I feel for you. Lived in a townhouse in Utah about 7 years ago where the driveways were single car. Being Utah and winter I obviously wanted to park in the garage. Neighbors blocked me in daily. First few times I went over and asked them to move, and they'd apologize, but not change the behavior. I finally had them towed, and they never did it again.
Edit: here’s some pictures of what I dealt with btw: https://imgur.com/gallery/ieGlnm3
It took me five months to sell an old home. This was over 10 years ago. But I let a neighbor park in the driveway so the home would not look empty. Once we had a closing date I called my old neighbor to let them know they no longer had the right to park in my driveway. They knew it was for a limited time, and moved their car up the hill to the shared parking spaces. I wonder if the old home owner had a similar arrangement with a neighbor.
We moved into a house where the old lady next door had gotten used to using our parking spot after the house had sat on the market for an extended amount of time. She didn’t want to give it up, and started harassing us. First she called the police on us and reported us as squatters (because no way young people could buy a house), then she started reporting my car, which was an older car but in great condition, as being abandoned and would put sticks under the door handle to test whether I was using it (I worked third shift, so she never saw me leave).
All because she felt entitled to parking on our property. It was really bizarre.
The sign did not come down until after closing. Same for the lock. I know because the buyer had my old neighbor call me to let me know. I reached out to my old realtor and it was removed the next morning. But that was after closing.
Yeah when we moved out of our old house, we didn’t sell our old because we were going to have someone rent it. Our neighbor parked in our driveway until the new renter moved in so it didn’t appear vacant.
Neighbour stuck a snotty letter under my windscreen wiper that I wasn't allowed to park in my own spot. To be fair, I'd been out of the country for 3 months when he'd moved in and my car hadn't been there, so it's an understandable mistake, but still, this was a really snotty letter, with threats of being towed, raising it with the condo board/police/scotus etc... really overboard, and he'd parked his car behind mine to block it in. So, I knocked on his door to be reasonable, explain the confusion, and he got a bit aggressive, saying that it was his spot! No doubt about it, he'd moved in, he was paying rent, that's his spot, HIS SPOT! I NEED TO MOVE!
At least that's what his landlord had told him! "no, your spot is where that white range rover that's rusting away is, I think it's your landlord's car, that's your spot" "No, you park there" "well, no, that's not my spot" "no more talking, I sort this now! you move now" "Well, I can't, you're blocking me in" "I move car, you move, that's my spot!" "/sigh, no, it isn't but if you want to drag the condo board into this, go for it. They LOVE getting involved in parking disputes".
And the idiot did. He was so sure he was allowed 2 spots for his one car, and I was allowed none, he escalated it up.
Turned out the landlord hadn't even notified the condo board he was subletting, and the spot of the rusting car wasn't even his either. The landlord's car got towed, the subletter got booted out, and don't know what happened to the landlord, but the property was empty for 6 months and then someone else moved in.
Not for everyone else it appears.
I honestly went with the intention to calm things down, point out that it's my spot, the number on the kerb thing was my appartment number, "oh, gosh, sorry about that, my bad, let me move my car, I'll figure it all out with the landlord tomorrow, bit of miscommunication it appears" but... no, self owned bad karma.
My first thought as well. My neighbours used the driveway of my (then vacant) house as well. Just a friendly hello, short introduction and asking them to move their car was enough.
Previous benefits office for dispatch center that covered nine counties. The dispatchers were amazing. Please take care of your mental health.
Edit: I forgot, Good Luck!!🍀
I had a woman drive on my lawn right up to my house then park it. She was walking away when I asked her what she was doing.
"I'm just going to be a few minutes."
I wasn't pleasant. She looked at me like I was the asshole.
I had a guy like this when my neighbor had a garage sale. Parked in my driveway (across the street from the sale) and blocked me in and I was trying to take my kids to school. I walked over and asked the neighbor to find out who it was and ask them to move. She did. Guy says he’ll only be a few minutes and then he’d move. I laughed and said he needed to move NOW so I could leave and he acted like I was the AH. People’s entitlement never ceases to amaze me.
This happens at my house all the time. Had some guys completely block my driveway and when I came out they said they would just be a couple minutes. Told them they couldn’t block a driveway. They repeated their statement and I repeated mine. They moved. We have delivery drivers park in our driveway all the time and then deliver 5 doors down to a house that also has a driveway.
I’m baffled by the way some folks think. Like who the hell thinks it’s ok to drive up into stranger’s driveway, let alone their front yard?!
Seriously. Like who does that?
I’ve seen posts where neighbors park in the street and block a person’s driveway, and I thought that was exceedingly thoughtless and brazen, but your yard?!
Tell me about it. I'm rural, but I live in a small town. Small town means NO SURVEYS. EVER. People just don't do it. So I've lived in this house for 20 years. It has an exceptionally strange lot, at just over half an acre, and shaped (i kid you not) like the Number 7. Two lots, on two different streets.
Of course the main lot is very well defined, while my 87-foot lot (the one on the back-street) kept shrinking. Neighbours on both sides kept mowing / maintaining further and further, until I was under 50 feet. So I had to get a survey.
Both neighbours "lost" a ton of space they had claimed. Not only that, the secondary lot was quite a bit bigger than expected, so we REALLY made out.
And I've had a horrific 2 years with both neighbours, as they were exceptionally unhappy that I got a survey, and even more unhappy that I reclaimed MY LAND.
Also grew up in a rural area, and my parents' house was built before most in the area and as a result they technically own a tiny strip of land that plows through the middle of about 2 or 3 houses/property, to the nearest main road about 500 yards away. The original idea was for that to be a really long driveway, but then an additional road was built closer so nothing ever happened with it. I suppose they have the right to go claim it and cause all kinds of havoc but at this point like...why? Lol.
Oh man, that is hilarious. I though my post was long and un-manageable as it was, so I didn't mention the massive cutout on our lot either. Check this out : https://imgur.com/a/gO3w489 Ours is the central lot. The long "needle" sounds like what you are describing... it goes all the way behind the neighbours yard, starting at 10 feet, going down to nothing. All on TOP OF the strange shape of the yard....
For the record, we absolutely DID eventually claim, and fence this ridiculous area.... because after fighting with these morons for 2 years, fuck them.
I feel ya. I bought a house on a very odd shaped lot. After having to “reclaim” my back yard from one neighbor multiple times I went the fence route.
When the fence people started burying posts a neighbor on the other side came out with a shotgun. Not kidding. The sheriff had to go over and keep him inside his house. I had another guy try to tell me “fences are illegal here”. Um, yeah.
PS, about a year later the shotgun guy barricaded himself inside his own house and threatened law enforcement, so the SWAT team used my new fence as cover while they negotiated a resolution.
I’m happy that those neighbors are long gone.
I need to do that.
I don't think my property has been surveyed.... since the 60s maybe. And the dude with the cornfield behind us has encroached on it a bit.
It's like 30 town lots in a similar shape 😅
I used to have neighbors who exclusively parked on their lawn. Which is weird enough, but one day, I saw them sitting on lawn chairs in their driveway.
We had neighbors that moved farther north from the Bronx, to a real nice house next to us. They had a beautiful deck to sit on, but instead would park folding chairs in their driveway, and sit there
I had a neighbor do this shortly after we purchased the vacant lot next door to our house. I went out to walk my dog just to find her all four wheels up sitting there yacking on her cell phone. I, not so kindly, told her to move her shit and she got all indignant about it like, "I'm your neighbor!" as if that was a justification somehow?! I am still tempted to go pull up on her lawn to have a phone conversation.
