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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Those impossible-to-remove "don't park here" notices stuck on your car window

102 replies

ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 18:52

Hey all,

I was at a very large shopping centre today. When I returned to my car, I noticed several people had come back to one of those "you have parked here for 4 hours, don't do it" notices. They said on them "please remove before driving" but of course, they are impossible to get off! People were standing in the freezing cold trying to scrape them off. They were mainly on rear passenger windows.

This is not so much a thread about parking notices/charges on private property as it is a question about whether this counts as criminal damage or vandalism? Surely no-one is allowed to mess with your property even if it is parked on their land?

I'd be interested to hear opinions as I'm now scared to shop for more than 4hrs lest I come back to find a sticker on my car!!

Thanks!

OP posts:
Mishegoss · 23/11/2016 18:55

Well I guess that's the desired effect.. they don't want people to park there first over 4 hours.

TataEs · 23/11/2016 18:55

are the stickers designed the be impossible to remove?
i've not seen them
i can't imagine its legal to purposely damage a car

Ahickiefromkinickie · 23/11/2016 19:01

I don't understand where you were parked...was it a shopping centre car park?

Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 19:01

I wonder tho...is it damage to a car if it IT removable just not very er, easily and without a lot of hot soapy water and scraping?

What if I, as a private individual, did that to someone's car?

OP posts:
Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 19:03

Yes, it was a shopping centre car park. But it is near some offices so I guess workers park there. They probably do, of course, buy stuff eg at lunch.

OP posts:
wasonthelist · 23/11/2016 19:40

I am not a lawyer (!) but I imagine that using the strictest definition, it could be considered criminal damage.

However, trying to bring a prosecution would surely be impossible. The Police and CPS will have much better things to do.

Theoretician · 23/11/2016 19:59

The management company of my flats have joked about using this method to control parking. Apparently it is the cheapest legal method. We used to threaten to clamp people, but that's no longer an option. There's actually no enforcement at the moment, strangely despite being London zone 2 many of the residents spaces remain empty throughout the day, so there isn't actually a problem.

Theoretician · 23/11/2016 20:01

are the stickers designed the be impossible to remove?

I was told that they are (deliberately) designed to be very difficult to remove, but not impossible. (If impossible I suppose it would be criminal damage.)

PinkiePiesCupcakes · 23/11/2016 20:04

Keep a can if WD40 in your boot, quick spray will get the residue of sticky off.
(I may have missed the point of the thread)

Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 20:13

Thanks for the WD40 tip!

If I do get a sticker, I will be attending the management office with it and placing it somewhere the sun doesn't shine.

OP posts:
jayisforjessica · 23/11/2016 20:14

I imagine this is a case of "if you don't like the consequences for breaking the rules, don't break the damn rules".

Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 20:20

Buy Jay, is that sort of view not encouraging vigilante type behaviour? Surely only the authorities have the, eh, authority to punish people?

Or can I go to the management office and stick a great ruddy sticker across their office windows?! Grin

I quite often spend more than 4hrs in the centre, esp ieg this week I'm having lunch and doing Santa's Grotto visit.

OP posts:
Temporaryname137 · 23/11/2016 20:22

is the parking for a maximum of 4 hours? if the signs say that, then you don't have any right to be there for more than 4 hours. so don't be scared to go back to your car after 4 hours - just don't be more than 4 hours! you accept that condition when you agree to park there. if you need to stay longer, is there a pay and display option, or can you park somewhere nearby?

sometimes the retail leases have things about parking times to keep a flow of footfall at the centre; sometimes the shops or landlord get pissed off with people parking there all day; but at the end of the day if it's private property, they can do what they like.

the signs are v v hard to remove, not permanent, so that's how they get away with it I think.

RhiWrites · 23/11/2016 20:22

The management office is the authority in this case. You know not to park there. Ic you do and get a sticker and go and cause a ruckus in the management office they will likely call the police.

Just don't park there for longer than 4 hours. No good can come of it.

Temporaryname137 · 23/11/2016 20:27

try to see it from their perspective I guess - how much will you be spending in the time you are there? how much more would be spent if several shoppers could use that space in the time you were there? lunch and santa's grotto is lovely for you (jealous!) but probably not that profitable for the shopping centre in the scheme of how much the shops pay in terms of rent and service charge (which will usually include paying for the Christmas decorations and the santa's grotto) and wages and insurance and utilities and business rates etc - and that is why they want to encourage footfall!

SauvignonBlanche · 23/11/2016 20:33

I got one of those on a public road behind Sainsburys in Golders Green, the office I parked in front of clearly believed they owned the road.

I assumed the police had better things to do but it was a bastard to get off.

TSSDNCOP · 23/11/2016 20:38

Well you can chance it, but why on earth would you when you know the rule and the consequences. I couldn't enjoy myself knowing I'd parked like that and was likely to have to spend time in the cold with DC on board scraping off a sticker

TSSDNCOP · 23/11/2016 20:40

But do come back and tell us how telling the Management company off goes. If you're really unlucky as well as a sticker you'll come up against someone like our Receptionist

SirChenjin · 23/11/2016 20:41

If the rules are 'don't park there for more than 4 hours' then they apply to everyone - even people who don't want a sticker on their car.

Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 20:42

Hmmm....I thought the 4hrs thing was just an estimate of the longest any genuine shopper was likely to stay. To save them saying "if you're parked here for reasons other than shopping eg going to work then get lost".

Surely they wouldn't want a genuine shopper to have to cease and leave after 4hrs? Can you imagine - I decline to pay for my shopping and leave it all on the checkout because my time's up! Grin

Let's suggest, on the next live parking thread, that the OP glues a notice on their windscreen and see what kind of responses they get!

OP posts:
maggiecate · 23/11/2016 20:52

When you get home boil the kettle and pour the water over the sticker and scrape immediately, that works. If they weren't comfortable it was legal they wouldn't risk it.

I've worked in a store where the park management used them. They're mostly used in places where the parking is free but people are ditching their cars and heading off somewhere else, so legit users can't get a space. It's usually the last resort before parking charges for overstayers so they must be having a problem. I would guess they're getting complaints/footfall is down because people can't get parked.

aurynne · 23/11/2016 21:08

Honestly... how hard can it be? If you're planning to be there for longer, just move your car to another parking space, and... TA-DA! Another 4 hours magically start.

It is not allowed to keep your car in the parking spot for more than 4 h... surely any consequences will be the responsibility of whoever broke the rule. So I would think the best option is... to not break the rule.

"I thought the 4hrs thing was just an estimate"... Erm... no. I hope you don't apply that mentality to all rules and laws.

Temporaryname137 · 23/11/2016 21:08

If it's free parking, that's even worse! Assume it's at least pay and display and nobody could have the nerve to complain about not getting it for longer than that for free??

(I may be biased as I live in zone 1 and even street parking around here is for a max of 2 hours at about £200 plus an organ per hour)

bigbluebus · 23/11/2016 21:24

In my local town there is a retail park which has maximum 90 mins parking on the days the town football team are playing at home (as the ground is within walking distance of the retail park). There is a large Supermarket and 8 large High Street stores. You'd be lucky to get around the supermarket and do a full shop in that time on a Saturday, let alone visit any of the other shops as well. But the limit is the limit and it is there for a reason. Stick to the rules or park somewhere else if you are going to be longer than 4 hours.

Original poster
ChickenVindaloo2 · 23/11/2016 21:24

Thanks. I think I might stick a notice on my window which says "I am visiting Santa and having lunch and spending £££ so don't touch my car, please".

OP posts: