himespau 

So my apartment complex has several bike racks in our indoor garage for all residents (who have registered their bikes with the complex) to use. This past weekend, I went down to get my bike out and tune it up so that I could start commuting on it once the weather gets nicer (I'm a good weather only wuss). Anyway, I got down there (don't have a car so don't usually go into the garage) to find that the bike racks were no longer where they were when I'd last locked my bike there in November. The whole racks had been moved so they were crammed all one in front of the other with the last jammed tight against the wall and all the bikes were covered with a tarp. After climbing over a couple of piles of bricks, I found my bike wedged between the middle rack and some construction debris, but I couldn't get at it well enough to get it out and check it for damage. I can't see how they could have moved all the racks with bikes attached (they certainly don't have a key to my lock) without damaging them, and given the way my bike is, I'm especially thinking my bike would be damaged, but couldn't tell.

Here's the thing, to use that rack, we're required to register with the complex, so all bikes down there should have a tag on them telling the complex which apartment they belong to, but they didn't bother to tell (or ask permission) us either in an complex-wide communication or just the apartments that had bikes on the rack.

So I called the complex management today and reamed out the person I talked to about this (who then said she couldn't do anything about it because it was her boss's decision and he was out today). She asked me what I wanted. Did I want help getting my bike out? I told her that wouldn't do me any good because I was at work at the moment, but yes, eventually my bike did need to get out so I could check it for damage. I also wanted a safe place where I could store it that it wouldn't be damaged/moved without notice again in the future and a thorough explanation of why it had happened this time without any notice or warning so I could protect my bike.

Is that valid? Is it enough? What should I have said I wanted? You don't mess with a man's bike, right?

himespau 

I don't think I'm being unreasonable to have freaked when I saw that, am I?

Bain19

jump to conclusions much ? Wait to see how your bike is and find out how they moved the bike racks

CliftonGK1

This is why my bikes stay in my apartment or my garage. I don't trust the same guys who ruined someone's convertible while pruning tree branches in our parking lot to have any more consideration towards a rack full of bicycles.

2su

I find that my first reaction to any percieved slight to my bike is always an over-reaction... but a justified one.

Give them Hell! I'm pissed right now and it isn't even my bike.

himespau 

Ok, so maybe I don't know that there's anything wrong with it and that might be an over-reaction (given that the front wheel is wedged pretty tightly between the rack and the pile of bricks, at the very least that's probably out of true), but just moving/messing with my stuff without telling me gets under my skin. That and the whole making the racks accessible is going to make my plan to start commuting via bike more difficult (as my wife doesn't want my bike in the apartment).

Yeah, I probably should have vented here BEFORE rather than after calling the office, but I figured it'd been a day since I found out so I would be at least a little calmer about the whole deal.

ryanwood

They should have notified you, but if the property manager needed to move the racks to work on something in the garage it could have been a decision on the fly. One of those "I need to fix the sprinkler system but these bikes are in the way" kind of decisions. That does not relieve them of liability, unless of course there was some caveat in the registration process that included the complex waiving its liability in case of damage to the bikes in the rack.

I used to live on a 3rd floor walkup with a wooden deck where I kept my grill, and one day when our maintenance department was there repairing some broken railings, they destroyed my grill in the process of removing it and when I confronted them they pointed out that my lease released them from responsibility for damaged property on the deck.

Not saying you were in the wrong, but you may be out of luck in the event of damage to your bike.

ortcutt

I briefly made use of the bike storage room in my apartment building in New York. But every time I'd head inside (passing through a door that was officially to remain locked, but which usually gaped wide open), I noticed that all the bikes around me were either neglected beaters rusting into powder or kids' toys. It dawned on me that none of the residents in my large, 21-story building who made regular use of a bicycle (and there were a lot of them) were willing to store their machines in that room. I talked my wife into a floor-to-ceiling pole-style bike storage rack.

unterhausen

the OP's reaction was absolutely justified. It's nearly impossible to move a rack without doing wheel or even frame damage. I think the manager is going to be surprised how much a new set of wheels costs.

himespau 

Good point, ortcutt. Most of the bikes down there weren't all that nice (and even mine is only worth a couple of hundred bucks), so I guess I should have known better, but I thought since it was in a secured entry garage with security guards that it'd be safe down there.

Yeah, even if my bike is damaged, I expect to be SOL (hoping if it isn't I can at least get a different place to store it that will be secure, maybe in the garage in one of the other buildings of the complex), but this wasn't an emergency. They've been doing a renovation project (HVAC) in the complex for the last 18 months and sometime during the last 4 months, they apparently decided they needed a bigger place to store supplies for the renovation and apparently figured that no one cared about the bikes. The thing is, they're done renovating our building (we were the first in our complex and have been done since before they moved the bikes), so I can't figure why they chose our building.

I guess I can have a calm conversation with the manager of the complex tomorrow and try to work something out.

paul2432

While justified, the reaction was not the best approach to achieve a satisfactory remedy.

To the OP: I recommend keeping a friendly tone and seeing where that gets you. At the same time document everything. I'd suggest taking photographs and keeping a log of all conversations. I'd inspect and photograph other bikes as well to show a pattern of damage (if there is one).

Paul

tjspiel

Don't blame you at all for being mad. Getting angry isn't always the best way to remedy a wrong but sometimes it is. There are situations where people need to hear in no uncertain terms that they f*cked up and that you expect them to do what they can to address the current situation and make sure that it doesn't happen again in the future.

