QuestionQUESTION: WE OWN A CAR LOT, WE RECEIVED A LETTER DATED 11-16-09 THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IMPOUNDED SINCE SEPT 8 WE HAVE NEVER BEEN NOTIFIED BY THE CUSTOMER OR THE TOW YARD THEY ARE ASKING $1,239.12. IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO SINCE WE WERE NOT NOTIFED.
ANSWER: What state are you in because state laws vary from one state to the other. Most do have requirements that a lien holder be notified within 30 days but some states now require towing agencies to notify within 5-7 days.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I AM IN THE STATE OF OHIO
AnswerHere is a copy of the state law concerning impounded vehicles. If you have any questions please write back. If you would like, you can send me your contact information and I will forward a copy of the UCC directly to you.
Sec. 4513.62. Unclaimed motor vehicles ordered into storage pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 4513.60 or section 4513.61 of the Revised Code shall be disposed of at the order of the sheriff of the county or the chief of police of the municipal corporation, township, or township police district to a motor vehicle salvage dealer or scrap metal processing facility as defined in section 4737.05 of the Revised Code, or to any other facility owned by or under contract with the county, municipal corporation, or township, for the disposal of such motor vehicles, or shall be sold by the sheriff, chief of police, or licensed auctioneer at public auction, after giving notice thereof by advertisement, published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Any moneys accruing from the disposition of an unclaimed motor vehicle that are in excess of the expenses resulting from the removal and storage of the vehicle shall be credited to the general fund of the county, the municipal corporation, or the township, as the case may be.
When a motor vehicle is disposed of under this section in any manner, the county, municipal corporation, township, or township police district shall send written notification to the vehicle owner not later than twenty-one days after the disposition informing the vehicle owner of that fact and of the amount that resulted from the disposition and the amount of the expenses paid from the proceeds of the disposition.
Sec. 4513.621. (A) A private tow truck operator, towing company, or other person who is in possession of a motor vehicle that was left on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel or upon or within the right-of-way of any public road or highway and that was ordered into storage pursuant to section 4513.61 of the Revised Code, and that has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than fourteen days, shall cause a search to be made of the records of the bureau of motor vehicles to ascertain the owner and any lienholder of the motor vehicle. If the operator, company, or other person is able to obtain this information from a sheriff or chief of police who obtained this information in accordance with section 4513.61 of the Revised Code, the operator, company, or other person is not required to cause the search described in this division to be made. The operator, company, or other person shall send a notice to the owner and any lienholder of record at each person's last known address, by certified mail with return receipt requested.
(B) The notice that is sent pursuant to division (A) of this section shall do all of the following:
(1) State that the operator, company, or other person is in possession of the motor vehicles;
(2) State that the motor vehicle may be disposed of in accordance with law if its release is not secured;
(3) Describe in detail the method by which the owner or lienholder may claim the vehicle, including all fees due for the removal and storage of the vehicle, the acceptable method of payment, the hours during which the vehicle may be claimed, and the acceptable proof of ownership or proof of a lien on the vehicle, as the case may be. Presentation of a certificate of title to the motor vehicle constitutes acceptable proof of ownership and proof of a lien on the vehicle may be established only by presentation of a written document that evidences the lien.
The fees due may include an administrative fee of twenty-five dollars to reimburse the operator, company, or other person in possession of the motor vehicle for expenses incurred in acting under and complying with sections 4513.621 and 4513.622 of the Revised Code.
(4) State that, in accordance with section 4513.622 of the Revised Code, the owner may not be eligible for the issuance of a certificate of registration for any motor vehicle owned or leased by the owner if the owner fails to pay the fees due for the removal or storage of the motor vehicle, plus, if applicable, the administrative fee described in this section.
(C) The owner or lienholder of the motor vehicle may reclaim it upon payment of the fees due for its removal and storage and, if applicable, any administrative fee, and presentation of acceptable proof of ownership or proof of a lien on the vehicle.
(D) If the owner or lienholder does not reclaim the vehicle in accordance with division (C) of this section, the operator, company, or other person may proceed under section 4513.622 of the Revised Code and request the small claims court to issue an order prohibiting the vehicle owner from registering, renewing, or transferring the registration of any vehicle.
Sec. 4513.622. (A) If the owner of a motor vehicle that is in the possession of a tow truck operator, towing company, or other person for more than thirty days fails to secure the release of the motor vehicle as specified in section 4513.621 of the Revised Code, the operator, company, or other person may file a claim in the small claims division of the municipal court or county court that has jurisdiction over the location from which the vehicle originally was removed for the amount due the tow truck operator, towing company, or other person. The total amount that can be specified in the claim shall not exceed the amount of the towing fee based on the prevailing rates in the jurisdiction of the law enforcement entity that is involved plus the amount of the applicable daily storage fee normally charged by the operator, company, or other person multiplied by the number of days for which the vehicle has been stored by the operator, towing company, or other person, up to a maximum of thirty days, plus, if applicable, the administrative fee.
The court shall schedule a hearing on the claim, and notice shall be given to all parties as in any other case. At the hearing, the operator, company, or other person shall submit to the court all relevant evidence, including proof of the various amounts that are claimed to be owed and proof that the notice described in section 4513.621 of the Revised Code was mailed. The court shall consider any testimony and evidence presented by the vehicle owner prior to rendering its decision. If the court finds in favor of the operator, company, or other person and, by a preponderance of the evidence, finds that the operator, company, or other person is in possession of the vehicle in question and is owed an amount consisting of towing and storage fees relative to that vehicle plus, if applicable, the administrative fee, and that the operator, company, or other person sent the notice as required by section 4513.261 of the Revised Code, the court shall issue a judgment in favor of the operator, company, or other person that establishes the total amount owed the operator, company, or other person and the repayment terms and conditions. If the vehicle owner fails to appear at the hearing or appears at the hearing but refuses to accept the repayment terms and conditions established by the court, the court shall issue an order prohibiting the vehicle owner from registering, renewing, or transferring the registration of any vehicle until all the applicable fees are paid. The order shall indicate the total amount of fees due. The court shall send a copy of this order to the registrar of motor vehicles in a form and manner as the registrar prescribes.
(B) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, upon receipt of an order from a court issued under division (A) of this section, neither the registrar nor any deputy registrar shall accept any application for the registration, registration renewal, or transfer of registration of any motor vehicle owned or leased by the person named in the order unless the order is rescinded by the court under division (D) of this section.
(C) When any application described in division (B) of this section is refused as provided in that division, the registrar or deputy registrar to whom application is made shall inform the applicant that no such application may be accepted unless the order is rescinded by the court under division (D) of this section. The registrar or deputy registrar also shall inform the applicant of the method described in that division for obtaining rescission of the order.
(D) The owner of a vehicle named in an order issued under division (A) of this section may obtain a new order from the court rescinding the original order by paying to the tow truck operator, towing company, or other person who possesses the vehicle the amount of towing and storage fees plus, if applicable, the administrative fee specified in the original order. Upon presentation to the court of evidence of payment to the operator, company, or other person of that entire amount, the court shall issue a new order rescinding its original order and shall send a copy of the new order to the registrar. Upon receipt of the new order, the registrar may accept an application for registration, registration renewal, or transfer of registration from the person named in the order.
(E) This section does not apply to an applicant for registration, registration renewal, or transfer of registration who is a motor vehicle dealer as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code or a motor vehicle renting dealer as defined in section 4549.65 of the Revised Code and is applying to register a vehicle in that capacity.
(F) The registrar shall adopt any forms and rules that are necessary to carry out the registrar's duties under this section.
