Ooooohhhhhh.
That makes more sense. I agree with you that what you did was still petty, but far more excusable IMO. I misunderstood the situation.
Good show. Carry on.
It seems to me that Chimera was less intentionally blocking his neighbor than parking in his own driveway and intentionally ignoring the fact that he blocked in his neighbor. I don’t see a problem with that – why should he care that parking in his own fucking driveway might also inconvenience a neighbor who is being a huge jerk?
Can you just call a tow-truck and have them remove any random vehicle you don’t like, then? I mean, it obviously wasn’t a legal matter, or the police would have done something, so couldn’t the towers be charged with theft?
I’m not dis-agreeing with you - I would have loved to do something similar an a number of occasions.
I’m just curious about the legality of it.
IANALAWYER, but, if someone is parked in my driveway, MY PROPERTY, I think I have the right to have their property removed. It’s not stealing. It is removing what is not supposed to be there.
But how far does this right extend? If I drop my wallet in your driveway, are you entitled to pick it up and charge me money before returning it to me?
If you drop your wallet in my driveway, oh say once a week for 8 weeks, I am going to get tired of being responsible for returning it to you.
The whole point, IMO, is that the OP was tired of having to remind the neighbor that the driveway was his. Enough is enough. Why should the OP have to park in the street when he has a driveway, a place that is intended for him to park?
Well, how much inconvenience is a wallet dropped in a driveway? It’s not going to prevent parking or anything, whether or not the property owner leaves it where it is, unlike an automobile.
misstee - Of course you’re going to get tired of returning it to me - but does that make it legal for you to keep it?
carrot - Ok, wallet may have been a bad example, but I was trying to think of something that might be dropped… erm how a bout a briefcase/suitcase or somehting like that.
Sorry to have slightly hijacked this thread, Chimera - I would just like to point out again that I think you did a good thing. My question is more of a hypothetical situation really, because I’m not sure that, in this country, I would be able to get a car towed in this manner - I think the police would probably arrange it for me, but I don’t think that any tow company would remove a car without proof of ownership, or something a bit more definite than it being ‘in the way’
If any UK-dopers out there know different, then please speak up.
Yeah, I couldn’t think up a good one either, so I just left it.
In fact, really the only example that I can think of is a car…A large object that is nigh impossible to move for anyone other than the owner, for whom it is extremely easy.
I don’t believe he was going to keep the car. Just the same as I wouldn’t keep your wallet. He had it towed away. There is some effort on the neighbors part to retrive the vehicle. If I got tired of picking up your wallet, I may drop it by the local police station so you have to put some effort in to picking it up. IMO, if you need to be reminded several times to be responsible for your possesions, maybe you need to put forth the extra effort into getting them back.
Shadow, there is a difference between accidently leaving something, and purposefully leaving something. If you repeatedly intentionally left your briefcase in my driveway, I could probably assume that you didn’t want it anymore (why else would you keep leaving it in my driveway?) and throw it out. (Throwing it out seems closer to towing that keeping it does.)
I had called the Police, who came out, took a look at the situation and told me to call the tow truck company. Takes care of the legal issues up front.
The Police said that they cannot do anything directly because it is Private property. In other words, they could not issue him a ticket for anything.
But since his vehicle was -entirely on my property- and he was not available to move it, I was within my rights to call the tow truck and have it removed.
I called the same service the city uses and the car was removed to their impound lot.
All on the up-and-up, entirely legal.
And I note that I was ‘temporarily’ parked in THEIR drive when the Cop arrived. He suggested that I remove my car from their property before they arrived home, lest they do the same to me in retaliation. I moved my car over to block theirs so that it could not be removed before the tow truck arrived, then moved it out to the street when he got there.
Hey, tilting flatbed truck with a winch. Hook 'er up and drag the bloody thing onto the bed. Squeal! Hope it didn’t wreck the brakes or tranny on the way up!
Bravo, Chimera! […standing ovation…]
Good job. You should have keyed it as well.
<Just joking there PC police>
Er, are you ever legally required to return lost property?
I lost my wallet once, and some nice people found it and returned it, and I showered them with gratitude because, IMHO, they went “above and beyond the call of duty” to return it.
If I drop my wallet on your lawn, hell, I’d like for you to return it, but I don’t think you’re under any legal obligation to save me from my own carelessness.
This is totally unrelated. The OP isn’t keeping his car, he had it towed off his property.
I apologise Chimera - I misread your OP, and hadn’t realised that the police had told you to call the wreckers. That of course completely changes everything, and the legality question is, as you say, answered.
And, before calling an end to this hijack, I’d like to point out that although Chimera didn’t keep the car, he did (effectively) give it to someone else - pretty much the same thing in my book.
{Here endeth the hijack!}
Okay, now that all the other issues are out of the way, what was found out about the car and the neighbor?
Went by there again today and the neighbor was not home.
Saturday is the big day. We’ll see if he comes over when we’re loading the truck.
No…
I believe if you have driven any amount of time in 'merica you come to understand certain simple things.
One of which is if you park in certain areas, you can and will be towed (most other times without warning). IMHO these people are adults and they know damn well where you should and shouldn’t park.
They chose to park like idiots more than once,were spoken to/warned about being towed, *** and did it again***, they gave their car away…