To write a note back

[Lexie1970]

I park my car on a side street near the station so I don't have to pay the parking.

Several times somebody has written this isn't a car park, use a car park etc on the window with a glass pen so it does come off.

Last night had message scrawled again and on this occasion the perpetrator has let some air out of the tyre, or to give benefit of doubt it is a coincidence.

I now wish to leave a note basically stating that the road is a public highway, my car is taxed and insured and you don't have the right to park on your street unless it is a private road.

My car is gone by 5.00pm and I do get that it is annoying that you can't park outside your house, but equally you could have a neighbour with 3 cars and there would still be issues with parking.

DP thinks I should report to police as the 'writer' is causing criminal damage where I am actually legally parked.....

[MrsCantSayAnything]

If they have no drive then they should have priority over the road space.

[Tailtwister]

It's just something you have to accept if you live near a station or school. It's something which has made us reject houses in the past. If people don't want the inconvenience they should move or lobby the council to make it permit holders only (but they don't want that either as they would have to pay!).

YANBU OP. You are well within your rights to park there. I would continue to do so, but maybe try and vary your location a bit if possible.

[flossy101]

My next door neighbour parks in front of my house every day, they have a drive, but this houses their (god ugly) van. It's not illegal and i know I'm unreasonable to find it really annoying but I can see why they might be pissed off.

I'd try and vary where u park a little if this is possible?

[noseymcposey]

mrscant But if it's not residents parking then they don't have priority, and would presumably have been aware of that when they bought their house?

In essence I suppose person A doesn't give a shit that person B's parking would otherwise be very expensive. Likewise person B doesn't give a shit that person A's house didn't come with any parking. Legally though person B is right.

[nannyl]

Im with you on this one OP

if they want private parking then they need to move house and buy a house with a drive way / parking

the roads are for everyone (with insurance & a tax disc) and if the dont like it they can move or shut up IMO!

[ExitPursuedByAaaaaarGhoul]

I know you have every right to park on the road, but I can understand why people get upset about it.

[INeedThatForkOff]

I don't get this attitude whereby it's even annoying for someone to park outside your property on a public road - and we had this problem for years where we used to live. Ultimately we hadn't paid for a property with the privilege of private parking, so had no right to moan about it.

[bodiddly]

I had this happen to me a few years ago. I used to park on a side street but not directly outside anyone's house. I deliberately parked outside the side of the corner house. I was there from 6am until 2.45pm and there was masses of space along the road on both sides. My other half even drove past during the day to check it wasn't causing problems. The lovely people 2 doors up took offence and keyed the full length of my car TWICE without so much as leaving a note. They smeared rotten bananas on my windscreen and put shower gel/shampoo all across it. The police weren't in the slightest bit interested. You have my utmost sympathy!

[Kinora]

Is there a general problem with parking in the area? If they struggle to park near their house during the day due to all the commuters then I too would be pissed by this.

I have the same problem outside my house. Yes, they are parked legally but some just seem to abandon their cars without parking up to the next car iyswim and therefore block up 2 spaces with 1 car. We have parking for 6 on the bit of road outside my house but this can be reduced to 3/4 by inconsiderate parking.

Maybe have a look around and try to park elsewhere and not directly outside someone's house. Definitely don't park outside the same house every day.

[INeedThatForkOff]

Maybe have a look around and try to park elsewhere and not directly outside someone's house.

Ridiculous! Why should she?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I would write a note back.

They didn't buy a house with private parking so they cannot be stunned to find people will sometimes park there!

If they were really bothered, they could campaign to get it made into residents' parking, but other than that they should put up and shut up.

[Mrskbpw]

Loads of people used to park down our road for the station, until all the neighbours got together and petitioned the council. Now we've got yellow lines for an hour in the middle of the day, so no one can park their cars there all day.

However we do still get all the idiot mothers badly parking their cars at 1pm and sitting in them reading 50 Shades of Grey for two hours before they pick up their fat children from school at 3.15pm, but that's another story for another day...

