Insane parking behaviour - intentionally blocked in

[sadkittymum]

I was coming back to my car last night after a shift at work (I’m a vet). The branch I was at does not have a car park, so I was parked on the road next to the practice. I’ve been parking on this road for over a year with no issues, but it is busy as it is also next to a school. I parked my car in front of someone’s house, however no part of my car was over the dropped kerb, and I was in no way restricting access onto their drive. I was behind another car.

Upon my return, the owner of the house that I was in front of had moved their car so it was directly behind mine (the bumper was, and I am not at all exaggerating, 5cm from the back of my car). She had specifically moved her car (leaving her own drive clear of a car, and now parking her car to block her own drive), to do this. This left me completely blocked in as there was also a car in front of me.

Not knowing what to do, I went to knock on the door and I could see that the woman had gone upstairs and was not responding to me at the door. I even knocked on neighbours doors to try to get some help! After about 15 minutes of this, another member of the house arrived home in his car, so I approached him and said the car blocking me needed to be moved. It was also preventing him from getting on his own drive! The woman came out, and said nothing at all other than ‘I’m only moving this to allow him on the drive’.

I really really regret not saying anything but I just was so glad to get in my car and drive away from there. I’m only 25 and very non confrontational and this was a middle aged couple! Surely it cannot be legal to do this - what if I had had an emergency and I was stuck? I was parked on a public road not obstructing them!

Pretty sure I am not being unreasonable, but is this something that people do???

Ring 101 and report what she did on a public road.
Pity you didn't take some pictures of what she did.

The problem is, their tactics work! OP will avoid parking there now.

No! Anyone can park, every day, outside this twatish woman's house. Don't kowtow to this entitled bully. Hopefully her husband has had a word with her and told her how unreasonable she is.

Park wherever you like as long as it's legal.

Next time just start inching out and repeatedly bumping her car with yours. She’ll go apoplectic but won’t do it again.

How on earth is this germane?

I would be even more determined to park there now.

You certainly did nothing wrong and they were acting very badly.
I don't understand the relevance of the bit about you being "only" 25 and them being "a middle aged couple", apart from the fact there were two of them and just one of you which is, of course, more intimidating.

I may be in my 60s now and rarely intimidated by anyone, but my memory is not so short that I can't acknowledge that, at the OPs age, I too would probably have been a bit daunted about getting in to a confrontation with someone my parents' age, especially if they were obviously belligerent.

I thought that was the Greek method 😂

lol - I’d park close enough to the dropped kerb so you can’t be blocked in if they’re being awkward about the parking outside their house. I do loathe this type of entitlement, I’d bet they park outside peoples houses when they go to destinations … dollars to donuts!

😂😂 Possibly just 'southern European' - I've seen it in Italy too 😂😂

People are so petty.

You have my sympathy OP. There’s a man who lives near MIL and he does everything to stop people parking outside his house. He uses the same tactic as the woman who blocked you, or sometimes swings his big wrought iron gate out onto the pavement to create an obstacle, with his own car parked up close to it and an empty driveway. Weird behaviour.

To the people who think the police shouldn’t be bothered with this, of course they should. Even the fact that a dispute like this can potentially escalate into damage or violence is reason enough. There are parking issues at our local primary school (pretty typical inconsiderate parents parking across driveways, double parking etc) and the police are out regularly trying to sort it. It may not be the most important job they do, but it does fall under their remit.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with my memory either but it never occurred to me when I was in my mid-20s, doing a professional job similar to the OP, to consider myself "only" such and such an age.
You and the OP did/do.
Fair enough.
Tbh, this strikes me as more the couple being more petty than "belligerent". It sounds like the woman spoke one sentence and the man didn't say anything.
Anyway, as I said previously, the OP obviously hasn't done anything wrong and the couple behaved badly.

Eta: Thought I'd quoted a post 🤦🏻‍♀️
This was a reply to @5foot5 at 10:16.

Someone did that to me recently - like you @sadkittymum I was completely legally parked, I'd checked and I had a clear foot before the dropped kerb began. They got their car off the drive and parked it across their own dropped kerb right up to my bumper, then watched through the curtains as I spent 20 minutes doing a 128 point manoeuvre to get out again. Twats. I wish I'd had the nerve to shunt their car but I knew they were watching.

@Valeriekat@PrincessofWells@Mumsgirls
apologies this wasn’t intended.

Absolutely this! Isn’t this what bumpers are for??

This same thing happened to me, a teacher, parked near my school (which had no car park) My vehicle was a vintage VW Transporter with an excellent steering lock. Nobody came to move either of the vehicles blocking me in. No-one would answer the door, although I saw them peering out from behind the curtains, so I very carefully started to manoeuvre my way out of the space, one cm at a time - forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards. It was painful, but I saw them watching me and hoped they were sweating! Well, turns out it was all too much for them and they came out and moved the front car. I would down the window, leaned out and waved. "Thanks - sorry, I thought there was no-one home!" and drove off.

Nobody pays road tax. That was binned off decades ago.

People are weird about parking outside their house OP. You could double down and nudge the bumpers next time or give in

A neighbour did something similar (but worse) some years ago, it escalated and she ended up being carted away in a police car!

This is a good idea. I’d be mad enough to be petty. I’d park there again and call the police. And lean on the horn while I waited, except to stop and politely explain to any neighbours. Actually, have some paper for a note for neighbours, ‘the people at number x resent me using the road completely legally, they have parked me in and are refusing to answer the door. This is illegal and I’ve called the police to tow their car but while I wait I plan to lean on my horn so they are inconvenienced as well as me. I apologise for the noise for any innocent neighbors. I’m also sorry your neighbor is such a jerk and I hope they never use the local shops and services since they aren’t staffed with robots but with people who need to get there and park somewhere.

maybe the neighbours will tell them to stop fucking around.

I live on a terraced street so everyone is on the road. It’s also near a couple of small businesses and a school. Is it a bit irritating if I can’t park near my house? Yes. Would I do something deranged? No. And in this case I don’t even see how it’s irritating. The blocker in had drive space. The car wasn’t affecting her at all.

Yep had to do this too, only then the man was watching me do it and suddenly moved their car (assume he thought I’d hit it 🙄)

They may do, but they're simply wrong. What about all the other drivers who want to park there and get fed up of the person who happens to live adjacent hogging the space for so much of the time?!

You're not a 'random' - you're a public road user just like everybody else with a taxed, insured, roadworthy vehicle.

If their own private parking space is so important to them, they should have bought a house with a drive. You can't decide to save yourself money by not paying for something private and exclusive to you but then still expect to have it exclusively anyway.

Awful behaviour to block someone in like that.

However, I am mightily puzzled as to why she didn't park where you parked, thus keeping the space on the road outside the house HERS!

Nowt queer as folk all the same.