Hey guys,
I found out that someone has been sneakily parking in my spot while I go to work. I live in an apartment building and have complained to the building manager but he just said there's nothing much he can do about it as it's not part of his jurisdiction. I have since stuck a note on my parking area saying "Private parking," to fend off the driver but he has continued to park at my area. Any suggestions to get rid of this person? Cheers.
Came here to say let the air out of his tyres too - better yet if you remove the valve stem so he can't just reinflate them - I've done this before.
Just leave them all completely flat. That way he needs to drive out and ruin his tyres and rims. He might be held up there which could be inconvenient once off. But they'll be far worse off than you would be.
More subtly, a slow leak will be annoying tomorrow morning when they try to leave for your place ;) and less likely for you to be blamed.
mind you they will know exactly who did it and where to find your car for revenge.
@releasethekr4cken: THIS. The parking thief knows where the OP parks their car too… if you seriously decide to (profanity) with the thief's car, then be prepared for your car to be (profanity) with in return.
He would do the same to OP's car
Talk to him directly and tell him politely that it is your parking and that you have paid for it. So, he should stay away from it and search for a parking that is not reserved.
I like this reasonable advice, and it should work provided that stranger can communicate properly.
better yet… given you're not actually using the space, rent it to them!
Renting the space in the working hours when it is not in use will also require a direct and polite communication. So that they may settle up everything after some negotiations.
You can get 1 of those flip up metal rails that lock into place, would need to be screwed into the ground though. Downside is that you would need to get out of your car every time you come and go, is that worth it?
Also screwing into the ground is against strata bylaws ;)
Thats a given, you would need consent before doing this, but I know someone that did it successfully. Although I should point out that the person my friend was preventing from using the spot didnt take to it nicely and added an additional lock to it so my friend also couldn't use it.
Call a tow truck company and get some advice, I.e. they are the ones that usually move wrongly parked cars so they should have some sort of idea.
Hmm only thing would I have to pay and how would they fit in to tow him away? It's quite a narrow spot
Some towing places charge a car recovery fee.
Again, call and talk. Maybe I'm wrong about it but it wouldn't hurt to talk to people who remove cars for a living.
Hey man solid advise. I just called a towing company and they said that they are more then happy to do this for free but I need to get approval by the body corp but it's all for free which I think shouldn't be hard to convince.
Be aware that if you go through with the towing you are opening yourself to legal trouble. Double check with the police or get a second opinion. (edit: you're definitely right in going through the body corp)
Heard from a Pizza Hut owner who did the same thing to a car parked on business premises and he had to go through mediation.
There are forums out there all on the topic, they do seem to recommend bollards too.
@loke: you'll need to have a sign at the entry of the carpark stating that cars that are parked in leased zones maybe towed by XYZ towing + contact number + retreval fee. basically a sign stating the conditions of entry - as passed by the body corporate.
@dimmak84: Just make sure a tow truck will fit in the carpark. Many underground carparking does not allow a towtruck to get down there due to height.
@altomic:make a HUGE sign at his parking spot, heck, make 2-3 signs around his own parking spot. whoever the idiot still park there deserve the tow.
You can't tow a car you don't own
You will be liable for any damage, real or imagined caused to the car if you contract for it to be moved. Moving someone elses car is the worst possible solution. Plus one day you may come home and find your car has been towed - try talking yourself out of the fee when the shoe is on the other foot. Every outcome involving towing will end badly for you.
@jason101: if the police or some other authority towed my car and 'damaged' it, would they be liable? genuine question
@chriise: I'm not an expert on this but I imagine that the same applies - ie any damage caused by anyone is the responsibility of those who cause it. Proving the damage and settling the matter is a different potentially matter.
lol good old Big Bang theory
If you aren't going to rent your car parking space, you are going to have to leave OzB. lol
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=rent+my+car+park&ie=utf-8…
You've clearly exhausted all options, you're only choice now is to call in the bikies to sort them out.
