Am I a jerk for having a car towed which was parked in my driveway?
April 27, 2016 at 7:36 pm
(This post was last modified: April 27, 2016 at 7:38 pm by Whateverist.)
I hate tow companies and the extortive rates they charge people to get their cars back. I've had to get a stolen truck from one of those yards and it cost me $200 twenty years or so ago.
But today at 8:30 a.m. I looked out front to see a car parked squarely in my driveway. Since I was waiting for the utility company to come out for a service call some time between 8 and noon I ignored it. At 11 a.m. the appointment was done and still the car was blocking my driveway. Since all our vehicles are parked behind a locked gate in our side yard that meant I couldn't go anywhere.
The car looked a little like a neighbor's car across the street. So I checked with two of them and she said everyone in the multiplex's car was in their off street parking. It didn't belong to my neighbor directly across the street but I checked to see if he had a guest. No. There are a lot of people who work in the warehouse beside mine but no one lives there and they have no off street parking. No way was I going to go to every office and studio.
Screw it. So many times I've put notes on people's cars warning that I would tow if they parked there again and more than once these have been left in my mailbox with taunting replies. I called the police and told them the situation. They offered to have it towed. I agreed. Then my neighbor across the street came out and offered to ask at a couple of the offices next door. A lady exiting one of the yoga classes at the next door warehouse offered to go to the local school board's offices down the street to see if anyone there had left the car. But I declined to call back the police and call off the tow. By then it was well past 3 hours this clown had me blocked in.
I found something to do in the garden and then was ready to try and leave again in about an hour. The car was gone. I don't know if it was towed or not, but it might well have been. Was I being unreasonable? I hate being put in that position.
But today at 8:30 a.m. I looked out front to see a car parked squarely in my driveway. Since I was waiting for the utility company to come out for a service call some time between 8 and noon I ignored it. At 11 a.m. the appointment was done and still the car was blocking my driveway. Since all our vehicles are parked behind a locked gate in our side yard that meant I couldn't go anywhere.
The car looked a little like a neighbor's car across the street. So I checked with two of them and she said everyone in the multiplex's car was in their off street parking. It didn't belong to my neighbor directly across the street but I checked to see if he had a guest. No. There are a lot of people who work in the warehouse beside mine but no one lives there and they have no off street parking. No way was I going to go to every office and studio.
Screw it. So many times I've put notes on people's cars warning that I would tow if they parked there again and more than once these have been left in my mailbox with taunting replies. I called the police and told them the situation. They offered to have it towed. I agreed. Then my neighbor across the street came out and offered to ask at a couple of the offices next door. A lady exiting one of the yoga classes at the next door warehouse offered to go to the local school board's offices down the street to see if anyone there had left the car. But I declined to call back the police and call off the tow. By then it was well past 3 hours this clown had me blocked in.
I found something to do in the garden and then was ready to try and leave again in about an hour. The car was gone. I don't know if it was towed or not, but it might well have been. Was I being unreasonable? I hate being put in that position.
