Neighbour thread: parking on our drive…

[Livvielo]

For the past few weeks, our next door neighbour has been having work done in their garden. And they’ve taken to parking their work vans on our drive. We didn’t say anything at first, as the workmen were gone by the time we needed the drive ourselves. (We have parking outside our house as well, and we live in a small street with a dead end. We are the end house.) so it would be my car outside on my non work days, and my husbands car on our drive way from 5pm after work.
What has annoyed me, is that they haven’t asked. Today, I was having a visitor. Without using my driveway, the visitor would have to park a couple of streets away as the closest streets to us have limited parking and always seem full no matter the day! That’s ridiculous when we have a drive!! Knowing we had a visitor coming, my husband said we would need them to move the work van.
They said the vans had to park there as there was nowhere else, but the work should be finished in a couple of days.
Well, this made me snap. I went round and told them how rude they were to have even been using our drive without asking. I said ‘a decent person would at least ask to use it, and had you have asked, I would be ok with that providing we weren’t using it!’
He replied ‘if you were a decent person you would be ok with it!’ This ended up in an argument where I said they were entitled and selfish and they said I was ‘petty.’- all whilst they made no attempt to move the van.
(The work men watched silently)
So I did get petty and I reversed my car back and blocked the work van in- hours before my visitor was due to arrive.
Ended up with both the husband and wife on my doorstep telling me I was out of order….. I did move the car once the workmen came to ask me and they said they had been told by the neighbours that the drive was ok for them to use… I would say the neighbourly relationship is pretty much over now- it was only a ‘hello’ civil type relationship before to be fair…
But… what would you have done? Said from day one to move? Not resorted to being ‘petty’ and blocking the work van in? The issue for me was how rude I found the whole situation. I would never have just assumed it was ok if roles were reversed!!
Pic included….

"if you were a decent person, you would be ok with it and we wouldn’t have to ask" - I love this - just takes entitlement to the next level. So in future they can do ANYTHING THEY FUCKING LIKE and any objections just prove they were right in the first place. Its like that saying you can't argue with a pigeon they'll just strut around like they own the place and shit everywhere.

There's no way I'd allow this to continue. Their attitude is outrageous!

If I were you I'd block your driveway tomorrow so that they can't use it.

Too bad for them - that's what happens when you lack common decency in the first instance.

I can't believe people are giving you a hard time for tolerating the parking for a few days. YWNBU to do that and quite rightly said something when you actually needed the space and only blew up at them when they were rude in return.

Also the trucks are causing wear and tear to OPs driveway and not benefiting her in any shape or form.

The neighbours need to sort out their own driveway etc

The neighbours are obviously completely unreasonable and totally entitled pricks. It probably would have been best though to ask the work guys to move their van from your drive and to not park there in future as it was their vehicle that was there - then no falling out needed with the next door idiots. I don't blame you for blowing up at them though.

If you behave like a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you.

Consider it a lesson learnt and install some kind of barrier on your driveway to stop this happening in the future. They clearly thought you were a pushover.

These people have learned to bully you; unfortunately you enabled their shitty behaviour at first.

Looks like you’ll need to stand up for yourself far more vigorously in future. Good luck!

@Ilovecharliecat

Your neighbours are total CF’s 😤😡🤬

Was going to post a reply but I think @Ilovecharliecat has put it more succinctly than I could!

They really have taken the award for brazen cheekyfuckery.

You don't lose any ground for not having raised it earlier AT ALL.
Your property. Your rules. And your neighbours can do one.

Did they park on your drive today?

Hasn't anyone brought up penguin bollards yet? They should have - but just in case, I've done it now.

Even if you did let it slide you probably didn’t do yourself any favours matching round and getting into an argument with them. I would have gone round and politely asked for them not to park on your driveway, explain it was now becoming an issue and why. It sounds like it could have been dealt with very differently.

@LadyMaid

Since you feel bad now I would pop round and apologise for blocking the van. Tell your neighbours that you would have preferred if they had asked you first.

Then you can offer them use of the drive for the days that you are able to.

They may accept your apology and also apologise in return for the things they have said.

Being on hello terms with your neighbours is fine.
Having animosity between neighbours can make life terrible awkward.

If they tell you to go do one then you can stop feeling bad.

Are you having a laugh??? This is the worst advice I've ever seen on here regarding CFs, apologise and offer them your drive? Hahahahahahahah Stand your ground, hell would freeze over before I apologised to the neighbours Fuck 'em

There has been quite a bit of work going on on our road. Mostly because quite a few have been recently sold and have had extensive renovations done before the new owners moved in, but also there is one house being built in the back garden of a house on an adjacent road (new house is on our road). All of them have had the new owners call around to the houses to apologise in advance for any disruption and all of the work crews have had workers keeping an eye out for residents coming and going to make sure that we aren't inconvenienced by lorries delivering stuff (apart from the the foundation builders who were twats). That's how it should be, not assuming that everyone else's property is for your convenience.

[quote LookItsMeAgain]@JoeGrundyWasMyRoleModel - what happened with your neighbours?[/quote]
Having bent over backwards to allow access via our property we came home to find a load of building material dumped on our patio. Went ballistic and told them to remove it immediately. As a PP said if they had asked we probably would have acknowledged their particular difficulty and allowed them to do it.

Stand your ground & don't let them park on your drive. Your neighbours are so cheeky & out of order. I would've blew my top at them too in your situation.

@MissJeanBrodiesprime

Even if you did let it slide you probably didn’t do yourself any favours matching round and getting into an argument with them. I would have gone round and politely asked for them not to park on your driveway, explain it was now becoming an issue and why. It sounds like it could have been dealt with very differently.

What thread did you read? This is what the OP did. The neighbour's were informed politely that op needed the drive for visitors but basically got told to fuck off. OP only (rightfully) kicked off after the refusal.

What @HuhWhatNow said. I think most people would lose it in that given scenario.

I did have something similar however my neighbours were actually unaware and hadn’t told the builder to do it! Wasn’t until I called the builders out that they went to moan about me to my neighbour that they couldn’t complete the work properly that she realised and came to apologise

Shame your neighbours aren’t as reasonable!

The neighbours are so rude.

Don't feel bad.

Your husband is so wet.

I have absolutely zero interest in conflict as does my husband but faced with that rudeness we wouldn't tolerate it.

Id tell them they can park there for 100 quid a day, backdated and paid upfront, no credit, no exceptions. They can add that to your neighbours bill and fuck right off otherwise..Not your building work,not your circus or monkeys or anything else...

If they try park there tomorrow Id block them in for 48 hrs and see what happens then, oh and lose the keys to your car...

@thequeenoftarts

Id tell them they can park there for 100 quid a day, backdated and paid upfront, no credit, no exceptions. They can add that to your neighbours bill and fuck right off otherwise..Not your building work,not your circus or monkeys or anything else...

If they try park there tomorrow Id block them in for 48 hrs and see what happens then, oh and lose the keys to your car...

or get an empty wine bottle and put some orange juice in it and sit there on the door step swigging it back! cant drive orrificer ive been drinking and im fished!

I think you did great standing up to them, my husband would have been a wet blanket too. I wouldn’t be too worried about being on friendly terms with them they sound horrible

Good for you OP!

Organise a BBQ on their drive right outside their windows, loud music and all. When they complain tell them that if they were decent people then they'd be okay with it.

I dont get it you were nice enough to let them park there for weeks but you needed it that day so why did the cheeky sod not just move it. If I were you I'd apologise when you get the chance but only to the work men. Your neighbours can go swing.