QuestionI parked in a strip mall parking lot with a for sale sign in my truck and my vehicle was towed thirteen hours later without any notification. I was called after my car had been towed by the service clerk at a shop that used the parking lot, saying that my vehicle was towed. There were no visible signs for that section of the parking lot. I am wondering what my rights are with regard to the notification that the towing company needs to make, or the length of time that my vehicle can legally be there. I live in Tigard oregon. Thank you for your time and attention to my dilemma.
Answer"There were no visible signs for that section of the parking lot."
What you are saying or asking here is, there were no signs right in front of where you were parked?
Now the state law says that signs need to be posted at the entrances to the parking lot, and depending on how they are worded they do not have to specifically spell out all the kinds of parking that is prohibited.. Case in point, Tenant parking is used in apartments, fire line means what it says, and UNAUTHORIZED parking means anything that breaks the rules they have..
Notification of the owner is given for illegal parking by the presence of the signs at the entrances..
Since you mentioned Tigard, I will say that yes places like Fred Meyers have signs close the Pacific Highway that say no for sale cars allowed, ( I used to live and drive tow truck in Portland many years ago {drove blue trucks there named after a military rank})..
The subject of parking "for sale cars" comes up often here and property owners who sell products and want people to come in and park to spend money tend to not like others who try to sell things on their property (IE cars)
I am not sure if there are any "park and sell" lots around there (they are popular down here in Alabama) and they act like small car dealerships where you pay for a space to sell your car.
But like anything, I know you where trying to save money by parking in the lot, but that kind of practice is really frowned upon in most areas of the country, and those vehicles are generally targeted for towing right away...
The other part of the question about the length of time it can be there before being towed, well the signs are up and that means as you would be getting out of the vehicle and walking away then its fair game for towing..
The service clerk who called you most likely has seen lots of problems and had people complaining to them I bet, and as such they tried to do the right thing.. But I know your question really is, should the property owner or manager called you first... Well after most of them have to deal with this kind of issue then you can bet they get tired of calling and start towing.. Should the tow company come out and get your phone number and call, well remember the towing company is responding to requests from the property owner to preform a service and as such they charge for that service... They would not stay in business for long if they did not make money doing the job they are hired for...
Now Oregon has changes in the laws regarding towing from private property (yes that also includes stores and shopping centers) which either took effect July 1 (a very popular date for new laws) or will take effect soon, and it might be worth looking into them... But bottom line is the signs and the entrances of the property.
Prices charged and times allowed to remain in violation are not the issue and neither is the notification... By law you are supposed to be send registered letters notifying you of the vehicle being towed... Want to wait the week or more for that notification ?
I know that if you grab any copy of Willamette Week or read any of Steve Dunn's articles in the Oregonian you will see stories about towing just about as often as something about the Blazers..
Hope this helps you..
