So someone parks in your spot...

[lifesaver]

We have new neighbors. The are cool people. They had a party tonight. Someone parked in my spot. I let it go tonight becasue I assume they dotn know policy around here that covered parkign is reserved for tennants. Some wouldda blocked them in or gone over there. What would you have done? I plan on saying something to them tomorrow.

If they had a reputation for having loud parties with obnoxious guests all the time then I would have gone to the party or better yet, called a tow company to tow their asses -- I've done the latter before.

But, if they were a group I was cool with, I'd probably let it slide...providing there was alternate parking, of course.

[mmcat]

there's always the note on the car thing....

[Kevin]

Happened to me yesterday. I just left a note and parked in one of the uncovered spaces 20 feet away.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

A 8"X11" "thank you for parking in my spot" sticker smacked down on the driver's side of the windshield

[DZTUBAGIRL]

I can't stand my neighbors. There are 4 apartments and only like 5 parking spaces. Well the guy next to me has a 3 freaking trucks. I think he has people stay with him all of the time. So most of the time I end up parking in a non spot next to the building. They suck!

[moe.ron]

Either (if possible) tow or park in front of the car and go for a week vacation)

[AlphaSigOU]

Slash all their tires, break the windows, turn signals and headlights/taillights, and key up their paint finish.

And don't forget to pour sugar in their gas tank. [/twisted evil]

[The1calledTKE]

I had to call the tow company alot at one apartment I had. People always parked in my spot. We had asigned spots so I didn't want to park in someone else's space and risk me getting towed. I let it go a couple times at first but people were parking in it regularly til I got them towed for the first time. Only one time did anyone come angry to my door, but after talking awhile they calmed down and apollogized.

[carnation]

LOL, I remember the troubles y'all had with the jeweler's family parking in your spots. Somewhere on GC there's a thread about what AlphaGam1019 finally did to them.

[aephi alum]

This happened to me a few times at my last apartment. A polite note saying "numbered spots are for tenants only" did the trick. I noted people's tag numbers and decided that if I ever saw the same car in my spot again I would call the tow company, but it never came to that. Fortunately there was plenty of unnumbered parking, though it was less convenient.

[IheartAphi]

Towing sucks, but sometimes you have to do it. In Raleigh we have towing companies that patrol apartment complexs looking to tow cars without stickers. If you break down, you wait an hour for a tow truck. You park in a parking lot without a pass, 20 minutes your towed.

At least you wouldn't have to worry about having to call and report someone

As for the guy with three trucks, talk to the complex and see if they can do something about it. (assuming you have to register cars)

We had some pimped out hoopty park in our small lot one time. The person lived in a building that had more parking and empty apartments. We left a note and they moved it three weeks later when they came back to use the car

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally posted by lifesaver
We have new neighbors. The are cool people. They had a party tonight. Someone parked in my spot. I let it go tonight becasue I assume they dotn know policy around here that covered parkign is reserved for tennants. Some wouldda blocked them in or gone over there. What would you have done? I plan on saying something to them tomorrow.

I would have gone up to the door and told them they had X amount of time to move the vehicle before I had it towed. But then, I own my spot (condominium) so it's private property.

We have a rule that residents can only have two vehicles so you might find something similar in your complex (we have very limited parking).

And yes, I have done this before.............

[navane]

Leaving a note on the offender's car may work; but it may not if that specific person is rarely around to visit their friends' apartment. A better strategy would be to talk directly to your neighbors about it. That way they can instruct ALL their friends about where to park the next time they visit.

<ranting hijack>

A bit of an aside, Long Beach has this great policy where they do street sweeping *twice* a week, once in one direction and once in the other. Parking in my old neighborhood was bad enough as is; but street sweeping days really made it tight as everyone must pile in on one side of the street(s). One week I had to park a couple blocks down as there was nothing by my house. It was about 10:30pm and I had the good fortune of finding a big stretch of open curb. I parked behind a VW Jetta leaving a couple feet to get in and out. Plus I left space behind me big enough for another car. Just beyond that extra space was a driveway.

The next morning, I walked up to my car to find that someone left a nastygram note on my windshield berating me for rudely blocking their car in. I looked around and noted that, in front of my car, the Jetta was gone and an SUV was in it's place. Behind me, where there had been a blank space, another SUV was parked. Neither of those SUVs were there when I parked, so I have no idea why *I* got the nastygram. Clearly someone had pulled out and one of the big SUVs decided to cram themselves in sometime after I parked. Looking at the layout, there was no possible way I could have squeezed in inbetween those two SUVs unless I had gotten out and pushed the car in sideways. Of course, the notewriter didn't want to think logically, s/he just decided to assume it was me somehow.

Man, so many rude people have damaged my car and my sister's car in the Long Beach parking culture. People trying to parallel park their big ol' cars were always smacking into my bumper and scratching it. My front license plate is all jacked up as if it's been hit with a battering ram. My sister also has several gashes in her bumper plus a big 4" scratch and dent where someone tried to parallel park into the back driver's side door of her 2000 Jetta.

I stopped being Miss Considerate and starting leaving big healthy gaps between my car and the one in front of me even when moving up a little meant someone else could have parked behind me. Too bad!!!!

</ranting hijack>

Good luck in getting it sorted out, Lifesaver. Hopefully your neighbors just didn't know and they won't do it again.

.....Kelly

[Lady Pi Phi]

That used happened to my roommate all the time. When I lived in Guelph I lived in a townhouse complex. Each unit had one parking space. My roommate was the only one with a car and She would leave at 8am and come back at 6pm everyday (she was a vet student...she was always at school). My neighbours used to park in our spot all the time, so when she came back from school someone was in her spot. She was very nice to begin with. She would knock on our neighbours doors to find out who the car belonged to and asked them very nicely to move it. It kept happening. She started leaving notes on the car. Still kept happening. Eventually she started having the cars towed.

Ask your neighbours nicely not to park in your space. If they keep doing it, have their car towed.