ComplaintsforBishop Towing and Repair

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My truck broke down along highway 14 heading east near ******* ***************** patrol stopped and helped us push car to shoulder pull off area on side of highway so it would be out of the way and we choiksnt get it running or towed home fast enough and car was towed that night by bishop towing in ********** **. They mailed one notice received by us in the mail on February 1st , stating they towed the truck and where it was at abs the cost of tow abs storage and how many days we had to come pay and get truck, **************** law says once they toy the car they have 24 hours of getting the owners info to mail notice and after 120 hours not counting holidays or weekends of towhead havign car and no one claiming ownership or come Ong to pay **** n get car they can then send request to dmv asking for ******** to get abandoned title n to sell at auction . Well we called to see about getting just our possessions from car and the lady woke us they sold the truck at auction already 3 days prior. Well that means less than 20 days of them towing car they sold it without second notice to registered owners and now our belongings and car and a lot of personal valuable things are gone and illegal to believe. They have doen this to a lot of others I found out from posting online about them and even the worker is driving the said sold car as they own without properly serving or waiting timeline tk legally sell the car. Very very rude on phone and even threatened us with larger tow bill if we didnt watch our tone.

  Business response

  02/18/2022

  The legal process for an impounded vehicle is as follows:
  * I send the Vehicle Impound Notice within 24 hours of taking in an impound, Monday through Friday.
   * After 120 hours have passed, I file an Abandoned Vehicle Report with the *************************** of ********** When I receive the *** return showing current ownership information, I schedule the auction of the vehicle 15 days from that date and mail out the **** Impounded Vehicle Hearing Request and the Custody and Sale of Abandoned Vehicle Notice using first class mail so that we have proof of mailing. 
  * Auction is a minimum of 20 days from the date of impound. 
  * Personal property is kept in the vehicle through auction and sold with the vehicle, unless a Personal Property Storage Form Request is filed with us before auction.
  The facts of this complaint are as follows:
  * The complainant is not the registered owner of the vehicle. His mother is the legal owner. 
  * The vehicle was towed two days after the police helped move it off the road. We never tow an abandoned vehicle until the police request the tow and provide us with an impound record. The Trooper helped move the vehicle on January 22. He did not request the tow until January 24, the day we towed the vehicle and sent out the first letter via first class mail.
  * The second letter was sent on the eighth day, rather than the fifth day, because of the weekend. This gave the owner an extra couple days to retrieve the pickup before auction. Weekends and holidays dont count in this case, because we are available to release vehicles 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as required by law.
  * The request is actually sent to the ********** of ********* at the 120 hour point. If that point falls on the weekend, we send it after the weekend, not before. This extends the owners opportunity to pay the **** and retrieve the vehicle. 
  * The registered owner of the vehicle called a week prior to the auction, was offered a reduction in her **** and notified verbally that the vehicle would go to auction a week later. It was also explained to her that if the vehicle was not retrieved and the **** was not paid, the case would be sent to Restitution Court after auction, where they can issue a ticket and a fine of more than $500, as well as revoking her license.
  * The day after the vehicle went to auction, the complainant (not the registered owner) called to get his personal belongings out of the vehicle and make arrangements to pay the ****. I explained that the vehicle had already gone to auction, along with any personal belongings that *** have been inside, per state law. The complainant made threats and used vulgar language. He was eventually told that if he could not control his behavior, he would not be kept on the phone. There was no threat to increase the tow bill. 
  * In an effort to find any error on our part, the entire file was sent to our inspecting WSP Trooper. In the course of reviewing the file, he was only able to find a single error in my process. According to the law, I could have charged an additional two days' storage.
  * Neither the customer, nor the complainant ever came to our office in an attempt to retrieve personal belongings.
  * There is nothing to refund, because there was never any payment made.
  * As with all customers, if the registered owner would like to avoid Restitution Court and all its consequences, she is welcome to make payment arrangements with our company. Our Restitution Trooper knows this and always suggests that our customers make payment arrangements before he takes it to court.

  Following is the email we received from the inspecting trooper this morning.

   

  Good Morning ******,
  
  In my findings, Bishop Towing & Repair processed the vehicle correctly per the *** and WAC.  Bishop Towing & Repair did error on the side of caution for the total amount on the lien.  On the lien, 20 days of storage was added instead of the actual 22 days of storage on the vehicle.  The two days of storage that was not added to the lien would have been an additional $108.00.
  
  Trooper ********************** #****
  Tow and Wrecking Yard Inspector
  Commercial Vehicle Division
  11018 *******************

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