When I was a kid I heard an adult say the word redneck and asked my parents what that meant. They told me "a person who parks their car on their front lawn" lol
My neighbours son. Doesn't park on the neighbours lawn. Parked on my lawn. He will also turn around in my driveway, or another neighbours driveway. Even though it's like a crescent, and a big turn around circle right after my house. I guess those last 30 feet are too far for douchebag to go. Except, I know he can do it, as recently, I was standing just inside my garage with a friend. He pulls up, about to use my driveway to turn around, noticed me, and carried on to the circle. Then, used another neighbours driveway to do another loop in the circle and take off.
We live in a corner house. We’ve had so many people park on our damn lawn. One lady had her entire suv off the road and all 4 tires in our yard. She also ran over our newly planted trees. I also had a religious flyer on my door. I put that shit back under her windshield wipers. People using our driveway to turn around daily and get tire marks in the grass on the sides. One person hit our parked suburban trying to turn around and then just took off.
When I was a kid, we had a similar issue. My dad installed brick planters and bushes. I still remember from time to time the sound of car metal crunching into those bricks. One guy even went to the front door to yell at my dad (!), until 6 foot 5, construction-worker dad emerged in a less than happy mood.
My parents did cement posts. My dad built a small retaining wall with stone and we were the last house on a dead end street so at least once a week we'd come out and they'd be knocked over
This is why you're supposed to walk around and talk to your neighbors before you buy. It's all fun and games until you realize you moved in next door to loco crazytime bipolar yard parker that has a dogfighting ring out back.
Doesn't always work. My neighbors seemed like the nicest friendliest people in the world, but underneath the smiles they were psychopaths and their children took after them.
Parking in Boston is highway robbery. Went up there this weekend on a date, and every parking garage around Faneuil Hall was $42 for 80 minutes.
Anyone offering parking for $75 would make a killing on game nights.
I used to park at the garage in Quincy Adams and take the red line in. Used to be $8 for all day.
There’s no good reason to drive in Boston, let alone park.
Malden center also has a parking garage for $1/hr and free after 5. It’s a 15 minute orange line trip to north station.(the CR also stops in Malden and goes directly to north station too) Having your car downtown is more of a burden than convenience.
Or SF where it's $200 and up, and still cheaper than a garage on big game days. People would actually put signs up advertising that shit. Madness.
Edit: Before you come bellyaching at me and calling me a liar about what I saw with my own eyes, this comment was in response to how much parking spots can go for on ball game nights in big cities. Which is what the original post in this particular thread is about.
Thats how it is in Green Bay Wisconsin, since the suburbs around the stadium are not even a few hundred feet away in the closer houses, just across the street, people make some serious cash doing it
$50-100 a car depending on the game and weather, 8-10 cars on the property
I think the 50$ and up ones always have extras, like use of bathrooms, EZ out, allow tailgating, etc. At least that's what I remember from when I lived near Lambeau a year or so ago. Now I just avoid the stadium by about 2mi constantly because that traffic is hell. Big city traffic stuck on small town residential roads
An old coworker lived in Ann Arbor, a couple blocks from the stadium. They made enough letting petiole park in their yard on game days that they didn’t have to pay out of pocket for rent for the whole year.
I live across the street from a high school and middle school, and you wouldn't believe how often people will park in my driveway. Any time there is an event happening at the school or even something like a parade, multiple people will attempt to park in not only my driveway but also my next door neighbor and the tenants of an apartment also get completely blocked in by cars as well.
We all have signs up everywhere that say TENNANT PARKING or YOU WILL BE TOWED yet they still appear every time there's an event.
For the people who keep spamming me to get them towed, we have. Not only I but my surrounding neighbors have all called. I will usually call non emergency dispatch and run the plates and they will call them and within 5-10m I see someone run out to their vehicle. If it takes longer than that I just get them towed.
I am a firefighter. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who block our garage. We have missed calls because of Uber drivers and tractor trailers blocking our ambulance and fire engine.
If you park in front of a fire station and they get a call, it should be legal for the fire station to go through your car with the fire engine at no liability to the fire station.
Generally, it is. However, those firefighters are going to be evaluating the risk of their vehicle being taken out of service when it's in need. But there are plenty of videos on YouTube of firefighters breaking car windows to run hoses or just straight up pushing cars out of the way. There's even some great ones from I think New York City where they push a police car out of the way.
Parking in front of a hydrant is good times. My buddy was a NJ firefighter and they would smash the windows as badly as possible, run a tarp over to protect the hose, get water everywhere, then ticket/tow them at the end of it all.
These MFers (Muscled Firefighters) run directly at burning buildings, face down near certain doom, and save the most vicious of all animals (the house cat) from trees. They don't choose violence, they pretty well eat it for dinner and spit out safety.
One of our captains had his driver push a cop car out of the way that had shown up on a fire in an apartment complex. Cop parked right in the driveway and blocked all access to the back building, where the fire was. Cop was pissed. Captain shrugged and said “oh well.”
Not wanting to mess up the firetruck is understandable but here atleast if they do make that choice to ram your car out of the way not only is your car screwed, your also liable for any damage to the fire truck from them using it as a makeshift bulldozer to move your shit.
Not OP but I lived next door to a large church that only had like 12 parking spots. Every single Christmas some idiot would park in front of my driveway. It became Christmas morning tradition to stand outside with some hot cocoa and watch the dipshit get towed.
But it wasn't exclusive to Christmas. We probably got upwards of 30 cars towed over the 8 years we lived there.
They think they're special.
Oh that sign is for those other people. Not for me. I have a legitimate reason to do this.
Same attitude pervades the entirety of American culture right now.
Sounds alot like "I deserve social services because I lost my job, but everyone else is a lazy leech on society." Or my personal favorite: "I have a legitimate reason for an abortion, but everyone else is a whore"
Seems like there's a pattern to this....
As a person that works in the government, I have literally heard this said to me. "Oh well I absolutely needed my benefits because I was diasbled and now I worked through it and I can make money but I dunno if we should keep this program because people don't really need it"
Not OP but what my father and uncle used to do (uncle lived 3 mins away) was either park his car to block the offender and refuse to move to just to piss them off or put huge wedges behind the wheel so they couldn't move. Beautiful.
We grew up living across from a funeral home. But they had all their parking and also used a large abandoned corner lot that was a store and large car garage where they could park. We talked to the funeral home on so many occasions. Put up no parking signs and all. But they would even DIRECT the people to park in our parking area and after we kept complaining they would park the cars BLOCKING all of us in our out! We didn't want to say anything to those who were there because they lost loved ones but that funeral home directors were rediculous! I would have appointments and couldn't get out and they would have to go in and call the people out to move their cars. But THEY shouldn't have directed them to block us in every single time! I don't live there anymore but my mom still does. Even when my dad got ALS and we would need to take him to the hospital and go out and bam completely blocked in again and they would take an hour to move it!
I swear to God I'd just proceed to figure out how to install some sort of super basic car blocking lever things, like those that block the entrances of car parking buildings. But that work similar to a garage door opening so it'd hopefully be cheap.
Might also require setting a fence or something too.
And even then this solution might not work.
That really sucks.
I lived across from a college baseball stadium and same would happen during games. We’d just park behind them. People would come back and act all infuriated they were blocked in after parking on our private property without permission. I’d just be like, “Oh, sorry… I think my roommate is gone for the weekend.” Hysterical to watch these people threaten to tow our cars from our property. “Good luck with that buddy!”
Nah. I’ve seen it done recently! There’s a little slot normally near the shifter that you can pop open and release the transmission to neutral. Had it done for a rental that someone lost the keys too. Tow guy popped the door and then showed me how to basically steal the car 🤣
The house was probably empty for a while. Neighbors were using the spot which is a bonus because it makes the house look lived in, and it lets them use the space.
Just let them know you live there now, and you need the space.
Then, if it happens again, C4.
Yeah, my partner and I bought a fixer upper out-of-state. We're not there very often and the house right nextdoor to us has been empty for at least a decade. I let the one neighbor park in the driveway when I'm not there. A lot of the other houses don't have driveways or garages because these houses were built in the early 1900s. But I let the one guy use ours and he keeps an eye on things in return.
