d4r7h3v1l

Today, I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. This was odd, so I looked at the clock and found that it was 8:00 (on the dot). I freaked. I threw on clothes, got in my car, and left. When I got to the school it was 8:14, the end of first period, so I had 4 minutes to get to AP Bio at the other end of the school.

Our parking lot has fewer spots than there are seniors that can drive, and seeing as people with no class seconds period hadn't left yet, I couldn't find a legal spot. I found a spot behind other's who'd parked illegally and had to take it to get to class on time.

I made it to class on time panting, but relieved. After 2 periods of Bio, I had gym. After gym, this acquaintance of mine came up to me in the hall and asked if I had a white Eclipse. I said yea and he told me he just saw it being towed.

I had that period free, so I ran to the lot and found that, sure enough, my car was gone. All of the other cars parked illegally were just stickered (my school has a system where they put stickers on illegally parked cars as warnings). I went to the office and asked to speak with the dean, who deals with parking. She told me that I had been stickered twice and that they tow if a person has another violation after being stickered. Never before had I parked illegally (I just got my license in December). It turned out that my sister had been stickered twice last year with the same car, and they thought it was me. I was dumbfounded that they even kept the previous year's records. Only seniors are allowed to park, so nobody would be an offender in two different years. Before I asked, she told me that the school would not pay for its mistake; I would have to pay the $288 to get my car back.

Right now, my parents are in Vegas for a convention, so I had no way of getting that much money. I called the towing company and they only take cash, so my emergency credit card would be of no use. I ended up having to beg my rich friend to lend me the money. My car is now back in my possession, but it is ridiculous that now I owe a friend of mine almost $300 for the school's mistake. I want to do something, but "you can't fight city hall."

I requested a copy of the parking agreement my father and I had signed in order to get parking privileges at the school, and it says clearly that the first violation just gets a sticker put on the student's car and the second elicits towing.

I really had to rant about this. I am so p'd off right now that I have to figure out a way to make $288 bucks by March. Thanks for taking the time to read this lol.

shreya.iitk

^ this is so not done- get your parents to talk to the dean.

Muffy333

Well, you'll never park illegally again!!!

When I was just out of college my car was towed and I'm sure the paper no parking signs were stuck up after I parked. I had to walk like three miles in high heels to the tow place in 85 degree heat and pay the tow people AND pay the ticket on my car. But it has never happened to me again!

It was really nice of your friend to pay. Make sure you pay him/her back ASAP.

nngmm

Get your parents involved. The school should cover the cost (but, of course, you should pay your friend back ASAP regardless - it was very generous of him to rescue your car).

07DAD

And, bill your sister for the $288. She illegally parked twice, right?

calmom

Wouldn't it have made more sense to find a legal parking space off campus and arrive a few minutes late to AP Bio?

Sorry about the $288, but you've just learned a valuable life lesson about illegal parking. Since it is clear that you knew you were illegally parked from the start, your argument seems to be that you deliberately violated a rule in expectation of a less serious consequence.

I know that you perceive this as unfair because of the first-offense rule -- but I spent many years as a criminal defense attorney, and I can assure you that life is like that: the system isn't always fair. Sometimes repeat offenders get off lightly, and sometimes first offenders face surprisingly harsh penalties. That's why I say it is a valuable "life lesson".... the consequences for rule-violation are not always what you expect.

d4r7h3v1l

calmom, I completely agree about finding a legal spot. I feel stupid for not finding a legal spot. I wasn't thinking and there is really no place to find a legal spot near the school. I feel, however, that I can't not fight this just because I did commit a crime. If somebody stole a TV and got sentenced to live, would they not try to argue it because they would be afraid of hearing "but you did commit a crime."?

SlitheyTove

I'm guessing this will be moved to the Cafe by the mods...

Work with your parents and the administration to get this rectified as much as possible. The school should update their policies so that their record-keeping is straight. Check with your sister to make sure that she truly had been stickered twice. Then work out some accomodation with the administration where the school covers some fees related to graduation/senior year expenses. I think you're going to have better luck with this with a private school than a public school. If the school cannot cover the full $288, then your sister gets to pay the balance back to you.

And consider yourself lucky that you learned about how harsh being towed can be in a relatively easy situation. In can be far nastier--fees escalating for every day your car is in impound, expensive taxi rides to the impound lot (and then discovering they are closed, or that they don't take anything but cash), rogue tow companies that illegally hoist your car. If you're ever unlucky enough to have this happen again: make sure you get a receipt for your payment from the impound lot, and that you check the car for damage before you drive it off the impound lot.

starbright

I don't see this as a school mistake at all. It's a record on the car, not the driver. I think it's unrealistic to expect the school to keep track of who parked a car. You and your sister are responsible, not the school and not your parents.

I know it's frustrating, but it seems like real life to me. Would be the same no matter where you parked illegally.

hops_scout

I agree with starbright on this one. It's not fun, but you knew you were being risky when you did it.

Question for you-- what time does your school start?

mathwiz

The fact that the school says they won't pay for their mistake means that they are admitting they in fact made a mistake. Depends on the wording in what you signed, but its entirely possible its not your fault. Good luck.

violadad

Is the parking permit issued to the owner or driver of the vehicle? An important distinction. If your dad is/was the owner, and the permit issued to the vehicle, you clearly should have been towed.

If the permit is issued to the driver, then read on.

The schools own "seniors only" parking policy and the dates of the prior two infractions clearly makes it their error.

A clearly written letter, addressed to the principal/dean that logically outlines the events, policy, and infraction dates you described should do the trick.

Fight it. Local news organizations love this kind of story.

BunsenBurner

I wonder if there is something in the contract you signed covering a situation like yours. If only the seniors are allowed to park, why does the school keep records from previous years? If there is nothing, I'd get your parents involved. What if you have a sister who is 5-7 years older than you and you inhereited her old clunker? Would those 5-7 yr old "violations" count towards your record, too?

$288 is a huge chunk of change for a public school, so I would not count on getting it back, but at least you can fight for a change in the parking contract to benefit the future seniors.

d4r7h3v1l

violadad, I think it's definitely to the driver, considering both my sister and I had to get permits when my dad was/is the owner both times.

lealdragon

I agree: get your parents to talk to the school. But, if they won't budge, then:

Your sister should pay 2/3 of the cost and you should pay 1/3 of the cost.

She parked illegally twice and you once, so that seems like the fair solution.