Neighbour Left Note on Car

So context to this story is that my car was parked in a permit zone within the inner Melbourne suburbs. However I am in the process of receiving my permit for the car(due to covid can't go in person to get it and delays from Aus post as stated by the council), and have been told that it is fine to park the car within the permit zone until it arrives, and any fine received will be waved.

So last night I was going to my car and a note has been left saying "do not park your car in front of my house without a permit". Now normally this wouldnt be too bad apart from the fact this person has decided to glue the note to the windscreen. Took about 20 minutes of scrubbing to get it off.

Now the car was parked in front of 2 houses, is it worth knocking on their door and telling them they're in the wrong ? And to not touch my car again. Or something else ?.

Honestly not sure why this person feels they have the right to do what they have done.

Poll Options

  • 29
    Do Nothing, keep parking car there.
  • 669
    Knock on door and confront.

Comments

  • +11

    The council surely can give you a temp one to print at home or something? They've probably reported your plates already as well. I'd avoid knocking on the door, but if you do just be polite and say your permit is delayed, and or leave a note in their mailbox.

    • +52

      I'd be polite if the note was too. If the note was glued, I would confront asking who gave them permission to glue.

      • +6

        I'd install a 360° dash cam or other surveillance solution so I had evidence to claim against the perpetrator of any future damage.

        • +24

          And if there's space for another vehicle, I'd acquire a free wreck from Gumtree, park it adjacently and decorate the interior with free syringes from a needle exchange. That'll take the heat off your car until the wreck gets towed.

      • +5

        Find out who did it, then GLUE the note to their front door?

        • +1

          this is exactly how I would respond as well (ensuring I used a strong glue). With an addendum, "thanks for the message, I have a permit I am awaiting the council to provide the official one which has been delayed in the mail due to covid"

          I would also be intentionally not putting the permit on and having a hidden camera to catch them doing it so I can ensure my revenge is appropriately targetted.

  • +14

    I'd knock on the door and politely ask that they do not do it again and explain the delay situation and advice from council.

    • +120

      …and glue a note to their forehead.

      • +10

        …with loctite.

        • +1

          Nah, Gorilla Grip!

          • -8

            @Musing Outloud: Loctite is a brand name not a product. Thats like say, use a samsung.

            • +2

              @[Deactivated]: It's gluing to a forehead, so it's Loctite 401 - anyone worth their weight know this.

              Now, those with a screw loose need 243 or 263.. everyone knows that.

              Context is everything.

      • +5

        Why use glue when a staple gun works just as good?

        • woah no need to get violent, Thor.

  • +197

    Glue a friendly reply to their front door.

    • +37

      Glue their mailbox shut while you're at it lol

    • +2

      This is the only logical solution!

    • +2

      with gorilla glue or some shit like that. frick em.

    • Go to Officeworks.
      Print out A1 poster sized note x2.
      Go Bunnings.
      Buy liquid nails.
      Glue to front door of both houses.

    • +5

      Glue the reply to a brick then throw that through their front window.

  • +19

    Glue a note to their front door with liquid nails written on a metal plate with your explanation

    • +4

      Nah, a metal plate will come off in one piece. Use an ordinary piece of paper and liquid nails.

  • +36

    Glue a note to their door telling them that your permit is in the post.

    Goes to grab popcorn as the tit for tat argument escalates. Tune into next week's blog: Neighbour keyed my car

    • +15

      Neighbour keyed my car

      Response; Key neighbours house

      The fight continues… :D

    • -5

      your post is pure cringe

      • +2

        Saying "pure cringe" is purely cringeworthy.

    • -1

      Just squeeze super glue in the mofos key holes.

    • Car was in that spot for less than 5 hours , moves everyday.

      • Then no idea, just crazy people it would seem?

        Maybe just leave it and don't park there again until your permit arrives. Clearly they are a little crazy and who knows what they'll do next time.

        • +15

          Frankly, the note gluer doesn't care diddly squat about whether you have a permit or not - they just don't want you parking in front of their house.

        • +65

          Irrelevant though. People don't own the street spot in front of their houses.

        • I want to know the answer too.

        • Irrelevant.

    • +6

      That's a council problem, not a private citizens problem, and they are in no place to enforce the rules, especially in ways that could damage property.

  • +3

    Be careful or they might do more than glue a note after any confrontation.

