Some else's car in my front yard

olearydc

What would you do

last night about 8:30, my wife noticed a car parked ON the grass in our front yard (My car was on the gravel, I dont even park on the grass and my wife parks in the back of the house). The car seemed fine, no damage, doors locked so phoned the Guards to check it out
Fair play to them, they were there within a few minutes and said they would try to contact the owner. (also said they cant remove the car or tow it as its on private property) he left and then approx a hour later noticed a man and woman out the front.
When I asked who they were, the lady said that he said (the other person with her) it was ok to park there, I asked the bloke who he was and he said he was a nighbour!
The girl was defensive and could not understand the big deal about this, the bloke just kept saying he was a nighbour!..And I told them to Feck off!!

What check!

Anyhow that was fine, We both work (have too!!) and my wife was telling our babysetter about last night
she replied back saying that when my wife and I go to work,( the nighbours have a number of cars, and cant be bothered opening their gate) they park their cars in our back yard, removing them before either of us come home!!

Question is
What should/Could I do...
And have spoken to them numerous times regarding blocking our entrace and putting black bags into our bins!!

What would you do

thanks:mad:

Sponge Bob

I would recommend a move to a better neighbourhood away from this riff raff , parking on grass is the height of raffraffness.

Bill them anyway for the repairs to the lawn , you have guards as witnesses if it has to go to the small claims court

Boggles

Electric sander, get rid of their paint job.

Firewalkwithme

Have you considered clamping? You might be able to find a private company who would do it for you.

Maccattack

Get a coin.

run coin along the side of the car.

bennyx_o

This might not be totally relevant to you seen as you have a babysitter in your house, but, our neighbor used to park in out drive during the day. We didn't complain because there was no one in the house during the day and it acted as a security measure type thing. Doesn't explain parking on your grass though.

seamus

Put up a large sign saying that parking costs €50/hour or part thereof, and set up a video camera.

Bill everyone who parks on your property, and take them to court if they refuse to pay. You could make a significant amount of cash before people stop parking.

More reasonable measure would be a thick chain(s) between the two pillars at the front of the house, secured by a large padlock, or those anti-theft poles you can get put in - these can keep vehicles out as well as in.

As for the rubbish, I personally would play dirty. Lock your bin. Get a video camera and set it up out front. If a neighbour dumps rubbish beside your bin, get the bag at about four in the morning, and dump the rubbish all over their front garden.

Boggles

olearydc wrote:

(also said they cant remove the car or tow it as its on private property)

thanks:mad:

Just reread that. Doesn't make sense?? But is a cheap solution to long term parking!!

Hagar

Now that you know your neighbours are using you grass as a car park you will have to be extra careful now when gardening. A carelessly discarded rake in the long grass could easily cause un-intended expensive tyre damage.

Nobody wants to see that happen, now do we?

Mr. Presentable

Lock your gates.

Re the bins thing, check the rubbish, and if there's a bill or something in it, dump it somewhere illegal then call the litter warden. Put lock on bin.

Mr. Presentable

olearydc wrote:

What would you do

they park their cars in our back yard, removing them before either of us come home!!
Question is
What should/Could I do...

Come home early, lock the cars in, go out again.

olearydc

Brill

Ok..this is what I will do....

• leave one or 2 rakes in the grass at the front
• get a big Feckoff chain in the back between the pillers
• great idea about the bins...hate to dump theirs though, Knowing my luck would get mine mixed in..and I be pulled

Thanks for your help...good ideas, some I would love to do but just can't....in my dreams though....!!:D

olearydc

nipplenuts wrote:

Come home early, lock the cars in, go out again.

And why not!!..sound good to me

seamus

olearydc wrote:

And why not!!..sound good to me

I'm not sure how good this would be.

If your neighbours are already as scumbaggish as they sound, they just grab a bolt cutters or hacksaw and wreck your chain, lock or gates to get their cars out. Better to just stop them coming in, in the first place, IMO.

TheMonster

Get some of the large F*** Off boulders the CC use to keep the carvans out and landscape your lawn with them when the cars are in there.:D

TheNog

Why don't u report this to the gardai. Ur neighbours are trespassing on ur property.

having said that ideas already posted are more fun.

The_Conductor

I can't see that delibertly starting civil war with your neighbours is the way to go. Certainly they shouldn't be parking on your grass- but two wrongs do not make a right, and while it might give you satisfaction in the short term, in the longer term living in your house could very easily become unbearable.

Talk to your neighbours and let them know in an unconfrontational manner, that their parking on your grass is unacceptable to you and that while you would rather not have to erect a barrier in front of your house, that you will do so if necessary.

While I know its a bitch- starting warfare is not necessarily the road that will solve your problems.

Hal1

Get a pay & display meter:p, nah but you could dump the neighbours rubbish somewhere :rolleyes:.

Dakeyras

i'd agree with smccarrick here. while telling your neighbours it's not acceptable to park on your grass obviously you don't know these neighbours to talk to otherwise they may have mentioned using your grass as a parking area.

why not just put up a no parking on the grass sign or install either gates (i'm presuming you dont have any) and close them while you're away or install one of these:

http://www.automationgate.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_54&products_id=158

there's no point in starting some angry neighbour relations but it is a bit out of order that people seem to think its acceptable to park on your grass.