Now, it could be that the bike racks needed to be moved pronto and there wasn't time to notify everyone. Even if that were true, I'd expect some notification after the fact at least the the bikes were moved. You were left to find your bike on your own.

himespau 

Note to self: don't leave my bike unattended for 4 months, even if locked up. That's my bad for not taking better care of/having more concern for my bike. Thanks for the rational counter-arguments folks. Definitely will try to be calmer when talking the apartment manager tomorrow than talking to his underlings today. Maybe the fact that I'm upset about it registered and now I can be rational when we work out a compromise solution (if there is one to be had).

himespau 

Any advice for talking points in a calm, rational convo with the guy tomorrow?

Artkansas 

Be sure to take lots of photographs of the situation.

rogerstg

It's always a bad move to ream out an underling. First, it's not civil. Second, that person now thinks you're a ****head, and depending on how good a job you did "reaming" them, your bike is probably no longer safe anywhere in the complex.

It's the same reason that you shouldn't ream out restaurant staff - unless you like the taste of spit.

BTW, it's also likely that your lease or other relevant documents specify that the building management is not responsible for loss or damage.

prathmann

I'd certainly hope that isn't the case - and it shouldn't be. Moving the bikes in a way that is likely to cause damage constitutes negligence on the part of the apartment complex and any costs that result should be reimbursed to you. Seems equivalent to the situation if you parked a car in their lot and they ran into it with a maintenance truck.
As suggested, try to take some pictures before the bike gets moved again to show how it was wedged in place. Then take some more pictures showing any damage once you get the bike out of there. Get estimates from a bike shop for any needed repairs and present these to the manager and calmly, but firmly, ask for reimbursement.

ItsJustMe

I'd be mad too. I don't know how you'd move a rack without damaging wheels.

OK, I guess I can - if they had 4 guys or so, they could run some pipe through the wheels then have two guys lift the rack while to guys lifted the pipes and bikes. It still might scratch the bikes, but it has a good chance of not bending a wheel.

You need to make sure that these people realize that your bike is not a toy, and that you consider them moving your bike without permission exactly the same as if they put a chain on your car and dragged it around without asking.

ortcutt

As a veteran resident of large apartment complexes in New York and Boston, I find these words stirringly idealistic. I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, himespau. (You probably know that.) And rogerstg makes a good point about your lease papers. Dollars to doughnuts that you'll find a "not responsible for damage" disclaimer. I did at my New York place. In any case, you want to make darned sure of it before you stride into the super's office pushing the "I-know-my-rights-and-I-demand-restitution" line. Otherwise, prepare to be gently condescended to, at best.

himespau 

Yeah, especially given that I don't lease directly from the complex, but rather from a condo owner who pays the complex association fees, I'm sure somewhere in there is a liability disclaimer.

I think my attitude is somewhat like ItsJustMe's in that my bike is my car, and they've just essentially tossed it about willy nilly, but I guess at this point all I'm hoping for is an apology for not letting me know before they moved the racks, notification before they move them again (so that if I'm stupidly still using it then I can take my bike out first and, even if I'm not, everyone else who is using it can), and an alternate usable place to store my bike safely (though this is an absolute best case scenario that I don't expect to get). Really, I just want to register my displeasure and make them understand what they did was unacceptable so they won't do it again. I mean I pay a premium to live in a place that has extra amenities (one of which is a protected, secure, indoor storage place for my bike, and they've taken that away from me. Still since I'm paying my landlord who's actually the one paying them for those privileges, it's kind of hazy.

CliftonGK1

Maybe it's different in Boston or NYC, but the "not responsible for damages" clause of a lease is typically there to waive the apartment complex of responsibility in the case of damages not caused through their own fault. (At least that's how it's interpreted in WA.)
It's not the property owner's fault if someone steals your bike from your porch, or some punk kids smash up your bbq with a sledgehammer.
If an employee or agent of the complex (outside contractor) damages your property while working, the complex is responsible for repairs/replacement. Otherwise, what's to keep them from backing their maintenance truck into a few cars in the parking lot and claiming "Sorry, nothing you can do. We're not liable for damage to vehicles in our lot. It's in the lease."

ortcutt

That may indeed be the standard language of the stipulation everywhere. Still, himespau has two uncertainties to deal with: (1) How seriously has his bike been damaged, if at all? (2) How likely is it that himespau and his landlord (or condo assoc.) will agree on a standard of what constitutes damage due to negligence? Solve for these unknowns, and then himespau will discover what it will take to get adequate restitution. I've had the misfortune of dealing with some seriously recalcitrant parties when issues have arisen over shared-use/common spaces (both as a leaseholder and as a condo owner); and yes, I'd chalk it up to something like a New York/Boston "You wanna **** with me? Well let's see what you got" attitude. I don't know whether himespau is right to scale back his expectations for this whole affair; but unless he's willing to embark on a crusade, he might find that it just isn't worth his time and energy to press for justice.

dobber

I'm curious as to how long the OP had abandoned his bike down there in the garage?


Edit: November.......basically four months ago. I think you lost your right to be miffed after a week or two.

Wanderer

Legitimate winter storage, does not constitute abandonment.

irclean

Hear, hear!

Even if there is some sort of "We're not responsible for damages..." clause, the fact that the bikes were moved as decribed without at least posting some sort of notice in the lobby of the building is negligence, pure and simple. Take the property manager to Judge Judy!