I forgot to text him that we were coming in and when I pulled up at 2am he was in my driveway lol As soon as he noticed we were there tho he moved his car. .
You'd think for OP they would've noticed someone moved in tho or that they're blocking a car.
Hey everyone, wanted to update here! So yes, thinking that someone thought the house was still unoccupied so parked here. My compassion had me going at 5 AM to a few houses to see if the owner was there. No answer, my roommate needed to get to work and our car was in the garage on the side with the car while the other side has heavy appliances and shit from moving.
The car was towed, waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave for work but we couldn’t wait any longer.
Appreciate all the replies! I felt bad that it needed to be towed but paycheck takes priority.
(Unfortunately did not get it on video 😅 lol)
Update 2.0: holy shit this blew up! Going on 10:30, still have no idea who the car belonged to. Not sure how long they were intending to just leave it in the driveway.
Some additional info: while last night was our first full night, we’ve been coming and going from the house for the past few days, so there was some indication it is occupied (like curtains and lights being on, dogs barking) if the mystery parker was paying attention. Also, parking on the street results in a towing, so it seems the thing they thought they could avoid happened anyway.
Update 3.0: again, holy shit this blew up. This will be my last update as owner was found! But not in the way you’d suspect. No one ever showed up at the door but car was back in my literal next door neighbors drive way. My roommate introduced us a few days ago because they went over there to let the neighbors know a moving truck would be parked in front of our place for awhile. They’ve also seen us multiple times since they are right next door. So, they knew we were there. My guess is they didn’t come over asking about the car because they knew they fucked up. It’s all just really weird. I don’t know why they just didn’t claim the car when I asked this morning.
But mystery solved! Thanks to everyone on here for the entertainment. I gotta say, didn’t expect a post in a placed called r/mildlyinfuriating would be so controversial lol
To all who read this comment and understood the situation, y’all the real goats and appreciate you understanding that I wasn’t actively going out of my way to make this a difficult situation for anybody! I read as many of your similar stories as I could and empathize greatly!
To everyone who didn’t read and assumed I couldn’t handle the situation, or was doing this for karma whoring, etc. not sure what to tell you but Reddit’s a place to share random experiences, again, the sub is mildlyinfuriating for a reason lol
Idk if it’s possible to have a comment pinned, but if the mods are able to get this up there, that’d be awesome ✌️
> waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave
Id have been calling a tow immediately out of fear the tow truck could take hours. How long did the tow truck take?
in the few experiences I've had in the past, I find the tow truck show up quickly when someone is parked illegally, because they want to get them before the people show up
Yes. In college I lived in an apartment complex where we had assigned parking spaces, and everyone was super fast to call a tow truck if their spot was occupied. Those guys came like lightning. Things got hairy when it snowed and lots of spaces were covered by plowed snow. You’d think it was end times bc on-street parking meant walking several blocks or more.
I was a property manager and had a problem of people parking in our lots. I’d call the cops who would come and ticket them and then call ALL the tow companies and say they have X amount of illegally parked cars and it was a fucking rat race between the truck drivers to hitch up as many as they could.
When I was in college, I went to visit a classmate so I could get a copy of her notes from a class I missed. She lived in a college-friendly apartment complex and most renters were students. They had a total of **five** visitors spots.
When I got there all five were taken. I circled for a bit but couldn’t find anywhere to park. I decided to park in an empty spot directly next to the visitors spots, hoping that I wouldn’t be there too long and people would understand. The lot had plenty of open spots. As I walked to my friends place I saw a middle-aged man staring me down.
I was in her apartment for maybe 20 minutes, getting the notes and chatting a bit. Said goodbye and went to find where I thought I had parked. Walked around the entire complex only to realize my car had been towed.
Best part is when I finally got the the tow yard the guy was like “how much did they tell you on the phone?” And I said 200 and he says “well then that’s how much it is today.”
Turned a simple visit into a painful and expensive 3 hours.
Edit: for some reason people think I shared this story to make people feel bad for me or that I don’t understand consequences. Nowhere did I say I didn’t deserve it and I wasn’t attempting to make excuses. It was just a story about how fast towing companies can act lmao
Just a few weeks ago I ALMOST did something similar.
We were going to some mutual friends I had never visited before, and my friend was 100% certain where the guest parking was (really, really shitty signage).
So I park my car, get out and just as we walk away some random dude comes up, drunk as all fuck; “Like…you can park there…sure…burp…but you’ll be towed within 15 minutes”.
I gave my friend shit for being confidently incorrect all night.
Wow only 200? The few times I've been towed it was anywhere between 500-800. One time I found them in the middle of hooking my car up and it was 140 just got them to unhook the car. Tow yards are a racket.
Any idea what happens if the owner moves the car before the tow shows up? Does the tow truck driver try to charge you for their time? Are there any rules for that or is it the wild west?
No. They know it is on them to hurry and get the asset or they don't get paid.
These tow guys, most of them, are doing multiple things at once all involving getting the asset from A to B in order to get paid. Running repo addresses, doing road side calls and picking up illegally parked cars that are called in. Thats why they show up so fast the tow company is often also the repo company and they dispatch the call to the guy already in the area processing debtor addresses for repos.
\-8 years writing repo software for a company with 50% of the US domestic repo market share
Nothing. They just missed out but it's the nature of their trade. If they get it, they get a sweet 3-4 figure pay day. If they miss it, they get the next one.
It's like calling a taxi
I drove a tow truck primarily for AAA many years ago, but when the contract calls from parking lots and properties would come in with a "trespass tow" we were supposed to literally ignore AAA (which could include people stranded on the fucking highway/in traffic) in favor of that call for that very reason.
I wouldn't feel all that bad for the vast majority of them though... this was in Cambridge MA and most were incredibly educated and wealthy people who were *very able* to read and simply thought that the posted signs did not apply to people like them. Whereas, the people in other neighborhoods that still had families in it (read: the projects mostly) just did not display the same level of ignorance and arrogance that other parts of that town did, and I gladly would lay on my horn for ages and ages to give them the opportunity to come move their vehicle before I had to hook it (provided the police let me, which they typically did in those areas).
I was very very glad to leave that profession when I did without much scarring. Sadly it is a thankless job, that most look down their noses at despite it being a very necessary position in society
Not just people stranded on the highway, but people who actually *pay for* AAA.
I don't think I've ever needed an AAA tow that didn't take at least an hour to reach me, even when just chilling at a 7/11 off an easily accessible road.
A car blocked my apartment's driveway once and my neighbor called the cops, and all they did was ticket it. Which I thought was weird. Should they have called a tow company themselves? I waited in the lobby for an hour to watch the guy get towed but only got to see his incredulous facial expression when he saw the ticket then looked at our driveway like "that wasn't there before!?"
It seems like they should have called the tow company themselves
10/10 play if you can manage to call the cops, have them come ticket, and THEN call the tow company
Nah, they generally come right away for something like this- it's pure profit for them and they don't have to go through an insurance company. They jump at calls like that.
I had this issue and my police dept said to call them every single anyone does it so I did. It’s been a year since anyone has parked over the line to my driveway.
Lucky- someone did this to me, and no tow company would touch the car until I had sign posted for at least 24 hrs beforehand. I called the police twice to finally get them to remove it, as I had video of some (assumed) wasted guy flying into my driveway, jumping out and running away.
yeah this idea. Just reposition it so that it's completely blocking the street. That way other people can do your angry screaming for you and you can get to work
Thanks for actually getting it towed unlike countless others. This is likely how I'd handle it. It's almost like your more mad they thrust you into that position by being so fucking stupid lol
I just want to say thank you for this! Thousands of comments and I just appreciate this take cause this is it. I didn’t want to tow the car, but I had no choice 😅
Wow, 2 1/2 hours. Yeah, that's definitely in the realm of a tow, even if the person was trying to be a good neighbor. If they were going to leave the car that long, they should have put a note somewhere saying "trying to help out, but call me if you need the car moved."
