To be rude to this woman even when she was polite to me?

[Bearsinmotion]

Just got home from work with DD. I am 18 weeks pregnant and knackered. DP is away on business. I am also disabled and have a parking space outside my house. One of the neighbours is parked in it - no blue badge. After driving round the block I find a space about 50m away - further than my normal walking distance. Wrestle DD out of the car, my work bag, her nursery bag and my walking stick and stagger to the house, stopping every few m.

Neighbour appears in gym kit and unlocks the car saying "oh sorry, is this your space?"

"Yes, this is my house"

"Sorry, there wasn't anywhere else to park"

"Do you think there was anywhere else for me? I'm 18 weeks pregnant, disabled and I have a toddler to look after! I'm exhausted. What am I supposed to do?!"

"I'm really sorry, can I do anything to help?"

"No! no you can't. It's too late. Maybe next time you could think about why these spaces are here and who might need to use them."

Am now in house trying not to cry. I'm going to have to make the same journey back to the car in the morning and will now worry all day in case it happens again. That space is my lifeline. If the only space was another 50m away I would not be able to get home at all :(

I don't think you were rude.

Yanbu.

Not even slightly.

She was not nice, she was selfish, lazy and inconsiderate, but then played the sympathy card.
If she ever does it again, call the council.

*not even slightly unreasonable.

I'll get there in the end

Polite is as polite does, and she did not. Unforgivable.

YANBU

You handled it very well - sod her she knew very well that she shouldn't be parked there and then tried to sickly sweet her way out of it. Did her the world of good to be told off. Not like you ranted and threatened her is it?

I have just left on maternity leave and I have a joint disorder and have been in quite a bad way recently - there was nothing like the rage of arriving at work to find someone in my space or coming out of work and finding myself blocked in. I should imagine I'm off quite a few Christmas card lists this year.

Have tea and cake.

YANBU at all.

She wasn't polite, because if she was she wouldn't have parked there.

If you'd have said "Oh, don't worry, it's fine etc." then she'd do the same thing in the future with no consideration. People need to be pulled up on things so they think twice in the future. Well done! YANBU.

Glad most people think IANBU - I'm not good with confrontation and was really upset so not how unreasonable or not I was!

whippet where I work the main car park is a long way away - there are only two spaces outside my building, mine and the Directors! No-one blocks that one!

Why would anyone fit and able think it was okay to park in a disabled bay?
YANBU.

I feel my blood boil when I see people using supermarket blue badge spaces. Having had a family member (sadly now deceased) who needed them I've had a keen eye for years.

The street behind me is residential but also a busy main road with a hairdressers etc and there are two blue badge spots, quite a way from each other. I check the cars parked have a badge every time I pass them.

I think you did really well in standing up for yourself.

YWNBU at all, the neighbour simply heard first hand the consequences of her selfishness. I can be a bit flaky and make stupid mistakes sometimes, however I'd like to think that after such a howler as this I'd be round to yours with a bunch of flowers and another apology. She'll prob just be hiding inside with her shame, but I'll hold out hope that you get the flowers!

*only when they don't have a badge saying they can use the space. I don't get annoyed at people using blue badge spaces in supermarkets irrespective of blue badges

I have a blue badge due too and if I have to walk further then it causes me a lot of pain. I would get annoyed at a specific space being used by someone who is mobile and was just being lazy!

How do you know if it's enforceable Or not MrsDeVere? Do they look any different?

YANBU. She might think twice before doing such a selfish thing again. She should be worrying about what to say when she sees you again, and she should be VERY apologetic.

YANBU.

She was stupid, ignorant, and rude. Even if she spoke to you politely, she was still rude. Hope it doesn't happen again. If it does, you'll be ready to be assertive: tell her to move her car straight away, or you'll call the community police & the Council, and she'll be fined.

YANBU there are a couple of residential disabled spaces by houses in my nearest town, both in places where the next space is likely to be a long way.

We had an 84 year old disabled lady living next door to us at our old house. A visitor parked in her space while she was at bingo and stayed parked there for 5 DAYS. I called the council but they said the spaces are courtesy only and not legally enforceable. we did leave a stroppy note under the windscreen...

Yanbu as she was not disabled. However anyone with a blue badge can legally park in it. It is not technically your parking space.

Bears I'm not sure why you think you were rude. If you'd just accepted your neighbours half hearted apology she probably wouldn't have thought it was a big deal and might well park there again. Now she knows what an impact it had on you she probably won't. Parking in a disabled spot is really not on and she would have known that.

I thought you handled it very well. Just because someone is nice after they have wronged you doesn't mean they are a nice person or that you have to be nice to them.