I live in an apartment block that has visitor parking. My daughter came to stay with me recently and sometimes parked in the visitor's car park if she couldn't find a park in the street.
Although there are signs saying 4 hour limit, the previous managers had not enforced this rule, but if a car had been there for more than a couple of days, they left a note in the lift to move it. A few weeks ago, a new manager was appointed and when we came home from shopping the other day, we found the new manager had had my daughter's car towed as well as another one.
The manager was really offensive about the situation when I asked him why he didn't just put a notice on the noticeboard to say he was going to start towing people's cars. He kept waving a piece of paper in my face that he had put on the affected cars. This "notice" had no company name on it, was undated, unsigned, and threatened the car would be towed if it was "sighted again." We had to pay $550 to get the car back.
We couldn't find the tow truck place at first, it didn't even have the company name on the door, just the address and two guys taking money from people to get their cars back. The whole thing seemed really suspicious.
My understanding is the Manager and the Body Corporate should have complied with the Body Corporate and Community Management Act (BCCM Act) and obtained an adjudicator's order before they touched the car, and that as my daughter was my guest, in fact she had the right to park in the visitor's car park and was not parking "illegally."
I have made a formal complaint to what I was told was the Body Corporate who now say they are not really the Body Corporate, only the management of the Body Corporate, but won't tell me who is the Body Corporate proper and who is the Chair. Nor will they comment on whether they have contravened the BCCM Act or answer any questions at all.
One of the questions I asked was "Does the Body Corporate or any entity connected with it have any financial gain from the towing of my daughter's car - e.g. a commission?"
If as I suspect the BCCM Act has been contravened, who is the person or agency to complain to? I looked at getting some legal advice but the firms I have contacted want $300 per hour, up front.
The RTA doesn't seem to be the right agency, and previously I have not found them helpful in any matter as they seem more focused on the rights of property owners than tenants.
Although there are signs saying 4 hour limit, the previous managers had not enforced this rule, but if a car had been there for more than a couple of days, they left a note in the lift to move it. A few weeks ago, a new manager was appointed and when we came home from shopping the other day, we found the new manager had had my daughter's car towed as well as another one.
The manager was really offensive about the situation when I asked him why he didn't just put a notice on the noticeboard to say he was going to start towing people's cars. He kept waving a piece of paper in my face that he had put on the affected cars. This "notice" had no company name on it, was undated, unsigned, and threatened the car would be towed if it was "sighted again." We had to pay $550 to get the car back.
We couldn't find the tow truck place at first, it didn't even have the company name on the door, just the address and two guys taking money from people to get their cars back. The whole thing seemed really suspicious.
My understanding is the Manager and the Body Corporate should have complied with the Body Corporate and Community Management Act (BCCM Act) and obtained an adjudicator's order before they touched the car, and that as my daughter was my guest, in fact she had the right to park in the visitor's car park and was not parking "illegally."
I have made a formal complaint to what I was told was the Body Corporate who now say they are not really the Body Corporate, only the management of the Body Corporate, but won't tell me who is the Body Corporate proper and who is the Chair. Nor will they comment on whether they have contravened the BCCM Act or answer any questions at all.
One of the questions I asked was "Does the Body Corporate or any entity connected with it have any financial gain from the towing of my daughter's car - e.g. a commission?"
If as I suspect the BCCM Act has been contravened, who is the person or agency to complain to? I looked at getting some legal advice but the firms I have contacted want $300 per hour, up front.
The RTA doesn't seem to be the right agency, and previously I have not found them helpful in any matter as they seem more focused on the rights of property owners than tenants.
