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Guy Parks Car In Public Parking, Neighbor Insists It’s Private And Stabs Tire, Gets Reality Check
Two men arguing near a fence about a public road used as a personal parking space outside a house

Guy Parks Car In Public Parking, Neighbor Insists It’s Private And Stabs Tire, Gets Reality Check

Interview With Expert

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Imagine moving into a new house, in a wonderful, calm area, and already looking forward to living here happily ever after, with nothing to spoil your carefree life… You already sensed a catch here, didn’t you? Yes, there are almost always some nuances in such stories – and there are some in this one, too.

The narrator of this story had the misfortune of having a neighbor who, contrary to all rules and laws, believed that the stretch of public road opposite their house (just a street, without any driveway) should have been their special parking spot. This, of course, was not the case, but the neighbor didn’t care…

More info: Reddit

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    This story happened around 3 decades ago, when the author of the post had the misfortune of living next to some entitled guy

    No parking any time sign on a public road in front of a house enforcing parking space rules.

    Image credits: isaac1112 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    That man wrongly considered the public road in front of his house to be his exclusive parking space, for some reason

    Man confronts misuse of public road outside his house as a personal parking space, receiving a reality check.

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    Text on a white background describing a dispute over parking on a public road in front of a house leading to a damaged tire.

    Text on a white background stating Fair enough, can’t prove it’s him, but It was him….. so…. Revenge time, related to public road personal parking space conflict.

    Image credits: AceRead73

    Two men arguing by a fence, illustrating a guy confronting reality about public road parking space in front of his house.

    Image credits: korrawinj / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    Accordingly, the guy used to attack the neighbors for parking there – and the author was not an exception

    Guy considers public road in front of house a personal parking space, getting a reality check from neighbors.

    Man confronts the idea of using a public road in front of his house as a personal parking space and faces a reality check.

    Text on a plain background reading, a guy considers a public road in front of his house a personal parking space, faces a reality check.

    Image credits: AceRead73

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    Three cars parked on a public road in front of a house where a man wrongly claims it as personal parking space

    Image credits: user24121185 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    One day, after finding his car with a stabbed tire, the author decided to take petty revenge on the guy

    Text excerpt showing a man’s experience with a public road parking dispute and the reality check he received.

    Note explaining the UK MOT certificate requirement for cars to be roadworthy and valid for insurance purposes.

    Image credits: AceRead73

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    They bought an old car with a certificate expiring in a year, parked it on the spot in front of the neighbor’s house – and simply left it there

    This story, told to us by the user u/AceRead73, happened about three decades ago in the UK. Since then, as the Original Poster (OP) assumes, the rules may have changed, and this year-long petty revenge (some netizens, however, call it a full-flegded pro revenge) may well not have happened. Well, as they say, there’s a time for everything…

    So, the author’s neighbor, for some reason, strongly believed that the section of public road opposite his house belonged to him and only him. Accordingly, he perceived any other car, except his or his wife’s, parked in this space to be a personal and very offensive insult. The OP, who lived directly opposite the spot, often parked there, however.

    Quarrel after quarrel, one word led to another – and one day, the author found their car with a punctured tire. It was impossible to prove anything, but they understood perfectly well that it was the neighbor. That’s when the OP took action…

    They bought an old Ford Fiesta for £300 (~$400), with a valid insurance and certificate from the Ministry of Transport, waited until that coveted place opposite the neighbor’s house became free – and just left the car there.

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    The certificate expired in a year, and for the following twelve months, the neighbor had to watch the old Ford rust under his windows. The car gradually had all its tires stabbed, its windows broken, and local teenagers covered it in graffiti – but there was no legal reason to tow it away from the neighbor. Formally, the author was 100% law-abiding.

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    The police went to the Ford’s resting place from time to time – but everything was okay with the papers, and after hearing this story, the cops invariably laughed and drove away. The day before the certificate expired, the OP called the towing company – and took the car to the dump. Yes, they spent money – but who would dare say that the pleasure they’d been receiving for a whole year was not worth it?

    Man peeking through window blinds suspiciously, reflecting someone considering public road as personal parking space situation.

