§ 7.26.070. Remedies.

A.

A facilitator's failure to comply with any provision of this chapter shall be a Class 1 civil infraction under RCW 7.80.120(1)(a), and shall subject the violator to a maximum monetary penalty and a default amount of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) for each infraction plus statutory assessments. For purposes of Section 7.26.050, each day of noncompliance shall be a separate violation and the monetary penalties shall accumulate.

B.

If a taxpayer believes that he or she has been subjected to any practices that violate any provision set forth in this chapter, the taxpayer may file a complaint against the facilitator with the Office of the Hearing Examiner. The Office of the Hearing Examiner is authorized to hear and decide taxpayer complaints against facilitators regarding violations of this chapter in accordance with rules and procedures then in force governing contested cases, and to order the facilitator to pay damages and penalties to the taxpayer as appropriate as described in this Section. The filing fee for such a case shall be set at five dollars ($5.00).

1.

Upon finding a violation of this chapter, the Hearing Examiner shall award actual damages (including but not limited to the refund of all fees or charges paid by the taxpayer for the Bank Product), the costs of pursuing the complaint, and a penalty of up to Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). If the Hearing Examiner determines that the facilitator engaged in prohibited practices in willful violation of this chapter, the penalty mentioned in the preceding sentence shall be Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), and the Hearing Examiner shall also award attorneys' fees to the taxpayer.

2.

The facilitator or taxpayer may obtain judicial review of the decision of the Hearing Examiner by applying for a Writ of Review in the King County Superior Court within fourteen (14) days from the date of the Hearing Examiner's decision in accordance with the procedure set forth in RCW Ch. 7.16. The decision of the Hearing Examiner shall be final and conclusive unless review is sought in compliance with this subsection.

(Ord. 121594 § 1, 2004.)