[TheWholeCaboodle]

I can never park anywhere near my house, usually 100 yards away at best, and we have miraculously managed to survive; always amazes me some people get so worked up about a small inconvenience like this.

[EuroShagmore]

This is why I won't even consider houses without a driveway.

[dexter73]

My dh parks on a road near the station as it saves him over £800 a year in parking fees.

[MrsCantSayAnything]

I dont mind people parking near my house as long as they STAY OFF THE PAVEMENT.

Those that do take up the path are at risk from my 4 year old who likes to drag pointy sticks along their paintwork....which I neither encourage nor discourage.

[AitchDee]

We live near the centre of town, and always get people parking directly outside our house. Our house fronts on to the pavement, no garden. Most irritating are the Polish chaps who work at the laundry. The driver takes several noisy attempts to park his tank each day at 5.50am. About half a dozen of them then decamp from the car and talk L O U D L Y !! They wake me without fail every single day.

[Ephiny]

I can imagine a couple of our neighbours doing this. They've been known to leave notes on cars (including a wonderfully entitled WE HAVE CHILDREN!!! one)and even block them in, which I don't agree with, as they don't own the road outside their house as they seem to think - but I can understand their annoyance to a point. I don't think we'd buy a house without a driveway/resisdent's parking again, and probably wouldn't have chosen this one if we'd had a car at the time or predicted that we'd need one while still living here).

Personally I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed to use a residential street as a free car park (especially when the residents don't have driveways) it does seem a bit of a cheeky and inconsiderate thing to do. You have every right to do it if you want to though, and they are in the wrong for defacing your car.

[Lexie1970]

To posters that asked do I park in exact same spot - no, if there s space on the main road I will park there but if there is a gap on the their street I will park there simply because it is a public highway!!

Sorry ephiny I don't feel the slightest bit embarrassed about parking in front of somebody's house - it saves me £5 a day - wouldn't you??

I did pop into the local police station and they have logged it because I raised concern about the tyre being deflated - we had a bit of a joke saying that it was probably the most trivial thing she had logged all week :)

[TraineeBabyCatcher]

I have seen this of a sort from both directions. I once got shouted at for parking somewhere (perfectly reasonably parked, I made an effort to ensure so, as I knew it was a busy area) because somebody had parked directly opposite me making the gap almost to small to get through (large cars and vans wouldn't get through really). She made me cry she was so rude and it wasn't even my fault.

However I can see it is frustrating, my neighbour parks in front of my house all the time, the only time I complain is when he blocks my gate. It's annoying but he has as much right to park there as I do so I wouldn't complain to him.
Just because its outside my house gives me no right to moan and certainly no right to shout at someone

[Lexie1970]

Bloody hell - the police have just called me back and sending an officer round this evening to discuss it. IT IS criminal damage and they are taking it seriously.

Will update later on what is said......

[NotGoodNotBad]

"Personally I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed to use a residential street as a free car park (especially when the residents don't have driveways) it does seem a bit of a cheeky and inconsiderate thing to do. "

Really? I have no driveway and couldn't care less who parks in my road, even if they're right outside my house. So what, that's life. I guess if there were absolutely nowhere else for me to park I'd be annoyed, but I just park further along, or in the next street. No big deal. If the parking is really difficult for residents then residents' parking is the solution, not snide notes.

[MrsCantSayAnything]

Yes...it's not like they popped a note under the wiper...they wrote on your screen and tampered with the wheel. Dangerous.

[chipsandbeans]

I'd be annoyed with you, I can see why you are annoyed but god they must see your car there every bloody day in the same bloody space & feel rage. I would feel the same.

YAN necessarily being totally U but neither are they

[Ephiny]

I'm not annoyed, and I did say I don't agree with the people leaving the notes (and certainly not with anyone damaging cars). Just that I'd personally feel a bit embarrassed to do it myself.