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Original poster

parking on private property

19 replies

giveitago · 04/02/2010 16:51

OK, so this is a 6 year long battle and yep, I live opposite a school.

We, in our block of flats cannot cope any longer with the very RUDE parents with a sense of entitle beyond all proportion parking in our flat's parking. You try and tell em and you get such awful nastiness from them.

Yep the premises are marked clearly as private - they will nopt budge 0 if they do it's after their verbal abuse and they are there again the next day.

What can we do? ie what can we do to their cars within the law. Yep, I'm a mum 0- I'm wary as my ds due to start that school soon. Great school - naff parents.

eg. I was very overdue in pregancy - a mum got her kids to play on our front lawn - I woke up knackered - I go to the window and motion to them (kindly) to keep the noise down - not even get off the property - they go off running to mum who tells them to carry on but scream this time - I go out to have a go at her - she's bonkers. Fast forward 6 weeks - ds not well -[ I got doctors - come back - all parking full of the school parents so in desperation I block on in - I take ds indoors asleep put hik in cot - mother screaming rining on all doorbells - quite abusive when I havce to awake my lo at 6 weeks who is knackeree and asleep, to put him into travcel system into my car to let the tresspasser out whilst she sits there tapping her watch angrily.

School can do very little. What can we do to send a clear message!!!!
We are desperate - only today I had to go and check my car for a cracked windscreen - my dc dawdling - and so he should he's on his property and a school parrent parked there without any rights takes a verbal pop at me.

Agh!!!!!!

OP posts:

butadream · 04/02/2010 16:55

I think I would actually get together with the other residents of your block and engage a car clamping company to come and clamp non-residents' cars if they park on your property, a quick google for "car clamping hire" shows me that clamping companies will do this free for residents (as presumably they make their money from the illegal parkers).

ShinyAndNew · 04/02/2010 16:56

I'm not sure you are allowed to do anything to the cars tbh. I had a problem with people parking on my drive blocking my garage doors once. They thought it was fine, as I don't drive, but consider the fact that they were blocking the only entrance to the garage, thus blocking access to my bike/lawn mower/cat carrier/suitcaes etc. and even after many polite notes left on the car, requesting only that they let me know where they live, so that I can let them know when I need their car moving so I can access the garage, we called the police.

The police basically said there was nothing they could do, and nothing we could do. However, if their car was accidentially damaged whilst on my property I would not be liable as they did not have permission to be parked there.

Lonicera · 04/02/2010 16:58

I like the clamping idea

hatwoman · 04/02/2010 17:03

shiny and new - I can't believe the police couldn't do anything if the car was actaully on private property. seems completely bizarre.

giveitago - could the residents install a barrier? it would cost, presumably, but might not bt too much if split between you?

sympathies re playing on your lawn too. I used to walk past some flats on the way to school and tons of parents let thgeir kids run in and out of the garden as if it was a public park.

MerlinsBeard · 04/02/2010 17:06

Is it just you that has issue with it or the other residents?

IS it definitely a private residents only area?

Have any of you got in touch with traffic warden for advice?

Has anyone written to the school?

pagwatch · 04/02/2010 17:07

have you contacted the school

I had parents blocking my gate to run across theroad and drop their child. The school wrote to the parents about it and it stopped ( mostly)

Original poster

giveitago · 04/02/2010 17:18

Oh - great - we are just really fed up - ongoing issue 0 you find there is hard core - then their kids leave the school (kids lovely actually) and then the next lot start - it's ongoing. School can't do much and they are not interested.

We're in a position where the LA have asked our street whether we want residents parking permits on the road - hell no - certainly don't want to pay for me not being able to park there withthe school run AND them parking in on our private property. Yep, private flats - private property - our parking - not public parking.

The attitude of them SUCK - OMG - I'm wary of even writing to the school again as my ds starts there in Sept! And I'm not worried about kid bullying - I hear there's none but I hear there's alot of parent bullying.

Car clamping sounds good and we'll look into it but our reservation is that about half the flats are rented out and the logistics of supplying everchaning number plats.

