Really shaken up. Did I do anything wrong here?

[seventymodules]

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.

I wouldn’t like it if someone parked outside my house everyday. The car would be in my eyeline and I’d wonder what the fuck the person was up to. I’d also know I was being irrational but equally I’d be annoyed.

Would I charge out there are threaten to damage their car? No. Would I be passive aggressive and start parking my car in that spot instead? Possibly 🥴

She (and some posters on here) needs to get a life. Like tiny silly dogs yapping because they think someone is on their territory.
She's threatened you. Have your phone set to record when you think you might encounter her again. And take pics of your car now.

Are you too cheap to get a house with a drive? Well, round here you'd have to knock down a load of listed buildings, destroy a preservation area and totally remodel a market town that has been here for over 600 years.

I am definitely too cheap to fund development of a real TARDIS - which would allow us to go back and tell those pesky medieval house builders to leave room for cars!

We only have on street parking and I live near a hospital. We get hospital workers parking outside our house for 12 hour shifts.

Yes it's a public road

No they're not doing anything wrong

Yes I know they need to park near their workplace

Yes it's bloody annoying when I have small children and shopping to unload from my car and can't park anywhere near my house.

I agree with many of the previous posters, whilst you aren't doing anything illegal, it is quite inconsiderate to park in the same spot everyday.

When I drive to the train station and park on one of the side roads, I try park considerately, by avoiding parking outside of anyone else's home and also will park on different roads.

@PattyPan

Are you too cheap to get a house with a drive?

Has it occurred to you that some people literally cannot afford a house with a drive or live in areas where none of the houses have drives?

that poster was retorting to someone describing people as ‘too cheap’ to pay for workplace parking. You’d be better asking that person if it’s occurred to them that some people literally can’t afford workplace parking or don’t have it. But unlike driveways or workplace parking which no one’s entitled to, OP is perfectly within her rights to park on an unrestricted street.

She may hate it but it’s a public highway and I would continue parking there, I agree, if you can take photos of your car daily in case she damages it or record her threatening to damage it that may give you peace of mind. Now she’s threatened though I’d probably find a new space just so I could relax - but she’s in the wrong.

I don’t get why it’s annoying to have someone park outside your house. The same car parks outside my house most days as they get the bus into town. It’s a residential street in a village, all the houses have driveways. All it means is any visitors have to park behind her and walk an extra 4m to my house. It never occurred to me to get annoyed by it. But then, I have a life and spend very little time looking out my windows trying to find something to irritate me!!

Oh. Do the following (friends of friends did it).
They used to have to drive to the next town to get the train. They always parked up about 10 mins walk from the station in a residential street but one that had drives etc.
They used to change their spot frequently, got there v early so could do this.
Until one of the residents started leaving nasty notes "park your shortly little car somewhere else etc".
They left their own note saying they were doing nothing illegal, but could they tell them which house number etc it was.
Came back to a notr saying "its obviously me at 33 cos you are right outside my house". As they drove home the found that the windscreen wipers had been removed. Huge issues cos it was raining.
So, they went and bought a shitty little car from the nearest garage
Looked terrible. Full of dents but had a 12 month mot. Paid 300 quid for it. Took out tpft insurance and parked it outside that house every work day for a year. Left their nice car at home.

This whole thread makes me think I don't belong in this country. Why is it inconsiderate to park your car in a legal parking spot? If it's not you it will be someone else, and you don't park overnight, and the home owner doesn't even need the parking. totally mental.

Lol, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. "How dare you park on legally road outside my house when I have a designated parking spot outside my house that you're not affecting at all?"

This really reinforces the stereotype that people with driveways are so weird 🤣

@seventymodules - what is the parking like on the rest of the street? Is it the sort of suburban street where there are always cars parked, or is it out-of-the-ordinary for a car/cars to be parked on the street all day?

I've lived on the sort of street where most people didn't have drives, so there were always cars parked on the road outside our houses - if we were lucky, it was our car, if not, it was someone else's and we had to park further away. Either way, you knew there would be cars parked outside your house - and if the street you are parking on is like this, then the woman has no rationale for her annoyance whatsoever, because if your car wasn't there, someone else's would be.

