Fighting boots by hired HOA- funny

Keith wrote: And of course, the answer is Miata. When I was in school, I discovered that I could drive up to the gates in the parking lots, lift the arm up enough to drive underneath, then continue on my merry way into the lot. If I had the Locost then, I wouldn't have even had to slow down.

You're talking about Western right? I used to drive all sorts of things under those gates. The AE86 and '90 Celica could get in some lots without me even lifting the arm. The '80 Celica had enough ground clearence to go over the grass via the wheelchair access ramp onto the sidewalk - and then there was my dad's Jeep Grand Cherokee. That thing made its own entrances.

I'm pretty sure I caused a barrier to be installed. After a whole semester of doing it there were a particularly worn-in set of tyre tracks over the grass to get into the lot behind Middlesex College. A while later a concrete wall appeared across my path. That's my wall. My legacy at UWO. I even signed my name on it (my signature is illegible.)

Fun fact: if you dispute a Western parking ticket in writing, they drop it almost every time! I only had to pay two in the eight years I was there.

Not to mention all the places I used to put my full-size school bus around campus. Nobody questions a bus parked in a "bus loading zone" even if it's there all day.

J

You almost have to believe that people sitting on the boards of HOA's are getting kick backs from the towing companies. Why would they want to terrorize their own residents?

looks like its already been google bombed up to #3

GlennS, I think you've nailed it there. Two reasons this is happening that I can see: 1. Kickbacks, as you suggest. 2. Power trip for the HOA board. There's some real Socialists in those things. I'm so glad I don't live in one anymore and I never will again. The shiny happy person next door to us in League City had nothing better to do than complain to the HOA every time he could think of something. I finally got fed up and explained his mental issues to the board people and they stopped responding to his complaints. So he started calling the cops instead. Then once a week, someone from the HOA would drive around and take notes: Trash cans out too early, grass needs cutting, etc. Nazi's.

I think the audi guy was real nice in giving them their equipment back. I think that if they put it on his car in his own driveway, it now belongs to him. He should at least charge them a storage fee.

So are they socialists or nazis?

Nazis were socialists. The National Socialist Party of Germany.

I know their name. I also know fascism is pretty far from socialism. I mean, if it's the People's Republic of China, does that make them all Republicans?

I believe the Chinese are Democrats, based on their political contributions.

i personaly would have angle grinded those things off of my wheels and then refused to anwer any questions as to what happened to them.

Cop: Sir, what happened to this guys wheel clamps

Me: Heres my lawyers card.

Cop: Did you take his wheel clamps?

Me: ...

Sounds like a job for:

Angle Grinder Man!

How did this end? I didn't see any kind of conclusion...

Jay wrote:

Keith wrote: And of course, the answer is Miata. When I was in school, I discovered that I could drive up to the gates in the parking lots, lift the arm up enough to drive underneath, then continue on my merry way into the lot. If I had the Locost then, I wouldn't have even had to slow down.

You're talking about Western right? I used to drive all sorts of things under those gates. The AE86 and '90 Celica could get in some lots without me even lifting the arm. The '80 Celica had enough ground clearence to go over the grass via the wheelchair access ramp onto the sidewalk - and then there was my dad's Jeep Grand Cherokee. That thing made its own entrances.

Yup, it was Western. The colder the weather, the higher the arms would sit. There must have been a rubber belt or something in there. My usual parking spot when I drove to campus was a little baby one beside Alumni Hall. It's probably a Starbucks now or something.

When I bought my current house, I specifically chose one without an HOA. I don't lead an HOA-friendly lifestyle, what with lots of cars and a trailer and the like. It's been my experience that they're run by people with nothing else to do but make up rules to suit themselves, but who don't actually get anything done that needs to be done. Example, my wife's old house. She couldn't put a shed in the backyard that was visible over the fence without approval from the architectural committee (people, you live in a soulless suburb of cookie-cutter houses, there is no architecture anywhere in sight!) but if the irrigation system blows up then it's up to the local Couple Of Handy Guys to take up tools and fix it. Her dad has an ATV with a plow blade on the front, and he used to clear a few extra sidewalks as well as his own if he felt like it. Until people started complaining that he wasn't doing their sidewalks. So now he does his, and nobody else's.

The T-shirts are awesome.

My car got booted a couple months ago while i was in the middle of transferringg plates after i took the white car off the road.

