Taos Territorial Traders — Local services in Temecula

I’ll start by saying that we have shopped here in the past and, until yesterday, thought highly of the establishment. That was before we were the victims of an extortion scheme carried out by the owner of Taos Traders and Glideparcs Parking Enforcement. It started when we parked in a spot behind Taos. As a private lot it was posted to pay online or that parking was free while shopping at Taos. We intended to go into Taos, but first needed to pick up an item at the antique store next door. Because we were going to the other store first, we attempted to pay online. That’s when the farce began. After scanning the posted QR Code, the message we received said the fee was $100.99 for two hours. We made the assumption that there was an electronic error; average parking rates are more like $6 - $10 in Temecula. So, naively, we decided to pick up our item first, then go to Taos. Less than ten minutes later, we returned with the intention of putting the item in our car and proceeding to Taos. Instead, we found a ticket from Glideparcs Enforcement in the amount of $170 on our car. I immediately went into Taos and tried to have a rational conversation with the owner. No such luck. He admitted to owning the lot, but claimed the company he leased it to set the rate. As a longtime resident of Temecula, knowing our City depend on tourism, individual business owners should not be engaged in practices which drive...

I prioritize supporting small local businesses, but will never set foot in Taos or the Lavender shop ever again.

Complete scam businesses fronting as an antique store, but only profiting off of fraudulent parking tickets.

The owner of Taos owns the parking lot. There are signs posted that say parking is free if you are in either business.

If you try to pay, it costs $100 for 2 hours. For reference, most parking in this area is free. $100 is completely unreasonable.

Despite following the rules, we were surprised to find a $186.35 ticket on our car. The car parked in front of us also had the same situation happen to them.

Upon a quick Google search, I see that GLIDEPARC is a scam company and has no way to enforce these tickets as it is not a local government parking company.

The cost to park is unreasonable. The cost of the ticket is unreasonable. And the act of writing the ticket, even to customers following the rules and inside of the businesses, is unreasonable. For these reasons, the tickets are not legally enforceable but I feel bad for anyone who may be misled by them!

This is a complete scam and the owner of Taos should be ashamed of himself. He’s rude too—just look at his review replies. There are plenty of ways to make money that don’t involve scamming your...

Disappointed. Tried to visit this store and got ignored. Came on MLK day, a Monday at 3:28pm. The entire street and shopping center is bustling with people. The sign says they’re open, a man and woman are inside talking, door is locked and there’s a bell you have to ring. We rang and knocked and waited and unfortunately we were ignored. At least come to tell people you’re closed or taking one at a time. Very rude and won’t bother coming back. Mind you we attempted once before this then came back after we walked up the street.

*Owner has replied and can’t even take responsibility. DOOR WAS LOCKED. If I knocked any harder I would have broken the glass. I yanked on the door multiple times and so did my husband. I even stood at the window peering in when he sat on a stool chatting to a woman inside. Check your security cameras. Why would I write a “bad” review if I “never knocked”? We went down the street and purchased from another small business...