What do you do.... (apartment related)

[Mazmaz]

I'm so happy this worked out for you.

[kuronosan]

So checked this morning, car wasn't in our spot but in another one (no idea if that's where it's supposed to be). Went to the office and they gave me the number of the towing company for future reference. She also gave me a parking violation warning to put on the car. She said if the same car does it again do the violation first 'cause I guess they've rented out a fuckton of apts recently and she's worried that one of the other secretaries gave a new person our spot on accident, so that way the warning would let them know to contact the office.

Otherwise ya, next time calling right away now I have the number.

This is actually what ended up happening to me, but if it's in your lease you still have the right to have it towed. She's just covering her ass in case someone else fucked up and put it in the other person's lease too.

[Acturus]

So checked this morning, car wasn't in our spot but in another one (no idea if that's where it's supposed to be). Went to the office and they gave me the number of the towing company for future reference. She also gave me a parking violation warning to put on the car. She said if the same car does it again do the violation first 'cause I guess they've rented out a fuckton of apts recently and she's worried that one of the other secretaries gave a new person our spot on accident, so that way the warning would let them know to contact the office.

Otherwise ya, next time calling right away now I have the number.

I'm probably going over the top on this, but the violation warning instructions don't gel with me. You're not an employee or authorized agent of the management company. You have no responsibility to be the one to warn people of infractions against the residents in the complex, but if you put the warning on someone else's car and they get retaliatory, you then bear all of the liability and potential danger.

I mean, unless your lease agreement or other such accepted rules say that this is how it works, that's not cool. The management should not put you at risk like that.

[Melena]

Being who the management company is, i'm not surprised. Minimal effort as required by law seems to be there motto when it comes to any issue.

[Acevalefor]

Not that simple. We're not talking AAA facilities. AAA facilities operate within specific guidelines. Telling the man who currently has your car hooked up to his tow truck you aren't paying him is a sure fire way to have it impounded. They WANT you to refuse to pay. They want you to give them any excuse to impound your car. Private tow facilities are thieves. Period, point blank.


And in case if anyone is wondering why I know so much about this stuff, I have worked for AAA running the road service department for 13 years.

What club? I was a driver for AAA Oregon/Idaho and AAA Washington for several years.

Also, I have been in a situation with a private towing company where I had to steal the keys out of his truck before he would work with me. My wife broke down on the freeway and called a tow truck because she couldn't get ahold of me and she panicked. By the time I got ahold of her and drove there, the driver had already put the car on the flat bed. He wanted me to pay him $400 just to put it back on the ground. I told him to fuck off and put my car down or I would do it myself. Things got tense, he took a few swings at me, I jumped in the cab of his truck and took the keys, cops were called, my car was put on the ground and his tow yard mysteriously burned 3 years later...I guess he tried to rob the wrong person.

The moral of the story is don't subject someone to the highway bandits in tow trucks unless there is just cause for it. Honest mistakes are not just cause...

[Brill Weave]

215 in Pittsburgh. Been there pretty much my whole adult life lol.

[dejet]

Been towed like 4 times. Never been over $300. And then I get it back from AAA(well I guess - the fee but iv come out ahead lol)
NY pricing.

Happy things seem to worked out for ya. If the car has moved I dont think they gave the spot to someone else... Person was just to lazy to park where they should have been. Tow them next time. Dont warn them or anything.

[Kohan]

As others have said, you have the right to just have them towed. You can even reference the law by using that PDF. There is nothing to fear or regret.

[isladar]

215 in Pittsburgh. Been there pretty much my whole adult life lol.

AAA is so fucking worth it. The three times I've ever needed to call them they've been the awesomest people ever, fast as hell, and their first fucking question is if you're safe. God bless 'em, every one.

[plue]

I'm probably going over the top on this, but the violation warning instructions don't gel with me. You're not an employee or authorized agent of the management company. You have no responsibility to be the one to warn people of infractions against the residents in the complex, but if you put the warning on someone else's car and they get retaliatory, you then bear all of the liability and potential danger.

I mean, unless your lease agreement or other such accepted rules say that this is how it works, that's not cool. The management should not put you at risk like that.

This seems like a bit of an overreaction, I mean all you're doing is putting a notice on someone's car that they parked in an inappropriate place. Then again, maybe in the US you guys pull out the glocks for that...

[miokomioko]

It takes a real moron to live here and not be aware that almost every single apartment complex in densely-populated US cities has very limited and assigned parking for tenants (1 spot per unit) with a tiny chunk of actual guest parking (or none at all). If someone takes your spot, there's rarely an option outside of parking 15 blocks away. There's no sympathy here!

>:E

[Kohan]

This seems like a bit of an overreaction, I mean all you're doing is putting a notice on someone's car that they parked in an inappropriate place. Then again, maybe in the US you guys pull out the glocks for that...