Dors1976

Put up a fence with huge lock. Quick!

antoinolachtnai

Yeah, try to avoid outright confrontation.

In legal terms, the Gardai are incorrect, although I hear they often take this line. The Housing (Misc Provisions) Act 2002 makes it an offence to park a vehicle on someone else's land or to refuse the request of a Garda to remove it from the land.

That said, the Gardai are probably correct in practical terms. There is no mileage in them getting involved in a dispute between neighbours, either for them or for you.

Can you not close your gate, the same as they do?

Hal1

This little doggy will sort it for ya TBH :d

fred funk }{

I remember a few years back a car was abandoned on my road, it was there for ages. I rang the cops and they came out, they said they couldn't do anything but told me to remove the reg's from the car and then they could remove it. So in the dead of night and a Philips screw driver i removed the reg's, rang the cop the next day and two hours later it was towed.

I would do that if i was you.

mikemac

what difference do the registration plates make? Just curious

Sponge Bob

The plates are most important, the guards treat a car with plate as owned and/or property and cars without plates as scrap .....if its any help.

They do not want the scrap getting burnt out so they will tow it before it becomes an even greater nuisance .

dame

Could you get some of those incredubly sticky big stickers, I'm thinking something like the Iarnrod Eireann "Please Refrain Frm Parking In This Area" stickers. They stick so hard you have to remove them with paraffin.

I'd say just get big plain stickers and stick them on the rear door windows. Culprits should get the message.

dame

If someone was actually parking on my front lawn I would be tempted to go much further than the rake in the grass. Why not place a big nail in the grass (sticking up out of a bit of wood if you want to be really sure it'll puncture), behind one of the tyres. Preferably behind one they won't see when getting into the car. Actually on second thoughts maybe the stickers are a better idea after all - but they have to be REALLY sticky!

sk8board

I agree with the people above. No point starting WW3, or else you'll just be looking over your shoulder every time you leave the house unattended.

From your description above, its hard to figure out the layout of your houses.

- this doesn't sound like a semi-d?
- how come you have parking and they don't? (or is it that they have more cars?)

Can't you close your gates? (or install them if you don't have them)

Victor

dame wrote:

If someone was actually parking on my front lawn I would be tempted to go much further than the rake in the grass. Why not place a big nail in the grass (sticking up out of a bit of wood if you want to be really sure it'll puncture), behind one of the tyres.

Nails and rakes are much more likely to puncture the house owner's or a child's foot, not the tyre. No more stupid suggestions please.

Tar.Aldarion

E1, 000 an hour parking fee sign.
Why stop an 50?

zokrez

I live in an area where there is shared parking and one neighbour who has a car and a van bought a 3rd car which was a banger so he can park one of his in between banger and a post so it guarantees his parking spot whenever he returns with van by squeezing up and parking. Eventually so many neighbours complained about banger that the council gave him a month to remove banger or they would tow at his expense. Car removed but he is back to his tricks because he has got one next door neighbour to do the same trick. Result, the other neighbour doesnt talk to either which is really pathetic all over a parking spot.

Now let me tell you another story about neighbours and what can happen when you rat........

zokrez

A mate of mine lives in west London.

He lives across the road from a house that has a lot of occupants and i used to always comment on the number of people that seemed to live there. The house was possibly in flats or maybe 5/6 bedrooms. Anyhow he told me how he and his girlfriend were woken up at 5am one morning to hear a door been sledgehammered open across road. They looked out window and there were about 30 police mostly armed and bullet proof vests with paddy vans all around and they came out with about 13 people almost all female except one or two. Apparently 2 of the tenants were wanted for a very serious crime in London and the family and extended family were hawled in. Noone in the house anymore until my mate sees one of the women sneaking back in to the house, could only see her eyes, about 2 weeks later. He chases her down the road - why I do not know - and calls the police to let them know that one of them had come back.

2 weeks later, his girlfriend hears a noise downstairs, house burgled, very nice car gone but he has some type of immobiliser that enabled him to make car inoperable and guys bail out of car a couple of 1oo yards down the road and two thieves get caught by passing cop car.

6 months later, 2 thieves get 2 years prison ! House across the way still not occupied.

The night after the sentence he wakes up to hear crashing noise outside his house and looks out bedroom window to see big SUV reversing off the TOP of his car and then driving up again on the top of the car and then driving off at high speed. Car write off. The thieves, 2 of the occupants from across the road !!!!

Eh I wouldn't act the maggot with your neighbour with the car until the nice approach is exhausted. He will make your life hell.

Zakrze

Zakrze wrote:

Eh I wouldn't act the maggot with your neighbour with the car until the nice approach is exhausted. He will make your life hell.

dont be so cowardly

webber

nipplenuts wrote:

Come home early, lock the cars in, go out again.

Invite a friend or relative to come park his trailer or caravan behind them before he goes on holiday for 2 months.