Avoiding the Towing (Phew!)

This past weekend, the Princess and her Roomie went to Tuscaloosa to visit friends there. I knew it in advance and was perfectly fine with it. Around 9 a.m., Saturday morning I got a frantic phone call from the Princess. It seems she had gotten a phone call from the police department at her school telling her that her car was going to be towed if she didn't move it right away because it was in a "Game Day" lot. The Princess was very upset because she'd parked her car in one of the "assigned" lots LAST Monday and hadn't moved it. The PD said they'd put up signs about game day parking during the week in that lot. Well, great, but she hadn't been back to her car since then. They also said it was in the pamphlet we were given when we registered the car on campus. And that an email had been sent out. Sheesh. We had a big problem because the Princess was 3 hours away from campus and I was 2 1/2!!!!

So, I had the Princess check her email while I dug out the pamphlet. I read the entire pamphlet and had made the Princess read it too when we had resigistered the card because "I'm not paying for parking tickets for you to be lazy!". So, I re-read the pamphlet. Not a single WORD about Game Day Parking in it or about students having to move their cars from their regularly assigned parking. I had the Princess forward me the email and I called down to the school PD to speak to the Chief.

I argued the point with him (very nicely, I might add) that the requirement to move the cars for Game Day is NOWHERE in the Parking Regulations. Nor was it in the email that was sent out. And if signs were posted in the lot AFTER Labor Day, well they were useless if the student didn't go back to her car the entire week. Finally, he relented and said he would NOT tow her car unless that lot completely filled because alumni had paid for that parking on game day. It was the best I could hope for I guess. He warned that next weekend would be a huge game and there would be no compromise. I assured him that this would NOT be an issue again.

The Princess returned to campus yesterday and her car was where she left it. She has instructions from me to go by the PD and speak to the Chief and thank him for not towing her car, assure him that it won't be an issue again and to make sure she is crystal clear about where her car can be on future Game Days.

Phew! Saved ourselves $50 in towing fees from the University and no telling how much in impound fees just for arguing the point that students (especially freshman students) can't know something if they aren't properly informed. Dodged a big financial bullet on that one!