Noffke's Towing Service, LLC

Nope.  We don't respond to the Revdex.com.  We are not a member.

On December 20th, 2016 at approximately 23:00, [redacted] 2002 Ford Escape was pulled over at the Chevron gas station located at 5148 Auburn Way N. by Officer [redacted] with the Auburn Police Department. At some point Ms. [redacted] had reported her vehicle as stolen with the Tacoma Police...

Department case #[redacted] so when the Auburn officer ran the license plate on the vehicle it was still flagged as stolen. The vehicle was occupied and was being driven by someone (no information given on impound form) and this person also had the key for the vehicle. Officer [redacted] attempted to contact the registered owner, [redacted], but was unable to reach her at the number she provided upon reporting her vehicle as stolen. Since it would be illegal for the officer to abandon the 2002 Escape at the Chevron station due to it being considered private property, the officer called for a tow truck to remove the vehicle and have it impounded. On the morning of December 20th at approximately 8:20am, [redacted] called our office to inquire about her vehicle. Once she was told there was a balance owing on her vehicle of $209.69 she began to yell and was clearly upset. I did inform her the officer did attempt to contact her upon finding her vehicle and she admitted she didn't answer her phone because it was late at night. We also asked her if she had any insurance on her vehicle which would cover the costs for her. She stated she didn't have any insurance on her vehicle. We also informed her that if she didn't redeem her vehicle that it will be auctioned off on Jan 18th, 2017 and whatever balance is remaining after it sells will be sent to collections. [redacted] vehicle was charged an impound fee of $170.00 per our contract with Washington State Patrol and the storage rate is $43.00 per day. All impounds directed by Auburn Police Department that require a regular tow truck are charged the same hourly rate at $170.00 and storage at $43.00 per day. We do not set the fees that are charged for impounds, this comes directly from Washington State Patrol. As a RTTO (Registered Tow Truck Operator) we are required by law to follow a fee schedule that is established once a year by Washington State Patrol. It's an unfortunate situation for [redacted] and her vehicle, but our company cannot waive fees for a police impound or give a vehicle back for free. Her vehicle has been in our lot for 7 days now and will continue to accure storage every day at $43.00. This is the same for anyone who gets their vehicle impounded regardless of the owners personal situation, insurance coverage or personal issues and we cannot make exceptions. We are following the rules and laws per Washington State Patrol and per our contract with the Auburn Police Department. If [redacted] feels that our company has not abided by the rules, laws and regulations that are required by Washington State Patrol, she can file a complaint with them directly against our company. Please see the following references below.RCW 46.55.063 - Fees, schedules, contracts, invoices(1)  All filed fees must be adequate to cover the costs of service provided by a tow company. (3) A fee that is charged for tow truck service must be calculated on an hourly basis, and after the first hour must be charged to the nearest quarter hour.    (4) Fees that are charged for the storage of a vehicle, or for other items of personal property registered or titled with the department, must be calculated on a twenty-four hour basis and must be charged to the nearest half day from the time the vehicle arrived at the secure storage area.  RCW 46.55.113 - Removal by Police Officer(2) In addition, a police officer may take custody of a vehicle, at his or her discretion, and provide for its prompt removal to a place of safety under any of the following circumstances:(d) Whenever the driver of a vehicle is arrested and taken into custody by a police officer;(e) Whenever a police officer discovers a vehicle that the officer determines to be a stolen vehicle;(4) Nothing in this section may derogate from the powers of police officers under the common law. For the purposes of this section, a place of safety may include the business location of a registered tow truck operator.  RCW 46.55.140 - Operator's lien, deficiency claim, liability(1) A registered tow truck operator who has a valid and signed impoundment authorization has a lien upon the impounded vehicle for services provided in the towing and storage of the vehicle, unless the impoundment is determined to have been invalid. The lien does not apply to personal property in or upon the vehicle that is not permanently attached to or is not an integral part of the vehicle except for items of personal property registered or titled with the department. The registered tow truck operator also has a deficiency claim against the registered owner of the vehicle for services provided in the towing and storage of the vehicle not to exceed the sum of five hundred dollars after deduction of the amount bid at auction, and for vehicles of over ten thousand pounds gross vehicle weight, the operator has a deficiency claim of one thousand dollars after deduction of the amount bid at auction, unless the impound is determined to be invalid. The limitation on towing and storage deficiency claims does not apply to an impound directed by a law enforcement officer. In no case may the cost of the auction or a buyer's fee be added to the amount charged for the vehicle at the auction, the vehicle's lien, or the overage due. A registered owner who has completed and filed with the department the report of sale as provided for in RCW 46.12.650 and has timely and properly filed the report of sale is relieved of liability under this section. The person named as the new owner of the vehicle on the timely and properly filed report of sale shall assume liability under this section.RCW46.55.130 - Notice requirements—Public auction—Accumulation of storage charges(1) If, after the expiration of fifteen days from the date of mailing of notice of custody and sale required