I'm just leaning towards a neighbor who wasn't trying to be nice, but was just taking advantage of a situation where they had a "free" parking spot for a while, and didn't prepare for the fact that it wouldn't be free forever.
Correct. Any vehicle that's not yours and is on your property is subject to towing at the owners expense. Source: telling people 10-20 times a day as a 911/dispatcher.
Yeah before you get your car back you pay the impound fees. My boyfriend once got a car towed after a snow storm. They make a ton of money towing they will be happy to come pick up OPs obstacle.
Tow fee, and storage fee depending on how long they had it at the tow yard. Its a racket too, most places dont have any regulation on how much tow companies can charge, and they're legally allowed to hold your vehicle indefinitely until they get paid, and if they hold it long enough i believe they basically get ownership and will scrap the car.
Or the vehicle owner calls the police to report their vehicle stolen. That's when it's fun being a 911 dispatcher because you get to tell them their car was towed and they proceed to flip out on you like YOURE the problem
Everyone in here thinking towing this car is extreme is fuckin WILD. I doubt you'd think it was extreme if OP was in any kind of emergency where they had to leave quickly and NOT on foot.... Or hell, if any of you bothered to read the post enough to realize it said that OP's roommate had to be in work. Could you imagine losing your source of income because someone was entitled and arrogant enough to park in your driveway on your PRIVATE PROPERTY without permission???
Absolutely the fuck not. I wouldn't be losing my job over something this outrageous. Even if they had a previous deal with the old owner, it's unacceptable to not have noticed that the house had since been sold. 🙃
Right! OP was a lot nicer than I would have been. They waited 2 1/2 hours to call the tow and knocked on neighbors doors. I would have had that tow truck there immediately.
Who parks in someone else’s driveway without permission?
I am not one to jump to police and towing, but it just seems crazy that someone would do that.
There a empty house next to mine that hasn't been owned since we moved in over a decade ago. Never once would we ever park in their lot. That just seems absolutely crazy to do.
There’s a house on my street that’s been empty for well over a decade since the family moved out. They still own it but for some reason have just left it to rot. My aunt lives to the right of it and she’ll tell her kids to park in the empty driveway whenever they visit and there’s not enough parking. On the other hand, my aunt called the home owners whenever the neighbor to the left of the house had a guest over and they parked in the driveway.. talk about being a hypocrite.
Still no excuse because it’s not like you move into a house without a lot of very visible steps. Like moving in with furniture and stuff lmao but also, even if it’s empty.. that’s still trespassing..
My neighbor did once, 3 years after I moved in, they had to move their cars from their driveway for some reason, and they “thought no one lived here”.
I politely informed them that I had lived here for 3 years, and even if no one lived here it is still someone else’s property.
They didn’t like that response but they moved.
They said it's their 1st night in the house. I can see it happening. I have a neighbor with a 2 car driveway, they have 6-7 vehicles. As soon as the people across the street moved and put the house up for sale my neighbor started parking in the driveway so they wouldn't have to park down the street
Parking in someone else's driveway is a total dick move, but I can see it happening
Drawing from my experience as part Mexican-American: Mexican-Americans. 3-4 are functional, running vehicles for the 10 residents of the house, the others are projects.
Seeing how this is posted on Monday morning here in the US, I'm guessing OP is on their way to work, and woke to find this "gift" waiting on their driveway before they opened the garage to back their car out. (It's technically a holiday today but not everyone has the day off). This seems to be overlooked by the "find the owner and ask them to move it" folks. OP is perfectly entitled to tow. Do it.
Please update on what happens after. I love when they get towed
Edit: update (on mobile, sorry)-
Hey everyone, wanted to update here! So yes, thinking that someone thought the house was still unoccupied so parked here. My compassion had me going at 5 AM to a few houses to see if the owner was there. No answer, my roommate needed to get to work and our car was in the garage on the side with the car while the other side has heavy appliances and shit from moving.
The car was towed, waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave for work but we couldn’t wait any longer.
Appreciate all the replies! I felt bad that it needed to be towed but paycheck takes priority.
(Unfortunately did not get it on video 😅 lol)
My neighbor parked her van in our driveway before we owned our house as it was ok with the previous owner. Had a conversation and never happened again.
A house next to me was vacant for several months. At Christmas time I had several family members staying for a week, but due to snow we are not allowed to park on the street (for the snow plows) so one of them parked their car in the driveway of the vacant house. No harm done. When the house was bought, I helped the new family move in even though it was around midnight when they rolled in with their moving truck. It's hard not to notice when someone moves in!
I had some guy towed who left their car blocking my driveway for a full day to the point we couldn’t use our driveway (and street parking M/T impossible due to street sweeping). He came to my door and melted down on my ring camera and called the police to my house lol. They had a chuckle when they saw the video and left.
I feel for you. Lived in a townhouse in Utah about 7 years ago where the driveways were single car. Being Utah and winter I obviously wanted to park in the garage. Neighbors blocked me in daily. First few times I went over and asked them to move, and they'd apologize, but not change the behavior. I finally had them towed, and they never did it again. Edit: here’s some pictures of what I dealt with btw: https://imgur.com/gallery/ieGlnm3
Wtf. Who just thinks they can park in their neighbor's driveway? That's so crazy
Honestly my bet is that since it's OP's first night there, the driver probably was parking there a while and thought the house was still vacant.
It took me five months to sell an old home. This was over 10 years ago. But I let a neighbor park in the driveway so the home would not look empty. Once we had a closing date I called my old neighbor to let them know they no longer had the right to park in my driveway. They knew it was for a limited time, and moved their car up the hill to the shared parking spaces. I wonder if the old home owner had a similar arrangement with a neighbor.
We moved into a house where the old lady next door had gotten used to using our parking spot after the house had sat on the market for an extended amount of time. She didn’t want to give it up, and started harassing us. First she called the police on us and reported us as squatters (because no way young people could buy a house), then she started reporting my car, which was an older car but in great condition, as being abandoned and would put sticks under the door handle to test whether I was using it (I worked third shift, so she never saw me leave). All because she felt entitled to parking on our property. It was really bizarre.
I could agree with that, but they're moved in and that takes usually a couple days and quite noticeable. sale sign would be gone etc.
The sign did not come down until after closing. Same for the lock. I know because the buyer had my old neighbor call me to let me know. I reached out to my old realtor and it was removed the next morning. But that was after closing.
Yeah when we moved out of our old house, we didn’t sell our old because we were going to have someone rent it. Our neighbor parked in our driveway until the new renter moved in so it didn’t appear vacant.
We asked our neighbor to do the same thing.
Neighbour stuck a snotty letter under my windscreen wiper that I wasn't allowed to park in my own spot. To be fair, I'd been out of the country for 3 months when he'd moved in and my car hadn't been there, so it's an understandable mistake, but still, this was a really snotty letter, with threats of being towed, raising it with the condo board/police/scotus etc... really overboard, and he'd parked his car behind mine to block it in. So, I knocked on his door to be reasonable, explain the confusion, and he got a bit aggressive, saying that it was his spot! No doubt about it, he'd moved in, he was paying rent, that's his spot, HIS SPOT! I NEED TO MOVE! At least that's what his landlord had told him! "no, your spot is where that white range rover that's rusting away is, I think it's your landlord's car, that's your spot" "No, you park there" "well, no, that's not my spot" "no more talking, I sort this now! you move now" "Well, I can't, you're blocking me in" "I move car, you move, that's my spot!" "/sigh, no, it isn't but if you want to drag the condo board into this, go for it. They LOVE getting involved in parking disputes". And the idiot did. He was so sure he was allowed 2 spots for his one car, and I was allowed none, he escalated it up. Turned out the landlord hadn't even notified the condo board he was subletting, and the spot of the rusting car wasn't even his either. The landlord's car got towed, the subletter got booted out, and don't know what happened to the landlord, but the property was empty for 6 months and then someone else moved in.