    • +1

      Exactly. Also make sure you have the right person before you do anything. I once had a person do a similar thing (in a unsigned area continually wrote notes on a car of someone living at my house not to park there every time the parked the car overnight in a particular spot) when I door knocked to try and find the person that left note, none of the neighbours owned up.

      • +7

        That's perfectly understandable. Anyone that leaves a note on a car is very likely to be too scared to admit it when someone turns up on their doorstep.

        • Aggressive enough to leave a note. Scared enough not to talk about it rationality. It is a shame really. I went around pretty mildly just trying to find out if I actually did anything wrong. I wasn't pushing the issue, was just trying to find out why not to park there. The note gave no reason.

            • @Morphio25: Why are they assholes? People park out front of mine all the time and I don’t mind. I just find another place to park. Does that make me an (profanity) cause I’m not parking out front of my place?

              • +3

                @[Deactivated]: Exactly. Lots of streets/houses in the inner city don't even have car spots and have to park on the street.

                In my case I had someone living with us for a short period to help them out. All our neighbours have two cars and one car spot driveways. So one car mostly goes in their driveway and one on the street, quite a few of them just leave both on the street so they don't have to reverse out on the street etc. I guess someone was unhappy that we parked a car (our driveway can fit one car and we use it all the time) in their area. We'd park it in front of our house but it is the most popular place to park in the street it would seem.

              • @[Deactivated]: For example, if you have a visitor they can park out front rather than having to find somewhere else to park. Why is it that other people can't use their own driveway, it's really not a hard concept. Those who don't invariably will at some point cause an inconvenience to their neighbour all because it might be convenient for them to park in front of your place. That is why they are assholes.

                • +2

                  @Morphio25: Everywhere I've lived close to the city (Sydney) is no-permit untimed. No one has a driveway and there are no parking garages. Anyone living in my area is lucky to find a park within 2-3 blocks if their house, or about 5 min walk. If there happens to be an empty spot anywhere on my street it's like a dream come true. Such a low chance you're lucky enough to park out the front of your house, let alone force everyone to leave it empty in case you have a visitor who doesn't want to walk a block.

            • +6

              @Morphio25: If you want your own special parking spot, get a driveway. The council owned street is not ‘your’ space.

      • none of the neighbours owned up
        Or multiple people living in those households and the person who happened to open the door wasn't aware another member of the househould had left any note?

        • Told them where I was from and if they find out to come over and tell me what the problem was. Guess they just figured it wasn't a big of a deal to fix.

    • That's fine. Its not like they can do anything and not have to pay damages.

  • +54

    Lodge a police report for damage to property.

    • +4

      This. Op, I hope you took some photos before you cleaned the glue off your windshield.

    • +2

      lol if there was no damage to the windshield after he scrubbed it off the cops won't take you seriously

  • +2

    i did a similar thing to your neighbour, but i had some halfwit park their car across my driveway (would've had to reverse park in so not a mistake and they were a local in the street). A large cardboard note with profanity and secured with general purpose grease was my answer to their selfish attitude.
    As to your issue, glue may ruin the lamination on the screen and cause discolouration. definitely door knock to explain and advise if they cause further damage you will send an invoice.

    • +16

      That is completely false. The lamination is the layer between the two pieces of glass. It is very unlikely to damage the glass

        • +3

          wrong.

        • +1

          Not many glues can damage glass

  • +2

    Wait until they park their car and then reciprocate in kind

    • +30

      …with a note that says do not glue notes to cars please.

      • Securely held in place with araldute….

        • +2

          thats a bit harsh. use brake fluid to attach note to bonnet or roof.

  • +3

    Tell your neighbour he's an id##t because he is an id##t.

    • +19

      Wow. The profanity filter here is extreme

      • +1

        That will teach those posh twats he he

      • well ozbargain is a christian, family friendly website

        • Our thoughts and prayers are with the OP.
          ..
          ..
          That should fix the problem.

  • +30

    How about putting a note that you have applied for permit in your windscreen after you are parked? This seems less confrontational.

    • +40

      "Permit has been applied and accepted but, due to COVID-19, there is a delay with receiving it. Feel free to notify council with my plate details as they are aware of the delays.

      Thank you kind and thoughtful neighbours"

      Blutack it inside your car in the exact position where the original note was left.

    • +9

      This.

      Put a note on your dash, or a print up of the permit application (hiding details as required) then just write that you're waiting for the permit due to delays caused by covid-19, and encourage them to contact council on 03 XXXX XXXX if they wish to verify themselves.

