Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Parking - feeling terrorised by neighbours

68 replies

CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 11:35

I've included a drawing because I know you'll all ask.

Key:
Blue = driveway
Green = hedges covering garden of neighbour on different street
Red = our house
Pink = partners car

My partner's tyre just got slashed after countless arguments with different neighbours because he sometimes has to park on the street maybe one or two days a month. He makes sure to park at the end of the road where there are no houses and that he isn't in front of anyone's house or drive. Our drive parks two cars but you can only get the one at the front off, so if I need to leave for business at 4am then my partner puts his car on the road the night before and moves it back the next day. I WFH mostly so my car stays tucked on the drive 99% of the time with him having full access.

Previous arguments have been neighbours saying that because we have a drive, we have to use it 100% of the time and OH has to get up at 4am to play musical cars. Ironically, most people on the street have drives but don't use them and park across their drive or elsewhere on the street. These are the ones moaning at us.

It happens so infrequently but it's got to the point now of tyre slashing and I feel like we're being terrorised by the neighbours. We're moving soon (thank god) and have to get a skip meaning both our cars will have to be on the road and we really can't afford 8 new tyres when they inevitably get slashed. I'm so worried.

Am I genuinely being unreasonable parking a car on a road, not blocking anything, once a month or is there anything that I can do? Police feel pointless as we're moving soon.

Parking - feeling terrorised by neighbours
OP posts:
Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 12:09

@maddening he's insured on mine but his is a work car (he's a tradesman) so has tools, etc. Mines small & eco so I can get more for miles when travelling with work. I can't get insured on his, the only one that would add me on wanted an extra £600.

If the skip was on the road it would have to block our drive, or someone else's, so same issue.

We've got most at the side of the house ready to go in the skip but a lot want you to have 3-5days minimum in order to benefit from the lower price.

@Phillipa12 that sounds like a good idea. Give them a nice wake up call with some door slamming and cheeky engine revving.

OP posts:
Cw112 · 30/10/2022 12:12

ShowOfHands · 30/10/2022 11:53

Why not leave cars in the right order the night before? You don't need to juggle cars at 4am. Just juggle them before bed.

Yes the police could investigate and probably should but they're never going to prove who it was. Sounds awful. Thank heavens you're leaving.

This is what we do, we can just about fit both cars onto our drive and we just have a discussion about who needs out first in the morning. Parking is in high demand on our cul-de-sac and some houses have no drives so if we can't park in the drive we park further away down the street not infront of a house so that neighbours can get a spot outside their home. I'd be tempted to put the skip on the road if it's possible so that you can use your drive. See where the hedges are, are you parking up on a footpath and blocking access for pedestrians with prams/mobility aids or does it make it tight for anyone driving past your car? I would invest in a dash cam, it might put the perpetrator off damaging your cars in the first instance and if it escalated and you needed to go through police then you'd have evidence to do so. Could you maybe put a letter through some neighbours doors saying you're moving soon and apologise that a skip will be present for a few weeks and you appreciate their patience. I'd be tempted to say that due to previous damage to cars you can't park on the road so the skip will need to go there.

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 12:14

We've already completed the paperwork for the sale & signed contracts (not exchanged). Would we still have to notify our buyers if something happens after then?

OP posts:
Ilovetocrochet · 30/10/2022 12:14

I have no suggestion to help with your current parking issue other than swap your cars at 4am, you say that you don’t park on the road very often and you are moving soon so perhaps you could put up with it just a few more times?

Regarding the skip, is it possible to have it put on your lawn rather than the drive? I always do that to avoid parking on the road and I know that it affects the grass but it does not take long for it to grow back. Again, if you coordinate timings, it won’t be for very long so might not totally kill off the grass. Even if you have a low wall, I’m sure skips can be lifted over it by the truck.

VerifiedBot2351 · 30/10/2022 12:14

Start playing musical cars at 4am, complete with music blaring and slamming doors.

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 12:21

No chance of getting two cars & a skip on the drive - there's no grassed area, just hedges & a slither of grass across half blocking access. Buyers might be pissed off if I start ripping out the landscaping just for the sake of a skip.

We can cope with musical cars at 4am. I don't think I need to go anywhere again until we move... It's the issue of the skip having to go on the drive and us both needing to put our cars on the road for 5 days. There's nowhere on the road we can put it, other than across our drive.

Do I let the police know, not say it's neighbours but then put a 'polite' note through the neighbours door letting them know police are aware of tyre slashing on the street to scare them from doing it again? Mention a camera being put up and just giving a neighbourly heads up to those on the street that I'll have CCTV if it happens to them? Technically not a neighbour dispute in that case...

Or contact the police asking for advice without affecting our sale?

OP posts:
Rogue1001MNer · 30/10/2022 12:31

Honestly, for 4 weeks, park on another street and walk.

Fantasise about coming back and keying their cars (probably don't do that).

Take the moral high ground, tell yourself you'll never compete with them. Keep your nose clean and get the hell out without looking back!

Itaintwhatyoudoitsthewaythatyoudoit · 30/10/2022 12:31

This sounds like intimidation. Presumably they know you are moving as you have a sale agreed sign up outside? Did this start once they saw the 'for sale'/'sale agreed' sign?

I know everyone is saying to tell the police but because I think you have to declare disputes, I probably wouldn't to be honest and just move asap. I know its cowardly but I would not want to get involved with the type of people who slash tyres and I would not want to jeopardise the house sale.

