Sucky parking job, an almost-Argabargaing, and a question for Argabarga

[WishfulSpirit]

Hi everyone

Life's good here in Denver despite the cold temps. The only real item of note at work occurred Sunday, when one of our valued guests decided to park sucky. Actually two sucks in one: first, he was on ramp next to the handicap spots (thus blocking the path from said spots to the door....since her hubby is in a wheelchair, this made Wishful grrrrrr). Second, no handicap tags, so he had no business being in that part of the lot anyway (and even if he DID have tags, you still have to use, you know, an actual SPOT).

We first called the local police to get some advice. The cops ran the plate and found out the car was registered to a local rent-a-car emporium. Next call was to the tow company whose signs are up in our lot. Unfortunatly (for us) the sucky parker had moved by the time Argabarga's breatheren got here.

This brings me to my question. Arga (or other tow truck drivers on here), what happens when you tow a rental for illegal parking? I'm assuming the fee to get it back still applies, but do you use rental paperwork to ensure the right person is recovering the car, or what?

[RealUnimportant]

I believe he's answered this before in a thread maybe last month or so? IIRC, they only contact the rental company if it becomes "abandoned", i.e. the parker/renter doesn't come for it within a month or so.

You were more charitable than I would have been... Although with it being a rental, scuffing the paint in an effort to get by wouldn't have had much impact on the numbskull who'd abandoned it there.

[WishfulSpirit]

Heh heh scuffing the paint didn't occur to me. First, I work at the hotel rather than staying there, so Hubby is home rather than trying to get by and "accidentally" scratching the car because it was blocking the ramp. Second, it's bad form to damage things at work. Though if someone else DID scratch the paint, I'd assume Sucky Parker would have to pay for the repair if he didn't get full insurance. Since this guy seems like he's one to take the easy way out, I'd wager he just had liability (seriously, Sucky Parker, our lot was half empty, why did you need to make your own space, you saved yourself literally less than 10 feet of walking).

[EvilEmpryss]

Ac-tu-all-ly, scuffing the paint can ruin a renter's day on top of having lost the rental car. The rental car will happily pass the costs on to the renter in the form of a damage claim. On top of the fees for recovering the towed car from impound.

And since most rental places have hold of a credit card number and a signed receipt from the renter permitting "appropriate additional charges", it will be on the renter to prove to the credit card company that none of it as his fault in order to get a chargeback of the fees.

[MadMike]

Second, it's bad form to damage things at work.

Or to talk about doing it on a site that doesn't condone illegal activity, such as this one.

[RealUnimportant]

Or to talk about doing it on a site that doesn't condone illegal activity, such as this one.

I started that particular train of thought, sorry. Certainly one shouldn't set out purely with the intention to cause damage, because then nobody wins.

[WishfulSpirit]

Or to talk about doing it on a site that doesn't condone illegal activity, such as this one.

There's that too. No way I'd ever scratch someone's car on purpose, work or otherwise. A nasty note under the windshield wipers maybe, or a call to Friendly Neighborhood Towing, but that's it.

[Jetfire]

A call to Friendly Neighbourhood Towing is ultimately the best solution. It keeps you out of the equation from any recriminations (or at least most recriminations), and it means the idiot has to do extra work to release their chariot, or at least to get around now. And Friendly Neighbourhood Towing has the experience (and mindset) to properly handle that type of a-hole.

[Argabarga]

We tow rentals all the time.

Either the person renting it comes in and pays the $130 to get the car back (99% of the time), or they pay $130 plus whatever storage it costs when they decide it's no longer their problem and abandon it, only to have the rental company call them up when it's past-due for return and ask them what happened to the car..... (1% of the time) and they realize belatedly that they really should have READ that contract they signed.

[peach2play]

Ohhh another Mile High City person *wave* People who block handicap parking drive me crazy. I'm especially militant when it comes to motorcycles blocking the yellow areas. Most of the riders I talk to don't think about it and quickly move their bikes though :-)

[WishfulSpirit]

Now there's three of us! We should arrange a meet up.

[WishfulSpirit]

I managed to get in a shouting match with some SOB in the B&N parking lot who was parked (well sitting in his car) right on the white stripes next to handicapped parking. He was SO convinced he "wasn't in the handicapped parking" (right, because wheelchair vans have Star Trek-style transporters and nobody NEEDS that room in order to get out, you go ahead and sit your healthy 20 year old ass right there because you're too lazy to walk another 10 feet). I spent most of the commute home shaking with anger (wasn't driving, or I'd have gotten a tea and calmed down first). B-tard also had his Come Get Me Lights on, so I'm hoping he keeps thinking those are the "park anywhere I damn well feel like" lights and learns otherwise. Hopefully right after he's paid a major bill and doesn't have any money to pay the impound fee.

[EricKei]

WS - we actually have a subforum for get-togethers

http://customerssuck.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=28

[notalwaysright]

He was SO convinced he "wasn't in the handicapped parking" (right, because wheelchair vans have Star Trek-style transporters and nobody NEEDS that room in order to get out /snip

Arg. The parking lot where I work is old and small (comparatively speaking) and just this year we got one cart return. You can guess that most people just lazily shove their carts anyplace handy. One such spot is in the handicapped spaces. Well, the loading area, I guess. So a vehicle can park there, but if someone needed to unload from the side, they would have to get out and move a bunch of carts. Oh wait! There's a good chance that the person who needs the space actually can't get out and do this.

It makes me fume whenever I see it. Just walk the cart back inside. I realize that idea is pure insanity, it's totally unreasonable to expect this. I know most places have cart returns. But we don't. And just because it is slightly inconvenient for you to walk a few more paces (again, not the hugest parking lot, it's not really that far), doesn't mean you should totally inconvenience another person by preventing them from being able to exit their vehicle! It's inconvenient for me to stop at traffic lights, yet I still do it. See the logic here?

[protege]

Ac-tu-all-ly, scuffing the paint can ruin a renter's day on top of having lost the rental car. The rental car will happily pass the costs on to the renter in the form of a damage claim. On top of the fees for recovering the towed car from impound.

That depends on whether or not the renter actually bought insurance on the car. Usually, it's not very much. The last time I rented a car, it came to about $30-40. However, if your luck is like mine, it's a good idea to purchase the insurance. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to pay hundreds of dollars to repair a tiny scratch on a rental