    • +5

      I agree with this but I would also include the rider that “people need to know there is an idiot in the neighbourhood who glues notes to people windscreens”.

    • +7

      The real issue is that he doesn't want anyone to park in front of his house. He doesn't care about the permit. If he did, he would have reported Op to the council.

      • +1

        I think this may be the case here. I live inner city and have a parking permit. There is an ideal park for me in front of my house and I always like to park there. I think that the note as suggested is good, and I would add a polite request not to glue things on to my car.
        They feel it’s their turf and just need some pushback to know that things have changed.

        If it escalates, adopt The Castle’s Lebanese strategy……..

        • I think this is probably the best course of action. As you car is outside all the time and you dont want to have to worry about some muppet damaging it. This should address the issue, and hopefully de-escalate.

  • +30

    Call the police and the council and report the damage. Insist they go and speak with the neighbours in both houses and that you are concerned about your car being damaged further.

    Don’t door knock, let the council or police handle it.

    Even if the council can’t give you a temp permit, surely they can write something on letter head for you to stick on your dash to keep the busy body away.

    I can’t see how this would piss any reasonable person off enough to do this.

  • +6

    I'm surprised at the poll results; just now showing 49 for confrontation and 4 for do nothing.
    Confrontation will almost certainly lead to more antagonism; even if you manage to speak to the person/idiot who did it, they would probably not admit to it.
    Either way, what would you expect to get out of the confrontation?

    As others have said, put something on your dashboard about the permit being approved and on the way (show the council permission to park there if you can).

    • +6

      I think maybe confrontation is not the right word for it, but I do think it's possible to have a polite conversation about it, as stated above. I think the OP can just go up and knock on their door and just say that they recieved this note on their car and they just wanted to clarify that they have a permit coming and that the council said its okay to park without the permit. Maybe also say that whoever did it used glue and that it's actually caused damage.

      I actually think that this might make the culprit feel a bit guilty for what they did, probably might not use glue next time if at all.

      • +18

        I genuinely think it will be a confrontation, as any "normal" person would not use glue to stick a note onto someone's car.

      • +3

        The poll option is "Knock on door and confront."

    • Exactly. This is how neighbour feuds start. Though If you ever end up moving again, and you know who it was - you can always glue a note saying 'goodbye'.

  • +5

    i'd call the police, they shouldn't be allowed to touch your car like that.

  • +2

    Write a clear note and leave it on your dash explaining the situation with your house number on it.
    Your neighbour sounds like a crank.

    • +1

      don't give the crank, or any other malicious passerby, your street address. at worst create an new anonymous gmail account and let them contact you via that.

  • +3

    So petty gosh some people are just crazy.

    Agree with some comments above. Write a note on your car to say you have confirmation that you can park while the permit is being sent.

  • +1

    Just put a note on your dash saying something along the lines of "Permit applied for - delayed due to Covid19"

  • +2

    Glue a note back on their door explaining that you've applied for a permit already and are waiting for delivery.

  • +11

    You have a giant arsehole of a neighbour.

    Your choices are
    1. Be a doormat and watch as each passing opportunity for your neighbour to assert themself be taken.
    2. Be a confrontational person and start a potentially long running conflict.

    Your hands are tied but that's what happens when you have a giant arsehole for a neighbour.

    (I'm confrontational).

    • Should say, this neighbour is a few houses away. Not direct neighbours and they dont know were I live

      • +1

        and they dont know were I live

        But they sure as hell now know what car you drive…

        • +8

          But he knows where they live

    • Two arseholes cancel each other out?

      • That was never implied. The main point is: be respectful and get respect back; be an arsehole and don't be surprised if people act the same way back.

      • +4

        Unfortunately when two black holes collide they form a single, larger black hole.

    • +1

      We would never have guessed you are confrontational from your other posts. If you don’t even know which neighbour did this who do you intend to be “confrontational” with.

      • +3

        It may not be obvious but I have this super ability.

        I knock on the door and ask if the occupants did it.

        If they all say no, then whoever it is is a coward and they have effectively been confronted.

        Or… post the issue on a bargain website and seek pats on back.

        • -1

          You get agro at 6ft 5” neighbour who just happens to have connections with the mob; they say “yeah, and what are you gunna do about it? You skulk home with tail between legs and have been owned.

          • +2

            @try2bhelpful: From the lack of imagination to talk to a neighbour, you sure are able to swing to the other extreme of a mob related giant with a propensity for passive aggression using glue.

            Pick a lane.

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