If, however, it's the sort of street where the vast majority of the parking is on people's own drives, and your car is a stand-out, by being parked on the road, then her annoyance makes a bit more sense - she lives somewhere where most cars are on drives, and she doesn't like looking at a car all day, or feeling that 'her' road is being used as a commuter car park.

All that said, this just explains why she might be annoyed - it doesn't mean her annoyance is reasonable or give her any legal right to object. It certainly doesn't give her the right to threaten criminal damage.

I can see why you park there, but I can also see why she is irked by it. Might it be possible for you to vary where in the street you park your car - no less convenient for you, but avoiding Mrs Annoyed?

Other people's parking on a public road is only annoying to entitled people. Unfortunately entitled people will probably take some sort of vindictive action. You now know she's vindictive. Personally idgaf about my car, but you might.

You say you are parking next to the grass? Is there any pavement? If not can you get in and out of your car without walking on her grass? If you’re effectively walking on her front garden I can see her point, otherwise none of her business

@costco

This whole thread makes me think I don't belong in this country. Why is it inconsiderate to park your car in a legal parking spot? If it's not you it will be someone else, and you don't park overnight, and the home owner doesn't even need the parking. totally mental.

There are so many folk in Britain who seem to think the road outside their house is actually on their property deeds.

Pretensions of grandeur doesn't even come into it - they have aspirations to live just off a dedicated private access road, with fields around them. Instead they live in a community and can't deal with the fact other people also live and work there.

What is it a problem to this woman? Does she need the space herself? It doesn't sound like it. Maybe she just thinks the OP is treating it like her own personal parking place.

As others have said legally you're in the right so ignore her.

However, as you were 'really shaken up' by the exchange I'd find somewhere else to leave your car for the day. I understand it's legal but I'd be pissed off if someone parked a car outside my house all day every day.

Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's considerate or fair. However in your caseI don't see how you've even been inconsiderate.

My mum/her neighbours gets upset by this. She’s mid 70s but youngest on her street of bungalows. They tend to have a lot of services and tradesmen - cleaners, carers, gardeners etc and get mithered if they think they won’t be able to park. Plus relatives or taxis picking them up and some can’t walk far. They are all up early so do the park in road to stop someone parking there if they are expecting a tradesman or delivery. They only have small drives.

@Singlenotsingle

What is it a problem to this woman? Does she need the space herself? It doesn't sound like it. Maybe she just thinks the OP is treating it like her own personal parking place.

Technically the OP can treat it like her personal parking space. She's legally entitled to.

The OP knows she's also not guaranteed that personal parking space - if someone else chose to park there 5 mins earlier on a weekday, it would be gone.

But she happens to arrive each day at a time when it's free. The homeowner does t own it. The OP pays her council tax, she has a valid driving licence, she can park there if she so chooses for years to come if she wants.

Just like to point out taking pictures of her car won't make a scrap of difference. She would have to prove that the house owner damaged her car which she can't. A verbal insinuation will come down to her word against yours.

You could take a picture everyday and it still wouldn't constitute proof. I'd just find somewhere else to park as its likely your car will end up damaged and your insurance will go up.

Yep we're very weird about parking in this country. I didn't have a permit for our street for ages (local council make it as difficult as possible, send a cave drawing of your ancestors and 3 blood samples of your childhood pets plus a travellers cheque written only in yellow pen, etc) so I would have to park by the playground nearby OR 2 streets over.

That street always had lots of free parking spaces - it's never full. It's a big street with very few houses, so there's tons of space. I parked there 3 times. The first time was fine, but the second my two front tyres were mysteriously flat when I got back to my car, and the third I had a note saying the parking was for the residents only (it wasn't). Very very very strange behaviour.

It might be legal but it's highly annoying and I don't blame the woman for getting annoyed. She has to live there and it's probably making her life a misery every time you rock up and park there MOST of the day five days a week. Park more considerately.

YABU

I mean, if you’re going to keep parking there at least protect your property by buying a motion activated dash cam

costco I work from home but use my car during the day so yes I do need to park near my house and I don't have a driveway. It's not only evenings that people need to park outside their own houses.

I have young children in my car and it's really bloody annoying when you can't park near your own house.