    Image credits: Anton Dios / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    “People like this neighbor, unfortunately, are encountered literally at every step,” says Maria Kryvosheeva, a psychologist and NLP coach, with whom Bored Panda got in touch for a comment here. “It is interesting that the mechanism by which such a conviction in one’s own rightness arises is almost always the same in different people.

    “The famous French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once wrote: ‘Hell is other people,’ meaning that people don’t tend to associate the typical mistakes of others with themselves. That is, they believe that they have the right to do what they condemn in others. Usually, this is due to wrong parental upbringing – that is, the system is set up to reproduce itself.

    “Moreover, even if such a person is shown any rule that they somehow violate, they tend not to believe it too – simply because the pattern that they are infallible is firmly ingrained in their heads. It’s possible to cope with this – but to do so, one must admit their own mistakes – and for many of us this is very difficult and quite painful,” Maria summarizes.

    People in the comments also expressed admiration for the ingenuity of the original poster and, unfortunately, shared many of their own stories from various countries about how they had to deal with similar entitled folks. “I can’t believe the number of people who think they own a space on the public road,” someone concluded. By the way, have you, dear readers, ever encountered anything similar in your life?

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    Most commenters just cracked up over the hapless neighbor and gave their own similar stories and parking dramas

    User comment about people wrongly considering public road as personal parking space, receiving a reality check.

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    Reddit comments discussing parking laws and a man's experience with police regarding public road parking disputes.

    Comment thread discussing a guy considering a public road by his house as personal parking, leading to neighbor conflicts.

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    Online discussion about a man considering public road as personal parking space and facing backlash from neighbors.

    Screenshot of an online discussion about a man treating a public road in front of his house as personal parking space.

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    User comment discussion about someone considering a public road in front of their house as personal parking space.

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    Comment discussing police towing abandoned cars and parking rules on public roads near homes.

    Screenshot of online discussion about nuisance laws and abandoned vehicles relating to public road parking and parking disputes.

    Man defends parking on public road outside house, faces neighbor's complaints and police intervention in a residential area dispute.

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    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    Read less »
    Oleg Tarasenko

    Oleg Tarasenko

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"

    Denis Krotovas

    Denis Krotovas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.

    Read less »

    Denis Krotovas

    Denis Krotovas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.

    What do you think ?
    Robert T
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the UK it is very difficult to get a vehicle towed unless it is causing an obstruction, and even then I wouldn't expect a rapid response from the Police. However if you have a problem with vehicle being parked or abandoned and they are on the public highway, then you can freely check the status of their tax and MOT online, and if they have expired, you can report the car with location to the DVLA and they will come and clamp and/or remove the vehicle PDQ.

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Entitled jerks are entitled jerks. They are determined pubic space isn't, and frequently (and foolishly) get called out on it. We have one who attempts to tell me on a regular basis I have no right to have meetup at my house because it messes up the on-street parking!

    Brandi VanSteenwyk
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have a neighbor up the road (in Utah, US) who on the chain-link fence surrounding his front yard (including a gate to access the driveway), posted a standard NO PARKING sign. I immediately checked the local laws regarding the homeowner's ability to enforce the sign/message. He has none. I am just waiting for him to be a jerk to someone...

    Load More Comments
    Robert T
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the UK it is very difficult to get a vehicle towed unless it is causing an obstruction, and even then I wouldn't expect a rapid response from the Police. However if you have a problem with vehicle being parked or abandoned and they are on the public highway, then you can freely check the status of their tax and MOT online, and if they have expired, you can report the car with location to the DVLA and they will come and clamp and/or remove the vehicle PDQ.

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Entitled jerks are entitled jerks. They are determined pubic space isn't, and frequently (and foolishly) get called out on it. We have one who attempts to tell me on a regular basis I have no right to have meetup at my house because it messes up the on-street parking!

    Brandi VanSteenwyk
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have a neighbor up the road (in Utah, US) who on the chain-link fence surrounding his front yard (including a gate to access the driveway), posted a standard NO PARKING sign. I immediately checked the local laws regarding the homeowner's ability to enforce the sign/message. He has none. I am just waiting for him to be a jerk to someone...

    Load More Comments
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