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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wake my neighbours up at 6.30 as they parked blocking my drive

136 replies

marryj · 06/12/2014 06:31

I don't actually need my drive now, but I'm pretty annoyed and will be leaving soon but want to make sure they are not blocking it when I'm back this afternoon.

I know its silly but it bugs the hell out of me that they often park over it

OP posts:
bobbyjoe · 06/12/2014 15:34

I'm with the OP. Who parks across someone's drive? Doesn't matter how often you use it, it's there for your convenience. Stupid, entitled neighbours.

OmnipotentQueenOfTheUniverse · 06/12/2014 15:56

WTF? Of course it's not OK to park your car across someone's drive, whether there is a car there or not. What on earth? Never heard of that before.

Round here you can't park across someone's drive if the kerb is dropped anyway, and to be quite frank only a right bastard parks blocking someone's access to their drive.

Don't understand why op is getting a hard time. Her neighbours have parked so she can't access her drive and she is the asehole? Baffling.

BackforGood · 06/12/2014 16:27

But why would you have a drive and not use it ? Confused
If its too narrow to use, then surely you'd take out the fence post /bush or other plants/wall that was preventing you from using it.
Having a drive is a major + point in a house, who on earth would then park on the road? Confused

Theoldhag · 06/12/2014 17:20

Add message | Report | Message poster TravelinColour Sat 06-Dec-14 07:37:55
Talk about dripfeeding.

Hmm did you mean to sound so rude?

Nothing wrong with adding more detail.

Don't know why you are getting such a slating op, fwiw I think it is very rude to park over someone's drive regardless if it is in use or not.

Yarp · 06/12/2014 17:22

They should not park over your drive. However I can see they'd be tempted given you don't use it. I'd start using it.

heavenlypeace · 06/12/2014 17:31

Lol do it

FrancesNiadova · 06/12/2014 17:32

Penguins, you NEED penguins Xmas Grin

DejaVuAllOverAgain · 06/12/2014 17:38

From a reply the OP made it doesn't sound as if she has the money to widen it just now.

Maybe those of you who think the OP is BU could explain exactly why the OP should have to knock on her neighbours door to ask them to move their car every time she wants to access her drive.

OP YANBU you should be able to access your drive whenever you want to no matter how often or not that is.

apotatoprintinapeartree · 06/12/2014 17:38

We have a garage round the corner from our house.
Quite often dh will come home to find somebody blocking it.
It isn't safe to park in the permit bay over night so he needs to put it away, also he declared this on insurance.
Many a night he ha to wake several households to find out who has the visitor parking in front of the garage.
He can be home anytime from 12 midnight to four the following morning Xmas Grin

AramintaDeWinter · 06/12/2014 17:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
marryj · 06/12/2014 18:46

I'm not getting annoyed, I'm says ffs at the blunt tools that are making outlandish statements from their imagination that have already been discussed if they bothered to read the thread. Love the assumption that a stranger must be comiting car insurance fraud if they have a drive but don't use it. That says more about your character.

I have a sarnie toaster, its a bit of hassle to use so don't use it that often, that doesn't mean someone should prevent me from using it whenever I fancy.

To the person saying just fix the drive, thanks well I take it you will be paying to move the garage, gas box, water metre, wall, re tarmaking, legal fees on trimming a protected tree, tree surgeon costs, costs of a new wall and gate? I recon that's about 4-5k, but just to make sure pop a cheque in the post for 10k ta.

OP posts:
northernlurker · 06/12/2014 20:25

re insurance - why did you say the location the car was parked made no difference for your postcode then? Surely a simpler answer is 'no I have told them it's on the road'.

LilMissSunshine9 · 06/12/2014 22:50

So what happens in the case where you have a garage and a driveway in-front of your house and a dropped kerb. Your car is in the garage and someone parks across your driveway because it it is empty not knowing there is a car in the garage.

Sorry but its just c*ish behaviour to park across a driveway even when it is empty.

Icimoi · 06/12/2014 22:59

I think OP could entirely be forgiven for getting irritated by some of the responses on here. People who say that she "never" uses her drive or "rarely" use it are simply making things up. I must say, even if I knew my neighbour never used her driveway to park on, I still wouldn't contemplate parking across it. You can never know when she might change her mind, or might have a visitor who needs to park there, or indeed when an ambulance might need access.