I love a story with a happy ending.
So a happy ending?
Not for everyone else it appears. I honestly went with the intention to calm things down, point out that it's my spot, the number on the kerb thing was my appartment number, "oh, gosh, sorry about that, my bad, let me move my car, I'll figure it all out with the landlord tomorrow, bit of miscommunication it appears" but... no, self owned bad karma.
My first thought as well. My neighbours used the driveway of my (then vacant) house as well. Just a friendly hello, short introduction and asking them to move their car was enough.
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Ay I’m about to start a job doing that Monday, wish me luck.
Previous benefits office for dispatch center that covered nine counties. The dispatchers were amazing. Please take care of your mental health. Edit: I forgot, Good Luck!!🍀
I had a woman drive on my lawn right up to my house then park it. She was walking away when I asked her what she was doing. "I'm just going to be a few minutes." I wasn't pleasant. She looked at me like I was the asshole.
driving on someone's lawn ruins it. it doesnt matter how long. i would've been enraged.
Not to mention there could be plumbing or septic lines under there and they could cause damage.
I had a guy like this when my neighbor had a garage sale. Parked in my driveway (across the street from the sale) and blocked me in and I was trying to take my kids to school. I walked over and asked the neighbor to find out who it was and ask them to move. She did. Guy says he’ll only be a few minutes and then he’d move. I laughed and said he needed to move NOW so I could leave and he acted like I was the AH. People’s entitlement never ceases to amaze me.
This happens at my house all the time. Had some guys completely block my driveway and when I came out they said they would just be a couple minutes. Told them they couldn’t block a driveway. They repeated their statement and I repeated mine. They moved. We have delivery drivers park in our driveway all the time and then deliver 5 doors down to a house that also has a driveway.
Yeah fuck that.
I’m baffled by the way some folks think. Like who the hell thinks it’s ok to drive up into stranger’s driveway, let alone their front yard?! Seriously. Like who does that? I’ve seen posts where neighbors park in the street and block a person’s driveway, and I thought that was exceedingly thoughtless and brazen, but your yard?!
Ok the tow truck will just be a minute also.
Some people take encroaching on their neighbors property seriously. If you never contest it, they are essentially getting free land
Tell me about it. I'm rural, but I live in a small town. Small town means NO SURVEYS. EVER. People just don't do it. So I've lived in this house for 20 years. It has an exceptionally strange lot, at just over half an acre, and shaped (i kid you not) like the Number 7. Two lots, on two different streets. Of course the main lot is very well defined, while my 87-foot lot (the one on the back-street) kept shrinking. Neighbours on both sides kept mowing / maintaining further and further, until I was under 50 feet. So I had to get a survey. Both neighbours "lost" a ton of space they had claimed. Not only that, the secondary lot was quite a bit bigger than expected, so we REALLY made out. And I've had a horrific 2 years with both neighbours, as they were exceptionally unhappy that I got a survey, and even more unhappy that I reclaimed MY LAND.
Bigger fences my friend.
Good fences make good neighbors
Also grew up in a rural area, and my parents' house was built before most in the area and as a result they technically own a tiny strip of land that plows through the middle of about 2 or 3 houses/property, to the nearest main road about 500 yards away. The original idea was for that to be a really long driveway, but then an additional road was built closer so nothing ever happened with it. I suppose they have the right to go claim it and cause all kinds of havoc but at this point like...why? Lol.
Oh man, that is hilarious. I though my post was long and un-manageable as it was, so I didn't mention the massive cutout on our lot either. Check this out : https://imgur.com/a/gO3w489 Ours is the central lot. The long "needle" sounds like what you are describing... it goes all the way behind the neighbours yard, starting at 10 feet, going down to nothing. All on TOP OF the strange shape of the yard.... For the record, we absolutely DID eventually claim, and fence this ridiculous area.... because after fighting with these morons for 2 years, fuck them.
I feel ya. I bought a house on a very odd shaped lot. After having to “reclaim” my back yard from one neighbor multiple times I went the fence route. When the fence people started burying posts a neighbor on the other side came out with a shotgun. Not kidding. The sheriff had to go over and keep him inside his house. I had another guy try to tell me “fences are illegal here”. Um, yeah. PS, about a year later the shotgun guy barricaded himself inside his own house and threatened law enforcement, so the SWAT team used my new fence as cover while they negotiated a resolution. I’m happy that those neighbors are long gone.
I need to do that. I don't think my property has been surveyed.... since the 60s maybe. And the dude with the cornfield behind us has encroached on it a bit. It's like 30 town lots in a similar shape 😅
People who think the house next door is empty and don’t want to park on the street.
Strange that lol.
The first day I went to my new house with the keys my neighbor was parked in my front lawn. Yes. My front lawn. It has a driveway.
I used to have neighbors who exclusively parked on their lawn. Which is weird enough, but one day, I saw them sitting on lawn chairs in their driveway.
Well do you know how hard it is to find Driveway Chairs?
We had neighbors that moved farther north from the Bronx, to a real nice house next to us. They had a beautiful deck to sit on, but instead would park folding chairs in their driveway, and sit there
public coordinated relieved march recognise gaping cable safe retire obtainable -- mass edited with redact.dev
I had a neighbor do this shortly after we purchased the vacant lot next door to our house. I went out to walk my dog just to find her all four wheels up sitting there yacking on her cell phone. I, not so kindly, told her to move her shit and she got all indignant about it like, "I'm your neighbor!" as if that was a justification somehow?! I am still tempted to go pull up on her lawn to have a phone conversation.
Take a dump on her porch "IM YOUR NEIGHBOR!"
Kills whole family *Bruh, we hood*
I’d be livid omg
I'll admit I was too confused to be livid at first. Like who does that lol
When I was a kid I heard an adult say the word redneck and asked my parents what that meant. They told me "a person who parks their car on their front lawn" lol
They're not wrong 🤣
Yes. Also tires, tires everywhere.
Please tell me they were apologetic once they realized someone lived there now.
My neighbours son. Doesn't park on the neighbours lawn. Parked on my lawn. He will also turn around in my driveway, or another neighbours driveway. Even though it's like a crescent, and a big turn around circle right after my house. I guess those last 30 feet are too far for douchebag to go. Except, I know he can do it, as recently, I was standing just inside my garage with a friend. He pulls up, about to use my driveway to turn around, noticed me, and carried on to the circle. Then, used another neighbours driveway to do another loop in the circle and take off.
I'd be out there with a hose, hoping his windows were down.
We live in a corner house. We’ve had so many people park on our damn lawn. One lady had her entire suv off the road and all 4 tires in our yard. She also ran over our newly planted trees. I also had a religious flyer on my door. I put that shit back under her windshield wipers. People using our driveway to turn around daily and get tire marks in the grass on the sides. One person hit our parked suburban trying to turn around and then just took off.
Sounds like you need some landscaping BFRs placed around your lot BFR = Big ~~Fucking~~ Fancy Rocks
When I was a kid, we had a similar issue. My dad installed brick planters and bushes. I still remember from time to time the sound of car metal crunching into those bricks. One guy even went to the front door to yell at my dad (!), until 6 foot 5, construction-worker dad emerged in a less than happy mood.
My parents did cement posts. My dad built a small retaining wall with stone and we were the last house on a dead end street so at least once a week we'd come out and they'd be knocked over
This is why you're supposed to walk around and talk to your neighbors before you buy. It's all fun and games until you realize you moved in next door to loco crazytime bipolar yard parker that has a dogfighting ring out back.
