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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I am slightly annoyed about a van parked outside my house. We have unrestricted parking (London terraced street).

134 replies

Mintyy · 06/02/2015 20:55

So I know the law, and I know I have no rights to the space outside my house. I honestly do and you don't need to remind me Grin. Our road can get busy but I can usually park within a 1 or 2 minute walk of my front door. So no real biggie.

But in my place would you be irritated that a largish van (think transit size) has been parked directly outside my house for 14 days now and not been moved once?

Please be honest. If it wouldn't bother you, would it really not, really and truly?

And wwyd? I am fairly sure I know who it belongs to. If I'm right, owner lives 15-20 houses away. They have a driveway which one of their cars occupies. They also have quite a large commercial vehicle, also parked on the road and also hasn't moved for a couple of weeks.

OP posts:
MillionToOneChances · 06/02/2015 22:34

Do they sell blu tack massive posters of nice views in the pound shop...?

Honestly, I'd probably try the polite grovelling approach you're considering. If you're really nice about it he might avoid your house in future.

TheChandler · 06/02/2015 23:55

You need to borrow a large van or preferably a lorry and a clapped out, smelly but still taxed one like a manky old horsebox, wait for that moment the spot outside his own house is free, and park it there. If he does come to speak to you about it, tell him sweetly that he thought he would appreciate it, since he obviously enjoys parking his own van in front of other people's houses quite a lot.

TooSpotty · 07/02/2015 00:06

Mintyy, we live in the same borough and I'm afraid the wardens are Rottweilers. I once got a ticket because my back wheel was over a dropped kerb - I simply hadn't noticed. It depends how busy your road is and how likely your neighbour is to complain though. Our current street doesn't get wardens very much if at all as it's not busy, and has no road markings even over kerbs, but the roads nearer the shops are very well patrolled.

I completely sympathise by the way. I spent six years on a road with pressured parking living opposite a man with a large motor home on bricks permanently stationed across three potential spaces. It was irritating, but not half as annoying as it became when we applied for a disabled parking space and found it had to go through full planning permission because it removes a space from general use whereas apparently anyone can plonk a giant van permanently on the road as long as it's taxed (and this sucker was so old it was exempt anyway).

CatThiefKeith · 07/02/2015 00:17

Could you plant a fast growing leylandi out front? Bird shit might put him off parking there.

Or borrow a toddler to practise their scootering on the pavement next to his van. Wink

gruffalosarse · 07/02/2015 00:20

Is it the DVLA you contact if there is an untaxed car left on the street? My twat of a neighbour has purposely left his car blocking 2 spaces outside my house, it's been there since October but having checked the website I can see its untaxed

TooSpotty · 07/02/2015 00:22

I think you can tell the police via 101.

my2centsis · 07/02/2015 01:00

This would piss me
Right off

fizzycolagurlie · 07/02/2015 01:17

It would annoy me only if;

a) it stopped me parking in the street
b) it blocked my view of the road when trying to get out of a spot (this has happened)

just being there, where there are no restrictions, otherwise, I think I'd stop looking out the window, to be honest...

SweetsForMySweet · 07/02/2015 01:51

Could you call the council and get it removed, pretend you don't know who owns it and say it's been parked there for 14 days and it may have been abandoned reported from an anon concerned citizen! Grin

IKnewYou · 07/02/2015 02:19

It would irritate me even though I know it would be pointless irritation.

I'd go with the grovelling approach too. You could say you are having some furniture delivered and need the space?

DropYourSword · 07/02/2015 02:36

If I'm honest it would irritate me. But I wouldn't say anything because they aren't actually doing anything wrong.

Parking in front of a dropped kerb is wrong however. I think that's a 'code 27', and is enforceable,so I wouldn't recommend you do that!

Was a traffic warden for about 3 months nearly 10 years ago, although happy to concede things might have changed since then!

Innocuoususername · 07/02/2015 03:35

This would annoy me too. I live on a similar street and have had several occasions where vehicles (including vans) have been parked outside for weeks. Immensely irritating. I accept that it's the nature of the road that I'm not always going to be able to park outside my house, but hogging a space when they know how difficult parking can be is just massively inconsiderate.

