Neighbours who push their luck

lemansky · 23-06-2007 08:52PM #1

Ok,so heres the story.Our neighbour has his kids still living with him.They're in their twenties and thirties,so have cars.Between the parents,the kids,and sometimes their friends,there can be 7 cars parked in the area due to that house at any given time.On any night of the week,the minimum is 5 cars.This is a house in an estate and only 2 cars can fit in the driveway,so the other cars are parked one outside their house,the other opposite the house(this restricts traffic to one way flow and even then its tight.It also makes life hard for us as we only have just enough space to reverse out),the 3rd car is parked outside our house.Normally I don't have a problem with this,after all what could I say to them,however this happened just today.We had guests and so their car was parked outside our house.Then the car that normally parks their belonging to the neighbours comes home to find 'his' spot taken.He comes over then to our house and knocks on the door to demand that our guest remove their car from HIS space outside OUR house.I think the family have a superiority complex as they are well connected in the Resident's association(the twats that they and the association are).
What would anybody else do?This family always interfere with our lives.They have done for years.This isn't the first time that something like this has happened(this is a less extreme example),but this has sent me into a rage now.What to do ?

Edit:if anybody else has had any problems with similar neighbours,please share!

faceman · 23-06-2007 09:00PM

i hope u didnt give in and ur guest didnt move their car?

kensutz · 23-06-2007 09:01PM

I would've told them where to go and slammed the door in his face. It's a public space and nothing to do with that family.

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:05PM

I didn't give in!I told him politely to be gone.Do you know what he said?Its a public space.At that stage I just closed the door.That gave him a right to park there.As was pointed out above it is a public space and so they have no more of a right to be there than anyone else.Its first come first served-and they missed it!
We won that battle but the sheer arrogance and cheek of it sent me mad.I burst a blood vessel when I got in.I know it'll make no difference though,and by tomorrow they'll be back to parking there.

faceman · 23-06-2007 09:12PM

why not get someone who doesnt use their car that often to park in front of your house so there is a car there most days? that will really get up their nose! or why not get your mates to park on the street some day for the day and night?

elmyra · 23-06-2007 09:16PM

I know how you feel, our neighbours have 3 cars and a space for one. Have regularly come home to find their visitors parked across our driveway and often have to reverse out across our lawn in the mornings because they have us otherwise blocked. I just knock on their door when it gets ridiculous and tell them to quit it. It nevers works for long, but hey. Don't give in. People like that will walk all over you.

gubby · 23-06-2007 09:17PM

Oh I know these people!! they live in every estate in this fair country of ours. my advice is that the worst possible thing you could do would be to get mad, or involve officialdom (excuse spelling) you need to be smart for these people. you need to be sweeter than sweet. go to the next residents meeting.. and the next, get involved!! even take up an officership in the association. Be the nice guy, the resonable guy. get something real done for the community. I know these people.. they spend all their time complaining and finding fault with the neighbourhood, and very rarely DOING anything about it. am I right?

calex71 · 23-06-2007 09:19PM

i know two nice words i would have used to "yer man" at the door, the 2nd one would have been off the 1st one would have been .............. and i would have told him to tell the residents assiociation to kiss your .... while you where at it, cheeky bastard.

edit: I know you have to live next to them so bitting your toung was probably the best course of action ,but is there any chance you could could just park in that spot for a while and not put the car in the drive way ????? when they call to ask to move just say "ah ill be going out again in a bit"

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:22PM

Well as it happens,on Tuesday we'll be getting work done on our kitchen so we're getting a skip delivered AND there will be a van there as well so during that time we'll be 'forced' to occupy that space:D Apart from that,there is a friend of ours up the road who needs extra space regularly so we'll be tellingher to make sure that they park there from now on rather than just park there because its free.

But do you know what'll really kill them?The van that'll be coming on Tuesday won't have markings on it,and the stuff going into the skip won't give away the job we're getting done-so they won't know what work we're having done.That wouldn't bother you or I if we were the neighbours but it does them!They've gone so far as to ask the workers what we're getting done in the past,so we'll be telling the lads to keep quiet.It WILL kill them!

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:24PM

gubby wrote:

am I right?

Yes you are:D
These are high profile people don't you know!They complain about things,but with their VIP lives they couldn't be expected to DO anything about the problems lol.

Edit: I won't get disheartened elmyra don't worry!Its just that my parents fought this battle with them for MANY years (and now I've kind of taken over that responsibility as of late.My brother and sister also back me up!),yet still they carry on incessantly.

