A parking one (with photo of pass-agg note)

[MindatWork]

Genuinely interested in people’s opinions on this one - I’ve just returned to my car (parked completely legally in a bay on the road, within the lines and well within the specified 2-hour time limit) to a beautifully-written passive aggressive note - A* for effort.

Whoever stuck it on my dashboard actually put it inside one of those yellow PCN envelopes, folded up so it looked like a parking ticket. Is this a thing people actually do now? Is it a mumsnetter? They have lovely handwriting whoever they are.

In all seriousness, there wasn’t ‘plenty of space further up the road’ when I arrived, and the spaces aren’t just for residents.

I’ve lived in a house like this before so I get it, and yes it’s annoying, but not really much you can do about it apart from say ‘ffs’ and go about your day.

I sympathise as I have a 2 year old DD so completely get the difficulty of hauling kids in and out of the car, but AIBU to thinking giving someone a fright by making them think they’ve been given a ticket (money is v tight at the moment) is - while pretty creative - a bit much?

@ancientgran

How extremely rude of you Why is it rude? If it's a public road they can park where they like.

The neighbours have a point. And it’s irrelevant if they don’t own a car - they’re entitled for their own space to be for their guest’s cars, you not wanting to block yourselves in isn’t their problem. Why don’t you just park elsewhere in the empty street?* Why is it their space, if it is a public road it isn't their space and why can't their visitors park elsewhere in the empty street. Apart from anything else the OP's husband shouldn't block a car in on a drive even if it is his wife's car.

Why not just read it first and save us all this bother?

I'd be tempted to fight fire with fire. Fake parking ticket on my car? I think I would like to post them a fake letter from the police appealing for urgent information regarding reports of someone illegally sticking fake parking tickets on cars
Probably not legal - but their reaction would likely be funny!

@MarieIVanArkleStinks my “anonymous” note writer knows who I am, where I work (she even posted a note through the office door) and could have very easily spoken to me. Instead they wrote notes, which has prompted exactly the response you describe. I’m parked legally, on a public road and I’m not actually causing any inconvenience to this person at all. They wrote the notes because deep down they knew they were being unreasonable

@timbits - 'whataboutery' is what you did. "What about if they have mobility issues?"
If they did, they would probably have mentioned it in the note. Why would someone go to the bother of writing a note on someone's car with a pretend reason for doing so? They'd have more chance of sympathy if they said they mobility issues rather than lying about it being inconsiderate to people with children.

Park there again and leave your own note on it. That's what I did with the cheeky person who left me a note - again legally parked with a proper permit.

Putting it in a PCN bag though is totally batshit! Where did they even get one from?

If knock and ask if it was theirs and watch them go puce. If someone is pass agg it's because they hate confrontation. If they owned up if be all faux 'oh I'm just so sorry, I thought i was in a bay, I hope it didn't ruin your day..maybe they are going through something?

Lol. We live in an estate with numbered parking spaces in a bay allocated to houses, 2 each, we are a one car family. Often our second space is used without permission, don't really care. Mil was coming to visit so dp parked across both spaces at her request as she gets stressed looking for parking... And got a sniffy note.. In our own bloody space!

@Timbits what about the note writer considering why the OP parked where she did?

What about if she had mobility issues and this was the closest space

What about she was in a rush and it was the closest space

What about if she had a car full of small children and it was the safest space

That's whataboutery, is making up hypothetical situations to somehow try and make your point of view reasonable,

The note said she had children, not a mobility issue, adding reasons that are unfounded to make your point of view somehow reasonable is a perfect example of whataboutery .

@Timbits

Just to play devils advocate, you may have unintentionally caused an issue for the note writer today. Maybe they have mobility issues or someone they live with. Maybe today was the straw that broke the camel's back. But sure this is mumsnet let's jump straight to calling them a twat, dick or bitch.

Just to play devils advocate: someone having a hard time of it may have been enjoying this light-hearted, anonymous thread about a totally ridiculous note. Maybe they have generalised anxiety disorder and this was a moment of relief from the guilt and worry. But sure, this is Mumsnet, let's jump straight into calling them a meanie just so we can virtue signal.

Ok, you all got me. I'm just old & try to come from a more 'gentle, give em the benefit of the doubt' point of view. I used to be more bolshy In my younger years but I find this approach much more soothing for my soul.

