Abuse of private property (trolleys are owned by shopping centres) is not only a criminal act, but also an insurance risk as they can damage common and private property within the complex. Uniqueco Property Services and Waratah Strata Management (and their predecessor BCS Strata Management) ignored all pleas to prevent such actions.
Examples of delays to return abandoned shopping centre trolleys to rightful owners:
SP52948-abandoned-shopping-centre-trolley-on-Fontenoy-Road-near-townhouses-photo-1-16Jan2022
SP52948-abandoned-shopping-centre-trolley-on-Fontenoy-Road-near-townhouses-photo-2-19Jan2022
This is not a new problem. Some owners and tenants also abuse property that does not belong to them. Here is an example of Uniqueco Property Services hiding trolley behind fire doors in 2017, directly affecting proper evacuation procedures in case of emergencies:
Here is an example of trolley left near Uniqueco Property Services office for many days in 2015:
Here is an example of trolley used by maintenance staff and left neat Block A elevator in 2017:
SP52948-trolley-used-by-maintenance-staff-and-left-near-Block-A-elevator-2017
In June 2017, Uniqueco Property Services Steve Carbone wrote to Waratah Strata Management, tried to justify shopping centre trolley in Stan Pogorelsky's garage as "purchased second hand item", not having any evidence for such claim and forgetting that Mr. Pogorelsky had multiple trolleys:
Staff of Uniqueco Property Services was witensses dumping shopping centre trolleys on public roads, as this dashboard camera showed on 15 August 2020:
Here is some of the report about trolleys in 2020, 2017, and 2015:
SP52948-concerns-about-trolleys-ignored-by-Waratah-Strata-Management-7Aug2020
SP52948-Lot-158-concerns-about-Lot-181-keeping-supermarket-trolleys-as-own-10Sep2015
Abandoned trolley left in foyer of Block A leyel 2 for three days without any action by Uniqueco Property Services between 30 Jyne 2021 and 2 July 2021:
Abandoned trolley left near letterboxes on 1 May 2022:
SP52948-abandoned-shopping-trolley-near-letterboxes-1May2022 (video)
Lot 158 warned about the problems number of times, to no avail:
Taking something that is not theirs with the intention of depriving others of its use – that is a definition of theft:
For crimes of theft in Victoria, just like NSW and QLD, the act of stealing is a crime if the intention is to permanently deprive someone of their property without consent.
It is duty of every law-abiding citizen to act upon suspicious and/or illegal activities. Good estimate is that the average trolley costs $150.00 to replace, however trolleys with special features (such as child seats) can cost up to $600.00. The cost of collecting and replacing abandoned trolleys is ultimately paid for by the customer through increased prices.
The trolleys might go astray and damage passing cars and the property along the street, or within the complex,
It is unsightly to see them on the pavement, near the entrance to a large building complex, or elsewhere within the complex, especially in private garages, knowing quite well that they belong to owners in shopping centres. Photos taken in September 2015 and October 2018
Screenshot from dashboard camera on 16 March 2018 and 1 November 2018, where committee member Stan Pogorelsky (Lot 181) was witnessed with shopping centre trolley:
Some of evidence of Lot 181 using shopping centre trolley was on 31 August 2020 (not wearing protective Covid-19 mask), 10 August 2021 (not wearing protective Covid-19 mask), 23 January 2023, and 12 July 2023:
Screenshot from dashboard camera on 12 July 2023, where committee member Stan Pogorelsky (Lot 181) and Uniqueco Property Services Steve Carbone were witnessed with shopping centre trolley and E-scooter:
In afternoon at around 17:28 hours, on Sunday 11 February 2024, Lot 158 found two Bunnings trolleys abandoned in basement of Block B.
They create unnecessary OH&S risks within the complex.
They belong to Bunnings and are costly, so their business is suffering financial losses if the trolleys are not returned.
It did not seem plausible that the trolleys were brought into the complex by Bunnings staff and then just left.
Further more, as of 20:33 hours (three hours later), the trolleys were still left unattended in spite of staff of Uniqueco Property Services (building manager) being on the premise for night shift work.
Sadly, misappropriating shopping centre trolleys is common in our complex. There are owners and tenants who believe that keeping public property (trolleys) in their garages is justifiable and even go further to remove labels of ownership on the trolleys.
Bunnings was notified and email sent to Waratah Strata Management and Uniqueco Property Services.
Bunnings was also advised that Uniqueco Property Services keep CCTV recordings from multiple cameras so it should be easy to find the persons responsible for bringing the trolleys into the complex.
Bunnings opened case 240212161741.
More photos:
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-photo-1-11Feb2024
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-photo-8-11Feb2024
The problem continued on 12 February 2024, where the trolleys were moved into private garage on Lot 37, blocking car movement and risking damage to private property:
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-moved-into-Lot-37-garage-photo-2-12Feb2024
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-moved-into-Lot-37-garage-photo-4-12Feb2024
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-moved-into-Lot-37-garage-13Feb2024
This is how Uniqueco Property Services attended to the problem three days after Lot 158 organised the case and forced the return of private property to their rightful owners (and received compliments from Bunnings for such action):
SP52948-Uniqueco-Property-Services-response-about-Bunnings-trolleys-in-strata-complex-13Feb2024
The trolleys appeared to have been removed from the Lot 37 garage in the afternoon on 14 February 2024 (not visible at the front of the garage), five days after they were found abusing common space in the basement of the complex, but this was just a covert action because on 16 February 2024 the trolleys were accidentally witnessed from common area of the basement, behind the parked car in Lot 37 garage:
SP52948-abandoned-Bunnings-trolleys-in-Block-B-basement-moved-into-back-of-Lot-37-garage-16Feb2024
This was confirmed in early morning on 17 February 2024:
Lot 37 garage was known for another abuse - Uniqueco Property Services Mr. Steve Carbone regularly parked his van in this garage whilst the designated parking spot, for which owners pay their levies, was empty outside the complex. An example on 19 January 2024:
After persistent actions by Lot 158, Bunnings reopened case on 20 February 2024 because the trolleys were still in Lot 37 garage:
Bunnings notified Lot 158 and confirmed they spoke with building management staff. Uniqueco Property Services promised they would move the trolleys outside the carpark tomorrow morning, 21 February 2024 and Bunnings would collect them.
On 21 February 2024, Bunnings sent email to Lot 158, thanking them for their efforts and confirming:
The trolleys have been collected and brought back to the storeCommitee member Mr Stan Pogorelsky (Lot 181) and suppermarket trolley in his garage on 29 March 24:
Abandoned shopping centre trolley on 1 April 2024:
Ikea trolley with clear signage of ownership was witnessed being used by Uniqueco Property Services staff on common property in early June 2024, and several weeks later the same trolley was found near Block A, but this time the Ikea plate was missing:
Ikea trolley was found on common property on 25 November 2024 in Block D foyer, during watear leak repairs:
Lot 88 using Ikea trolley, as borrowed from Uniqueco Property Services on 26 March 2025:
On 27 March 2025 at around 08:40 hours, for the third day in a raw, handyman Mr. Warwick was parked illegally in basement of Block C. Lot 158 approached him in an open-minded effort and asked why was he repeatedly parking the van in non-parking area. When asked about what was he doing in the complex and what was he repairing, the response was "all over the place". In addition, Lot 158 asked Mr. Warwick why was he using misappropriated trolley from Ikea (kept in storage by Uniqueco Property Services staff), where somebody removed the label of the company ownership last year. No response was received.
