Just had a blazing row with a builder

[musicthroughthewall]

Not working for me, he keeps parking across my driveway. I’ve asked him again to move it and he said all I have to do is be polite and ask.l each time.

I responded with I was polite the first time and how about he just doesn’t do it. And wow did it escalate. He was screaming that he pays road tax and can park where he wants, I pointed out it’s a dropped curb so no he can’t.

Honestly. It got so much worse, he called me a fucking bitch. Now I feel vulnerable in my own home.

Aibu? I shouldn’t repeatedly have to ask someone to stop blocking my car. I’ve noticed he doesn’t block the driveway of the people he’s working for.

Dear me. The sort of person for whom shotguns were invented.

But seriously, of course you shouldn't have to ask - politely or otherwise and undoubtedly, had you been a big, burly bloke, he would have crawled back into his van and shuffled off without a word. I'd definitely talk to your neighbours. He sounds like an absolute charmer who probably pads his invoices.

This 👆

I did report it, as I’ve said numerous times.

Did you report his threatening behaviour or the parking issue, though? My apologies if you’ve already said, but I can’t see where you’ve answered (not that you’re obliged to answer, obviously).

Unfortunately the bigger the vehicle the more people think they have the right to park. Where we live has been turned from a lovely road into an industrial estate by massive vans and chopping down protected trees just to park cars because ‘we’re a young business ‘ - hope karma kicks in but please OP object. Wish I had but unfortunately been beaten down by the bullies.

I’ve asked him again to move it and he said all I have to do is be polite and ask.

Wow that’s nice of him! All you have to do is be polite and ask? Really ?

Road Tax has got nothing to do with where you can park it is to do with emissions, it’s council tax that deals with roads so his first argument makes him sound thick. As you say dropped kerb is illegal and he just sounds arrogant and obnoxious. Absolutely report to his company or advise it is illegal and you have reported it so best get moving.

Not crazy at all. If it was an absolute offence to park over a dropped curb YOU couldn’t put YOUR car there, or allow your visitors to put theirs. Some London boroughs take this attitude. It’s a considerable nuisance.

I don’t think he grasped the concept that you shouldn’t block people in. Genuinely. Because when I told him I’d report him next time it was met with a “for what?!!”.

Oh I’d love to wipe the grin off his face if he did it again and got a ticket. Not going to ticket you if you’re parked legally are they mate?

Just another point, the neighbours, I likely think they heard it, they also have a ring doorbell which I rang before seeing the guy so they would have a notification (it’s a side front door so they wouldn’t have a visual but sure they could hear it maybe? I don’t have one) and he might have told them.

Well neither of them have come round to say anything. I would feel so embarrassed if my builder had inconvenienced my neighbour to the point they were shouting at each other in the street. They clearly couldn’t care less.

Some people really do walk among us who are like real-life versions of Cletus from The Simpsons.

It's one thing to know you shouldn't do something, yet do it anyway because you just don't care about others or fear the law; but it really does take a monumentally special kind of stupid not to even know that you're doing wrong.

Update. (For anyone who still cares at this point) He’s back. But now he’s parking fully across the driveway of the other next door neighbours.

The petty side of me wants to report him for doing that. But maybe the more reasonable side is saying they might have let him and it at least seems like he won’t be parking near mine ever again.

But yet again not parking over the driveway of the customer. This is why I think they really are selfish fucks - and I hope she’s reading this.

Lots of cars don’t pay VED though, and are allowed to drive on the road. It’s a pollution tax, not a road use tax. Paying it doesn’t give you any more rights than people who don’t need to pay it, it just means your car is more polluting.

I'd leave it now OP. He's a selfish cunt and you won't get any joy from poking the bear further. Let the neighbours fight their own battles -nobody came to help you with yours.

He is used to intimidating people and getting his own way, well done. Shame on the neighbours for doing nothing, I’d be mortified if builders I had employed had spoken to my neighbours like that.

If you have a zero-rated car for VED (enjoy it whilst it lasts), do you have to still apply and send off a form ('paying' the due VED of £0.00) or just not do anything at all?

Even if the latter, I would argue that it IS a road tax, but levied according to pollution level. If I had a big farm and a car with the biggest, oldest, filthiest, nastiest polluting engine in existence that I used exclusively within the boundaries of my farm, I would not have to pay any 'polluting tax' - as the purpose of VED is to charge people for using the public roads; even if that 'charge' is zero.

Sadly it's not illegal to park across a driveway and the only time the police may come out, is if the said vehicle has blocked you in on your drive, if you can't get onto your drive, theres nothing that can be done.
It's definitely wrong and totally thoughtless of the person who does this.

You have to apply and pay and it is rated at £0. You can’t do nothing or you can still get done for no tax. I sort of see the point but it is also slightly irritating- we’ve had multiple electric cars for many years and most have been £0 but it won’t last.

I think they do it like that as it is easy when the rules change, if they didn't have records of all the zero rated vehicles it would be chaos if the Chancellor said no more zero rated a minimum charge of whatever.

The rules change all the time and at the moment some cars are zero rated but they are still in the system and have to be as entitled to zero or not they will not get away without applying and paying the appropriate amount, in this case zero. It is also linked to MOTs and I think it makes it possible for the police to look up a vehicle and know if has a current MOT and uptodate VED.

If you have a car that isn't used on the road you SORN it, you don't zero rated. They both mean you don't pay but they aren't the same thing.

Thanks - that's what I assumed.

The days of zero-rated VED are indeed going to come to an end soon, though. It was fine as a sweetener for consumers when they were rare, but once a huge proportion/most/all cars are non-polluting (at the point of use anyway), they can't/won't just write off all of that revenue.

They're already talking about a per-mile tax for electric cars. I suppose they're all already connected wirelessly to the 'grid' in some high-tech way, and so can be easily tracked to find out where and when you've driven.

All of which does rather support the notion that it IS a road tax, regardless of the basis on which they levy it.

My current car is 0 rated for VED. It’s a six year old petrol car. I bought it a month before the rating changed. If it was built now it would pay tax but as it was 0 when it was new it continues to be so. I still have to tax it every year.