Buy a wheel clamp off eBay. Stick up a nice big sign saying " this is a privately leased carpark, by parking here you may have your car clamped. To have your vehicle unclamped call 04XXXXXXXX. A $150 (cash only) unclamping fee will apply "
Generous. I was waiting for the "List the car on Gumtree for $500, but you'll have to hot wire it yourself" option…
I had so typed that earlier…
"Car (for parts/wrecking) accept Western Union, BYO Tools)"
wheel clamps are on sale at repco at the moment: http://catalogues.repco.com.au/catalogue/repco-catalogue-roa…
But i dont believe you can legally use one on somebody else's vehicle. correct approach is to contact the police and inform them that somebody is illegally parking on your property, but doublecheck your lease agreement to ensure it gives you exclusive rights to the spot.
Other options are to park your car in a manner that prevents them from exiting (again, you can get into issues here)
work with body corporate to sort the issue out, and if they dont demand a refund equal based on the % of time the spot was not avail to you (eg 8h/d m-f works out to 23.8%)
Buy a boat and park it there when you are gone. Probably not a big boat or else it will be a pain to park!
Need money…
Borrow a boat or trailer lol
Does access to your parking spot require a swipe card? It'll be easy to see exactly who it is based on the swipe logs.
I would've thought that your parking spot is on strata land - ie, private property that's under the building management.
Unless the carpark is run by another strata company - then contact them.
The building I live in had the same problem before and strata gave residents the option to purchase a folding barricade, which some people were happy to pay for (about $400, installed).
It does require but I have a lazy building manager who doesn't give a shit.What I wanna know is what I can use to make the body corp or buildingmanager do their job.
You could attend your regular strata meetings to raise the issue or speak to the chairperson or a committee member of the building (if you know who they are)
If it is an outsider, then there is a security breach in the building and if it's a resident, then they can at least find and speak to the person.
Send a letter to the Chairperson of the Body Corporate and ask for this situation to be listed as an Agenda item at the next Body Corporate meeting. Make sure you attend it and speak to the agenda item at the meeting. Ask the committee members for ideas of how this can be resolved. And put your own to them as well. They may not know that this is a problem and by raising it you have alerted them to it and as they represent the owners - will be able to help you get a resolution. Also may raise the issue of the lazy building manager and why doesn't he do his job that the Body Corporation pays money for that they get from the owners as the quarterly levy.
I am the Chairperson of a Body Corp and this is the action that I would hope would be brought to the committee's attention. The Body Corp has the right to enforce the Bi-Laws or seek to make amendments. They also have the power to allow collapsable bollards if this is a solution that you would like to present. It would be taken to a vote - or it might be that it goes to the whole owners for feedback as it may affect others too. This consultation does delay things - so be sure to get some sort of solution from them until the bollards motion is accepted.
This person is parking on private property and you could prosecute them as they are trespassing and it is no different to parking every day in your garage that is under or next to your house. They are parking in property that you pay rent for and they have no right to be there.
Before you do all of that though - have you….
Written a note and placed it on his window screen. Don't make it long winded - "You are parked on PRIVATE PROPERTY. Please do not park here or your vehicle will be towed at your cost."
If you get no change and the person continues to park there - then I would literally wait for them one day - when it works for you to be late or on leave. Have a witness with you and film them on your phone parking and getting out. I would approach them and ask them if they have come to see you? And they will say "No!" Then ask them - "Well why are you parked in my parking bay that I pay rent for?" I would be having your witness film you on their phone whilst you are talking to him. He may make some lame excuse that he didn't know it was private parking and didn't know that it was yours. You could prolong the conversation and ask - "Well who's did you think it belonged to?" I would then ask him to move his vehicle and to not park there.
