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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Really shaken up. Did I do anything wrong here?

1000 replies

seventymodules · 10/05/2021 10:24

For past two years I have done the school run, I park on a street near the school. There is a detached house with a driveway and a patch of grass next to the driveway. I park in front of the patch of grass, not blocking the driveway whatsoever.

Once I drop my child at school I get collected by my workmate (we are cleaners so have company car) and then work till 3 until I have to return for school run and car.

This morning as I was getting out of the car the lady in the house came charging out, she said 'can you stop parking your car in front of my house?' I said 'it's a public road' and she said 'you park out here 5 days a week, if you refuse to move it I should make you aware that I will be cutting my grass today and any damage to your car is not my responsibility' said with a sarcastic smile on her face, she then walked back into the house shaking her head.

I've left the car but worried now she is going to damage it.

Am I being unreasonable parking it there? It's a public road and not on her property at all.

OP posts:
GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 10/05/2021 11:05

It doesn't belong to anyone. That's the point.

^^
I know it doesn’t!

NowtSoQueerAsFolk · 10/05/2021 11:05

@Fairyliz

Someone does this outside my dads house and whilst it is legal it’s also bloody annoying. I visit several times a week as he is elderly and cannot walk. I park on his drive but it makes it really difficult to reverse out as the road is very narrow. I have to shuffle the car backwards and forwards a few times and end up with a line of traffic behind me. Perhaps sometimes park elsewhere?
Is there a reason you don't reverse into the drive instead? You'll find it so much easier.
Original poster
seventymodules · 10/05/2021 11:05



OP posts:
ThatIsMyPotato · 10/05/2021 11:06

@rabbitcow

I'd like a diagram.
Seconded.
sqirrelfriends · 10/05/2021 11:07

I won't lie, this would piss me off but not enough to say anything. We live close to a school and a popular walking spot so have random people park outside our house regularly, no major inconvenience but it is annoying (especially when they peek in the windows).

Cheeserton · 10/05/2021 11:07

You folks saying you'd be annoyed about someone parking outside your house regularly, perfectly legally on road you don't own whatsoever... Bloody hell. You need to move to the absolute middle of nowhere and own all the land you want to, if that's how you view the world. Unbelievable. Leave people the hell alone - OP is doing NOTHING wrong, not technically, not morally or otherwise.

NotImpossible · 10/05/2021 11:08

People are so weird. I can't even imagine letting something like this annoy me. And those of you who'd park there yourself during the day then move to your driveway in the evening, really? You'd make someone else's life just a bit more difficult - for what, exactly? Because they put their car near your house? And you want someone else to put their car there?

This sort of thing reminds me of children shouting at each other because they're 'looking at me' or 'standing too close' or breathing 'my air' or similar!

Zzelda · 10/05/2021 11:08

Using the same place to park for six hours a day throughout termtime is taking the piss and I'd be irritated in this woman's place. I suggest you start mixing up your parking places or make other arrangements to get your children to school.

I must say, in her shoes I'd have started putting my own car there at 8.30 a.m. a long time ago.

ThatIsMyPotato · 10/05/2021 11:08

Are you absolutely sure it is not causing issues with people getting in/out of the drive. Is your car hideous? Do people park elsewhere on the street? Do you park on the grass and make it all muddy?

SecretThermalsAreTheBest · 10/05/2021 11:08

It might be legal but it can be very very annoying... my street has unreserved parking and it's so busy from people dumping their cars and going to work that workmen can never park outside with their vans, and I can never park outside my own house. Sometimes I have an 8 minute walk with heavy shopping because it's the closest parking space I can find.

Now and again would be okay but you leaving your car there might stop workmen from parking their vans and getting access to her house. I think you're taking the piss.

swiftt · 10/05/2021 11:08

You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a public road, you have every right to park there. I’d carry on parking there just to wind her up. Smile

roguetomato · 10/05/2021 11:09

The people saying if op doesn't park there, someone else will, is missing a point, I think. It's all day, everyday during the week that's irritating. If the owner of the house have visitors, they are never be able to park. If non regular people parked, it won't be all day 5 days a week, at least.

Homehaircuts · 10/05/2021 11:11

Geeze. Op had just said it's a 4 car drive to! How entitled is that woman. People are can be so territorial about cars outside their houses they don't legally own.