Little-Devil · 23-06-2007 09:30PM

lemansky wrote:

Ok,so heres the story.Our neighbour has his kids still living with him.They're in their twenties and thirties,so have cars.Between the parents,the kids,and sometimes their friends,there can be 7 cars parked in the area due to that house at any given time.On any night of the week,the minimum is 5 cars.This is a house in an estate and only 2 cars can fit in the driveway,so the other cars are parked one outside their house,the other opposite the house(this restricts traffic to one way flow and even then its tight.It also makes life hard for us as we only have just enough space to reverse out),the 3rd car is parked outside our house.Normally I don't have a problem with this,after all what could I say to them,however this happened just today.We had guests and so their car was parked outside our house.Then the car that normally parks their belonging to the neighbours comes home to find 'his' spot taken.He comes over then to our house and knocks on the door to demand that our guest remove their car from HIS space outside OUR house.I think the family have a superiority complex as they are well connected in the Resident's association(the twats that they and the association are).
What would anybody else do?This family always interfere with our lives.They have done for years.This isn't the first time that something like this has happened(this is a less extreme example),but this has sent me into a rage now.What to do ?

Edit:if anybody else has had any problems with similar neighbours,please share!

Dont given in, your guest or friends have as much right to park there. I hope you didnt given in, what would he have done? complained to the residents:) If i was you i would start to park outside your house or the next time, knock in and complain about them.

If you like id gladly call over and park ouside and refuse to move my car, cause i would be under the influence of alcohol that of course you have purchased.....

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:31PM

calex71 wrote:

i know two nice words i would have used to "yer man" at the door, the 2nd one would have been off the 1st one would have been .............. and i would have told him to tell the residents assiociation to kiss your .... while you where at it, cheeky bastard

I know!I suppose it just goes to show the status and rights people think they have when they're given jobs which they feel have some sort of importance about them-sadly for them any importance is a work of their own imagination!

And little devil I like that idea-maybe every boardsie can come over and we'll have a drive in!Then we can ALL knock on the door and ask him how he feels,then enjoy a few beers,of course you'll get first choice of alcohol for coming up with the idea!

cson · 23-06-2007 09:32PM

Buy a caravan and park it outside his house.

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:40PM

cson wrote:

Buy a caravan and park it outside his house.

Then I could annoy him AND twitch my curtains to make him think that I'm as interested in the collective life of his family as he is in mine:D

Little-Devil · 23-06-2007 09:40PM

lemansky wrote:

I know!I suppose it just goes to show the status and rights people think they have when they're given jobs which they feel have some sort of importance about them-sadly for them any importance is a work of their own imagination!

And little devil I like that idea-maybe every boardsie can come over and we'll have a drive in!Then we can ALL knock on the door and ask him how he feels,then enjoy a few beers,of course you'll get first choice of alcohol for coming up with the idea!

We could make this a weekly adventure, pitty football season is over, champions league on tues/wed and then sat/sun, he would get the mgs quick enough. I have the same problem where live, but we have enough respect to move there or my own car once my or there parking space comes available.

PM with time and date

lemansky · 23-06-2007 09:47PM

Little-Devil wrote:

PM with time and date

You can count on it:D

boneless · 23-06-2007 09:58PM

I used to live next to a tribe like that. The only thing is, as a lot of posters said, to play them at their own game. Get you mates to come around some day when they are not there. Park (legally!!) all the cars but leave them room to get into the driveway. It will freak them out.

Have the cars got up to date tax discs?? I am sure a local Garda would love to beef up his or her resource sheet...:p

lemansky · 23-06-2007 10:12PM

boneless wrote:

Have the cars got up to date tax discs?? I am sure a local Garda would love to beef up his or her resource sheet...:p

Come to think of it there was a man from down the road who was out cleaning the place up a bit.He has to drive through the bottleneck that they create everyday,and so he's pissed off as well(as are the other people who have to navigate it).I saw him taking the reg's of the cars and checking the front window alright!So maybe...
There is a detective who lives in the estate as well,but I doubt he cares!

Shiva · 23-06-2007 10:16PM

My mother had a similar problem with the neighbour parking his car outside my mum's house, and leaving his own driveway empty. He only has the one car, and at the time, there were 3 in mum's - Her's, Dad's and my brother's.

So yer man was taking a space outside her house that my bro could have used. So my brother had to park outside *his* house....

And the cheeky bugger knocked in one night and asked him to move it, because he didnt like cars parked outside his house !

lemansky · 23-06-2007 10:18PM

Shiva wrote:

My mother had a similar problem with the neighbour parking his car outside my mum's house, and leaving his own driveway empty. He only has the one car, and at the time, there were 3 in mum's - Her's, Dad's and my brother's.

So yer man was taking a space outside her house that my bro could have used. So my brother had to park outside *his* house....

And the cheeky bugger knocked in one night and asked him to move it, because he didnt like cars parked outside his house !

Thats ridiculous!I suppose they're all the same though,they can give but they can't take the same!

Shiva · 23-06-2007 10:25PM

In fairness, he was a bit of a strange bird though. He used to wake up at 7:30 every morning and open and slam the bathroom window three or four times. He was a human alarm clock. He used to try chase the young kids (not skangers...just 7 and 8 year olds playing football and whatnot) off the community green and tell them to go play in the road.

Funnily enough, my uncle had a clapped out old Mercedes a few years ago, and he asked my mum if he could park it outside the hosue while he went to the US for 3 weeks, 'cos he was afraid it would be nicked (God knows why, but anyway...)

