16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.710 - Release of Vehicles
(a) Release of
vehicles. The VSF must comply with the following requirements when releasing
vehicles.
(1) The VSF shall comply with all
provisions of Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2308, Subchapter J, relating to
the rights of the owner of a stored vehicle, including providing the name,
address, and telephone number of:
(A) each
justice court in the county from which the vehicle was towed or, for booted
vehicles, the county in which the parking facility is located, or the address
of an Internet website maintained by the Office of Court Administration of the
Texas Judicial System that contains the name, address, and telephone number of
each justice court in that county; and
(B) the name, address and telephone number of
the person or law enforcement agency that authorized the tow.
(2) The VSF shall provide the
owner or the owner's representative with a tow ticket. The tow ticket may be
combined with a VSF Invoice; provided, the combined tow ticket and VSF Invoice
comply with the following requirements:
(A)
tow charges must be separated from VSF storage charges and each category of
charges must be preceded by a heading or label identifying the charges as "Tow
Charges" or "Storage Charges";
(B)
tow charges must appear on the combined statement of charges exactly as stated
on the tow ticket prepared by the tow operator and provided to the VSF at the
time the vehicle is presented for storage; and
(C) the combined statement of charges meet
and contain all required elements of a separate VSF invoice and tow ticket;
provided the license number and name of the tow operator may be
excluded.
(3) The VSF
shall allow the vehicle owner or authorized representative to obtain possession
of the vehicle, including payment at the location of the stored vehicle, at any
time between the hours listed on the facility information sign posted as
described in §85.1003, upon payment of all fees due, presentation of valid
identification (Texas drivers license or other state or federally issued photo
identification), and upon presentation of:
(A) a notarized power-of-attorney;
(B) a court order;
(C) a certificate of title;
(D) a tax collector's receipt and a vehicle
registration renewal card accompanied by a conforming identification;
(E) name and address information
corresponding to that contained in the files of the Texas Department of Motor
Vehicles;
(F) a current automobile
lease or rental agreement executed by the operator of the vehicle or a person
holding a power of attorney executed by the person named in the lease
agreement;
(G) appropriate
identification of any state or federal law enforcement agency
representative;
(H) the most recent
version of a department-approved form or electronic version of a
department-approved form published on the department's website,
www.tdlr.texas.gov; which the VSF must make available to the vehicle owner or
person seeking possession of or access to the vehicle; or
(I) evidence of financial responsibility
(insurance card), as required by Transportation Code §
601.051, as an
additional form of identification that establishes ownership or right of
possession or control of the vehicle.
(4) A VSF may not refuse to release a vehicle
to the owner or operator of the vehicle or require a sworn affidavit of the
owner or operator of the vehicle solely because the owner or operator presents
valid photo identification issued by this state, another state, or a federal
agency that includes a different address than the address contained in the
title and registration records of the vehicle.
(5) Paragraph (3) does not require a VSF to
release a vehicle to the owner or operator of the vehicle if the owner or
operator of the vehicle does not:
(A) pay the
charges for services regulated under this chapter or Chapter 86 of this title,
including charges for and associated with delivery or storage of the vehicle;
and
(B) present valid photo
identification issued by this state, another state, a federal agency or a
foreign government.
(6)
If it accepts vehicles 24 hours a day, all VSFs shall have vehicles available
for release 24 hours a day within one hour's notice.
(7) If a VSF does not accept vehicles 24
hours a day, such facility must have vehicles available for release within one
hour between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and midnight Monday-Saturday and from 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays except for nationally recognized holidays. It is
not the intent of this section to require release of vehicles after midnight,
and refusal to release after that time, even with notice after 11:00 p.m., is
not a violation of this section.
(b) A VSF may not require an owner, operator
or agent of an owner or operator of a vehicle to sign an authorization or
release form to release the vehicle from the VSF if that form:
(1) changes the status of the law enforcement
initiated tow from a nonconsent status to a consent tow status;
(2) changes the status of the storage
resulting from a nonconsent tow from a nonconsent storage status to a consent
storage status; or
(3) imposes any
additional charges not regulated by the department.
(c) A person may not execute, submit or use a
department-approved form or other document which contains a false, fictitious,
dishonest, or fraudulent statement of a material fact used for the purpose of
obtaining possession of or access to a motor vehicle stored by a facility
licensed under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2303.
(1) For purposes of this section, a false,
fictitious, dishonest, or fraudulent statement related to authorization from
the vehicle owner to the person or entity named in the form or document is a
material fact.
(2) Conduct found by
the commission or the executive director by final order to have violated this
section shall be deemed fraudulent and dishonest conduct.
Notes
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