Possible Abuse of Disabled Parking Badge

[Mrs TP]

At the risk of a bucket load of abuse for spurious reasons, I just wondered what others thought of the following situation and how to deal with it:

We are in a typical local road with all on street parking and no garages. A neighbour who has a disabled badge and a disabled parking bay outside his house has taken to parking outside our house and leaving the disabled space empty until his son comes to visit and then he moves his own car into the disabled bay freeing up the space outside ours for his son. It is really frustrating. I came back from a day out with the kids this eve and had to circle the block 3 times looking for a space. All the while the disabled bay is free and the neighbour's car with the badge is outside ours - and who knows when his son will turn up, might not even be tonight. I had to drop my 5yr old on the doorstep (hubby was in) as she desperate for loo whilst I continued to hunt for a parking space and eventually found one a street away.

Over the last few weeks when we have managed to park outside ours the car has been spat on and had takeaway debris dumped on it - didn't think much of it at first but now thinking this all deliberate to discourage us from parking outside our own house.

I don't mind unofficial reserving for odd occasions such as moving house, special family event, delivery etc but this has been going on all summer. Just before the summer hols I came home as they going out and sat across the road waiting for him to leave to I could have the space outside ours and as his wife came out to get in the car she saw me and ran back into the house and was there for an age. I gave up in the end and parked elsewhere unaware at that time as to the game they were playing.

I want to deal with this firmly but within moral and legal boundaries. Any suggestions?

[KidKruger]

Print the email and show it to your neighbour.

[snowy]

4 pages minimum.

At some point Louisa will say this wouldn't happen in Bromley.

Cyclists will eventually be blamed.

Waitrose media team will lurk.

[Mrs TP]

Am defo going to confront him about it, just thinking of exactly how to approach it :)

[daveybigpotatoes]

Park in the disabled space and explain why or alternatively just have a chat.

[sweetgirl]

how annoying, would p*** me off too!

[miga]

.

[numbers]

How annoying!

I think it sounds like your neighbour is not using the badge for the purpose it was intended e.g. its not for 'reserving' a space for his son whilst he parks elsewhere. Def sounds like misuse of the disabled parking badge on his part.

If he regularly parks elsewhere then he has no need of the damn badge. Can you have a word with him about it face to face, doesn't need to be confrontational - just say what you have said here, that you have noticed he is not using it and that by parking elsewhere e.g. not in the bay, that this has an impact on the rest of the street. Knock on effect is that there is less space for others, if he used the bay that would free up some room etc.

I wouldn't park in the disabled bay.

[PokerTime]

Might be worth asking te council if the bay was created specifically for his need. If so, then the authorities might have a view on his behaviour. Contact your local councillor for help on this.

[Huguenot]

There's lots of levels in this.

Firstly, from a purely practical perspective, if there are genuinely no other parking spaces available on your street (and you have to drive around for ages to find a space) then demand outstrips supply.

This means that even if your neighbour stopped pissing around, the space he created would immediately be occupied by someone ELSE.

QED - nothing that you achieve in your dealings with you neighbor will actually generate a space outside your house.

It's likely that what you are doing is 'projecting' your frustration with parking in general on to one person, and this is causing you (like a bent copper) to inappropriately project other crimes on to him, such as vandalism.

That means that if you want to have this out with your neighbour then you can only enter into it knowing that you're simply in it for a fight with no positive outcome possible.

In short, you would be disrupting your residential bliss and creating enemies for life on a point of principle.

If your neighbour is really abusing your car with litter and takeaways, it sounds to me like this is not going to be remotely reasonable.

So unless you want lots of swearing and shouting, and a resentment that will probably ruin the comfort of your own house, you would have to fight this war by proxy.

The only real way of doing this is to demonstrate that since the resident parks outside the disabled bay, then he doesn't need a disabled bay, so you should campaign through your local councillor to have it removed.

That's clearly not the best solution.