If he refuses, then say that you have no other choice but to call a tow truck to remove the vehicle at his cost. This may get the reaction you want before you've finished dialling. Make sure that you have done your homework and only call a towing company that doesn't charge you - but only charges him. Unfortunately the cops will not come out to private property and do anything. They have targets to meet with their speed cameras!
Whether you go through with towing is up to you - again it is private property and if someone had parked in your garage next to your house - you would probably see fit to have it towed.
don't think tenants are entitled to attend or vote in BC meeting and I believe OP says in another post that he's renting.
Put your car in the building manager's spot when it's empty…
Go park in the building manager spot. Tell him your spot is taken and his spot was free.
This. Or leave the person parking in your spot a note saying they can park in the building manager's carpark.
Threaten to stop paying the extra rent you're paying for the car park, or only pay half and tell them to get the other car to pay the other half.
Sounds suspiciously like the building manager might be in on this. He'd have a great cash business re-renting out your parking spots during the day.
They will only act if it is another resident parking in the spot. If it's an external person it's up to you to sort it out.
No they won't! They have a record of who is registered to park there - but they will treat it the same way if it is a resident or an outside person. It is not a case of only speaking to the person if they are a resident??? And ignoring it if they are not?
Get all the bins from the complex (or similar) and stack them in front of the car. If they're going to be a pain, you can be a pain.
Post it note the entire windscreen with "I park in other people's spots"
Your comment is way more offensive than the sign would be.
Drive away as if you are going to work and hide your car down the street. Sit and wait to see who parks there…
Then park in the inconsiderate arse hat. Public transport it to work and let the arsewipe wait till you get back from work.
Charge them for parking, leave a bill under the windscreen wiper and note in the letter if not paid within certain time period it will go to debt collectors. Make it as official sounding as possible, might scare them off.
Could always take a bus to work for a couple of days, leaving your car in the car spot, he might start parking somewhere else.
You can only Sublet a car parking spot depending on the building strata. Most places only Allow subletting to Tennants. Since they appear to have building access. They are probably Tennants, probably one with two cars. Any subletting must be carefully thought through to avoid unconvience.
Was not serious about charging them, the fake bill is used to try to scare them to move away. Makes them think you are getting serious and hopefully they move to an easier place to park.
Sprinkle nails all over the parking space when you leave every day.
Hopefully the damage to the tyres or the inconvenience of picking up the nails is sufficient deterrent.
So long as no one sees you spreading nails, I can't see how they could ask you to pay for damage to the tyres.
His spot, he can sprinkle nails if he wants.
I'd want to be anonymous even if I had legal rights over the spot in case a child fell on the nails and I was held responsible for personal injury.
aren't there booby-trapping laws here?
Only if you get caught =P
I've been through the same thing, except we are owner occupied.
Firstly, are you absolutely sure you have rights to that parking space? I ask because when we purchased our unit, we were told we had a garage and one visitor space per unit. Turns out the visitor spaces were only verbally agreed upon, so when we had other people using our car space, there wasnt a damn thing we could do about it. We eventually paid to have a by-law written up, that entitled each unit to one space. Now we put a garbage bin in our space with a sign saying "Unit 1 Parking Only", and just move it when we need to use our space.
In regards to getting the car towed, you may need to check with police. We had a car dumped on our driveway, in front of our garage (still had just enough space to manoeuvre out). We called the police after the 3rd day, and they said it couldnt be towed because it was on private property. Thankfully we got it sorted, but it would pay to check. You dont want to be caught out with a fine for unlawfully moving someone else's property.
Im in NSW, not sure what other states laws are.
Surely - as with so many issues - bikies are the obvious answer.
Get the bikies to park in your spot while you're away.
What's that? No, I would never suggest anything illegal!
I think a polite note under the wiper asking them not to park there. Not a sign, who cares what a sign says.
If that fails, a note under the wiper saying please leave this spot vacant, we will be spray painting nearby from tomorrow and don't want to risk any over spray on your vehicle.