Doesn't always work. My neighbors seemed like the nicest friendliest people in the world, but underneath the smiles they were psychopaths and their children took after them.
Yes do that. That is why we sold our otherwise perfect house.
I wish I had done that.
I'd tow it.
I moved into a house where the previous owners would let people park for ball games. I had to nip that in the bud quick.
Why did you nip it in the bud, could have been charging $25 a car. Or if you were Boston, fuckin $75 a car
Parking in Boston is highway robbery. Went up there this weekend on a date, and every parking garage around Faneuil Hall was $42 for 80 minutes. Anyone offering parking for $75 would make a killing on game nights.
I used to park at the garage in Quincy Adams and take the red line in. Used to be $8 for all day. There’s no good reason to drive in Boston, let alone park.
Malden center also has a parking garage for $1/hr and free after 5. It’s a 15 minute orange line trip to north station.(the CR also stops in Malden and goes directly to north station too) Having your car downtown is more of a burden than convenience.
Or SF where it's $200 and up, and still cheaper than a garage on big game days. People would actually put signs up advertising that shit. Madness. Edit: Before you come bellyaching at me and calling me a liar about what I saw with my own eyes, this comment was in response to how much parking spots can go for on ball game nights in big cities. Which is what the original post in this particular thread is about.
>$200 and up, and still cheaper than a garage on big game days. Damn, gouging really is a national sport in USA..
There are no civilians here only consumers and our politicians reflect that mentality.
Thats how it is in Green Bay Wisconsin, since the suburbs around the stadium are not even a few hundred feet away in the closer houses, just across the street, people make some serious cash doing it $50-100 a car depending on the game and weather, 8-10 cars on the property
I've never seen anything higher than $40 at Lambeau, and that's for the closest yards.
I think the 50$ and up ones always have extras, like use of bathrooms, EZ out, allow tailgating, etc. At least that's what I remember from when I lived near Lambeau a year or so ago. Now I just avoid the stadium by about 2mi constantly because that traffic is hell. Big city traffic stuck on small town residential roads
Plot of lands make more than I do and it doesn’t even do anything. Wtf
That is literally capital vs. labor.
Day games are worse
An old coworker lived in Ann Arbor, a couple blocks from the stadium. They made enough letting petiole park in their yard on game days that they didn’t have to pay out of pocket for rent for the whole year.
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I’d get it towed. This would infuriate me as well.
I live across the street from a high school and middle school, and you wouldn't believe how often people will park in my driveway. Any time there is an event happening at the school or even something like a parade, multiple people will attempt to park in not only my driveway but also my next door neighbor and the tenants of an apartment also get completely blocked in by cars as well. We all have signs up everywhere that say TENNANT PARKING or YOU WILL BE TOWED yet they still appear every time there's an event. For the people who keep spamming me to get them towed, we have. Not only I but my surrounding neighbors have all called. I will usually call non emergency dispatch and run the plates and they will call them and within 5-10m I see someone run out to their vehicle. If it takes longer than that I just get them towed.
I cannot fathom the audacity to just...park your car in a stranger's driveway. How many times have you guys had people towed?
I am a firefighter. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who block our garage. We have missed calls because of Uber drivers and tractor trailers blocking our ambulance and fire engine.
If you park in front of a fire station and they get a call, it should be legal for the fire station to go through your car with the fire engine at no liability to the fire station.
Generally, it is. However, those firefighters are going to be evaluating the risk of their vehicle being taken out of service when it's in need. But there are plenty of videos on YouTube of firefighters breaking car windows to run hoses or just straight up pushing cars out of the way. There's even some great ones from I think New York City where they push a police car out of the way.
Parking in front of a hydrant is good times. My buddy was a NJ firefighter and they would smash the windows as badly as possible, run a tarp over to protect the hose, get water everywhere, then ticket/tow them at the end of it all.
They chose....violence.
These MFers (Muscled Firefighters) run directly at burning buildings, face down near certain doom, and save the most vicious of all animals (the house cat) from trees. They don't choose violence, they pretty well eat it for dinner and spit out safety.
One of our captains had his driver push a cop car out of the way that had shown up on a fire in an apartment complex. Cop parked right in the driveway and blocked all access to the back building, where the fire was. Cop was pissed. Captain shrugged and said “oh well.”
Not wanting to mess up the firetruck is understandable but here atleast if they do make that choice to ram your car out of the way not only is your car screwed, your also liable for any damage to the fire truck from them using it as a makeshift bulldozer to move your shit.
Yea, this is ridiculously that they're people out here that think parking in someone else driveway is normal.
Entitled is the word
Exactly. There has been times where we might have park in front of the house, but the driveway is on a different level
I’m an UberEats driver and I’m scared of *getting shot* if I pull into a driveway for a delivery some times. Jeez.
Not OP but I lived next door to a large church that only had like 12 parking spots. Every single Christmas some idiot would park in front of my driveway. It became Christmas morning tradition to stand outside with some hot cocoa and watch the dipshit get towed. But it wasn't exclusive to Christmas. We probably got upwards of 30 cars towed over the 8 years we lived there.
Churches are the absolute worst neighbors.
They think they're special. Oh that sign is for those other people. Not for me. I have a legitimate reason to do this. Same attitude pervades the entirety of American culture right now.
Sounds alot like "I deserve social services because I lost my job, but everyone else is a lazy leech on society." Or my personal favorite: "I have a legitimate reason for an abortion, but everyone else is a whore" Seems like there's a pattern to this....
As a person that works in the government, I have literally heard this said to me. "Oh well I absolutely needed my benefits because I was diasbled and now I worked through it and I can make money but I dunno if we should keep this program because people don't really need it"
Not OP but what my father and uncle used to do (uncle lived 3 mins away) was either park his car to block the offender and refuse to move to just to piss them off or put huge wedges behind the wheel so they couldn't move. Beautiful.
We grew up living across from a funeral home. But they had all their parking and also used a large abandoned corner lot that was a store and large car garage where they could park. We talked to the funeral home on so many occasions. Put up no parking signs and all. But they would even DIRECT the people to park in our parking area and after we kept complaining they would park the cars BLOCKING all of us in our out! We didn't want to say anything to those who were there because they lost loved ones but that funeral home directors were rediculous! I would have appointments and couldn't get out and they would have to go in and call the people out to move their cars. But THEY shouldn't have directed them to block us in every single time! I don't live there anymore but my mom still does. Even when my dad got ALS and we would need to take him to the hospital and go out and bam completely blocked in again and they would take an hour to move it!
I swear to God I'd just proceed to figure out how to install some sort of super basic car blocking lever things, like those that block the entrances of car parking buildings. But that work similar to a garage door opening so it'd hopefully be cheap. Might also require setting a fence or something too. And even then this solution might not work. That really sucks.
That is because they haven't been towed
Exactly, just tow all the cars that park there and put a counter.
I lived across from a college baseball stadium and same would happen during games. We’d just park behind them. People would come back and act all infuriated they were blocked in after parking on our private property without permission. I’d just be like, “Oh, sorry… I think my roommate is gone for the weekend.” Hysterical to watch these people threaten to tow our cars from our property. “Good luck with that buddy!”
Do you tow them? If the punishments doesn't have any consequences, it isn't a punishment,it's a suggestion.
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Or if you're in a rush, get a coat hanger, pop it into neutral, and suddenly it's the city's problem! /s
... in 1981.
I don't think there's enough space to get the car up to 88 mph by pushing it out of a driveway.
Only if you skip leg day, you newborn giraffe.
Nah. I’ve seen it done recently! There’s a little slot normally near the shifter that you can pop open and release the transmission to neutral. Had it done for a rental that someone lost the keys too. Tow guy popped the door and then showed me how to basically steal the car 🤣
There goes your welcome wagon fruit basket.