in RCW 46.55.110(3) to the registered and legal owners, the vehicle remains unclaimed and has not been listed as a stolen vehicle, or a suspended license impound has been directed, but no security paid under RCW 46.55.120, then the registered tow truck operator having custody of the vehicle shall conduct a sale of the vehicle at public auction after having first published a notice of the date, place, and time of the auction, and a method to contact the tow truck operator conducting the auction such as a telephone number, electronic mail address, or web site, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the vehicle is located not less than three days and no more than ten days before the date of the auction. For the purposes of this section, a newspaper of general circulation may be a commercial, widely circulated, free, classified advertisement circular not affiliated with the registered tow truck operator and the notice may be listed in a classification delineating "auctions" or similar language designed to attract potential bidders to the auction. The notice shall contain a notification that a public viewing period will be available before the auction and the length of the viewing period. The auction shall be held during daylight hours of a normal business day. The viewing period must be one hour if twenty-five or fewer vehicles are to be auctioned, two hours if more than twenty-five and fewer than fifty vehicles are to be auctioned, and three hours if fifty or more vehicles are to be auctioned.(2) The following procedures are required in any public auction of such abandoned vehicles:(a) The auction shall be held in such a manner that all persons present are given an equal time and opportunity to bid;(b) All bidders must be present at the time of auction unless they have submitted to the registered tow truck operator, who may or may not choose to use the preauction bid method, a written bid on a specific vehicle. Written bids may be submitted up to five days before the auction and shall clearly state which vehicle is being bid upon, the amount of the bid, and who is submitting the bid;(c) The open bid process, including all written bids, shall be used so that everyone knows the dollar value that must be exceeded;(d) The highest two bids received shall be recorded in written form and shall include the name, address, and telephone number of each such bidder;(e) In case the high bidder defaults, the next bidder has the right to purchase the vehicle for the amount of his or her bid;(f) The successful bidder shall apply for title within fifteen days;(g) The registered tow truck operator shall post a copy of the auction procedure at the bidding site. If the bidding site is different from the licensed office location, the operator shall post a clearly visible sign at the office location that describes in detail where the auction will be held. At the bidding site a copy of the newspaper advertisement that lists the vehicles for sale shall be posted;(h) All surplus moneys derived from the auction after satisfaction of the registered tow truck operator's lien shall be remitted within thirty days to the department for deposit in the state motor vehicle fund. A report identifying the vehicles resulting in any surplus shall accompany the remitted funds. If the director subsequently receives a valid claim from the registered vehicle owner of record as determined by the department within one year from the date of the auction, the surplus moneys shall be remitted to such owner;(i) If an operator receives no bid, or if the operator is the successful bidder at auction, the operator shall, within forty-five days, sell the vehicle to a licensed vehicle wrecker, hulk hauler, or scrap processor by use of the abandoned vehicle report-affidavit of sale, or the operator shall apply for title to the vehicle.(3) A tow truck operator may refuse to accept a bid at an abandoned vehicle auction under this section for any reason in the operator's posted operating procedures and for any of the following reasons: (a) The bidder is currently indebted to the operator; (b) the operator has knowledge that the bidder has previously abandoned vehicles purchased at auction; or (c) the bidder has purchased, at auction, more than four vehicles in the last calendar year without obtaining title to any or all of the vehicles. In no case may an operator hold a vehicle for longer than ninety days without holding an auction on the vehicle, except for vehicles that are under a police or judicial hold.(4)(a) The accumulation of storage charges applied to the lien at auction under RCW 46.55.140 may not exceed fifteen additional days from the date of receipt of the information by the operator from the department as provided by RCW 46.55.110(3) plus the storage charges accumulated prior to the receipt of the information. However, vehicles redeemed pursuant to RCW 46.55.120 prior to their sale at auction are subject to payment of all accumulated storage charges from the time of impoundment up to the time of redemption.(b) The failure of the registered tow truck operator to comply with the time limits provided in this chapter limits the accumulation of storage charges to five days except where delay is unavoidable. Providing incorrect or incomplete identifying information to the department in the abandoned vehicle report shall be considered a failure to comply with these time limits if correct information is available. However, storage charges begin to accrue again on the date the correct and complete information is provided to the department by the registered tow truck operator46.55.170 - Complaints, where forwarded(1) All law enforcement agencies or local licensing agencies that receive complaints involving registered tow truck operators shall forward the complaints, along with any supporting documents including all results from local investigations, to the department.
(2) Complaints involving deficiencies of equipment shall be forwarded by the department to the state patrol
 
Thank you
Noffke's Towing Service
1287 Valentine Ave SE
Pacific Wa 98047

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: Please read the response.