Finally some common sense ^^^^^
We started off by writing polite notes to cars in our space.
One person in particular decided to write an abusive response, shoved it in our letterbox, and kept parking there. Maybe we just got a cranky one.. :/
Retraining order?
Training in how to write a note?
Passive aggressive notes for the win!
You are not allowed to damage their property - otherwise they can call the police (but good luck them trying to prove it)
The police won't do anything because it is on private property. So you could break in (without damaging it) and move it to the street
You could block it in somehow and let them wait until you get home until they can move it.
All options have their down side.
Best option is to buy a bollard. Plenty of options on eBay - http://www.ebay.com.au/bhp/parking-bollard. Plenty of options under $100. A couple of dyanbolts to the concrete and you are done. BUT you may need to get Body Corporate approval for drilling into the parking spot.
You say that, but you'd have to break in with a coathanger etc
However it is possible to get a few mates together and lift the car and position it so it's damn near impossible to get the car out again……………..
gui's last option is the most sensible, install a parking bollard/barrier. Minor hassle of flipping it up and down each day but at least the problem will go away.
Applicable for NSW, but search up your state if it's not
http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/guides/neighbours/entr…
Source above, trespassing is a tort so the police can move their car for you, given the parking spot is actually yours, e.g. On your property.
You can use reasonable methods to get it moved, bikies?
If all else fails and it keeps going after the construction finishes get a injunction from a court.
Would you be able to issue your landlord with a "Notice to remedy a breach"? As mentioned, if the parking space is mentioned on the lease, it being occupied by someone other than a tenant listed on the lease is a breach of the contract.
Probably the building manager's car.
Potatoes & broom handle…cram 'em way up that exhaust so they don't blow out…he'll be paying for his own towing then! ;)
Pour a can of paint all over the car on a hot day.
Get some grout and pour it into his tyres.
Found the Oh-Cow'er!
Nah man, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here for deals on yellow tennis balls.
Ahem…green.
With the new change in strata laws, your strata can communicate with the a third party (council rangers) to fine the parked vehicle.
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/sites/ftw/About_us/Legisla…
Some great suggestions for cup assign different damage to the other car. Just keep in mind that it will be really easy to determine who caused the damage unless you damage a whole heap of other cars as well.
Take the number plates off and destroy them, better yet leave them in a secured area in view of the offender
Just take the front plate off. He / she is unlikely to notice that but I bet the cops will eventually.
my gf used to rent an apartment and barely stayed there. So people used to always park in her spot and when we did want to use it, 100% of the time someone was in the spot.
we used to just park in front of their car, it was lucky because it didn't block off road access or interfere with anyone else. And the parking spot had her number plate as reserved for that spot - so people knew why it was there. Sometimes we could see them from afar knowing they need to leave, but we'd go upstairs and have another coffee. haha
So good! #JusticePorn
Was just about to suggest this, provided that it does not obstruct other people but the stranger involved. Park in front of his card and leave a way to contact you. That way they will come to you instead of having to wait for them.
If you are going to leave a phone number, I'd recommend leaving a throw away number. Like those $2 optus sims
Awesome advice, OP should definitely try this haha.
I would scratch his car and then puncture the tyres if he doesn't get the point
same thing happened to my cousin, multiple friendly notes didnt work. one wheel clamp later, and the offender was never heard from again.
Can you actually get someone to clamp their wheels? I thought you'd have to ask the management of the place.
this was at a workplace, so i think the rules\laws might be different than a private residence carpark, but either way, it worked :)
there are also devices that can "lock" your car space when your away, eg: those poles that stand up when your not parked in the spot, locked with a padlock, but i believe these need to be bolted into the ground first.
Just leave a brick on the car bonnet to send a message. Trust me it works. It worked for me twice and the offenders never parked in my spot again.
Not a bad idea..
Came here to suggest this.
Leave them all at uneven pressure.
Also, leave the wipers up every time they park there