Fortunately my borough are shit hot on parking and will consider a vehicle abandoned in these circumstances even if it's still taxed. I've reported vehicles as abandoned after 3 or 4 weeks (to be fair I didn't know who the owners were to ask them to move), the council usually don't tow but give them a week to prove its not abandoned and the easiest way for them to do that is move the bloody thing.

southeastastra · 07/02/2015 09:01

can you do that check you are insured website to see if its insured?

bluebeanie · 07/02/2015 09:49

Completely understand how annoying this is. In my street (not terraced) a son parks up outside our house and then visits his mum across the road leaving the space in front of her house free. Why?!!

A van parked for weeks would really be a pain.

gallicgirl · 07/02/2015 09:57

If you know who the owner is then ask him to move it as you need the space for a delivery. If they refuse then report to council as an abandoned vehicle. It might take a few weeks to identify owner and write to them though.

Bananayellow · 07/02/2015 10:02

I'd be really clenched up about this. I think I would try the grovelling route.

Stinkle · 07/02/2015 10:15

It would annoy me too.

Can you check if there are any restrictions on the size of vehicles that can be parked on the street?

We have covenants on our road for no transits, caravans, etc.

One of my neighbours has parked a clapped out caravan right outside our dining room window for the past 3 months and it's pissing me right off. It makes it so dark.

I live at the end of 3 houses and have a small gravelled area to the side of my house. It used to be part of my front garden, but our landlord gravelled it over to turn into extra shared/overflow parking (we all have large driveways). There's a path running round the side of my house to our garden gate and he's parked it right up against the path, making it a right nightmare when we had a new sofa delivered a little while ago and wanted to bring it in via the double doors at the back.

He's refused point blank to move it. He could quite easily park it on his own driveway

The letting agent is involved now and he's got 2 weeks to move it or it will be removed by the landlord/letting agent

windchime · 07/02/2015 10:40

Try having a bright orange Rentokil van parked outside your kitchen window for the whole of the Christmas holidays. It was like the sun was permanently out! Luckily they have now painted double-yellow lines down our road. Bliss.

Unidentifieditem · 07/02/2015 16:32

Oh I see!! No restrictions at all. Argh. Set it on fire?! Paint cats paws and put Tuna on the roof?

thereisnocheese · 08/02/2015 13:51

The van which was in front of my house came back with a friend, and at 2am this morning loaded up something from one van to another very noisily. The dogs went crazy telling us all about it but thankfully the baby slept through the racket, not sure how we got away with that!

Quitethewoodsman · 08/02/2015 14:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mewkins · 08/02/2015 14:02

Yes I would find it really annoying. Especially if they have a driveway! I would get my dh to befriend the owner and then ask them if they could move it ;)

Blondeshavemorefun · 08/02/2015 14:08

would absolutely annoy me !!!! Angry and one of the reasn i brough a house with a drive, tho obv doesnt help you

I agree with icimoi - call 101or council and say that there's been a van left for 14+ days, days sound better then weeks lol - outside your house and you're worried it's stolen/abandoned

surely it cant be legal to park on a road and NEVER move it

emmelinelucas · 08/02/2015 14:16

One of those big people carriers parks outside our house from 8.50 in the morning until 3pm. The people work at a Home up the road.
We don't have a car.
DH was a bit nonplussed to listen to the NDN's at either side complaining that they couldn't park another of their cars (11 between them ) outside our house.
True - there are no parking restrictions, but I think some people assume that if they park in place long enough, then they have a kind of right to.
We usually only get visitors at weekends and they have to park across the road in a car park not used at weekends.
When we first moved in NDN knocked on the door asking us to move "your car"
Like I said - we don't have one, but if we had -the car was in front of our property! No idea whose it was.
It's bad manners .

giraffesNeedBigPoloNecks · 08/02/2015 15:31

Tell the suspected owner you saw someone wandering round it and trying the doors of it, then taking a photo of it on his phone. ie hint that they were looking to pinch it. They migh tmove it closer to keep an eye on it.