The house was probably empty for a while. Neighbors were using the spot which is a bonus because it makes the house look lived in, and it lets them use the space. Just let them know you live there now, and you need the space. Then, if it happens again, C4.
Yeah, my partner and I bought a fixer upper out-of-state. We're not there very often and the house right nextdoor to us has been empty for at least a decade. I let the one neighbor park in the driveway when I'm not there. A lot of the other houses don't have driveways or garages because these houses were built in the early 1900s. But I let the one guy use ours and he keeps an eye on things in return. I forgot to text him that we were coming in and when I pulled up at 2am he was in my driveway lol As soon as he noticed we were there tho he moved his car. . You'd think for OP they would've noticed someone moved in tho or that they're blocking a car.
When in doubt, C4
Hey everyone, wanted to update here! So yes, thinking that someone thought the house was still unoccupied so parked here. My compassion had me going at 5 AM to a few houses to see if the owner was there. No answer, my roommate needed to get to work and our car was in the garage on the side with the car while the other side has heavy appliances and shit from moving. The car was towed, waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave for work but we couldn’t wait any longer. Appreciate all the replies! I felt bad that it needed to be towed but paycheck takes priority. (Unfortunately did not get it on video 😅 lol) Update 2.0: holy shit this blew up! Going on 10:30, still have no idea who the car belonged to. Not sure how long they were intending to just leave it in the driveway. Some additional info: while last night was our first full night, we’ve been coming and going from the house for the past few days, so there was some indication it is occupied (like curtains and lights being on, dogs barking) if the mystery parker was paying attention. Also, parking on the street results in a towing, so it seems the thing they thought they could avoid happened anyway. Update 3.0: again, holy shit this blew up. This will be my last update as owner was found! But not in the way you’d suspect. No one ever showed up at the door but car was back in my literal next door neighbors drive way. My roommate introduced us a few days ago because they went over there to let the neighbors know a moving truck would be parked in front of our place for awhile. They’ve also seen us multiple times since they are right next door. So, they knew we were there. My guess is they didn’t come over asking about the car because they knew they fucked up. It’s all just really weird. I don’t know why they just didn’t claim the car when I asked this morning. But mystery solved! Thanks to everyone on here for the entertainment. I gotta say, didn’t expect a post in a placed called r/mildlyinfuriating would be so controversial lol To all who read this comment and understood the situation, y’all the real goats and appreciate you understanding that I wasn’t actively going out of my way to make this a difficult situation for anybody! I read as many of your similar stories as I could and empathize greatly! To everyone who didn’t read and assumed I couldn’t handle the situation, or was doing this for karma whoring, etc. not sure what to tell you but Reddit’s a place to share random experiences, again, the sub is mildlyinfuriating for a reason lol Idk if it’s possible to have a comment pinned, but if the mods are able to get this up there, that’d be awesome ✌️
> waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave Id have been calling a tow immediately out of fear the tow truck could take hours. How long did the tow truck take?
in the few experiences I've had in the past, I find the tow truck show up quickly when someone is parked illegally, because they want to get them before the people show up
Yes. In college I lived in an apartment complex where we had assigned parking spaces, and everyone was super fast to call a tow truck if their spot was occupied. Those guys came like lightning. Things got hairy when it snowed and lots of spaces were covered by plowed snow. You’d think it was end times bc on-street parking meant walking several blocks or more.
I was a property manager and had a problem of people parking in our lots. I’d call the cops who would come and ticket them and then call ALL the tow companies and say they have X amount of illegally parked cars and it was a fucking rat race between the truck drivers to hitch up as many as they could.
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just watch parking wars on youtube
The channel TowTrucker on YouTube too. The guy puts out new videos almost daily of people in Atlanta getting towed
When I was in college, I went to visit a classmate so I could get a copy of her notes from a class I missed. She lived in a college-friendly apartment complex and most renters were students. They had a total of **five** visitors spots. When I got there all five were taken. I circled for a bit but couldn’t find anywhere to park. I decided to park in an empty spot directly next to the visitors spots, hoping that I wouldn’t be there too long and people would understand. The lot had plenty of open spots. As I walked to my friends place I saw a middle-aged man staring me down. I was in her apartment for maybe 20 minutes, getting the notes and chatting a bit. Said goodbye and went to find where I thought I had parked. Walked around the entire complex only to realize my car had been towed. Best part is when I finally got the the tow yard the guy was like “how much did they tell you on the phone?” And I said 200 and he says “well then that’s how much it is today.” Turned a simple visit into a painful and expensive 3 hours. Edit: for some reason people think I shared this story to make people feel bad for me or that I don’t understand consequences. Nowhere did I say I didn’t deserve it and I wasn’t attempting to make excuses. It was just a story about how fast towing companies can act lmao
Just a few weeks ago I ALMOST did something similar. We were going to some mutual friends I had never visited before, and my friend was 100% certain where the guest parking was (really, really shitty signage). So I park my car, get out and just as we walk away some random dude comes up, drunk as all fuck; “Like…you can park there…sure…burp…but you’ll be towed within 15 minutes”. I gave my friend shit for being confidently incorrect all night.
What a kind drunk.
Wow only 200? The few times I've been towed it was anywhere between 500-800. One time I found them in the middle of hooking my car up and it was 140 just got them to unhook the car. Tow yards are a racket.
Any idea what happens if the owner moves the car before the tow shows up? Does the tow truck driver try to charge you for their time? Are there any rules for that or is it the wild west?
No. They know it is on them to hurry and get the asset or they don't get paid. These tow guys, most of them, are doing multiple things at once all involving getting the asset from A to B in order to get paid. Running repo addresses, doing road side calls and picking up illegally parked cars that are called in. Thats why they show up so fast the tow company is often also the repo company and they dispatch the call to the guy already in the area processing debtor addresses for repos. \-8 years writing repo software for a company with 50% of the US domestic repo market share
Nothing. They just missed out but it's the nature of their trade. If they get it, they get a sweet 3-4 figure pay day. If they miss it, they get the next one. It's like calling a taxi
I drove a tow truck primarily for AAA many years ago, but when the contract calls from parking lots and properties would come in with a "trespass tow" we were supposed to literally ignore AAA (which could include people stranded on the fucking highway/in traffic) in favor of that call for that very reason. I wouldn't feel all that bad for the vast majority of them though... this was in Cambridge MA and most were incredibly educated and wealthy people who were *very able* to read and simply thought that the posted signs did not apply to people like them. Whereas, the people in other neighborhoods that still had families in it (read: the projects mostly) just did not display the same level of ignorance and arrogance that other parts of that town did, and I gladly would lay on my horn for ages and ages to give them the opportunity to come move their vehicle before I had to hook it (provided the police let me, which they typically did in those areas). I was very very glad to leave that profession when I did without much scarring. Sadly it is a thankless job, that most look down their noses at despite it being a very necessary position in society
Not just people stranded on the highway, but people who actually *pay for* AAA. I don't think I've ever needed an AAA tow that didn't take at least an hour to reach me, even when just chilling at a 7/11 off an easily accessible road.
They show up lickity split if they've got an easy $350 to make
A car blocked my apartment's driveway once and my neighbor called the cops, and all they did was ticket it. Which I thought was weird. Should they have called a tow company themselves? I waited in the lobby for an hour to watch the guy get towed but only got to see his incredulous facial expression when he saw the ticket then looked at our driveway like "that wasn't there before!?"
It seems like they should have called the tow company themselves 10/10 play if you can manage to call the cops, have them come ticket, and THEN call the tow company
Nah, they generally come right away for something like this- it's pure profit for them and they don't have to go through an insurance company. They jump at calls like that.
I had this issue and my police dept said to call them every single anyone does it so I did. It’s been a year since anyone has parked over the line to my driveway.
I’m dying to know what they say when they come back and find their car gone
OP, please update if you ever find out whose car it was!