MiddleParking · 10/05/2021 11:11

I live on a road with a school, teachers line it five days a week throughout termtime. It literally wouldn’t occur to me to get annoyed, I bought a house with a driveway for a reason.

BrumBoo · 10/05/2021 11:11

People use my street as all day free parking, and it's rude, inconsiderate, twatty behaviour even if it's not illegal. However, it's extra irritating as hardly anyone has a private drive on our street, so yes I do get angry seeing the same car parked outside my house just because I had to leave to do the school run. At least mix it up a bit, go make someone else's day a bit more difficult for once.....

FeelinHappy · 10/05/2021 11:12

Presuming there's plenty of parking spaces on the road, you could so easily just park outside a few different houses in the road and become massively less annoying.

I don't think she'll risk actually damaging your car but you may get back to your car soon to find it squished in with 2 others practically touching it in front and behind. And I bet the home owner will be conveniently "out" for a while. Legal or not, if you're winding her she will find a way to wind you up. So choose to be less annoying.

aliloandabanana · 10/05/2021 11:13

I get annoyed when people park outside our house, partly on the pavement because it means pedestrians then walk on our grass - it's a side road and perfectly wide enough for a car to park and another (even the bin lorry or an emergency vehicle) to get past, so there's no reason for it. However, if they're parked fully on the road I don't get bothered at all.

You're not doing anything wrong OP so don't let it bother you. My friend had something similar when she was parking on a residential road 2 or 3 times a week to avoid station parking charges. I was a bit confused about why she was doing it though as the car park was only £1 a day and she wasn't short of money!

Suzi888 · 10/05/2021 11:15

Well your entitled to park there, but if your in the U.K. presumably your car is turning that area into a mud bath.
I wouldn’t say anything, but I wouldn’t be happy about it either.
They use large stones here to stop people doing that.....

MiddleParking · 10/05/2021 11:15

[quote SquirtleSquad]@MiddleParking it wouldn't invalidate your insurance unless she starts parking on the road instead of the drive most of the time. She could just move her car to that space at 7.30am until after the school run if she's so inclined and it wouldn't invalidate anything.[/quote]
Well, yes, she could do that. If she was looking to reduce irritation/inconvenience to herself it would be a bloody weird way of going about it.

Frazzle76 · 10/05/2021 11:15

Honestly ?
In hindsight what you should have done is knock on the door months ago and dropped round a bottle of wine and chocolates. Because while you arnt technically doing anything wrong it pisses people off.
You have no idea of her personal circumstances and how much this is affecting her.
Lots of people here have used the 'public rd' argument. If this was outside my house and you did some of the things previous posters have suggested you would have an all out war on your hands.
Take a bottle of wine back with you and be sugary sweet to diffuse the situation. And change your parking pattern.

MiddleParking · 10/05/2021 11:16

[quote SquirtleSquad]@MiddleParking it wouldn't invalidate your insurance unless she starts parking on the road instead of the drive most of the time. She could just move her car to that space at 7.30am until after the school run if she's so inclined and it wouldn't invalidate anything.[/quote]
Well, yes, she could do that. If she was looking to reduce irritation/inconvenience to herself it would be a bloody weird way of going about it.

Egghead81 · 10/05/2021 11:16

So she has a 4 car driveway, presumably covering most of the front of her property
And you park outside her property
So are you not blocking at least part of her driveway?

Viviennemary · 10/05/2021 11:16

You have got an absolute cheek. I'm amazed she has done nothing sooner. Parking outside her house for a whole day every day for two years. She must be a saint.,

MiddleParking · 10/05/2021 11:16

@Frazzle76

Honestly ? In hindsight what you should have done is knock on the door months ago and dropped round a bottle of wine and chocolates. Because while you arnt technically doing anything wrong it pisses people off. You have no idea of her personal circumstances and how much this is affecting her. Lots of people here have used the 'public rd' argument. If this was outside my house and you did some of the things previous posters have suggested you would have an all out war on your hands. Take a bottle of wine back with you and be sugary sweet to diffuse the situation. And change your parking pattern.
Hilarious Grin
ChatteringBastard · 10/05/2021 11:17

both being twats

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