A red Vauxhall Vivaro van NL56PXJ has been left parked outside my garage in North Londonfor at least the last three days and I can't get my car out. The Council abandoned vehicles number doesn't answer and I'm not sure they would do anything, given that the van is taxed and the road is not restricted.

I'm not sure the police would do anything as it's only obstruction, not a crime.

Any suggestions as to what I can do, short of resorting to Mr Hammer?

Don't know about England, Here in Ontario there is a fine and the ability to remove a vehicle which is" PREVENTING THE REMOVAL OF A PREVIOUSLY PARKED VEHICLE".

Defo report to police, could be stolen and dumped.

If not take a pair of tin snips to the hand brake cable

[Edited on 2/2/11 by loggyboy]

2 x Trolley Jacks and move the damn thing! Park it somewhere where it will be given a ticket or something. Might make them think twice about just dumping it wherever they like

Actually, I like Loggyboy's idea, much quicker

[Edited on 2/2/11 by Daddylonglegs]

Trolly jack under the rear wheels.

I take it its not sign written so has it got a towbar? you could tow it out of the way if your that way inclined or a trolley jack under the rear axle and it would move easier I guess it depends on how legal you want to be and if your worried about the consequenses. a call to the police may help but if it doesnt then your a bit stuck as theyll know who wanted it moved. if it was blocking my drive and stopping me getting out I wouldnt have waited as long as you have so I applaud your patience.
Ray

find a local youth, and give him some spray paint cans
when i lived in N4, there used to be some private tow trucks going about. don't know how much it would cost to have one move the van on a bit (far enough for the owner to think its been nicked, but then see it parked further down the street)

hmm, don't know, unless there's any restrictions, i think its just an annoyance for you, not really a crime. doubt the police would do anything except maybe put a notice on it, and leave it for a set amount of time before towing it away.

there was a car dumped at the top of cavendish road, off wightman road (right outside my house) which had a notice put on it, but wasn't taken away til a few weeks later

has this van moved in the last 3 days? broken down? owner lives near by, and now on holiday?

Called the Met 0300 number and they said it WAS a police matter and they would deal so - here's hoping.

BTW, Blake, I live on Wightman Road

[Edited on 2/2/11 by Macbeast]

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Originally posted by RAYLEE29
you could tow it out of the way if your that way inclined

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The vehicle details for NL56 PXJ are:

Date of Liability - 01 09 2011
Date of First Registration - 07 09 2006
Year of Manufacture - 2006
Cylinder Capacity (cc) - 1870CC
CO2 Emissions - 0g/Km
Fuel Type - Heavy Oil
Export Marker - Not Applicable
Vehicle Status - Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour - RED
Vehicle Type Approval - N1

Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle
6 Months Rate - £110.00
12 Months Rate - £200.00

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If the police arn't quick, just say you can hear a loud TICKING noise from the inside and it smells like fertiliser.

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Originally posted by Dangle_kt
If the police arn't quick, just say you can hear a loud TICKING noise from the inside and it smells like fertiliser.

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If it was me i would be getting a mate with a four wheel drive to drag it out of the way, police will soon come and shift it if its blocking a road !!

have you checked the windows to see if they have left a phone number?

if not tug it out the way with a 4x4 then stab all the tyres, then they will know how it feels to be stuck when they need to go somewhere.

report it to police and local authority


then move it with a jack when the cop is there. get his name etc . The cop should stick a fixed penalty on it anyway, a 7 day removal order may not apply if its taxed. But if its not insured it will fall foul of a 7 day order I think and should get uplifted


let tyres down when cop has gone, the ignorant git

personally, id have moved it immediately. Whether that was via a friend with a 4x4 or jacking and pushing over repeatedly isnt important, but it would definately have been out of the way in half an hour

We've had a car left at the end of the road since the last snows, abandoned about 20" off the kerb, and im tempted to move that when its not even blocking anything!

Don't get mad get even

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Originally posted by Macbeast
Called the Met 0300 number and they said it WAS a police matter and they would deal so - here's hoping.

BTW, Blake, I live on Wightman Road

[Edited on 2/2/11 by Macbeast]

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1st Phone the Police

Also If the owner turns up eventually and it gets sh**y phone the police and say there is every chance a 'Breach of the peace' will occur
They are then duty bound to attend


Ex work mate left his Suzuki jeep once outside somebody's garage and the bloke used an Ex USAF Truck to drag it out of the way
As there was no damage to the jeep the police were not interested when my mate complained to them

Get a chain, and a 4wd.

Use a towing eye and just pull it out of the way. It will roll quite easy with the handbrake on.

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Originally posted by perksy
1st Phone the Police

Also If the owner turns up eventually and it gets sh**y phone the police and say there is every chance a 'Breach of the peace' will occur
They are then duty bound to attend


Ex work mate left his Suzuki jeep once outside somebody's garage and the bloke used an Ex USAF Truck to drag it out of the way
As there was no damage to the jeep the police were not interested when my mate complained to them

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Any result yet?

A few years ago someone dumped a van in the carpark at work. It was there for weeks and noone was intrested so one night around midnight one of our guys broke the window and took of the handbrake then moved it out on to the Dual carriage way (It's only a 30 limit) and it was gone by 5 am.

I wouldn't have waited three days, I would have reported it to the police the day it happened, then every day until it was gone. You could repeatedly hit his van with your garage door, it wouldn't do you much good but it might make you feel better.

Thanks for all the support. Van had gone yesterday evening, about 4 hours after I complained to the police. Coincidence? Maybe.
Why did I leave it for 3 days? The garage holds the Seven and I didn't actually need to get it out as I could still get the garage door open and work on it. Would have been a pain though if I had had an IVA booked, which is why I want to discourage parking there.
Thanks again for all the ideas

A neighbour of ours was blocked in a local car park by someone in a Mini, unfortunately he was out with 3 of his mates. They moved the car while he got out of the space then put it in the space with the back wheels on the small perimeter wall about 2' high.

I seem to recall that the law allows you to use 'reasonable force to remove the obstruction'. What you count as reasonable force is up to personal interpretation, but if you were on your own, I'd say it would be reasonable to use another vehicle to push or pull the obstruction out of the way.

Chris

would you feel safe working on your car with the main door blocked? What if there was a fire? The problem is theres not really much you can do. It's already illegal for anyone to park there but it won't stop them. If it happens again you deffinitly want to call straight away, especially if it's the same van. Your worst result would be it being a coincidence that it went and that he's decided thats where he's gonna park his van from now on.

I got a better one, I finished work yesterday and had to wait for ages while to foriegn lorry drivers used a narrow road to swap trailors. A road that happens to be a dead end and where my car was parked.

how about installing a sleepin polieceman (removerble post to help deter from haperning again

Just move it, but DONT DAMAGE it as you could then end up in court for causing the damage, regardless of how much they have inconvienenced you.

A pair of trolley jacks is a good and cheap Idea. Just move it enough to get your car out.

IF the area is a public right of way / highway, then call the police as its an offence to obstruct the highway. (You are being obstructed from access your garage / car)

Just DONT DAMAGE it, ie break windows, paint it, stab tyres etc. As that will surely rebound ou you in a more expensive way.

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Originally posted by Mr G
Don't get mad get even

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