Conference terri::cars_uk

    
    Expensive? No, it's a cheap motor!
    
    Mark

    Not for me it aint !!
    
    Does anyone know who's car it is then ??
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Maybe not, but in a car costing under 10k you couldn't get delusions of 
    grandeur in the DEC Park car park! :^)
    
    Mark

    I've got some megga sticky labels which could be stuck on the offending
    cars windscreen. They can take anything up to an hour to remove !
    
    The hour spent removing them will give the driver a chance to think
    about the proper way to park a car. At the end of the week the driver
    will have spent about 5 hours cleaning his/hers windows - Not nice.
    This I have found to be a VERY effective method.
    
    	I dont actually work at Decpark, but if someone would like some I 
    could send them in the internal mail. I dont have too many, but it does
    sound like a deserving cause.....
    
    Andy

    < -.1
    
    Is that legal? It seems a bit over the top for someone who has just
    parked badly.
    
    Dougie
    

    Not just parked badly - but repeatedly parked across the central line
    thus taking up 2 parking spaces....not helpful when there are so few
    spaces and also cannot be put down to misjudgement on parking
    .......must be deliberate !!!
    
    Please send me one of those labels and if after a few weeks the
    offending car is still always parked as described above then I'll stick
    it on............it just infuriates me that some people never think of
    other people and always think of themselves....
    
    (Sorry for getting so heavy but whoever it is, if you are reading,
    THERE IS NO NEED FOR IT)
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Why not try a hand written note under the windscreen wipers first?
    
    Mark

    I dont know about the legal side off things, the labels have come from
    Nabisco, and they used to do it, but its just as selfish and irresponsible
    as parking across two spaces. There isn't enough spaces in the car park as
    it is, and its going to get worse when the rest of Queens House move in.
    
    	Maybe I should give them to Security, or maybe Security can have
    some better ones made up. If people cant be bothered to park properly,
    they need some incentive.
    
    	If Security were to patrol the car park to spot the bad parkers,
    their presence may also frighten off these blooming car thieves.

    Many a true word you speak Mr CHROME_A, we have enough traffic problems
    without tossers like Mr "I've got a Renault GT Turbo and I don't
    care".....
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Funny how uptight people get about parking isn't it?
    
    Mark

Hi Mark,

don't you care either??

    I think as the author of 1568.0 I think I ought to warn you Bazza
    to be very careful about calling people names in the notes medium.
    The driver of the R5GTT might just be your boss.  :-)
       One of the blokes I called a plonker in 1568 sits a few feet 
    away from me - and he's a lot bigger than me. Good job he's got 
    a sense of humour.
    
    I must say I'm suprised that lots of people haven't rushed to the
    defence of the said R5GTT driver though!!!  :-)    
    
    
    Jerome.
    
    PS - I think the stickers are a great idea....could've used one last
    weekend.  :-)
                       

    RE: 7
    
    	Mark, This is the next best thing to a hand written note, except it
    cant be binned quite so quickly and forgotten about.
    
    RE 9:
    
    	Bazza, Whats your mail address ??????
    
    Andy

    
    I'm also very concerned about Barry's sexist attitude. How do you
    know that Mr..... isn't actually Miss, Mrs or Ms?
    
    Mark

A friend gave me a pad of "parking tickets" that allow you to tick the box
containing the offence (double parked, blocking a drive etc) and with a
message "Do you have to park this way or are you just a selfish b*stard"!

These may not actually cure the problem, but they do make you feel that little
bit better about it :-)

A couple of years ago a red Maestro was parked in the middle of the road in our
local car park, so i left a ticket, along with half a dozen other notes and
somebody even stuck "Danger - Herpes infected area" stickers on all the windows.
A few weeks later i found out it was one of our customers visiting the office,
and they did eventually see the funny side once they got over the embarrasement
of driving out of the car-park like an advertising hoarding!

Try the softly softly approach first, or i suppose if you get really upset you
could get one of those window etching companies to write "w*nker" across the
windscreen!!!!!

mb

    
    Re .13
    
    Surely all this is going to achieve is one pissed off (with better
    reason than some) person? Maybe they'll go to a higher authority who'll
    not see the funny side of this (depends who they are I guess). If
    you've given a less permanent hint first, this may not result in
    terminal career damage! 
    
    Mark
    
    PS Mark, no.

A tip from a friend some time ago for those of us who use lipstick :-

With lipstick you can invent your own message, and it is difficult to 
remove without a suitable solvent.


Mark.