It definitely isn't just the US. A lot of highly developed cities with parking issues do precisely the same thing. Shit, in Japan, they'll fucking tow your bicycle.

The reason I argue it isn't an overreaction, however, is because it's a demonstration of laziness on the perpetrator's part. You see, usually, any parking problems in Los Angeles can be resolved by driving about a block away, parking there, and walking to your destination. This is what a normal, respectful person will do. A shithead will take someone else's space, and a shithead deserves to get towed.

[Apelila]

The reason I argue it isn't an overreaction, however, is because it's a demonstration of laziness on the perpetrator's part. You see, usually, any parking problems in Los Angeles can be resolved by driving about a block away, parking there, and walking to your destination. This is what a normal, respectful person will do. A shithead will take someone else's space, and a shithead deserves to get towed.

I understand where you are coming from, but I have to disagree - in some cases a note first is warranted. In my complex we had 2 assigned spaces - one with the apt and one we paid for. After 2 months of noticing that a spot probably 10 feet from my apt was never parked in, I asked the office if I could change spots since I was getting fed up with having to carry stuff from a much more significant distance over multiple trips.

The lady told me it was assigned to an apt that was under renovation and that I could use it until it was leased, but that she couldn't move it permanently. About 3 months later they left a note and I just moved back to my old spot. She just moved, someone who visits rarely may not have seen her parked there yet.

And then after the first note fuck 'em, Tow baby Tow.

[Acturus]

A note or other such warning is fine, but again, I worry about the resident being expected to deliver the note, instead of the management company.

[Acevalefor]

A note or other such warning is fine, but again, I worry about the resident being expected to deliver the note, instead of the management company.

It's a simple fucking note "Hey, this is an assigned parking space. Don't park here"...It's doesn't have your social security number on it. At the most it would have a number to contact the office.

[MarkM.]

The "parked in my spot" shit happens to me all the time. I make an effort to block them in with my car and to call our "courtesy officer" (a cop that lives on site) to come tag their window with this annoying ass stickers that take up the driver side window. I'm on a streak of 10 weeks now where I've come home and someone has been in my spot. It's annoying as hell because the apt manager won't tow someone until their vehicle has been there over night. I'd say slash their tires.

[quannum]

spike strip your space
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1...spike4_330.jpg

[Acturus]

It's a simple fucking note "Hey, this is an assigned parking space. Don't park here"...It's doesn't have your social security number on it. At the most it would have a number to contact the office.

Because clearly there's no way that the person who owns the car would ever happen to be walking by as the note was being left and, y'know, get all road-rage-y on the person who left the note.

I mean, with all the hostility being expressed in this thread towards having a car towed, it's not a huge jump in logic to assume that a random person visiting who is being threatened with having their car towed could also express such hostility.

Besides, the point is that, unless the particular rules of this housing area are different from everywhere I've ever rented, it is the management company's responsibility to enforce the rules of the place, not pawn that enforcement on the residents, potentially putting them in harm's way.

[Kohan]

Besides, the point is that, unless the particular rules of this housing area are different from everywhere I've ever rented, it is the management company's responsibility to enforce the rules of the place, not pawn that enforcement on the residents, potentially putting them in harm's way.

If there's no on-site manager, or the on-site manager is not available, it does in fact become the resident's responsibility to defend the property they are paying for. They are also legally protected while doing so.

The "parked in my spot" shit happens to me all the time. I make an effort to block them in with my car and to call our "courtesy officer" (a cop that lives on site) to come tag their window with this annoying ass stickers that take up the driver side window. I'm on a streak of 10 weeks now where I've come home and someone has been in my spot. It's annoying as hell because the apt manager won't tow someone until their vehicle has been there over night. I'd say slash their tires.

Have you looked into your local laws regarding this? In Ksandra's case, she can just have them towed (a notice is a courtesy); there's a fair chance you have the same privilege. Also, have you tried going above the apartment manager and asking your management company or the landlord if you can just have the people towed? If the apartment manager is the landlord, and there's no management company, you can invoke state law if it is in your favor.

P.S.: I've worked in Realty, Property Management, and have researched the shit out of these laws in a few different states, which is why I shoot my mouth off about it so fervently. I know what I'm doin' bitches. I have, in fact, been the person responsible for giving people fines, having their shit towed, and so on, so forth. I have been that motherfucker and I will hang up on a bitch that gives me shit. Wanna come to my office and fuck with me in person? Do it, pussy. Suck cocks motherfucker.

[nitsuj]

I was in OC, this happened all the time. I know I'm late to the game, but find the sign with the towing company that comes to your lot, call it, and get them towed. You just need a copy of your lease to prove the parking spot is yours. As long as you have that, it's your legal right to get them towed out.

Doesn't mean you won't feel like a dick, though. :/