Getting new neighbors can be worrisome because they could either be very nice and friendly or the total opposite. Some may have their own ideas of what a “friendly neighbor” should do, and would soon be met with a huge reality check.
The protagonist of this story, let’s call her ‘Jane’, is a single mother of two teenage boys. Jane lived in a quiet neighborhood at the end of a cul de sac where each house had a garage. She was the only one who owned one car and parked it in her garage, while others had multiple and parked them in the garage and driveway. Six months before this story, a family consisting of a mom (we will call her ‘Michelle’), a dad (he will be referred to as ‘Fred’), and three teenagers moved in. They used their garage for storage and their son was months away from his 16th birthday. Jane greeted her new neighbors and they were all friendly, or so she thought.
A Tuesday Evening Friendly Introduction
It was six p.m when Jane got a knock on her door from Fred. The two of them said their hellos and had random small talk. Fred told Jane how his son just turned 16 a couple of months ago and he mentioned how he bought him a new truck. Jane said she noticed the truck, mentioned how big it was, and asked if his son liked it. For reference, the truck was an F350.
Fred said, “Yes, he does! It’s what he wanted so we got it for him. It is very big and which is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Jane was confused by this and did not understand how she could be of any help for his son’s truck being too big, but she was about to find out.
Fred told Jane they had been receiving complaints from other neighbors saying his truck was so big, they could not even get around it on the street. He told Jane they were worried the truck was going to get sideswiped if it continued to be parked on the street. Jane told Fred she had ‘intense moments’ herself with driving around the car, but his son would get better at parking it over time. Fred then asked Jane something which caught her off-guard completely.
He told Jane he knew she had not complained, which was why he was asking if his son could use her driveway to park his truck since she ‘doesn’t use it.’ Jane was very shocked by this and told him she did use her driveway when she got home. When she left home, his son’s truck would take up most of the driveway since it was so large. She also did not want to be responsible for any damages.
Fred said they would make sure he parked in a way to allow her to come and go without any issues. Jane told him it wasn’t even possible, as he would be partially on her lawn. She also told him to just park one of the smaller cars they have on the street instead. Fred did not like her response and solutions.
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Friendly Intro Turns Hostile
Fred then told Jane his family would have to park two cars in the street to fit the big truck in the driveway. One would think they would have thought this through before buying such a big vehicle, right? Apparently not. Fred told Jane it would be easier for his son to just park in her driveway and assured her it would not be any inconvenience to her, and again told her she ‘doesn’t even use her driveway.’
Jane was slowly becoming more and more frustrated with her ‘friendly’ neighbors. She told him, again, her answer was still no and she was not going to be responsible for his son’s vehicle on her property.
Fred was very angry now, and told Jane, “You are not being very neighborly. I thought you were a nice woman. You don’t use your driveway, and this would benefit the whole neighborhood.”
Jane was furious now. She once again told him she uses her driveway. She apologized to him for any inconvenience but also told him his son’s vehicle being too big was not her problem. She said she would not have someone else’s car on her property.
She closed the door and saw Fred in the peephole making unfriendly gestures. She told her coworker about the situation, and she told her to contact the HOA. So she did. Jane thought she had the situation under control, but she would soon find out she was mistaken.
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Friday Rolls Around
Jane’s son was sick, so she decided to take him to a minor emergency around seven p.m. When she opened the door, she was in complete disbelief. She saw the huge F350 sitting in her driveway, blocking her in. She was beyond angry.
She got out of the car and stomped over to the neighbors’ house and banged on the door. Michelle answered the door. She told Jane in an angry tone she was interrupting their dinner.
Jane told Michelle her son was parked in her driveway after she told her husband (Fred) he could not. She told Michelle she needed to take her son to the minor emergency, but couldn’t because the truck was blocking her in. Then, Fred showed up behind Michelle.
He told Jane his son was not blocking her in and she could get around him. Jane told him she could not get around the truck, and if he did not move it, she would call the police and a tow truck.
Fred told her he was not blocking her in, but would still move it anyways. Jane told him it didn’t matter; he should not be parked there anyway, and if he parked in her driveway again, she would have the truck towed.
Jane threatened to call a tow company. Would Fred and his family back down, or was this fight just getting started?
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Stressful Saturday
It was Saturday evening, and Jane spent it driving to clinics all over because her family was sick. All she wanted to do was go home and get some rest. She got home and was absolutely stunned by what she saw.
The truck was in her driveway again. She could not even pull in because it was blocking her entrance. She also noticed the truck was partially parked on her lawn and grew furious.
She called a 24-hour tow truck service and explained to them her situation. The woman said it would be about 30 minutes before she could get anybody there to tow it. Jane said it was okay. She went outside to take pictures from the street to show how much of the driveway the truck took up.
The tow truck came at 12:30 a.m., and the neighbors did not come outside. Jane sent another email to the HOA, saying she called a tow truck and was going to bed.
Jane could now sleep soundly knowing she got the truck out of her driveway.
Or could she?
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A 6:00 AM Wake Up call
Jane was woken up at six a.m. the next morning to someone banging loudly on her door. Guess who it was; Fred struck again. Jane made sure she brought her phone with her when she answered the door to record this interaction.
Fred asked her where the truck was. Jane said she had it towed and he could call the tow company to figure out how to get it back. In response, he told her she did not have the right to tow it and she needed to pay to get it back.
Jane told him since it was an unauthorized vehicle on her property, she did have the right to have it towed. She reminded him of what she told him previously; if the truck was on her property again, she would have it towed. She also told him she would not be paying him back for it (because why would she?).
He then said to Jane, “You stole my truck, and I’m calling the police. I’m going to sue you!”
She told him to go ahead, and then went inside.
Fred started banging on the door again and rang the doorbell nonstop for another four minutes before giving up. She was still recording as he was doing this.
Jane thought this would be the last of the knocks on her door for a while, but she was wrong. After a half-hour, the doorbell rang again.
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Police Presence
The police were at her door. The police officer told her Fred was saying she stole his truck by having it towed from the street and they needed to talk to her about the situation.
She told him Fred was only telling half the story, and the neighbor’s truck was towed from her driveway this morning when she returned home from taking her children to the minor emergency room.
She told the officer she could not even get into her driveway. Jane also told him she had a video of the conversation with the neighbor from earlier.
The police asked, “So you are saying the truck in question was on your property without your permission and you had it towed?”
She said yes and told him how Fred asked if his son could park in her driveway last Tuesday, and how she told him no. Then, she told the officer how she saw the truck in the driveway after the conversation with Fred and how she warned him if they parked on her property again, she would have them towed (so she did).
The police officer clarified whether or not the truck was in the driveway, and Jane told him the driveway. He asked her if she had any proof of the incident. She told him she would print off all of the emails she sent to the HOA as well as the pictures and videos.
Jane opened her photos app and showed the officer the time-stamped images and showed him the video of the interaction from the morning of the incident. The officer then walked around documenting by taking pictures of his own.
He asked Jane if she could send over all of the images for the file, and she agreed. He said there is enough information to show the vehicle was not on public property, and actually on her property; confirming everything she said was true. She was not feeling well, so she sent over those files online later.
The police officer asked Jane if she wanted to file a trespassing report, and she said “Oh, absolutely.”
Hopefully, after this experience, these entitled neighbors do not park on anyone else’s property anymore. Their entitlement and attitude were as large as the F350 itself. Maybe it was time for them to downsize vehicles and attitudes.
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