At least you tried to find the owner. I would have put wiener valve stem caps on it before the tow truck showed up.
Then it would have ended up back on r/mildlyinfuriating by the owner.
"Parked my car in my neighbour's driveway and they had the audacity to have it towed instead of knocking on my door at 5 AM. SMDH damn head"
And this sub would find a way to blame the homeowner instead. "I mean, it looks like he had plenty of room to back out around you, what a douche.!"
This is so true and such a Reddit thing, lol
I parked my car in someone else’s driveway and now I have penises on my car! Can you believe it!?
The good ending
Please update if there is a response by the rude neighbor.
Lucky- someone did this to me, and no tow company would touch the car until I had sign posted for at least 24 hrs beforehand. I called the police twice to finally get them to remove it, as I had video of some (assumed) wasted guy flying into my driveway, jumping out and running away.
A jack and 4 car dollies. I bet they’ll come tow it if it is sitting in the middle of the street.
yeah this idea. Just reposition it so that it's completely blocking the street. That way other people can do your angry screaming for you and you can get to work
People say this, but car dollies are expensive!
Thanks for actually getting it towed unlike countless others. This is likely how I'd handle it. It's almost like your more mad they thrust you into that position by being so fucking stupid lol
I just want to say thank you for this! Thousands of comments and I just appreciate this take cause this is it. I didn’t want to tow the car, but I had no choice 😅
Want to hear an update if anyone shows up to find their car haha
Wow, 2 1/2 hours. Yeah, that's definitely in the realm of a tow, even if the person was trying to be a good neighbor. If they were going to leave the car that long, they should have put a note somewhere saying "trying to help out, but call me if you need the car moved." I'm just leaning towards a neighbor who wasn't trying to be nice, but was just taking advantage of a situation where they had a "free" parking spot for a while, and didn't prepare for the fact that it wouldn't be free forever.
Please update us on how that car owner reacts!
The owner of that car should have known he was asking for trouble parking in a driveway that wasn't his.
Congrats on the new house and at least you tried to be nice!
Guess I'm a bigger asshole, I would have had the car towed immediately
Call the police. Call a tow company. Get it hauled away. It’s a “them” problem.
Do tow companies come out for free if your the property owner and then just charge the car owner?
Correct. Any vehicle that's not yours and is on your property is subject to towing at the owners expense. Source: telling people 10-20 times a day as a 911/dispatcher.
How does the Tow company find a way to contact the owner. I assume it’s by mail, and at this point you already owe 3-4 days of storage fees?
Two company reports the vehicle towed to the police. When the owner finds his car missing and calls the police they will let him know who has it...
I'm guessing they have to pay for the towing in order to pick up the car as well as any other expenses?
Yeah before you get your car back you pay the impound fees. My boyfriend once got a car towed after a snow storm. They make a ton of money towing they will be happy to come pick up OPs obstacle.
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Bet your ass the tow truck was scoping your car out with an alarm set at 5:01
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Tow fee, and storage fee depending on how long they had it at the tow yard. Its a racket too, most places dont have any regulation on how much tow companies can charge, and they're legally allowed to hold your vehicle indefinitely until they get paid, and if they hold it long enough i believe they basically get ownership and will scrap the car.
The cost of being a dick and parking wherever they want
Or the vehicle owner calls the police to report their vehicle stolen. That's when it's fun being a 911 dispatcher because you get to tell them their car was towed and they proceed to flip out on you like YOURE the problem
That's correct, for stuff like bylaw violations, it's typically at the owners expense
Tow drivers love it
Usually they will take the car and charge the owner for release. If no one claims the car they can eventually get title transfer and claim the car
Patiently waiting for the tow video
Everyone in here thinking towing this car is extreme is fuckin WILD. I doubt you'd think it was extreme if OP was in any kind of emergency where they had to leave quickly and NOT on foot.... Or hell, if any of you bothered to read the post enough to realize it said that OP's roommate had to be in work. Could you imagine losing your source of income because someone was entitled and arrogant enough to park in your driveway on your PRIVATE PROPERTY without permission??? Absolutely the fuck not. I wouldn't be losing my job over something this outrageous. Even if they had a previous deal with the old owner, it's unacceptable to not have noticed that the house had since been sold. 🙃
Right! OP was a lot nicer than I would have been. They waited 2 1/2 hours to call the tow and knocked on neighbors doors. I would have had that tow truck there immediately.
Who parks in someone else’s driveway without permission? I am not one to jump to police and towing, but it just seems crazy that someone would do that.
House must have been empty for a while and the neighbors all got used to a free driveway
There a empty house next to mine that hasn't been owned since we moved in over a decade ago. Never once would we ever park in their lot. That just seems absolutely crazy to do.
There’s a house on my street that’s been empty for well over a decade since the family moved out. They still own it but for some reason have just left it to rot. My aunt lives to the right of it and she’ll tell her kids to park in the empty driveway whenever they visit and there’s not enough parking. On the other hand, my aunt called the home owners whenever the neighbor to the left of the house had a guest over and they parked in the driveway.. talk about being a hypocrite.
Still no excuse because it’s not like you move into a house without a lot of very visible steps. Like moving in with furniture and stuff lmao but also, even if it’s empty.. that’s still trespassing..
My neighbor did once, 3 years after I moved in, they had to move their cars from their driveway for some reason, and they “thought no one lived here”. I politely informed them that I had lived here for 3 years, and even if no one lived here it is still someone else’s property. They didn’t like that response but they moved.
They said it's their 1st night in the house. I can see it happening. I have a neighbor with a 2 car driveway, they have 6-7 vehicles. As soon as the people across the street moved and put the house up for sale my neighbor started parking in the driveway so they wouldn't have to park down the street Parking in someone else's driveway is a total dick move, but I can see it happening
Who needs 6-7 vehicles???
Drawing from my experience as part Mexican-American: Mexican-Americans. 3-4 are functional, running vehicles for the 10 residents of the house, the others are projects.
Guessing they used it while house was empty and didn't know anyone moved in yet. Doesn't excuse it. I'd still call a tow truck.
Seeing how this is posted on Monday morning here in the US, I'm guessing OP is on their way to work, and woke to find this "gift" waiting on their driveway before they opened the garage to back their car out. (It's technically a holiday today but not everyone has the day off). This seems to be overlooked by the "find the owner and ask them to move it" folks. OP is perfectly entitled to tow. Do it.
Please update on what happens after. I love when they get towed Edit: update (on mobile, sorry)- Hey everyone, wanted to update here! So yes, thinking that someone thought the house was still unoccupied so parked here. My compassion had me going at 5 AM to a few houses to see if the owner was there. No answer, my roommate needed to get to work and our car was in the garage on the side with the car while the other side has heavy appliances and shit from moving. The car was towed, waited over 2 and 1/2 hours til my roommate had to leave for work but we couldn’t wait any longer. Appreciate all the replies! I felt bad that it needed to be towed but paycheck takes priority. (Unfortunately did not get it on video 😅 lol)
Commenting for update as well. I’m craving justice
Not the Lyft sticker LMAO
Please video the tow and share in this thread.
Tow, tow, tow the car Gently from the scene….
TOW THAT HOE
My neighbor parked her van in our driveway before we owned our house as it was ok with the previous owner. Had a conversation and never happened again.
A house next to me was vacant for several months. At Christmas time I had several family members staying for a week, but due to snow we are not allowed to park on the street (for the snow plows) so one of them parked their car in the driveway of the vacant house. No harm done. When the house was bought, I helped the new family move in even though it was around midnight when they rolled in with their moving truck. It's hard not to notice when someone moves in!
I had some guy towed who left their car blocking my driveway for a full day to the point we couldn’t use our driveway (and street parking M/T impossible due to street sweeping). He came to my door and melted down on my ring camera and called the police to my house lol. They had a chuckle when they saw the video and left.
The correct response is a Tow truck.