When my PIL first moved to their current house, my DH found somewhere to park on their road (not busy but fairly narrow so only parking on one side. Not all houses have drives, no permits or bays). It wasn't outside his parents house but further up. He got back to the car to find it had been keyed. There was nowhere else closer to his parents house to park, but apparently that meant he wasn't allowed to park in that particular spot. Ridiculous they think they own that bit of road. Nothing there to say the space is theirs, he'd never been to the road before. Stupid twats, causing damage just for a few hours of parking.

I once had a woman come running out shouting at me ‘you can’t park there it’s residents parking’. Er yes, I’m visiting one of them, she’ll give me a voucher Strange that they don’t consider any legitimate reasons for parking.

Actually put the note back in the envelope and on it write the hyperlink to this thread?

This. Please do this.

Sadly, none of this surprises me. I used to park my car in a side street, entirely legally and where there were absolutely no restrictions. I got a note on my car one day saying that I’d parked too close to their drive (I was about half a car length away from where the kerb started to drop) and I was obstructing their access. I continued to park there and they never seemed to dare repeat the exercise.

I’m not surprised about the fake parking ticket packets either - I lived in a fairly urban area but got a fake ticket from some swivel-eyed environmentalist because it was a 4x4. Clearly the enormous amount of mud on the car failed to register with them that it was actually used off-road. I left a large notice in the windscreen that any further “tickets” would be reported to the police. That never happened again either

They are being an entitled cu*t. You're parked legally en of. If they're that bothered about having to be directly next to their house they could live somewhere quiter. As I know not everyone can afford a drive. So fucking entitled. Urgh.

Also this might be controversial on mumsnet. But you don't get special treatment because you chose to breed.

I'd just like to point out you can perfectly reasonably get two cars on the front , with space , without blocking either drive.
And it is two inches. Weve measured it. Dh would never block another person's drive.
( yes next door but one with two cars and two visiting cars each weekend. I'm looking at you.)

@NeonIcedcoffee

Also this might be controversial on mumsnet. But you don't get special treatment because you chose to breed.

You might actually find that is a common attitude here. I certainly feel that way and I have two of my own.

Of course they don't, but OP is now aware she is causing an inconvenience, and wants to continue to park there just to upset and annoy people some more for her own entertainment? I'm not sure that makes her any better than an anonymous note writer.

@12frogsincoats you might want to try actually rtft- the OP has said none of those things!

Making up blatant lies just to convince yourself you're right is weird

But if they had a genuine problem, asking the OP nicely would surely be the approach to take surely? The only time I left a note on anyone's car it said something along the lines of

'Do you mind pulling up to the end of the fence when you park here so that we can fit two cars behind you? Thanks!'

because I am basically asking a stranger to do me a favour, so why would I be rude to them? If you approach someone in an aggressive manner then you are inviting defensiveness and an unwillingness to help.

@Rowgtfc72 I think when you said boundary wall people are thinking he's blocking their drive by 2 inches. I took it to mean you're just slightly over halfway, when there is room for 2 cars outside? Nothing wrong with that!
We often have people park right in the middle, which means only one car can park instead of the 2. Annoying but allowed!

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8981519/Mum-reveals-stranger-left-passive-aggressive-note-windscreen.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed#article-8981519

This thread made it to the Daily Mail haha, perhaps the person who wrote the note will see that the majority is not in their favour.

Yay! I never get quoted in these!

Christ is must be a slow news day!

Wow! Well it definitely had the desired effect so A* indeed.

I don't agree with this behaviour in any way BUT as someone who has regularly not been able to park outside my own house and (even worse) one CF actually parked their city car outside our house for 1 whole month because they'd gone back to their own country and decided our house was the best place to park as we have CCTV, I can totally see why someone would be driven to this behaviour.

In case you're wondering we actually pushed the offending car down the street AND let the tires down... all of them. Park outside my house at your own peril.... couldn't give a shiny shite if "the road doesn't belong to anyone".

Every week pre lockdown we met at my friends house for a coffee I would park on the road down from her house . I was parked reasonably I thought but this chap from his house decided as I didn’t live on the road that I shouldn’t park in front of his house again . I’m not by any means a shrinking violet but I won’t be parking there again . People aren’t coping in lockdown what seems trivial and small sometimes is enormous to some people . Park further along the road . 😊