Blocked drive gggrrr

Two wrongs don't make a right. Don't block them in. You will no doubt be the one to end up with egg on your face.

A polite word or take photos and complain.

Although don't expect compensation money - with BT it's literally like trying to get blood out of a stone.

Good luck!

I wont say any major works in the street (gas, cable, resurfacing , new strret lights) is easy but once workmen realise there is a wheelchair user in our house they have always been very helpful at moving barriers and even letting me drive up to the house when the road had been closed (when it was safe to do so). I think how you approach them is key!

Anyone blocking your driveway whilst your vehicle is on it is committing an offence because they are "preventing access to the highway" but if your car isn't in the drive and they then block it, they're not preventing you from accessing the highway, blocking access to your driveway would be a civil matter and they would most definitely have moved by the time you thought about taking them to court over it, so there's not really anything you can do in that scenario but wait for them to move.

Virgin did this to my drive a few months ago. AND had crash barriers up, supposedly on the side of the road, but they had blow into the road, effectively blocking it in several areas.

I found them on social media and bombarded them with complaints. They asked for evidence, so I sent them photographs which resulted in my being given an email address. I emailed the address and within 24 hours, the hole was filled and the crash barriers were gone.

I think I am right n thinking that one has a LEGAL right to drive a car OFF your own driveway (so anyone parking/blocking can be reported or towed away) but not to ENTER your own driveway. I suppose this is in case of an emergency
Inform the Police and tell them it is absolutely necessary that you need to leave your premises

To be fair we’ve had this a few times recently over our driveway, no they didn’t let us know, but they’ve been very quick doing the work that needed doing and were usually were gone before we knew it

It's classed as a utility so can dig where necessary. Usually written contact is made in a locality warning of possible disruption. Are they going to being blocking your drive for a while? If so they should have made contact to explain and give you opportunity to move your car.

I would have expected a notice in advance of the work and a knock on the door on the day.

My neighbour, a cantankerous old man, use to make a habit of parking about half way over my drive... Never knew why. I got fed up asking him to move it or not do it but he use to get abusive. So one day I called the police as I needed to out, the policewoman asked me why I didn't just ask him to move it. My reply was you go and ask him and then you will see why I don't. Sure enough he was raging at them and shouting, calling them names etc. They threatened to arrest him if he didn't stop being abusive., anyway they saw why I didn't ask and he never did it again.

I would be just as furious if someone blocked our exit like that. It's a matter of common courtesy!

However I can't really give 100% support the "suppose an ambulance/fire engine was needed" argument, simply because huge number of properties have no driveway or even a guaranteed parking space close by, and no one makes a fuss about that. What if they need an ambulance or fire engine?

We’ve had this problem with Virgin quite a few times recently. They don’t let us know, but if I mention that I need to get out, or need to get back in, they just but boards/metal sheets down. They are always polite.

No actually, they should have informed you prior to the work commencing AND again on their arrival. As someone has already stated, they should have a metal sheet to cover the hole thus allowing you to get out. I'd be tempted to stall it across the hold, pretend it won't restart and let the ignorant buggers sweat for a while.

We have ample off-road parking and could easily accommodate an extra vehicle if necessary. There's a lamp post very close to our driveway that attracts a great many pigeons...............a great deterant to people blocking our drive......no one likes cleaning bird poo off their car roof and believe me, these birds poo for England ???

No, you are not being unreasonable. It's common sense before partially or totally blocking someone's drive to let the person whose drive it is know so they can get their car out.

No you definitely are NOT being unreasonable. Out of courtesy they should have told you, and I would ask them to sort something as you need to get your car out for an appointment. There are places open today, I went for an eye test earlier!! ?

They sometimes have big metal sheets on board that they can lay over the hole to give you access or at least arrange for some to be delivered that can go on top to get you off your drive.
Sounds like a letter went astray but seems a bit mad not to at least knock, unless you were out on foot and they have an emergency to deal with.

Pleased Madeleine 45 isn’t my neighbour!!!

ExaltedWombat, live and let live is fine, if you have reasonable neighbours, that do not mind you manoeuvring on their drive.
We have a neighbour, who lives diagonally opposite to us, who is , to put it politely, just not neighbourly.
He has bought a car that he parks permanently outside his house, so that no one else can use that bit of road. It just sits there, day and night, and has never been moved since he bought it. Yes, it is taxed!
We have a fairly large brick drive, and it is often used as a turning place. ?

