Toscana Apartments and towing policy
From:
davidizadar@gmail.com
Date posted:
9/2/2008
Years at this apartment:
2008
-
2008
When I arrived to Toscana Apartments they gave me one yellow sticker for my car and two green cards for my future visitors (so they could use any available visitor parking lots). They warned my about using my yellow sticker when using my assigned parking lot.
Last Saturday, I chose to travel around Orange County and went to Rancho Santa Margarita in my old Chevrolet Cavalier 1997.
There, among other places, I visited Toyota Rancho Santa Margarita and I ended exchanging my card for a Toyota Corolla 2007.
Knowing Toscana rules, I tried to take off the yellow sticker from my Chevrolet windshield, but it was ripped, as expected.
So, I canceled my trip and returned to Toscana Apartments looking for a replacement.
I arrived to Toscana at 5:10 PM and the last people at the office didn't opened the door (he was attending other customer).
I took my car to the garage, waiting for the next opportunity for speaking with some Toscana representative next morning.
That night, at 9:48 PM, without any warning (phone call or anything), the company in charge towed my car to Santa Ana (several miles from Toscana).
Next morning, 15 minutes before office opening (10:45 AM), I discovered my car missing and went to the office.
After a long conversation / fight with one of the representatives, I discovered that it was possible to use the red card at my assigned parking lot (something they never told me), and that it was my responsibility to recover the car.
After almost two hours, and feeling myself a delinquent, I paid $265 for recovering my car and returned to Toscana office asking for a new yellow sticker. My request was postponed until some manager handled it.
During the weekend I used the red card and my car wasn't towed.
Today, while I was working, my wife went to Toscana office and discovered that someone left a message: we have to pay $75 dollars because we lost our valuable yellow sticker before they provide a new one.
Of course, in addition to looking for a lawyer, we chose to use our red card in the future.
Now, I'll like to think that Toscana Apartments or Equity Residential designed all this charade for providing some service to us, residents.
The goal, as I see it, is to protect our property, the parking lot we pay for and we expect to be available whenever we need it.
If that is the case, congratulations!!!, it is a wise decision.
I also suppose that if you lose your sticker they charge a fine because they think, smart people, that the resident is trying to cheat and he will use it for other car or for some friend.
Again, that sounds almost logical, but not enough.
First of all, we are paying for a parking lot (or more, depending on our apartment), and it should be available to us, even if we choose to change our car daily.
If our managers really want to protect us, they should call us when they (security people) find an unexpected car in our parking lot.
I don't know if they understand that $265 is too much money for an immigrant or student.
On the other hand, if what they really want is to accept just rich people, someone who doesn't care about losing that money, then they should publish that information so we can make our choice and go to some other place.
For me, Toscana Apartments is acting like the administration of any Army Base. Instead of providing services to us, residents, they are acting like a military police and making our life miserable.
I already lost $265 because of those Draconian rules, but I'll save $75 and I'll try to find some other place designed and administered for common residents in Irvine.
But I'll also try by all means to let other people know about that behavior, because it is incredible that in America, where private property is paramount, where freedom is the most important word, some people treat us like Al Qaeda terrorists.
I wish this behavior is an exception and not the rule. I also wish this "invention" is a local creation from Toscana and not from Equity Residential.
There are a lot of technologies available to a property management company for keeping some control without disturbing its residents or violating its rights.
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