I write a lot of letters of complaint, sometimes with real expectations of results, sometimes just to cool off. Usually I send them, sometimes not. I will inaugurate this new category with a letter I wrote last night after hearing the clink of chains and running downstairs here at our Brighton Park exile to find a tow truck about to haul our car off. The gripe letter will be in the mail today. Grrr. Idiots.
Dear Brighton Park Management:
You tried to tow our car at 9:30 p.m. last night. I heard the noise and forestalled this with only seconds to spare. We have several objections which we wish to put in writing.
First, our understanding, confirmed by the manger who responded last night, is that unregistered cars cannot be parked in the open spaces after 10:00 p.m. So what were you doing hooking our car up at 9:30?
Secondly, we only received one warning. You have two stubs for warning tickets, so obviously one of them must have fallen off or been taken off by someone else. We had no idea that we were at risk of being towed for just one infraction. This possibility, of course, is one reason responsible management makes every effort to give fair warning before towing a car.
Having a car towed is expensive and a huge inconvenience. As property owners in a nearby condominium and active participants in the condo association there, we know that sometimes cars need to be towed and sometimes even residents’ cars, but we take this step only after making every effort to resolve the issue in some other way and giving ample warning. Since we have several times requested temporary permits for this car and it is clearly known to the security patrol, you could have called us or left a notice on our door or even fined us, for instance. We would have been doubly careful to move the car into the garage on time (not that that would have helped us this time!).
Third, your parking policy is unfair. Reasonable residential complexes assign two parking spots, often one outside stop and one inside spot, to two-bedroom apartments. If a resident has only one car, they can choose which to use. Your policy, under which we have been unable to register our car because we only have one, is patently unfair. It also, of course, encourages dishonesty, which we did not employ, but in retrospect we now think we should have told you we had two cars and registered the actual car for outside parking. In our case, our garage is far from our unit, and we have a toddler, so parking in the garage is a burden.
Finally, rules are of course important for the smooth functioning of a residential complex, but when, as we have observed here, management routinely charges infractions for petty things—the occasional bicycle (in a complex without bike racks!) or, gasp, a car that backs into a spot (what is that about?), this generates ill-will, low morale, and even lower rates of compliance. We have noted this in the complex where we own. Lighten up.
But most of all, if you’re going to be sticklers about rules, at least follow them precisely. We are conscientious and try very hard to follow all the rules. Nine-thirty is not 10:00, and we expect an apology.