Put it on their web page so everyone can see how they treat others.

Shandy57 my neighbours on one side are like that. I have carers visit husband 3 times a day and they usually park on the drive. Last week one of them was parked at the top not blocking her in but she couldn't get out because she's a hopeless driver. She knocked on and told me to tell them to stop parking there then the next day she put two dustbins at the top of my drive, so carers, ambulance etc couldn't get in. She's in a world of her own only thinking about herself.

before digging up roads etc contractor and utilities have to inform local authorities to get a licence to proceed and you should of been informed that they would be doing work over the entrance to your property and access at all times given to you by covering over any hole if they are not working on it, inform the council as they would be able to stop the work if no licence also make sure they reinstate your dropped kerb and entrance as it was before

For 20 years, I've lived in an end-terrace house with enough space for me to drive through and park at the back. I have a dropped kerb which has been blocked on mercifully few occasions by thoughtless drivers. If my neighbours are desperate to load or unload their car, I willingly give them permission to block my access temporarily. They only have to ask. On a couple of occasions, I have informed the police that my access has been blocked and they have come up, photographed the offender's car and left a notice on their windscreen. At other times, I've left a note under their wiper, to let them know they have parked illegally. No-one has ever - yet - dug a hole that prevents my access!

So your car wasn't actually blocked in, you could get out 'with a bit of tricky manoeuvring'. Do the manoeuvre, live and let live.

The arrogance and insolence of these people!! How dare they do such a thing. The assumption that what they want to do comes above other peoples rights is outrageous. So my things would be 1. take a picture of them blocking your drive. 2. Politely ask them to move immediately as you need to get out. If they say they cannot do so ask them to arrange for a taxi and pay for it so that you can go to your appointment. The appointment may be a long waited for hospital appointment , which cannot be postponed. It could also be your decision to take yourself off to a favourite viewpoint where you can sit and cool off!! Not their business what you do. The point is that you are entitled to do as you wish when you wish so long as it is lawful and does not affect other people . If they had politely contacted you ahead of time, of course we must be as helpful as possible, but at the least they should be allowing you to get your car out so that should you need to, you can still get out.It is this arrogance that they think that their wishes and jobs are more important than whatever is happening in your life. My other thing I would do, if they are not apologetic and doing everything they can to make amends, is more in the same line as their behavior. Ring two friends or family and get them to bring their cars and block the workers in and then walk away, not even speaking to you so that the work people cannot say you have anything to do with it. Let them walk away and then you watch what is happening and if the people in the van need to move leave it for about 5 minutes so that they get really upset and annoyed and then ring your friends and ask them to come back and move their cars. Dont set out to behave badly but if they can only be given a dose of their own medicine they deserve it. Some years ago I was looking in a crowded car park for a space. Someone was coming out so I politely backed up enough to let them come out easily and sat with my indicator showing I was going in. The car backed out towards me and a cheeky man came from the opposite direction and could see precisely what was happened but just swung into the space before the car that was leaving had allowed me to get to the space. I put my window down and said excuse me I was clearly waiting for this space. He just said tough and started to walk away. I drove my car across the back of his, got out and locked the car and started to walk in the opposite direction. He yelled that I could not do that I was blocking him in to which I replied he was not the only person who could behave badly and continued to walk away. Five minutes later I came back and he was still there. I said , it is not good to be treated badly is it, and you could have caused an accident if someone drove off in a bad temper, so next time think a little about others and he had calmed down and actually admitted it had been a cheeky thing to do but he had been driving round for a long time .Later I used to sometimes see him in the same car park and we just used to wave or smile at each other. Why should we be bullied into accepting bad behaviour ?. so apart from the above I would suggest taking a photo of the offending situation, and email or write to the company - sending it recorded delivery so that they can not say they did not receive it - and demand compensation for missed appointments , or planned trips involving other people which you have had to disappoint perhaps people you have arranged to see for months . Or quite simply compensation for being deprived of your right to move freely from your own home, and they are not even doing a job for you!! Make sure that you share this photo of arrogant selfish behaviour with as many people as possible and if it is appropriate inform the company that you will never use or support them in the future and that you will be advising all your friends to do the same , whilst of course writing to your local paper and contacting your local radio to publisize what has happened including the number plates of the particular van so that others can be aware of them and be ready to stop similar behaviour in future. Those are the things off the top of my head and I am sure with a bit of thought I could come up with some more things.!!

they are always doing that here too, you would think part of their training would include being polite etc wouldn't you?