The best solution is to get a bit Zen with all this, chuckle to yourself indulgently as he plays his silly games, and recognize that the other stuff like litter is more than likely just badly behaved kids.

[Salsaboy]

Or you could just let his tyres down.

[intexasatthe moment]

OP your neighbours practice of allowing his blue badge to be used for the purpose of vistors parking is a misuse of the badge and means that prosecution and a fine are possible .

You have all my sympathy for this ongoing problem which I fear is going to be really hard to resolve .

[Jeremy]

Huguenot has a point in that if the parking's that tight, one space probably won't have a significant impact.

Nevertheless, sounds like the disabled bay (and badge) isn't necessary.

[Otta]

Do you know anyone with a blue badge? Get them to cone round and park in the disabled spot, that would piss him off! (especially as he probably views it as HIS spot, which it isn't. Even if the council put a bay outside your house because you are disabled, the space can be used by any blue badge holder).

[Mrs TP]

Otta another neighbour (now sadly deceased), further up the road, had a blue badge but no designated space and used this space from time to time, which used to pee him off no end :)

I feel a generally sympathy from most; thanks for your support. Had wondered if I was getting in a twist over nothing but was particularly wound up yesterday due to my youngest's loo crisis.

Huguenot - you raise some interesting points. Yes one space is neither here nor there in the whole local pressure on spaces. However, we don't get a fair crack at the chance to use it as it is nearly always blocked, which is not right. It is one thing the road being genuinely full but something completely different with someone regularly reserving a space for someone else as if they are more important and have more right to the space than us.

I would never describe myself as a bent copper but I do agree I am now probably projecting other random incidents (the spitting and the takeaway debris) onto this one neighbour. I can Zen this, discount his involvement, as I have no evidence, and put it down to urban life. One chill factor, thanks.

However, I can't find it within myself to Zen his blatant constant p**s taking as it is on my doorstep most days and it needs dealing with. I will do it calmly but with the risk of a row and I am not bothered about fall out with them.

I am not going to park in the disabled bay as I would risk a ?1000 fine. He risks no financial penalty parking in non-disabled spaces. However, if I get nowhere speaking to him I will report it to appropriate authorities.

I did wonder if he read the forum as he moved his car into the disabled space yest eve and I nipped out and moved mine outside ours ready for running around this morning. When I got back just before lunch he had dropped his car from the disabled bay to outside ours again - argh.

[Huguenot]

He sounds like a right arse.

He must have a lot of time on his hands. You know what they say about arguing with idiots and drunks: they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

If you're already curtain twitching, you're on the edge of a slippery slope!

It'll soon be time for the photos and diary methinks.

Any idea what his disability actually is? It can't be that debilitating if he's running in and out of his house?

[Huguenot]

Just thinking - is it possible to set him up?

Vacate your space and drive off whilst someone videos what takes place?

Would be quite the viral video on Facebook?

[Otta]

He doesn't necessarily have to be the one with the disability. I'm quite surprised a non wheelchair user or someone without severely impaired mobikityr would actually get a bay outside.

[Mrs TP]

Will go all investigative reporter and try and covertly film them - or might just tell him to stop taking the mickey.

Ah thanks guys & gals you have all made me laugh about this and not be so wound up :)

[minder]

You don't have to be physically impaired to get a disabled badge, although it helps.

[Earl Aelfheah]

The guy sound like a knob, it would wind me up too. That said Huguenot has a point. Even if he stopped taking the pss it would be unlikely to have much effect on your own parking situation. On balance, it's probably not worth falling out over.

[uncleglen]

Could you put your bins outside your house? There seems to be a plethora of bins in the road at the bottom end of Barry Road.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Perhaps he's having some problems that aren't so obvious to a non-disabled person? I would try a direct approach: explain nicely that you've noticed he's parking outside your house a lot, leaving the disabled space empty, and ask if he's having any problems with his space and if there's anything you can do to help. At least then you'll know he knows it's been noticed and you can escalate if necessary. Better than doing something that to him might look like playing games as that could rebound on you.