Broken down van parked outside my house for 4 and a half weeks

[newboots]

Is there anything I can do except go grrrrrr?

I'm on a normal unrestricted parking street in ED (ie. a street where you don't expect to park outside or near your house all that often but occasionally would be nice).

I spoke to the owner of the van after nearly 3 weeks. He told me it wouldn't start and he was about to go away for at least a week and a half. Something makes me suspect ski-ing in half term. No apology or nothing!

Not very neighbourly.

[lcs1981]

Hi there,

We had something similar but we didn't know the owner. My husband went on the Southwark council's website and he searched a link to report an abandoned car. Few days later the person went to rescue it and moved it. It was annoying as it was there for over a month as well.

[Primula]

If the vehicle is taxed, it has every right to be there......and nothing really for the owner to apologise for.

[newboots]

No, obviously not within the confines of the law Primula. I dunno, maybe I'm old fashioned or something, but I think I very likely would apologise if I left my vehicle directly outside someone else's house for that long and they had made the effort to come to speak to me about it.

[minder]

Very strange that owner had left his van there for 3 weeks after breaking down. Why didn't he get it fixed?

Good for you to enquire newboots as who knows it could have been stolen or something.

I've had two cars stolen in the past and both were left outside people's places for weeks without somebody realising something not right, even though it was taxed and in one case all the windows were wound down.

On both occasions the Police just phoned to say vehicle had been located on said street and to collect.

[HannahSE23]

I don't see what the fuss is about... you don't own the space outside your house, the vehicle is taxed and the owner is going to sort it out once he gets back from holiday. I wonder if you'd feel the same if it was a broken down Bentley outside your house? Sometimes vehicles break down, sometimes life circumstances mean it's not easy to get them fixed immediately... if, as you suggest, he's a neighbour then he has every right to park on the road, as do you. It's not very neighbourly to complain about it on this forum.

[phobic3000]

What hoonaloona said...

[Blah Blah]

Thirded. It's a public highway. He can park there for as long as he likes as long as the vehicle is taxed and insured.

[apbremer]

You're very lucky that it's not smothered in graffiti. One has been stuck in Burbage Road for months!

[Johnjohn]

Obviously I do not know the reason for this person leaving their vehicle in the instance, and admit it may just be that they haven?t had a chance to move/fix it.

However I do not agree with the "Its taxed and insured therefore it's ok to leave it there" view.... there are many, many things in life that are perfectly legal, and that we are entitled to do, but don?t because it is inconsiderate.

The 4 weeks can easily turn into 6 months and then the tax runs out... all of a sudden the "every right to leave it there" argument is void and you have to question why couldn?t they not have initially left it somewhere which didn?t inconvenience others

As someone that lives on a street that has to endure the consequences of the 3 motor traders that operate very locally I can confirm that an abandoned vehicle can cause much grief. I have had a car parked outside my house for over 6 months once. There are currently 3 vehicles on the street which have been 'parked' for a minimum 6 months each... flat tyres, vandalised, litter... for one the tax has now run out and it is registered as SORN but still 'parked on the street.. yet to be moved snce reporting to Southwark and DVLA

Busy is fine, I don?t mind a busy street, naive to expect otherwise in London and I don?t expect a space outside my house?. but it would be nice to have a chance sometimes! An abandoned vehicle removes that chance.

I have every sympathy with the OP.

[????]

Me too. Realted. My neighbour has a disabled bay outside her house - and other disabled parkers regulalrly use this as if it was a 'general' disabled bay, say at Sainsbury's rather than one is a suburban street which anyone but the most deliberately myopic must know relates to a specific household's needs. One regular user was a LL business (no names) who when confronted came back with the old 'I am entitled to park here' before setting off on the hundred yard stroll to LL. Some people's lack of empathy and pure selfishness is beyond me.

[BJL]

+1 to hoonaloona's post.

[MissMadMoo]

+1000 to hoonaloona's post. Deal with it and stop complaining.

[Blah Blah]

Johnjohn, if the vehicle is taxed and insured, it can park where it damn well likes and for as long as it likes. If you want a guaranteed parking space outside your home, buy a house with a driveway.

