The Missing Sign

Well my first post of 2007 is on a familiar theme, for any regular readers that I may have left (as my posts have been entirely sporadic for the last few months.) This post deals with having had my car towed from Osborne Village on Friday night. Being the vigilant, fine-hating soul that I am I would never willingly park in a spot that even modestly threatened a tow. I would rather park blocks away and walk. So when I had my car towed Friday it was a great shock to the system and sent a spasm of indignation through me. I decided to write the branch manager of the bank who's spot I parked on, to see if he would agree to refund the towing fee. Here is how the letter reads:

Dear Mr. Young,

I wanted to inform you of an unfortunate circumstance involving my vehicle and the parking in behind your branch. On Friday night I parked my car in the parking lot directly behind the Osborne Freehouse. Most of the spots in this lot are reserved only during business hours, and there was no signage present to indicate that the policy was different with regards to your particular area of the lot.

When I returned to my spot later that evening I noticed my car was no longer there. I was confused, because there was no sign to indicate if it had been towed or by whom--I even wondered if it had been stolen. I took a cab home and decided to investigate further the following day. When I returned the next morning I noticed the parking stalls you maintain against the back of your branch, which do have a sign indicating that they are patrolled by Tartan Towing. I called Tartan, and sure enough they had my car. It was then that I noticed that there was a sign post next to the spot where I had parked which probably would have stated (had it not been removed by vandals) that parking in these spaces is prohibited.

According to the City of Winnipeg Private Parking By-Law 6549/95 Section 3. (1):

Any owner, occupant, or person in charge or control of private property who wishes to take advantage of the provisions of this by-law for the purpose of keeping unauthorized persons from leaving vehicles on private property shall erect and maintain thereon signs indicating the identity and telephone number of the person or firm in charge or control of the private property who can be contacted in the event of impoundment...

In short it is your responsibility to maintain appropriate signage indicating that those spots are restricted, and that they are patrolled by Tartan Towing. Of course the towing fee, cab fare, brief moment of terror I felt when I thought my car had been stolen, along with the inconvenience of retrieving the vehicle are hardly worth a law suit, however I would encourage you to refund the small sum of 61 dollars (which is a significant amount to a person in my current financial situation) plus cab fare ($20) as a matter of principle and to act swiftly in the commissioning of a sign to replace the one that has been removed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Ryan C. Kinrade