MissDuke · 06/12/2014 23:07

My next neighbour is away a lot due to being a flight attendant on long haul flights. Her drive is adjacent to ours. When home, she never parks in it, our drives are also awkward. Never would I even dream of parking in or across hers, even when I know she is away. It is just plain rude!!! Since when should we only refrain from something because it is illegal? When did common courtesy cease being an influence on our actions? Very worrying!

cerealqueen · 06/12/2014 23:18

YABU, for having a drive yet rarely parking in it; getting lower instance for parking in it, but not, for moaning about people accessing a parking space in front on a non-used drive which you may also do yourself, by parking on street; for expecting neighbours to be mind readers for knowing when you may or may not park in your rarely used drive.

Finally, for not simply having a conversation with them about it.

5madthings · 06/12/2014 23:25

We have done the same, dp does shift work with antisocial hours, neighbours kept blocking our drive so dp knocked at an ungodly time the next time he found the drive blocked. We had tried the asking nicely thing so dp made it clear he would knock and get them to move it no matter what the time. Oddly enough they then stopped blocking our drive.

Icimoi · 06/12/2014 23:29

cerealqueen, RTFT. OP didn't say she "rarely" parks in her drive, she said she occasionally does so. Whether she does or does not use her drive is her business and can't conceivably be described as unreasonable. She doesn't get lower insurance by claiming to park on her drive. It isn't a "non-used drive". And the neighbours don't have to be mind readers: they just have to act with normal consideration and not park across the driveway at all.

Binkybix · 06/12/2014 23:40

apotatoinapeartree I would be so pissed off if I was woken up at 4am if I hadn't parked in front of your garage! Do you seriously just wake up people you think might have done it?!

unlucky83 · 06/12/2014 23:45

Haven't read all the thread but have read OP's posts...
I think you need to have a friendly word with your neighbours - no need to get into an argument - good relations with your neighbours are important ...is this worth having a fight about?
This was something I had an argument with my nightmare neighbour about. We can't park outside our house, we only have pedestrian access so we have to park on the road, outside other people's houses. (If we park on our side we obstruct the road slightly for buses etc, so we try not to.) One of the houses we park outside has a drive but it is too steep, so they only use it if they can. They are really easy going, but once they had borrowed a trailer and left it on their drive and then found someone had blocked it in so they weren't overly pleased - I asked them and they said they would rather someone didn't block their drive...
So I wouldn't park in front of it, instead I would try and leave enough space at the side for them to park their own car across their drive. My nightmare neighbour said we SHOULD park across it. I refused - he got really angry with me and he took to parking within a cm of my car to try and block me in (never managed - other neighbours knew and always left me plenty of room) - and, if he could, deliberately blocked the drive Confused.
Anyway he started the parking within a cm thing on my DP too (we both have cars so we could in theory have sandwiched his - but just wanted an easy life). My DP was so pleased - took great pleasure in knocking him up on the way to work at 8 am one morning to get him to move - sadly they nearly came to blows ...but nasty neighbour stopped doing parking on DP's bumper after that...

mwalimu · 07/12/2014 00:09

Do you have a garage OP?

sykadelic · 07/12/2014 02:29

I actually don't think it's unreasonable, as you're leaving the house or as soon as you notice it, to knock/wake them and tell them that you'll be back this afternoon/evening and if they could please ensure their car is moved by then that would be great.

Reason for doing it as you're leaving... if they have multiple vehicles they could take off in the other during the day and not be back in time to move the one that's there.

You couldn't be sure they'd see a note and I would want to make sure the car is moved. I'd also have a chat with them about how you've noticed they've done it a few times and if there's a reason for that. i.e. is the driveway not noticable? Should you put up reflectors on the wall or something? Do they realise they're doing it but assume because you don't use it all the time you don't want it free in case you/a friend DO need it?

FlorenceMattell · 07/12/2014 07:01

Is there actually a dropped kerb?

CinderellaRockefeller · 07/12/2014 08:35

Some insurance companies do not use where the car is parked as a criteria. I've recently moved house, from somewhere with a drive to somewhere you park on the street. Rang up direct line, expecting my insurance to go up, and they told me that wasn't a criteria they assess on anymore.

So all you people carping about how she's clearly committing insurance fraud and a liar - you're making yourself a look a bit daft :)

christinarossetti · 07/12/2014 20:42

I'm confused. Is/was the car blocking more than one drive? You seem to imply that, by saying that you can't park across your own drive without interfering with someone else's access, but don't actually say that.

What did you do in the end?