[Seabag]

Carry on with Grrrr-ing

Normally i'm very anti 'parking outside my house' type threads, but when space is already at a premium then I get your drift. Along with the fact that it's a hulking great van

Let us know how 'Vangate' evolves

[Johnjohn]

BlahBlah

I didn't say I wanted a guaranteed space outside my house at all, read my post again!

The point I was making was I think abandoning a vehicle outside someone's house is inconsiderate.

I know they can 'damn well' park it there (sounds almost spiteful!) and how could I possibly object to someone parking outside my or anyone's house... But if it is going to sit there for months, is it unreasonable suggest parking somewhere else, on one of the many sections of road not right outside a house.

[HannahSE23]

Johnjohn Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> BlahBlah

> I didn't say I wanted a guaranteed space outside

> my house at all, read my post again!

> The point I was making was I think abandoning a

> vehicle outside someone's house is inconsiderate.

> I know they can 'damn well' park it there (sounds

> almost spiteful!) and how could I possibly object

> to someone parking outside my or anyone's house...

> But if it is going to sit there for months, is it

> unreasonable suggest parking somewhere else, on

> one of the many sections of road not right outside

> a house.

The van hasn't been sitting there for months. When newboots spoke to the owner it had been there less than 3 weeks! Now the owner's on holiday and will sort it when he gets back from holiday. End of story surely???

[Johnjohn]

In this case perhaps yes, end of story.

As I originally said "Obviously I do not know the reason for this person leaving their vehicle in the instance, and admit it may just be that they haven?t had a chance to move/fix it."

If they haven't had a chance to move it, then fine.

It's been there over 4 weeks, not the end of the world, but a fair amount of time to never be able to park outside your own home, especially if it is badly parked ( don't get me started on that!)

If it is still there in 2 months time then that is when I begin to disagree with the "it's taxed/insured, therefore I park/store/abandon it where I damn well like" point of view.

[Vik]

But it's not abandoned! It's parked legally, taxed and insured until the owner can get it fixed.

Perhaps the problem is a major one that will cost a lot to fix and the owner just doesn't have the money right now? Who knows. Live and let live, no laws are being broken here.

[Pennyr]

Who wants a van parked outside their house for weeks? No-one except if you're the owner. It's an eyesore, blocks light, spoils the view and it doesn't usually take 4 weeks to fix. Get a mechanic or get rid of it if you can't afford to fix it.It's plain inconsiderate.

[Jeremy]

I'm kind of on the fence on this one. There could be a perfectly valid reason why it hasn't been fixed yet, and since most of us don't have off street parking, the guy has to leave it somewhere. But on the other hand, if he doesn't get it fixed in a timely fashion, then essentially it's just a useless piece of junk taking up precious space...

[Blah Blah]

He pays his tax, and he pays insurance. That's all that matters. If you don't want a van or otherwise to park outside your home, then buy a house with a private driveway.

[Convex]

it is annoying, we used to have a van which we didn't use over the winter and tried to park it on one of the parks not outside someones house.

having said that we almost never get to park outside our house.

its nice to have a chance of parking near to your door.

and its incredibly annoying when there are a sh*tload of broken down vans and cars on your street that show no sign of moving over MONTHS and you can't find a park and its pouring with rain.

so my sympathy OP! but he hasn't technically done anything wrong, and its just part and parcel of living in london.

but grrrrr away!

[Mick Mac]

Blah Blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Johnjohn, if the vehicle is taxed and insured, it

> can park where it damn well likes and for as long

> as it likes. If you want a guaranteed parking

> space outside your home, buy a house with a

> driveway.

I'm not seeing it that way. If you know you are going to leave your car for a long period then park it outside your own house, or somewhere not impacting other peoples ability to park.

We all know the law - and thanks for the repetitive informative post about tax and insurance - but have a bit of decency and if leaving a car for a long period, be considerate.

On a related issue - I'm seeing a lot of cars that are parked in ED for long periods for advertising purposes splattered with luminous logos such as "CARS 4 CASH", these are an eyesore and guess what they are taxed and probably insured too. They are left for 6 months typically.

[greenwater]

+1 for OP - might be legal but still totally inconsiderate IMO...