driving blunder

[mummysmummy]

when we moved into our house two years ago, one side of the driveway had a small retaining wall with concrete coping stones on the top. the wall has been there some years, probably when the drive was laid, so maybe ten or more years. the neighbour on that side has lived there for over forty years.
our neighbour had visitors over one weekend who parked on the drive next to the wall. over the weekend, the visitors backed onto the wall TWICE. the damage to their car is considerable and the coping stone has been disturbed. the neighbour is angry with us for having the wall. both the neighbour and the relatives are elderly. AIBU to expect that someone with a driving licence should pay attention when moving their car

Sorry but that's quite funny. next thing you know they'll be hitting the wall with a stick ala Basil Fawlty.

Sorry but I think I might have laughed in your neighbours face if they tried to blame me for having the wall when their friends drove into it. Tell your neighbours their friends have damaged your wall as they carelessly crashed into it twice and you will be claiming on their insurance. YADNBU

If they hit the wall hard enough (twice!) the coping stones moved I would get a builder in to check the wall hasn't been damaged or could become unstable. If it did collapse at a later date you could be liable for any damage or injury and it would be difficult to prove it was their accident that caused it.

I wouldn't say hitting a wall twice was a blunder. These people need their licence taken off them

How very dare you have an old wall! Well someone has to be to blame and it cant possibly be the person driving the car...

They're angry with you for having the wall? Are you supposed to allow their guests to keep driving onto their land because they're too incompetent to manoeuvre their cars properly? I hope you asked them if they were joking?

Yes how DARE you have a feature at the front of your house that was there when you moved in! Why should they have to learn to drive properly?

Take lots of pictures of the wall and get the damage assessed. Ask your neighbours to let you know when their friends are coming over so you can cover it with high viz markers and warning lights.
Alright, not the last part!

Are they on glue?

My neighbours have a wall like this along their drive, it's only about 30cm tall. You'd be surprised how many people drive into it. (The wall separates my neighbours' drive from a shared drive belonging to the flats next door.) Neighbours have resorted to cement reinforcement at the road end of the wall.

One day a (particularly rude) letting agent reversed into the wall twice, and when asked to pay for repairs (politely, just the once) accused neighbours of harassment and sent very unpleasant letters

many thanks for your replies. they made me smile, particularly the comment about basil fawlty. maybe when they have calmed down, the visitors will reflect on whats happened. but maybe not until they have paid for the body work

They don't sound fit to be driving, to be honest. Maybe remind them of this and if they don't cough up for repairs, you might have to report them for dangerous driving. If they can't see a wall, would they see a child?

How the hell do you reverse into a wall while parking with enough energy to cause significant damage to either your car or the wall? If you do more than scrape the paint on your plastic bumper (and one of the toys of running cars with inter-galactic mileages is that I'm long past caring about a few scrapes) you were going too fast, surely? And to do it twice? As you say, people who need to stop driving. Was there the usual desperate high revving of the engine and jumpy clutch control going on?

They sound batshit!! Totally not your fault whatsoever

Is the visiting car still there? Make sure you get photos of the damage to the car and wall if you can, sounds like they will try to dodge the blame and they should be paying for wall repairs. We've all had scrapes but they sound unhinged.

Sorry op but it made me laughthat its the walls fault

It probably jumped out at them

The wall has been there ar least four years, probably longer. Their guests hit it hard enough to damage it and their car, more than once. And this is your fault for not tearing down the wall?!

Bloody walls.

Standing there being all "Look at me, clearly delineating our properties"

Brick faced Bastards.

Presumably the wall was there when they parked the car... Shouldn't really have come as a surprise that it was still there when they came to reverse.