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
Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Original poster

I was LEGALLY parked

59 replies

Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:07

Hello all. I would like to know what steps I can take here.

Small village with parking in front of houses. I park considerately and legally. No signs at all indicating I could not park and walked through the village to have lunch with my friends.
Came back 3 hours later to find I've been blocked in.

Knocked on the door in front of the space and she was extremely rude asking me if I can read - I later found a home made residents parking sign in the long grass next to the parking. She was abusive and threatened me with dogs and then asked me to leave.

The place we had lunch asked her to move also and she refused. We had to call the police.

She admitted she had done it before, the lunch place said she had done it before and so did passing dog walkers. The Police obviously couldn't say anything. They went into her house when they arrived (4 hours later as not an emergency) and came out of the house with her keys.

To say I am furious is an understatement. What legal steps can I take here against this person. The Police advised it would be difficult to prove harassment.

Could I get a freedom of information request from them and then somehow take it further and press charges?

Thank you all

OP posts:
YouWhatLove · 16/05/2022 07:10

What would you press charges for? It’s annoying how protective some people are over what they perceive as “their” parking spaces and in this case she took it to the extreme and you had to involve the police. I can’t imagine there’s much you can do though. What would a freedom of information request give you? What information are you looking for?

TeaStory · 16/05/2022 07:12

I doubt there is anything you can do.

Could I get a freedom of information request from them and then somehow take it further and press charges?

A freedom of information request wouldn’t give you anything, that’s not what a FOI is or is for. It’s not up to you to ‘press charges’, that’s up to the CPS.

LollyLol · 16/05/2022 07:13

What a horrible experience.

I think you just have to be glad she didnt key your car, or something worse.

Brideandprejudice · 16/05/2022 07:14

Do about what? Her being rude to you?

worriedparent12 · 16/05/2022 07:14

Just let it go

Original poster
Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:15

Thanks for your messages. I suppose I wanted to get information from the Police as to how many times she has done this and then ask them to do something as the village lunch place is losing business due to her behaviour.

OP posts:
Cervinia · 16/05/2022 07:15

So the police moved her car for her? And didn’t make her move it?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 16/05/2022 07:17

Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:15

Thanks for your messages. I suppose I wanted to get information from the Police as to how many times she has done this and then ask them to do something as the village lunch place is losing business due to her behaviour.

Yes but thats the for the lunch place to worry about.

Original poster
Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:18

When I went to the door she said she was drinking alcohol so I presume that's why the Police moved it for her. Given the level of abuse levelled at me I presume the Police wanted to prevent that from happening again as she never came back out of the house.

OP posts:
LisaSimpson77 · 16/05/2022 07:20

I've experienced this before, it also is making a very nice local cafe lose business. It's a shame and it's infuriating, people are ridiculously precious about the road outside their house.
However, you do just need to let it go now. The police did little more than move the car to let you out so they're clearly more interested in keeping the peace than in pressing charges here.
To be honest, if anybody takes action it would be the cafe if it's a long standing problem. I'm willing to bet that they'd rather find a peaceful solution though.

Original poster
Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:23

LisaSimpson77 thanks for your reply - i wonder if we lunch in the same village!. Thanks to all of you for posting. Yes I suppose its between the café and the person. Its just so infuriating when I was legally parked and couldn't leave for hours

OP posts:
Thinkingblonde · 16/05/2022 07:25

I don’t think you can do anything but perhaps the lunch place could apply to have a designated parking spot outside of the business. But that’s up to them.
Hopefully the police have given her a warning not to do it again.

Foolsrule · 16/05/2022 07:28

Buy an old banger and park it outside for a very long time! So long as it’s taxed, she won’t be able to do a thing 🤣

SoggyPaper · 16/05/2022 07:31

You can probably assume that the police have spoken to her about not doing this again.

Original poster
Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 07:54

Foolsrule · 16/05/2022 07:28

Buy an old banger and park it outside for a very long time! So long as it’s taxed, she won’t be able to do a thing 🤣

As tempting at that is, it would still be registered to me and I would worry that she would deliberately damage it / set it on fire etc. I checked my car very carefully for damage before I left yesterday.

OP posts:
bestbefore · 16/05/2022 07:59

Could you write to the local council about the parking enforcement one of their residents is undertaking on their behalf? Perhaps they can review the road markings?

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 07:59

We have a similar situation. An older woman living on her own close to a school. She has not paid for a dropped curb so people are well within their rights to park outside her house, yet she has side access to her garage and pulls her car onto her property.
Ive seen her screaming at people to move their car, she can’t get her car in/out, the police have been called and side with her. They say her access is being blocked, yet there is no dropped kerb. You just can’t win, but she has.

SoggyPaper · 16/05/2022 08:14

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 07:59

We have a similar situation. An older woman living on her own close to a school. She has not paid for a dropped curb so people are well within their rights to park outside her house, yet she has side access to her garage and pulls her car onto her property.
Ive seen her screaming at people to move their car, she can’t get her car in/out, the police have been called and side with her. They say her access is being blocked, yet there is no dropped kerb. You just can’t win, but she has.

telling someone you’ve blocked in that you are within your rights to park there because there’s no dropped kerb is just being pedantic and ridiculous. No wonder the police side with her over the school run parents.

SparkyBlue · 16/05/2022 08:27

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 07:59

We have a similar situation. An older woman living on her own close to a school. She has not paid for a dropped curb so people are well within their rights to park outside her house, yet she has side access to her garage and pulls her car onto her property.
Ive seen her screaming at people to move their car, she can’t get her car in/out, the police have been called and side with her. They say her access is being blocked, yet there is no dropped kerb. You just can’t win, but she has.

Deliberately blocking someone in because they have no dropped kerb is being really rude and it's awful behavior. Of course the police will take her side.

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 08:29

SparkyBlue · 16/05/2022 08:27

Deliberately blocking someone in because they have no dropped kerb is being really rude and it's awful behavior. Of course the police will take her side.

Show quote history

They weren’t deliberately blocking her in, there’s no dropped kerb so they parked there. They didn’t anticipate that a woman and a car would appear .

Neverreturntoathread · 16/05/2022 08:32

It’s a criminal offence to block someone in and it sounds like she verbally assaulted you as well, another crime. But if the police won’t do anything like fines / arrest then I don’t know what you can do. Maybe ask a lawyer.

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 08:35

It’s not me, it’s multiple other people. It’s almost like a game she has to win, I can’t see why she just just doesn’t drop the kerb, but then she’d have no fight to keep her entertained.

Olderwoman57 · 16/05/2022 08:52

KangarooKenny · 16/05/2022 08:29

They weren’t deliberately blocking her in, there’s no dropped kerb so they parked there. They didn’t anticipate that a woman and a car would appear .

Show quote history

School run mentality at its worst!

Original poster
Readingtoaster · 16/05/2022 09:12

SoggyPaper · 16/05/2022 07:31

You can probably assume that the police have spoken to her about not doing this again.

This is the second or third time they have been called to the address. The woman herself said so. They are warning her I assume but it doesn’t stop her.

OP posts:
JenniferBarkley · 16/05/2022 09:16

God that's infuriating OP, I'd hate to lose 4 hours to such nonsense. I doubt there's anything you can do but I don't blame you for being angry.

Swipe left for the next trending thread