Managing agents, as sympathetic as they are, are more than useless and I'm fed up of havin to defent our corner to pretty unreasonable people (and beleive me the catchment for this school in TINY and the poeple parking here are not in charge of other small kids at all) and appearing unreasonable.

Sympathise with all peole who have their access blocked!

OP posts:

lottiebunny · 04/02/2010 17:30

Could you get parking posts installed? Something like this?

GothDetective · 04/02/2010 17:36

You only need to hire the clampers for one day. If a load of cars are clamped the gossip will be round the school like wild fire and people will stop parking there.

LaurieFairyCake · 04/02/2010 17:37

Buy some fake car clamping signs and put them up - you may find it has an impact without you having to do anything. You could even put the signs up and buy a clamp from Halfords - make sure you put plenty of visible signs up.

butadream · 04/02/2010 17:43

I'm not sure, this site says that the law is stricter than that but I suppose it is in their interests as it's a clamping co.!

Original poster

giveitago · 04/02/2010 17:59

Hi all

Great adv.ice - I'll write again to the school asking them to remind parents in EACH newsetter, let our managing agents know - they did put up huge no parking signs and the parents just tore them down.

Amazing as it's a very good school actually and I guess I'm going to have to delegate the having a go at them to someone else as my kid starts there soon! Plus look into the logistics of clamping.

I think the best incident was I was struggling to get pram up the stairs on the path to my flat - there was a gaggle of parents and kids behind me - I slowed down and they had to walk on our grass to get our parking and were very pissed off with me! WTF.

People huh!

OP posts:

scaryteacher · 04/02/2010 22:58

Block them in and then go off somewhere whilst they are dropping off and don't come back for a couple of hours, or if you block them in, go and have a long hot bath with headphones on whilst they ring door bells. Their hurry is not your concern.

GothDetective · 05/02/2010 17:38

I blocked someone in once who'd parked blocking my drive. I couldn't get back into the drive and asked them nicely to move, they refused and said they'd only be 5 mins. So I blocked them in and came inside and had a nice cup of TV. Wondered back out after about 30 mins and the woman was sat there crying. I hate to say it but it felt really good.

lal123 · 06/02/2010 15:33

Just to say that if you are in Scotland you won't be able to clamp cars as car clamping is illegal here

Fizzylemonade · 06/02/2010 18:33

Block them in and I would ignore the doorbell if they ring it. Maybe even leave a note on their car saying "I'll be back tomorrow, hope you don't need your car before then"

Also complain to the school loads, the more you pester them the more likely they are to remind parents constantly. I would take photos of the car and the parent and provide it to the school.

My son attends a large primary school and sadly lots of parents parked over driveways blocking access. But this is on a public road, so now the police patrol and book anyone obstructing a drive.

ln1981 · 07/02/2010 23:24

Do as Fizzylemonade says. My parents live across from a primary school and was fed up constantly getting blocked in, the head was sympathetic and sent a letter round and also got the police involved. The police told my dad to take a note of any car registration plates that were blocking drives and report them to the police, and they would sort them out. Which they did! It doesnt happen now...

The school my son goes to has the same problem. Now there are white lines marking driveways near all the school entrances, the council are putting double yellow lines in some of the narrower streets and the police patrol regularly. Pester power does work!

freyasyummymummy · 09/02/2010 17:22

A friend has this same issue with parents parking in her space, the residents got together and contacted a clamping company who put signs up, residents then take pictures of offenders cars and email them to the clamping company who obtain details from the DVLA and fine them (pretty sure it's not legal to actually force them to pay) but it has cut down the number of vehicles using the spaces every day.
If it was me I wouldn't hesitate to block them in and go out for the day!

cazinski · 25/02/2010 21:50

Get hold of a car clamping company. They will come and put up their own warning signs as they have to legally be in view. If people ignore the signs and still continue to park there, then you can get on the phone to the company and they will come down and do their stuff. They can't just clamp anyone without their warning signs being in place, so get on the case-the offending parkers will soon stop.

As you say, the police can't do anything, I've had this myself with one of my rental properties and another neighbour from the street using my tenants driveway...grrrr!

Good luck!

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