Neighbour reported my cousin’s car as abandoned

[M2BANTRIM]

Hi y’all . So a cousin of mine went to Spain last week and she left her car legally parked outside my house . This morning I had someone come in from our local borough to say that the car was abandoned. I was so shocked and lost for words . The lady who came in was just doing her job and I mentioned it was my cousin’s car and that she is on holiday . So I know for sure it was my neighbour who reported as she has never taken a liking to us . I am black by the way and she cannot fathom that I am a homeowner in the neighbourhood she is in and she already told other neighbours that she suspected that my husband must be 'doing something illegal to afford that house and car '. Will I be unreasonable to call the borough and ask who made the call or I should let it go ?

Just to add - re the racism. As a black woman, I know first hand that accusing someone of racism is seen as much worse than actual racism, for some bizarre reason.

I wouldn't go calling her a racist without solid proof, for the sake of your own peace - alrhough i dont doubt you for a second! xx

There are no holes . I have clarified many things in this post . Please tell me where the potholes are . I’m not one to spend my Tuesday night making up fake posts to 'stir a pot' whatever that means

I've read the thread.

I think your decision to deny that racism is happening to someone else is weird.

''Please tell me where the potholes are''

Our council don't even come out to them and they are real! 😂

OP, the moment you mention you are a shade darker than beige, you'll be hit with a ton of YT women who have never experienced racism or unconscious bias falling over themselves to tell you it couldn't possibly be racism.

Your neighbour sounds like a cock and sounds like she knows it was linked to you, being parked in your space, and likely just wanted to cause a bit of headache for you.

If somebody truly thought it was a dumped car, the most logical thing to do would be to knock on and ask you, given it's in your space, and you'd have been able to clarify. Given they haven't, it sounds like you're totally right in that it's somebody just wanting to cause you grief.

From what the OP said allegedly happened, there is no racism.

A car parked on private property isn't reportable as an abandoned vehicle. It's not on a public road and it was taxed, MOT'd and insured. The council has no jurisdiction to do anything about it.

I think I'd want to know who on earth this woman that turned up was and what on earth the council thought they were doing, if she was actually from the council. Can you ring the local council and ask for the relevant department, and find someone you can ask for an explanation? I don't suppose you got this woman's name?

Why would the council come out for an abandoned car on private property…

they wouldn’t because it’s not their land so they don’t care if you dump a even non road worthy Volvo there for months.

Why would the council come out to a vehicle in private parking space? That's 'off road' - they wouldn't give a damn if it was up on bricks with no MOT & no engine surely

I wonder if the fact it's Northern Ireland means things like this are looked in to quicker than they would be in other areas, definitely a possibility.

OP I'd be exactly like you and be desperate to know who it was and why but unfortunately you probably aren't going to find out. I'm sorry you're having to deal with racist comments, I don't doubt your experience at all

It’s the comments about your husband that make the difference for me. We who look white, whatever our heritage, have very little idea of the wearying, mean comments, attitudes and downright antipathy that those with darker skins have to deal with each day. Yes, report it and make sure you let them know what this neighbour said about your husband, when it was said and in what context.

@bergamotorange I haven't said OPs neighbour isn't racist, OP said the car was parked outside her house and the neighbour didn't know it was her cousins car... so actually there is nothing in that at all to suggest the neighbour did a racially motivated report, because she didn't even no who the car belonged to. OP has now added in that it was an allocated space, and then it was on her property once this was pointed it.

I don't doubt OP has a racist neighbour, but she doesn't know who reported this car. Nethermind how unlikely it is that the council would show up within 2 working days to a taxed and MOTd car legally parked on private property.

I'd report her, but what for? Harassment?
Can't stand the sound of your neighbour, she's like a Mrs Bucket carrcature? My parent had a busy body neighbour that verged on harassment.

Do you generally have a problem accepting that racism exists?

But if it's parked in OPs private space what on earth does it have to do with the neighbour? And why would she go straight to reporting it rather than knocking on the OPs door to ask or check if it was abandoned. It makes no sense why she would do that.

Well I believe you @M2BANTRIM even if others don't. I'm from the county you live in. I absolutely believe that your neighbour will have made comments about homeownership with racist undertones etc. And to those not believing the council's attendance here, just because the councils in England may not respond so quickly, this is a council in NI, and they are run differently.

@M2BANTRIM you can email in a Subject Access Request, asking for all information on the complaint received. They will redact out your neighbour's the complainant's details, however, there will likely be enough information to read between the lines for you to know it was her. I've done similar as my neighbour reported me to the council, funnily enough because of his xenophobia against Northern Irish people 😂

It sadly takes a long time for things to change in NI, but we're getting there albeit slowly!

Sigh. If the racist neighbour doesn’t know the supposedly ‘abandoned’ car is anything to do with the OP, then she can’t have been calling it in to the council for racially-related reasons. It makes the whole thing much odder, especially if the taxed, insured car was parked on private property.

@Dramatic I agree, but that's not what OP said at first. She said the car was parked outside her house which suggested street parking. She also doesn't know who reported it.

Then you are projecting. If she doesn't know it's your cousins car, then she won't have reported it because she's racist and trying to get at you. How long was this holiday anyway? As there's no chance in hell the council would come out for a car that has only been there a week and is taxed and insured. It took weeks for them to attend a legitimate abandoned car here, and then they only stuck a notice on it saying if it wasn't removed within (I think 21 days), then it would get scrapped.

Surely they would check MOT, tax etc status online before accepting it as abandoned and coming out?

@ReadingSoManyThreads it's not the fact that the council responded quickly, it's the fact that they have jurisdiction at all over cars on private property. A car parked on private property isn't abandoned on a public road, so it's surprising that the council were able to respond at all. Is that normal in NI or in that part of NI?

The neighbour would have known it was the OP's parking space, the neighbour may even have seen her cousin leave it there, so I'm not sure how you can't connect to it being racially-related reasons, ESPECIALLY as it is on OP's private property which is absolutely nothing to do with this neighbour.

I'd hazard a guess that the complainant likely didn't disclose that it was parked on private property. I've dealt with people like that before (my current neighbours), and they are deliberately deceitful.

I think the point some PPs are making is that there is no way someone from the local council would carry out a home visit to check that a car which is taxed and insured and parked on a private driveway to see if it abandoned. That just wouldn't happen.