My solution? I took off all the other three wheels and invited the company to come tow the car. They arrived to find the car on jack stands, with one wheel and a boot on it. I then gave them the option of attempting to tow it and possibly getting money if i cared enough to keep the car, or they could take their boot right now free of charge, as the car had been lacking a plate for all of 3 hours while i was at the BMV, or i would get the boot off myself and put the car in storage, where it currently resides.

With that ultimatum, combined with the fact that my car had a legal plate on it again by the time they got there, they just sheepishly took the boot and left.

The dolly idea is pure gold, though, i wish i had thought of that.

Dr. Hess wrote: I believe the Chinese are Democrats, based on their political contributions.

NO BUT THEY ARE REPUBLICANS, THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, IT SEZ RIGHT THERE SEE!?!?1ONE

fiat22turbo wrote: Here in the NW we are having our own battles with Parking enforcement: http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=349379&category=22101 http://www.katu.com/news/local/6769887.html http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:iQjvQNfBQe8J:www.leg.state.or.us/gordly/pr_012407.pdf+Portland+tow+companies&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=20&gl=us http://en.allexperts.com/q/Towing-Issues-1411/towing-signs-car-towed.htm http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=21601 http://www.portlandonline.com/Auditor/index.cfm?c=28461 http://wweek.com/editorial/2947/4351/ This sort of E36 M3 needs to stop.

I had a tow company steal my car in Eugene, OR. Used to park my car near the dorms on a neighborhood street (public prop.) behind an abandoned lot. They towed my car on Saturday at the beginning of spring break, by the time I got back from break and realized my car was towed, the impound fees were more than my car was worth. When I talked to the towers they claimed that they could only get 200 for my car (blue book value around 1000 bucks) at auction so even if I just let them have my car, I still owed them around 700 bucks.

When I talked to the free legal council at school they said there was nothing I could do but that it is rarely worth their time to send it to collections. With this leverage in mind, I politely explained to the tow company that there was no way I could afford the impound fee, so I negotiated to give them my keys and sign over the title and I could pay them 100 bucks when I got payed. I got a nice little receipt that said I only owed them 100 dollars with no due date. I'm gonna have to pay them sooner or later, it's been several years. A small victory considering they got away with my car.

It's amazing the extortion that these companies can get away with legally.

seann wrote: It's amazing the extortion that these companies can get away with legally.

Criminals WISH they could steal your car, hold it for ransom, and if you fail to pay, sell the car and bill you the remaining ransom, all while you are unable to legally do anything and with the police backing them up.

Do tow companies have to provide any evidence that they legaly towed your car?

GlennS wrote: Do tow companies have to provide any evidence that they legaly towed your car?

No, from what I'm told they didn't. The city law was that any car that was left in one spot for a certain amount of time (operable or inoperable), could be towed if 24 hours of notice was given. Notice consists of a sticker on the window. I couldn't prove that it didn't sit in the same spot for the required time (I think this was 5 days). I'll never know if notice was given. They certainly don't have to prove that is was.

Dr. Hess wrote: 2. Power trip for the HOA board.

^^^ I think that's the biggest reason. Also, it seems like there is always the self appointed King Arse in these type of groups.

Personally, I find it disturbing that this kind of power can be foisted on you AFTER you have purchased the property WITHOUT your consent or agreement.

carzan wrote:

Personally, I find it disturbing that this kind of power can be foisted on you AFTER you have purchased the property WITHOUT your consent or agreement.

He probably didn't show up at the meeting. No show up.. no voice, no choice.

The original links got borked up after the thread got closed, sorry for that folks.

Awesome thread.

I'm on my HOA board just so I know who's complaining about my race car (or trailer) being outside from time to time.

I give myself verbal warnings before I threaten to tow myself. Then I peacefully move it back into the garage.

http://graphicography.org/random/dasboot.html

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/20/das-boot-one-mans-crusade-against-injustice

viral

http://digg.com/autos/Arizona_Parking_Solutions_APS

theres a big page on metafilter somewhere.

ignorant wrote: thread is th3 locked. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3895892 <--- new thread http://www.parkingenforcementforum.com/ <--- new forum. Conjecture alert, I wonder if APS actually contacted the forum through lawyers. but they haven't stopped http://www.arizonaparkingsolutionssucks.com/ Now with Nazi themed homepage.

I registered on VWVortex and I tried the link you posted for the new thread but it says I'm not authorized to view it. Any cliff's notes?

Dr. Hess wrote: Nazis were socialists. The National Socialist Party of Germany.

actually they were fascist, kind of the polar oppisit

Back on the HOA note, I dont think they would like my Idea for a lawn mower, AKA a potbellied pigmy goat