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AIBU

Blocked drive gggrrr

(48 Posts)
Shandy57 Fri 02-Apr-21 11:36:34

I was renting a cottage and came out one morning to a huge trailer blocking me in. My neighbours came along, very apologetic, and I was frank and said they should have warned me the night before so I could have moved my car. As time went on, I realised they never thought about anyone else, they were just in a world of their own.

Hobbs1 Fri 02-Apr-21 11:33:15

When I lived in North London I got so fed up with people blocking my drive I stopped asking them to move and started ringing parking enforcement instead. A few £60 parking tickets later, my drive was always left clear.

JadeOlivia Fri 02-Apr-21 11:31:40

How unecessarily rude. What on earth is wrong with people?We are talking about basic manners and common sense.

grandtanteJE65 Fri 02-Apr-21 11:31:09

Not only are the wrong blocking your exit from your own property, but the Fire Brigade needs to be able to get in at any time, too!

Certainly, complain, pointing out that you have not received the notification you should have had.

Happysexagenarian Fri 02-Apr-21 11:15:25

I'd be furious if anyone did that to us, and yes they should knock on the door and ask if you want to move your car before they start, even if they have notified you previously of the planned work.

When we lived in London people just parked wherever they fancied despite the dropped kerbs. We even had people park on our drive on more than one occasion simply because it was empty! They only did it once - I let their tyres down.

Pyewacket Fri 02-Apr-21 11:13:42

We frequently used to get our neighbours blocking our drive, however, after knocking on the door a few times before 6am when heading out to work, it seemed to solve the problem.

What bewildered us was that there is a virtually empty free car park directly opposite our drive that they often used, and have since started to use again.

crazyH Fri 02-Apr-21 11:11:10

It is almost certainly illegal to block anyone’s drive. Call the police ....

Daisend1 Fri 02-Apr-21 11:08:47

Nothing better than the sad face approach.
It has worked wonders for me on many occasions .
Excuse me etc etc Or phone Open Reach. Not BT.

Yammy Fri 02-Apr-21 11:08:47

Yes get onto Openreach and give them a rollicking. They are blocking the entrance to your house which might be needed what if you had to go for a covid jab! They should have given you notice and made it safe for you to exit your drive or at least given notice for you to park somewhere else so you have access to the street.

greenlady102 Fri 02-Apr-21 10:51:08

Teacheranne

It’s really annoying when your drive is blocked. We have had a lot of work recently in my road, mainly tradespeople but also repairs to underground pipes etc. Parking for visitors has been an issue and my neighbours opposite my house were struggling when carers needed to visit - four times a day, two carers/cars each visit so I told them they could block my drive if necessary. I’m not going out much buying lockdown and I know if it was urgent, the carers would move.

They have done this a couple of times but then one day I happened to be looking out of the window and saw a young man who lived further up the road, parking across my drive. I rushed out to tell him to move and he just said that he’d seen cars parked there before so assumed that I did not drive ( despite my car on the drive!) and that he could park there. He did move his car but wasn’t happy!

Fortunately most of the work is finished and the road is now very quiet again!

its not important whether or not you drive! Cheeky sod!

greenlady102 Fri 02-Apr-21 10:49:21

Complain and don't tolerate it!

jenpax Fri 02-Apr-21 10:39:56

Teacheranne How rude of him!

icanhandthemback Fri 02-Apr-21 10:39:13

My husband was an on call Firefighter so blocking our drive could mean the difference of the pump turning out or not. Road workers were understanding when we explained, white van men tended to be abusive. The mind boggles that anybody would deliberately block anybody's drive without giving them the chance to move the car.

Teacheranne Thu 01-Apr-21 12:23:03

It’s really annoying when your drive is blocked. We have had a lot of work recently in my road, mainly tradespeople but also repairs to underground pipes etc. Parking for visitors has been an issue and my neighbours opposite my house were struggling when carers needed to visit - four times a day, two carers/cars each visit so I told them they could block my drive if necessary. I’m not going out much buying lockdown and I know if it was urgent, the carers would move.

They have done this a couple of times but then one day I happened to be looking out of the window and saw a young man who lived further up the road, parking across my drive. I rushed out to tell him to move and he just said that he’d seen cars parked there before so assumed that I did not drive ( despite my car on the drive!) and that he could park there. He did move his car but wasn’t happy!

Fortunately most of the work is finished and the road is now very quiet again!

Elegran Thu 01-Apr-21 11:55:50

Contact Openreach and tell them. You will probably find, as I did when I complained about something, that it is not actually their own workers, but a subcontractor who is being antisocial. Openreach were pleased it was reported, as they are the ones who get the blame if it isn't stopped!

cornishpatsy Thu 01-Apr-21 11:53:25

It is unusual not to get a letter, several emails and many texts about proposed work so maybe it was an emergency. Just go and ask them to let you move your car.

M0nica Thu 01-Apr-21 11:33:03

Supposing an emergency vehicle had to access your house, ambulance or something like that?

I would be on to Openreach and raising a storm.

ninathenana Thu 01-Apr-21 11:22:17

anno yes we have a dropped kerb. The answer to how long was "a few hours".
We have a shared drive with next door. I think with a bit of tricky maneuvering I could get out on his side but still damn annoying

Grandmabatty Thu 01-Apr-21 11:19:57

Yes, courtesy would have been to let you know prior to starting. Do you need to go out? If you do, then tell them when the drive has to be clear by If you don't need to go out then quietly seethe.

henetha Thu 01-Apr-21 11:08:32

Yes, this is way out of order. Happens here occasionally as there is a BT box thing in the drive. It's infuriating.
You can certainly complain.

Jaxjacky Thu 01-Apr-21 11:04:39

Ask them to remove the barriers, they should have, dependent on the size of the hole, a sheet of metal to cover it, enabling you to get out. And yes, they should have let you know, normally it’s a letter a few days before. If there’s no joy, tell them, whilst doing it, the photo you’re taking is going to the local paper. Good luck.

annodomini Thu 01-Apr-21 11:01:41

I think they could be committing an offence, especially if you have a dropped kerb. As a matter of courtesy, of course they should have informed you of what they were proposing. Have you found out how long they expect to be there?

ninathenana Thu 01-Apr-21 10:55:07

Just looked out and realized Open Reach have a big hole with barriers which is completely blocking the pavement at the end of my drive. AIBU to think they should have knocked and asked if I wanted to move my car ? I am now trapped.