Any chance you are friendly enough with one neighbour to ask if you could use her drive for parking for a couple of weeks while the removal men are there?

Rogue1001MNer · 30/10/2022 12:31

P.s. very clear drawing!

Well done

And p.p.s they sound awful. Congratulations on getting out!

gogohmm · 30/10/2022 12:33

Depends on the width of the road where it's parked, Dan you still get an ambulance, fire engine etc through? If yes then they are being ridiculous.

Shellingbynight · 30/10/2022 12:35

Don't get a skip. As others have said, get a man with a van, we've done that several times and it works fine, if they/you have to park on the road it will only be for a couple of hours. Sort the stuff out so it's ready to be loaded up when they arrive.

Alternatively, take all the stuff you were going to chuck to your new place, and skip it there. You shouldn't have to do this, but it's the line of least resistance and you don't need the stress.

Natty13 · 30/10/2022 12:39

Personally, I would not involve the police at this stage if you're so close to moving, don't have evidence of who it was and so on. I would absolutely get dash cams and/or cctv/Ring doorbell, and go nuclear if it happened again. I am very much the type to fight fire with fire though but I would be slashing every tyre on the street (bar anyone who never complained to me about parking) before I left. Someone stuck a potato up my parents' exhaust when I was a child so I'd also consider that.

RedHelenB · 30/10/2022 13:13

CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 11:59

@notmyrealmoniker we're not allowed to park on the street at all. If we go across our drive then we're blocking those opposite getting in to theirs 🙃 yes, they really came and knocked on our door to tell us to move (they park across theirs 80% of the time)

And what is their reply when you point out they park per their driveways?

RedHelenB · 30/10/2022 13:13

Phillipa12 · 30/10/2022 12:05

I understand not wanting to get the police involved as you are moving. So the neighbours would rather you played musical cars at 4am than Park perfectly legally on the road? If this is the case I would be making sure that musical cars at 4am was not quiet, then point out when someone complains that the usual legal solution had your car tyres slashed.......

Exactly.

iRun2eatCake · 30/10/2022 13:36

What stuff do you need to dispose of? Can you not do it yourselves?

My Council will collect 3 large items i.e one's that you couldn't get in a car... for £15

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 13:41

It's a residential estate 😂 I think we'll be getting keyed/more tyres slashed if we start parking on other streets. Honestly thought he'd be safe parking where he is but here we are.

Yeah, we have a sold sign so it's obvious we're moving. This started prior to then but no idea if the escalation is because they know we're leaving. Probably want to feel smug thinking they've run us off the street.

@RedHelenB the one that knocked on the door complaining, my OH just moved his car because he doesn't want arguments. Other times it's been someone who at the time had their car on their drive and they 'cant talk for other people on the street'. No, just for us apparently because we're 'privileged to have a drive'. Yeah, cause I paid to have it converted.

Ironically, legally we actually can't even park on our drive. Found out through selling that there's a covenant on the property that no vehicles can be parked within the boundary. It's been over 12 month's since getting the drive so it's a simple indemnity policy to fix the issue but technically....

OP posts:
Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 13:43

@iRun2eatCake just household waste. Throwing a lot away and starting fresh. So far we've got about ten bin liners and some old garden waste and there's still a couple of rooms to finish.

OP posts:
namechange3394 · 30/10/2022 13:52

I'd take that amount of rubbish to the tip rather than hiring an expensive skip but you do you!

Is he parking with two wheels on the pavement? Is there room for wheelchairs/pushchairs to pass?

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 13:58

@namechange3394 there are some bigger items in there and it'd be one trip a day (stingy tip). Skip is much more convenient with us working full time and tbh I don't know why I should give in to knobhead neighbours 😔 it's just escalated to the point it's gonna cost a fortune if they carry on.

Parking is one wheel on the pavement to allow for emergency vehicles but with enough room for pushchairs/wheelchairs. It's an old narrow street so I know it's not ideal either way.

OP posts:
Mirabai · 30/10/2022 14:30

You really don’t need a skip for that OP you just need a house clearance service. Their vans are large and will take all your stuff away, sell some, dispose of the rest.

rookiemere · 30/10/2022 14:34

Rogue1001MNer · 30/10/2022 12:31

Honestly, for 4 weeks, park on another street and walk.

Fantasise about coming back and keying their cars (probably don't do that).

Take the moral high ground, tell yourself you'll never compete with them. Keep your nose clean and get the hell out without looking back!

This - if it's a possibility, can you park your car a bit further away for the last few weeks.
unfortunately at your current address it seems your vehicles are known for targeting, but if you can go somewhere else then hopefully that might work.

iRun2eatCake · 30/10/2022 14:45

If it is still usable item's, take to charity shops, post Free to Collector on FB, take into work and see if anyone wants it

Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 15:09

No useable items... Unless someone wants a secondhand potato masher? 😁

The pile is still growing. I'd name some other things that are there but I think it might give me away 😂 but it definitely is a skip full. How much are these House clearance companies? We're paying £180 for a skip so unless it's cheaper than that...

OP posts:
Original poster
CinnamonSwirl82 · 30/10/2022 15:12

The bits of furniture we're leaving are being given to the neighbours for free or we're leaving for our buyers to help get them started. Maybe I should reconsider that first part though 😓

OP posts:
LuckyLil · 30/10/2022 15:36

Seems almost too easy to perhaps rather than only ever using your own specific car, just use whichever one is nearest the end of the drive and take your husband's car to work occasionally instead. Surely that isn't difficult?