Could Highland mall suck any more?

[minus 2]

I was getting lunch and when I walked back to my car I saw a security guard looking at all of the inspection/registration stickers on every car.

One was expired and he wrote down the plate number and made a phone call (tow truck?).

It seems like this practice would drive off more customers from your crappy mall.

Strange.

[sixxbach]

I wonder what the law is on that? I would like to think your car can't be towed for that. My dad is a concierge and at the condo place he works at its against their homeowner's to have an expired inspection or registration. They actually have to cite. I can understand that I guess but a mall??!!!

[GneissGuy]

Maybe the security guard has a side deal for kickbacks from a towing company and the mall ownership doesn't know anything about it.

[twinsound]

Yeah you can't be towed for JUST an expired registration/inspection.

Regardless, there's no way a mall cop would have any authority on this matter - not even Paul Blart.

If it's true, whoever gets towed should sue Highland Mall.

But yeah, Highland Mall sucks.

[yeesh]

Highland Mall is still open...?

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by yeesh

Highland Mall is still open...?

In bankruptcy, but still open.

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by twinsound

Yeah you can't be towed for JUST an expired registration/inspection.

Regardless, there's no way a mall cop would have any authority on this matter - not even Paul Blart.

If it's true, whoever gets towed should sue Highland Mall.

But yeah, Highland Mall sucks.

I believe you can be towed if you're parked on a public street, but maybe not if you're on your own property. Maybe the law allows them to tow your car if you're parked in a "semi-public" place such as a shopping mall parking lot. IANAL

[nuglet]

You can be towed on a public street, but if it's for "non functional" vehicle, they put one of those obnoxious fluorescent stickers on, then, if the vehicle isn't moved, they will tow. But not for inspection or registration.
And remember, Highland Mall is NOT public property, it's private property, not owned by the public. Ie: state, city, county, fed. Those are public property and unless marked otherwise, are open to public parking during non working hours.

[Mokoa]

Years ago I had a neighbor call code compliance on me because of the expired sticker on my vehicle. Code compliance made me move it off the property or out of sight. The vehicle was not in working condition and that was the reason I gave for the expired sticker. I was not going to get a new one until I could afford the cost of the repairs and get them done. It did not matter. Code compliance threatened to have it impounded if I did not comply with their order.

This occurred in SA.

[rCoder]

Hey, don't you know that the worst crime is to not keep the feed trough full?

[GneissGuy]

Originally Posted by nuglet

And remember, Highland Mall is NOT public property, it's private property, not owned by the public. Ie: state, city, county, fed. Those are public property and unless marked otherwise, are open to public parking during non working hours.

For certain things, places like shopping center parking lots are in a legal grey area. For some things, they're treated like private property, for some things, they're treated as something other than private property.

I don't know the specific local laws about whether they can tow your vehicle from a "semi-public" parking area like this because of expired tags or an inspection sticker. Remember, the government likes to throw in special provisions for themselves in order to ring the cash register on taxes and fees.

Also remember that some of the tow truck operator stuff is sort of a license to steal in a lot of cases. If they "wrongly" take your car, it's really hard to get it back other than by paying their extortion money. The police aren't likely to help, and you'd spend months or years and thousands of dollars taking them to court. They almost never get prosecuted for incorrectly impounding a car.

[Spacemtn]

Most businesses like shopping malls have contract with towing companies to tow vehicles that are parked in violation of the "rules" set forth by the property owner. These "rules" have to be posted at so many notices per so many square feet of parking space. The rules don't have to be complete, they just have to inform you that vehicle parke in violation of their rules will be towed they have to give the towing companies information so you know where to get your vehicle back (after payng the outrageous charges). On private property, you are fair game.

[nawtynatalie]

I'm a mall addict, and I've only been there once, enough said.... :|

[Guest092810]

That's pitiful. They're lucky to have any business at all, and here they're trying to piss people off. Amazing.

[theaustinescorts]

Usually these malls are owned by one of a small number of chains. If it is independently owned and in bankruptcy it could be a steal to buy it. It has great potential given the gentifrication of everything around it, and all it really needs is a water moat [sp] and guard towers like old castles used to have to seal off any of the riff-raff wandering in from the bus stops on the north side of the mall. It's the urban bus traffic there that ruined it, just as the installation of a bus stop ruined a similar mall on Walzum in San Antonio. Just goes to show you that if you're going to have public transportation that the routes need to keep the the riff-raff in their own hoods. Bus routes in the hood need to not link up with buses that go to places where hood-dwellers will ruin everything.