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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Posts
    13

    Default Is it Vandalism to Put a Permanent Sticker on Somebody's Car

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: South Carolina.

    Extra parking for my community is in the guest area parking by the pool. I park my car there because we have 3 vehicles and only 2 parking spots for our home. It doesn't sit long. I work 60+ hours per week and it is my main source for transportation (It is moved daily). This morning my car had a sticker on it thanking me for parking in the right location but asking me to verify my address by calling a phone number listed on the sticker. This sticker takes up half of my window and I cannot peel it off no matter what I have tried. I have an appointment with Honda for an oil change and I intend to have them remove the sticker when I go. I feel like my car has been assaulted. No sign is posted that states that they are allowed to place stickers on my car. I don't get a lot of free time in my life and I definitely don't enjoy using it to deal with issues like these. Can I sue the HOA or Property Management for vandalism? They obviously need a better system for figuring out which cars are with which unit than vandalism. To me, the use of this sticker is no different than if they had decided to use spray paint.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    1,131

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    One cannot assault an inanimate object.

    Maybe if you didn't park illegally you wouldn't have to worry - I would think if you're not a guest you cannot park there.

    A sticker on a window is easy enough to remove - use a razor blade and some rubbing alcohol.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    You may sue if you wish. Whether you’d win and how much I cannot say, of course. A lot depends on exactly what your HOA rules provide and all the details of this and I don’t have that information. I suggest, though, that you first discuss the matter with HOA management and see if you can amicably work this out. With some HOAs, if you start to sue over something like this the HOA board gets its back up and starts to look for everything it can ding you with, and that can make living there miserable.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Is it Vandalism to Put a Permanent Sticker on Somebody's Car

    You can report the act to the police. They may investigate and, if they find a basis to do so, may submit the report to the police department for possible prosecution.

    The fact that it is possible to remove a defacement does not mean that the act of defacing property cannot be treated as vandalism. People have been charged with vandalism over sidewalk chalk.

    Meanwhile, while being careful with your paint, a strong solvent like Goo-B-Gone should be sufficient to remove the glue, along with some careful scraping and elbow grease.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    16,474

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    Quote Quoting Highwayman
    View Post
    One cannot assault an inanimate object.

    Maybe if you didn't park illegally you wouldn't have to worry - I would think if you're not a guest you cannot park there.

    A sticker on a window is easy enough to remove - use a razor blade and some rubbing alcohol.
    You might want to re-read the original post. I believe that he was legally parking in the extra parking places by the pool. The sticker also thanked him for parking in the right location.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Posts
    13

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    Quote Quoting Highwayman
    View Post
    One cannot assault an inanimate object.

    Maybe if you didn't park illegally you wouldn't have to worry - I would think if you're not a guest you cannot park there.

    A sticker on a window is easy enough to remove - use a razor blade and some rubbing alcohol.
    I was told to park in the guest area parking when I had initially been parking my vehicle at the curb in front of my home. This wasn't any real issue for me as I understand that parking my car alongside the curb can look tacky. I don't own a razor blade (or rubbing alcohol for that matter) but the idea of scratching my window deters my interest in using your suggested method for removal. Just because it can be removed by someone with more experience does not mean that it is not an act of vandalism. Spray Paint can also be removed yet that would not be acceptable. If I punch someone in the face they will eventually heal, that does not mean that I didn't punch them.

    They deserve to pay for what they have done and I don't wish to see other drivers suffer for something that I could be fixing now. This is a stupid issue to have to deal with in my spare time and it could have easily been prevented if they had taken the time to consider the affect of their actions. There are many types of stickers that peel right off of cars with ease. They could have put a notice on my wiper. They could have passed out flyers to the residents to register all vehicles in guest parking. Point is, they didn't do these things. They simply chose to vandalize my property.

    The question now becomes how do I sue? Must I involve a lawyer or can I simply call the police or call the courthouse?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    Would you be suing for the cost of a razor blade, a bottle of Goo-B-Gone, and five or ten minutes of work?

    You can hire a company to remove the sticker. I can't promise what they would charge and, if you prevail in court, I can't guarantee that a small claims court would find the amount to be reasonable.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Posts
    13

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    Would you be suing for the cost of a razor blade, a bottle of Goo-B-Gone, and five or ten minutes of work?

    You can hire a company to remove the sticker. I can't promise what they would charge and, if you prevail in court, I can't guarantee that a small claims court would find the amount to be reasonable.
    You could add the public shame of driving around with a sticker for a couple of days and the hassle of having to deal with a problem which could have been prevented in the first place. It would have to be enough to teach them that what they are doing is wrong because if they barely feel it financially then they won't even care about what they are doing. I'm not upset about the $10-$30 possible cost of repairs but more-so about their complete and utter disrespect and disregard for my property. They should not be allowed to get away with something like that.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    That's not something you can sue for in small claims.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    16,474

    Default Re: Irremovable Sticker on My Car Legal or Vandalism

    Quote Quoting J_Nic
    View Post
    You could add the public shame of driving around with a sticker for a couple of days and the hassle of having to deal with a problem which could have been prevented in the first place. It would have to be enough to teach them that what they are doing is wrong because if they barely feel it financially then they won't even care about what they are doing. I'm not upset about the $10-$30 possible cost of repairs but more-so about their complete and utter disrespect and disregard for my property. They should not be allowed to get away with something like that.
    I think that you are over the top about the "shame" but I also agree that what they did is basically vandalism. I also agree that it needs to be firmly addressed to them. You were following the rules and parked your third car in the area designated for that. They were out of line to put that kind of sticker on your car in order to verify that the car actually belonged to a resident. They could have done it maliciously, or it could have been an idiot employee who did not realize that the stickers could not be easily removed.

    Your first step needs to be to make a serious complaint to the office along with a request to be reimbursed for the amount you had to pay to get the sticker removed...and move up the corporate ladder if necessary.

    You could make a complaint to the police about vandalism but I do not think that you are going to get anywhere with that because the police will assume that it is a parking dispute between you and the management and they will tell you that it is a civil matter.

    I suspect that if it was NOT intended maliciously, but was rather a stupid move by an employee of the complex, that the issue will be resolved fairly easily.

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