Blocked in a car who parked in my space

[2026baby]

To be clear I own my flat and the parking space is part of my lease and is legally mine. If anyone wishes to use it they would need to have my permission as they would be trespassing otherwise. The space is on private land in a secure garage that requires fob access.

I have come home today from being away to find a random car parked in my space, I do not know who it belongs to. I paid to park on the street outside for an hour hoping they would move soon but no one did. Not wanting to spend any more money unnecessarily I have now parked in front of my parking space which has blocked them in. It is not impacting anyone else's space and allows free movement around the car park.

I have left a note on the car and put a message in the block's group chat but no one has responded. AIBU to block them in until I get a response?

I have nowhere else to park and I don't want to pay to park outside as its £4 an hour and I have no idea when they will move (So far it has been 3 hours that I am aware of). The managing agent is closed for the weekend but have been useless anyway when my neighbours have the same problem and as its a civil matter I can't call the police but according to google the car owner can call the police on me for blocking them in. I am also concerned in case they damage my car, again where would I stand legally if they did given that I have blocked them in?

You know the rules, where is the diagram!?!?!

Don't forget that if the car owner/driver shows up all bolshie about the inconvenience that you need to tell them that you've just finished off a bottle of wine (even if it's 7 am by then) and so can't drive until you are capable. If they are apologetic then you can be magnanimous about it all.

You've done exactly the right thing OP. How dare they, especially since your space is also your disabled space. When they ring you, do say you'll be an hour or so and actually make them wait a bit longer and that they owe you £30.

But why should OP have to pay to park on the road? It's already been three hours so she'd have been £12 down already.
They are a CF or, if they don't understand how parking works, they shouldn't be driving.

Stay put and take lots of pictures showing your car from all angles, undamaged etc. Anywhere to perch a camera? You could probably get one delivered from Amazon by tomorrow morning if they dont move today.

When they turn up later this evening make sure you've had 3 or 4 drinks and are no longer safe to drive.

If you have left your phone number on the note then just leave your car where it is and when they contact you, move your car at your convenience.

That's the plan! When this happened before my neighbour was extremely apologetic as apparently had noticed my car is usually not there on a weekday so didn't think I would notice. I still wasn't happy but their attitude made the world of difference and they thanked me for my polite note 😆

I may have jumped the gun today being more antagonistic but its mainly the lack of response for almost 4 hours now that has riled me!

I did the exact same thing and had the police knocking on my door asking me to move so the car that had parked in my spot could get to work the next day (they didn’t have the nerve to knock on my door and apologise and called the police themselves!!!)

I didn’t apologise and they weren’t they didn’t look at me when I moved my car to let them pass but it still irks me that it was made to look like I’d done something wrong for wanting to park in my own car parking space after a long shift at work!

Before me and my DH bought our house, we lived in a number of lovely apartments. The one thing that always let the situation down and solidified our decision when buying to opt for a house with its own drive and garage, were the regular parking dramas. Despite all spaces being clearly numbered with the apartment number and there being quite a number of visitors spaces available, there were countless times we’d arrive back after work or having been out for the day to find some rude bastard in our spot. Worse still, there were sometimes repeat offenders. We suspected they were all visiting one particular neighbour, who unfortunately was a bit of a dick with a bad attitude, so after unsuccessful notes, attempts to discuss with him were just dismissed/ignored.

Eventually I also resorted to parking in front of them so they couldn’t leave (didn’t block any other neighbours from being able to drive in or out) and each time they called and asked me to move, I took longer and longer to react and I gave them more and more of a mouthful. After the 3rd time when I left them waiting 4 hours, it thankfully stopped completely.

Stick with it @2026baby!

Years ago, a similar post on Mumsnet discussed the merits of a bottle of honey in these circumstances.Just saying....

I can see why blocking them in is tempting, but I wouldn't. Legally 2 wrongs don't make a right, and blocking someone in is probably not legal whereas damaging property is.

Leave it where it is, and take a good few hours to move it if/when they phone. Police won’t give a fuck.

Or smear dog shit under their door handles.

Glad you understand! We actually haven't got any visitors parking unfortunately as each flat has one allocated space each so visitors can be a problem. On the whole though, people will just message the group chat and ask if anyone's space is free for the duration of their visitor. I always offer mine up if I know I won't be home during that time and so do many other neighbours so its just frustrating when people take the piss unnecessarily!

Do you have any suggestions on where I should park in the meantime?

OP can you buy a traffic style cone and just keep it in your boot, and put it in your space when you are out? But really the managing agent needs to put some scary signs up threatening clamping etc as a deterrent - you pay them management fees to manage the building!

Make sure you take pics of your car and the other car pared in your space. Pic of the cars number plate and any scratches etc on the car.

Just leave a note on the car saying they’re in your space, therefore you’ve had to block them in and to call 07… they’re not going to damage your car because they need your cooperation to get out, so it would be strikingly obvious who did it so they’d be thick as mince.

All this in a private car park?

If they are cheeky enough to park in someone else's space - do you REALLY think they'll take any notice of a traffic cone?😂

"Oy Sid, park wherever you like, stuff the neighbour's!"

"Oh no, I can't park at number 5 because there is a cheap, plastic traffic cone there!! Damn and blast number 5 for their clever ways"

Not only have they parked in your parking space which is a disabled bay but they don't have a blue badge! That is unforgivable, rude and entitled. I would be in no hurry to let them out when they do contact you.

@AnotherChangeDay it works in my building car park! People respect the authority of the cone unquestioningly 🤣

Also, three wrongs don't make a right. They can't key your car becuase you're blocking them in. You've written a note and written on the group chat. If they call the police they'll be told to contact you and ask you to move and tell them not to park where they're not allowed.

If they key your car they're still going to need you to move it. So you could just refuse and call the police.

At the end of the day i really don't think you've done anything wrong and the worst that's going to happen is a very angry man coming to your apartment and screaming and threatening you.

Yes this is what is so frustrating! How is parking in my space a civil matter and not for the police but me blocking them in can result in the police being called.

There is absolutely no deterrent yet I'm the one who paid a premium for a flat with a parking space in a city centre but also have to pay to park outside if someone else decides they don't want to.

@AnotherChangeDay also to be clear I don’t have a personal cone, the building got a few to stop this happening so all residents have their space