To bump this car out of the way?

[GenericUsername404]

Every Monday I need to get my van out to pick up my dc from school and take them to their club. Other days I use my car but on Mondays it’s kayaking so I need the van until a place in the kayak storage becomes available. My van is 20year old and very bashed.

Every Monday at 2.30 a brand new Volvo parks directly opposite my drive, in front of my neighbours dropped kerb. When they park here I can get my car out but not my van meaning my dc cannot go to their club which I have already paid for. I know they are inside the house opposite, I knock on the door but they don’t answer but then when I’m attempting to manoeuvre my van out I see them peeping out of the window. I put a note through the door a couple of weeks ago asking them not to do it after they still wouldn’t open the door. They put a note back through mine saying they were parking in front of their dropped kerb, they were entitled to and many others on the road did the same. This is true but I am the only house on my side of the street so no one else has anyone else opposite. I’ve also put a sign on my gate saying please do not park opposite

Having again had to carefully get the car out and not be able to get my kids to their club I’m thinking next week I’ll just bump it. I’m pretty sure I could get out with a couple of touches to their car but it would probably leave dents.

I’ve tried calling the police to say I’m blocked in but by the time they arrived neighbours friend had moved their car and when the police knocked they hid again 🙄

Btw I know I’m unreasonable and I almost certainly won’t do it. I’m just bloody pissed off.

Also second the post about letters stating times you will need access and financial loss due to missed activity. They ARE causing you financial loss due to their own illegal obstruction of your access to the public highway. You can bring a small claims court case to recover your loss if you document the actions taken as you go along. But suggestion above is better to stand a slim hope of retaining (achieving?) speaking relations with them

I'm not going to say park across your drive because I have RTFT

What about putting a note (in large print) through their door the night before saying: "Just to remind you that I need to get my van out of my drive every Monday at 6.30pm. I'll pull out as far as I can and then I'll hoot/sit on the horn so your visitor knows to come out and move their car. Thanks in advance for your cooperation (you inconsiderate twat)."

I’ve been knocking regularly throughout the day and they still won’t answer. I put a note through about an hour ago saying “Hi, it’s GenericUsername from across the road. I’ve been trying to catch you but I think we keep missing each other. Just to reiterate from my note a couple of weeks ago - I need to be able to get my van out of my drive on Monday afternoons. I know you tend to have a visitor then who parks in front of your drive which makes it impossible for me to leave. You previously replied stating that you were entitled to park there - as the note from the police should have confirmed when they couldn’t get hold of you either, this simply isn’t the case. I’m happy for you to park there if you can move the car when needed as all the other neighbours on the hill do. If not, I will be forced to contact the police again who will begin enforcing fines for people parking illegally ie, across their own dropped kerbs.

Your friend is welcome to park on my drive on Monday afternoons providing they don’t park directly in front of my van.

Thanks so much for your help

XX big smiley face XX

Oh hang on, I put my actual name on that note then. Forget you’ve seen that.

@DipperandMabel

FUCKING HELL - READ THE THREAD BEFORE COMMENTING!!!!!!

😂

Oh my goodness @GenericUsername404 I think you've been really good about it all. This would infuriate me!! Think that's a good note you wrote! Hope you can get it sorted! I'm angry for you! Definitely get in touch with the neighborhood watch guy and local community council!! They love stuff like this don't they and see if you can get yellows painted onto their dropped kerb! I really hope they respond positively to your note!! Have read the whole thread and was mostly raging!!

Love the killing them with utter kindness and reasonableness approach!

Can't you just park on the road outside your drive?

JUST KIDDING! block their drive. It's the only way.

Very civil @GenericUsername404 - you seem to have mellowed quite a bit since ten past three yesterday Good luck! (and in the meantime, 5 days left to download 'massive car crash' sound effect from t'internet, get some nice big speakers set up just underneath your passenger window and practice your am-dram oh-shit-how-big-a-dent-have-I-just-made face.

Good note 👍

Call the police, say you are them and someone has parked across your (aka their) dropped curb and they cant get in to park. whatever is there will be ticketed asap as the council likes moneymaking things like this!

MeandT I am slightly less willing to commit criminal damage than I was yesterday afternoon

@MeandT

Very civil *@GenericUsername404* - you seem to have mellowed quite a bit since ten past three yesterday Good luck! (and in the meantime, 5 days left to download 'massive car crash' sound effect from t'internet, get some nice big speakers set up just underneath your passenger window and practice your am-dram oh-shit-how-big-a-dent-have-I-just-made face.

Oo I like this option!

@MeandT

Very civil *@GenericUsername404* - you seem to have mellowed quite a bit since ten past three yesterday Good luck! (and in the meantime, 5 days left to download 'massive car crash' sound effect from t'internet, get some nice big speakers set up just underneath your passenger window and practice your am-dram oh-shit-how-big-a-dent-have-I-just-made face.

Fantastic idea @MeandT! They'll soon come out of hiding running out when they think their car has been crashed in to.

As your kids are missing their kayaking session, I would spend the entire time knocking on the neighbour's door. Get the kids to knock, too.

Get the kids to write a letter to the neighbour explaining how their behaviour is making the kids miss out.

Take photos each time the car is parked there.

When the car is parked there, try to manoeuvre out with your van (I know you can't but just the sight of you trying might make the neighbour come running out).

My apologies if any of this has been said and addressed but I read a lot of the thread, but not all.

@Lunar2020

How about this? You have two vehicles so night before you park your car one side of opposite neighboured dropped kerb as tight as possible and the van as tight as possible up their dropped kerb the otherside.

Hopefully gits in twatty Mercedes then won’t be able to fit to park in front of cowbag neighbours dropped kerb.

Alternatively do the same when they are already parked but making it too tight for them to get out. So they then have to know your door to nicely ask for you to move one of your vehicles. At which point you decide whether you fancy opening the door to them or not, or you can hide and watch them squirm instead.

Diagram to help explain strategy

Sorry twatty Volvo, not Mercedes

Go out, make a show of taking photos, note the time, report to council. Do this every time. Give neighbours a bill for each missed appointment where you have photographic evidence of their parking - make sure to timestamp the photos. After 3 missed appointments make a nill for all three and threaten to take them to small claims court to recover these costs.

I'd hit it if I got pissed off enough
What are they going to say, well I was parked illegally and blocked her in but look at my car.

Do you need your van at other times on Monday? Would it be a huge pain to park it near school on Sunday night, then cycle/use your car to get to it on Monday afternoons - might be a temporary solution?

I was going to suggest what redglobox said - though I'd go further and actually park your car on their driveway every time they go out - that is probably less illegal than parking across their dropped curb (from what I have read on other Mumsnet threads).

A good note, please update us on Monday won't you?!

kerb!

You sound lovely and they sound like twats

I haven't RTFT but could you park the van semi-permanently at the kayak club (maybe they'd agree if other people could store their kayaks in it too given there's there's shortage of storage?). Then use the car to get there.

Agree with @hopeso ....invoice the bastards!