Disciplinary actions: Vehicle transport and disposal

For details about many of these disciplinary actions, please see Search business and professional licenses.

February 2013

Pacific Towing & Recovery — Spokane

  • Finding: Failed to pay penalty assessed by the director.
  • Action: Tow truck operator license is suspended until the monetary penalty has been received by the department.

Helberg Towing — Sunnyside

  • Finding: Failed to pay penalty assessed by the director.
  • Action: Respondent agrees to pay the remainder of the monetary penalty. If respondent violates any provision of the order, the department may take further action against the Respondent’s license.

Fisher Towing — Monroe

  • Finding: The Authorization to Impound or Tow and Vehicle Inventory Forms were signed prior to impound and the authorizing person was not present at the time and place of impound on two separate occasions involving a total of 87 vehicles.
  • Action: Respondent surrendered the Registered Tow Truck Operator license number 5251 for 5 years.

Barlow Auto Wrecking — Rainier

  • Finding:
    • Acquired vehicles without properly endorsed or completed paperwork from owners.
    • Failed to mark major component parts with yard numbers.
    • Failed to complete monthly wrecker reports.
    • Sold catalytic converters without furnishing the purchaser a bill of sale.
  • Action: Fine is stayed as long as the Washington State Patrol reports no similar violations at the next scheduled inspection.

Top Notch Towing — Lake Stevens

  • Finding: Late title transfers.
  • Action: Fined $1,000.

January 2013

Granite Falls Towing, LLC — Granite Falls

  • Finding: Failed to pay the fine assessed by the director.
  • Action: Tow truck operator license suspended until the fine is paid in full.

Martinez Body Shop — Wapato

  • Finding: Failed to remove license plates from a vehicle and timely submit monthly wrecker reports.
  • Action: Fined $1,000.

December 2012

Empire Parts Auto, LLC — Olympia

  • Finding: A vehicle inside the wrecking yard was missing the yard number, and 11 vehicles awaiting ownership documents were stored inside the wrecking yard, not in a segregated area.
  • Action: Fined $1,250.

October 2012

Heston Hauling — Ferndale

  • Finding:
    • Failed to send Abandoned Vehicle Reports to us.
    • Five counts of failing to timely send Abandoned Vehicle Reports to us.
    • Four counts of failing to itemize storage charges on invoices.
    • Four counts of failing to charge accurate storage fees.
    • Three counts of failing to obtain an authorization signed by the person requesting the impound at the time and place of impound.
    • Failed to maintain a copy of the right of redemption/opportunity for a hearing form signed by the redeeming person.
    • Failed to maintain a record of the 24-hour written impound notice to law enforcement.
    • Improperly assessed an impound fee against the lien for towing a vehicle to the Ferndale evidence facility. The fee should have been charged to the City of Ferndale.
  • Action: Fined $3,000.

Keistler Hauling — Spanaway

  • Finding: Misused transporter plates.
  • Action: Vehicle transporter license number 792330 suspended for 30 days.

Pacific Mobile Structures, Inc. — Chehalis

  • Finding: Late title transfers.
  • Action: Fined $6,500.

T K T Towing — Clarkston

  • Finding:
    • Mailed Notice of Vehicle Impounds late.
    • Mailed Custody and Sale of Abandoned Vehicle Notices late.
    • Sent Abandoned Vehicle Reports to the Department of Licensing late.
    • Sold vehicle prior to the Abandoned Vehicle Auction.
    • Notice of Vehicle Impound was missing from the transaction file.
  • Action: Fined $7,500.

August 2012

Golden Pheasant Auto Wrecking, Towing & Repair

  • Finding: Misused transporter plates.
  • Action: Voluntarily surrendered their Transporter license and plates, in lieu of a 30-day suspension of their transporter license.

Sparky’s Towing, Inc. — Lynnwood

  • Finding:
    • Failed to maintain a copy of right of redemption forms.
    • Failed to maintain bid sheets.
    • Failed to maintain a copy of the published notice of public auction.
    • Failed to fax auction information to their Washington State Patrol business inspector.
    • Failed to process abandoned vehicle reports in a timely manner.
    • Failed to maintain authorization of impound forms.
    • Failed to itemize charges.
    • Failed to post a rate sheet with current charges.
    • Failed to meet secure storage yard requirements.
    • Failed to remit surplus funds to us in a timely manner.
    • Failed to submit a satisfactory inspection certificate from the Washington State Patrol.
    • Overcharged storage fees.
  • Action: Fined $13,500, with $6,750 stayed as long as they don’t commit similar violations for 1 year.

July 2012

Act Towing Enterprises, Inc. — Long Beach

  • Finding: Didn’t receive a bid, nor was the successful bidder at auction, for 23 vehicles; and failed within 45 days to apply for title or sell the vehicles to a licensed wrecker, hulk hauler or scrap processor.
  • Action: Fined $23,000, with $20,500 stayed (not imposed) if they properly dispose of all vehicles from the property by October 1, 2012.

June 2012

Carl’s Towing Burlington — Sedro Woolley

  • Finding: Failed to keep records of bid offers for vehicles sold at auction.
  • Action: Issued a Correction Notice and fined $500.

Carl’s Towing & Muffler, Inc. — Sedro Woolley

  • Finding: On February 18, 2012, conducted an abandoned vehicle auction and failed to record bidder information for 3 vehicles sold at the auction.
  • Action: Fined $325.

Granite Falls Towing, LLC — Granite Falls

  • Finding: When processing a vehicle on December 23, 2010, failed to remit $492.75 in surplus funds to the State of Washington resulting from an overcharge by assessing an incorrect amount on the towing and storage lien. These surplus funds were remitted to us in February 2012.
  • Action: Fined $1,000, which was stayed (not imposed).

May 2012

City Wide Towing — Lynnwood

  • Finding: Failed to immediately send abandoned vehicle reports to us, and failed to send a copy of the abandoned vehicle report within 14 days of the sale of an abandoned vehicle at public auction.
  • Action: Fined $1,000.

D & D Towing and Transport, Inc. — Centralia

  • Finding:
    • On September 14, 2010, license suspended for 7 days for falsifying an abandoned vehicle report to misrepresent a vehicle as a privately impounded and abandoned vehicle.
    • On November 19, 2010, license suspended for 2 days for failure to have personnel present during normal business hours who were able to release impounded vehicles.
    • On April 20, 2011, was issued a Correction Notice for failure to timely complete the master log, failure to maintain a copy of the newspaper advertisements for auctions, failure to submit a list to the Washington State Patrol for vehicles to be auctioned, and failure to post the current towing and storage charges in a conspicuous and accessible location.
    • On February 28, 2012, claimed the boxes of transaction files and the master log for the year 2011 had been destroyed when the Washington State Patrol attempted to conduct the annual inspection of D & D’s transaction files and the master log.
  • Action: Fined $500.

Harry’s Towing — Marysville

  • Finding: Failed to maintain a record of the 2nd bid amount on 8 abandoned vehicle auction bid sheets, and failed to maintain the name, address, and telephone number of the 2nd bidder on 17 abandoned vehicle auction bid sheets.
  • Action: Fined $2,000, stayed (not imposed) as long as there are no similar violations for 1 year.
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