. It appears the driver may have actually underchargedthe customer. Let me also point out that it was the customers choice to pick up the vehicle after hoursand pay the additional charge, they were informed of the prices prior to their arrival.For the record, the complainant and son have made several back to back phone calls to multipleemployees within my companies. These calls have been in a threatening manner and the customerseems irate. This has ahnost gotten to the point of us notifying the authorities of the harassing phonecalls we have been receiving from the Durango owners.To sum it up, Olympia Towing and Auto is a fairly new business. It is licensed, insured, bonded,and a registered tow company in the state of Washington. We are located at 3405 Shincke Rd. NEOlympia, WA. 98506. Our 24 hour tow service number is 360-705-8888. Our RTTO license number is5454. I hope this sheads some light on the situation and answers any questions you may have.Olympia Towing and AutoOlympia Towing and Auto3405 Shincke Road, NEOlympia, WA 98506Jim M[redacted]
*Please view attached documents