Naturally, when he brought it round before he flew off, yer man was parked outside the house and the uncle had to park outisde his house.

And when he came back, the Mercedes wouldnt start...so it was left there.
Tightfisted uncle didnt want to pay to have it towed, and it wasnt worth much, so he just left it there. it took almost 3 months for it to be moved.

Yer man was livid

lemansky · 23-06-2007 10:34PM

Shiva wrote:

In fairness, he was a bit of a strange bird though. He used to wake up at 7:30 every morning and open and slam the bathroom window three or four times. He was a human alarm clock. He used to try chase the young kids (not skangers...just 7 and 8 year olds playing football and whatnot) off the community green and tell them to go play in the road.

Funnily enough, my uncle had a clapped out old Mercedes a few years ago, and he asked my mum if he could park it outside the hosue while he went to the US for 3 weeks, 'cos he was afraid it would be nicked (God knows why, but anyway...)

Naturally, when he brought it round before he flew off, yer man was parked outside the house and the uncle had to park outisde his house.

And when he came back, the Mercedes wouldnt start...so it was left there.
Tightfisted uncle didnt want to pay to have it towed, and it wasnt worth much, so he just left it there. it took almost 3 months for it to be moved.

Yer man was livid

Well he got what he deserved-he sounds a few beers short of a piss up though!Another guy in our estate would also shoo us away in years gone by for playing football on the green....concerned about breaking windows with our ball etc,he would then practice his golf on the green.

You can never win!

Gingerspice99 · 23-06-2007 11:44PM

I take it your car and your guests cars are taxed and insured - if so then he cannot tell you to move them - I would of told him so too :mad:

I agree with alot of the previous postings - park outside his house for a while and see what sort of reaction you get

FunkZ · 24-06-2007 03:52AM

Hire goons to nick nack their houses repeatedly and tie fruit to their trees (me and my mates will do this **** for free)!

Marathon Man · 24-06-2007 06:19AM

LazyFingers wrote:

Hire goons to nick nack their houses repeatedly and tie fruit to their trees (me and my mates will do this **** for free)!

That sh!t will mess with their heads so much.:) Count me in as well.

Gone West · 24-06-2007 10:41AM

Just always park your car outside your house, not in your driveway.
He definetly couldn't be cheeky enough to park in your driveway.
And if he gives you any stick, you can always say that "its a public space"

Snake Plisken · 24-06-2007 10:56AM

Yeah having problems myself, lot of rented houses on my street, one house up the road on the otherside, is full of eastern europeans who work for some motorway firm have this big ugly red van and have started parking it outside my house, so I've had to park my car outside my house to stop them. when they park the van their its so big that I can't turn into my house as its going over part of my driveway, am I within my rights to tell them not to park there? Threaten to complain to their landlord? Checked the van tax and insurance seem to be inplace but no NCT cert and its an 89 reg van.

Snake

dame · 24-06-2007 01:58PM

Shiva wrote:

My mother had a similar problem with the neighbour parking his car outside my mum's house, and leaving his own driveway empty. He only has the one car, and at the time, there were 3 in mum's - Her's, Dad's and my brother's.

So yer man was taking a space outside her house that my bro could have used. So my brother had to park outside *his* house....

And the cheeky bugger knocked in one night and asked him to move it, because he didnt like cars parked outside his house !

Yep, we had neighbours like that too! They never parked in their own driveway but always had a couple of cars parked in the turning circle. It was pointed out to them that the turning circle is for turning, and the cheek of them, they tried to make out it was theirs as it was outside their house and they only bought that house because of that space outside. When asked why they didn't park in their driveway they said they didn't like having cars in front of their window!

OP, I agree with everyone else, don't give in! Might you possible be having visitors while your kitchen is being done up? They might need to park on both sides of the road outside the neighbours house perhaps?

Or....you could get some flyers from some green lobby about reducing carbon footprints and how people should reduce how much they use their cars etc, and stick them in their letter box, just to really annoy them! Sticking them nice and visibly on the windshields of all five of their cars would also annoy them!

Snake Plisken · 24-06-2007 02:21PM

would it be illegal to put bollards outside your house to stop them parking there?

faceman · 24-06-2007 02:49PM

^ yes, its public space

lemansky · 24-06-2007 02:56PM

lazy fingers I like that-as said before you'll get a PM with a time and date!

Snake,if they have no NCT,use it as some leverage with them.They probably won't fork out for an NCT on that van so it could work.

Dame-I think my brother and sister will have to stop around while the kitchen is being done-in their cars!I'm also printing off those leaflets as we speak lol.

Fuzzy at this stage nothing would surprise me.We share an alleyway and so they used to use our driveway as their own walking up and down it.They put many a scratch on our car with their ladders.They only stopped as we made it physicaly impossible for them to walk down it by parking our car in such a way to cut their original shortcut off!

Neighbours who push their luck

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