    Somebody I know got a number plate made up with the word "w*nker"
    on it and stuck it over the back plate of a mate of his. He drove
    all the way home before noticing. Maybe someone could make up some
    stickers that could cover the number plate.    :-)
    
    
    Jerome.

    With reply to the note earlier that the person with the "straddling
    white lines" complex could in fact be my boss........do higher levels
    of management get written in their contracts "thou must take up two
    spaces for thine automobile" or are they just told that they can do
    what they want.......my earlier comments still stand !!
    
    Bazza
    
    BTW - I am not sexist and my mail address is forty2::howard.
    

    Bazza, if your boss does read this string I hope he has a sense of
    humour. He could make life a bit uncomfortable for you otherwise.
    Also, thinking about it, if said R5GTT driver takes up two spaces
    with a little car like that, let's hope s/he doesn't upgrade to a
    much larger car.  :-)
    
    
    Jerome.

    Well this whole topic is suffering from atrocious parking - it should
    be postioned within the two white lines of topic 1568. What do you mean
    you `couldn't find the right note'? Ever heard of DIR/TIT= ? 
    
    Phil Gill.

    
    Re .19
    
    � BTW - I am not sexist and my mail address is forty2::howard.
    
    Thank you for telling us your mail address, but why did you bother?
    It's at the top of all your notes?
    
    Mark

    Bazza,
    
    	Thats not the mail address I wanted, unless you would like me to
    scan the sticker and mail it to you...........
    
    Andy

    Sorry crossed lines.....
    
     1-No I'd never heard of DIR/TIT=?, some of us can't spend all day on
    notes.
    
    2-I gave my mail address cos someone asked for it (admittedly it was
    the wrong one but then I can't help being thick)
    
    My real mail address is REO FL3
    
    Cheers
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Don't worry Barry.
    
    A bit of good humoured ribbing is all part of noting, although it isn't
    always easy to work out who's serious and who isn't unless you know
    them.
    
    Mark
    
    PS I'm terribly good natured! :^)
    
    

    
    I would suggest that you don't resort to lipstick - not for writing on
    the bodywork of cars - you might find yourself with a large bill for a
    respray, - lipstick if left for very long will permanently discolour
    paintwork. (Also you could be in trouble if you do anything to make the
    offending car illegal - ie covering the numberplate, 'cos if the driver
    gets stopped - I'm sure that s/he will want to find out who the *&^&% is
    who caused them to get into trouble, rather than writing a polite
    note...
    
    (Have you though that this person my be injured, and need the space to
    get in and out of the car....) 

    
    If the bad parking bothers you that much, surely reception should be
    able to identify the driver of the offending car?
    
    You would then be free to wage a war of lipstick, sticky labels, abuse
    etc. etc. at the correct person! 8-]
    
    Steve.
    

    re: 26
    
    If the person has a disablility which requires that much space, may I
    point out that there are spaces particularly reserved for disabled
    people. These places are situated near all the entrances, and if I'm
    not mistaken are surounded by a YELLOW painted line. These spaces take
    into consideration the extra space needed by people who use wheelchairs
    and other walking aids.
    
    WHY DONT THEY USE THEM !
    
    I cant help but think this person couldn't give a T*!!, and on the
    LIPSTICK front, just put it on the windscreen - its a sod to get off
    and wont damage the paintwork.
    
    Andy
    
    ( who gives a t*!! if its a manager, just cos they get paid more
    doesn't mean they get two spaces as well !)
                                               
                                               

    I think the owner of the afforementioned R5 Turbo may be travelling and
    left it parked that way all week because it was frozen up when I came
    in this morning (unless he/she starts before dawn!). 
    
    I'm not making excuses for him/her though!        
    
    Roy

    Andy, you're a man after my own heart, i think we're on the same
    wavelength !!
    
    Bazza
    

    Mr Saxby sir,
    		Maybe the afformentioned R5GTT has an extremley overheated
    turbo, or just broke down in general ;-)
    
    			Chris.

    
    Possibly, or maybe it's been parked by someone with an Audi who figures
    having twice the drive means they need twice the parking space! :^)
    
    Mark

    I prefer to think that if it were an Audi it would be so that everyone
    could walk around it and drool. Got to think of your public when you
    have a desirable 4WD vehicle that has design, quality and that
    engineered feel 'stamped' all over it. ;-)
    
                              Chris

    
    Or stickers saying "I'm a prat with an expensive car, who think's he
    can park where he likes" apparently, if other noters had their way! :^)
    
    Mark

    Mark,
    	Firstly you leave Landrovers out of this they are good machines and
    I'm sure the owners wouldn't be daft enough to use a car park when a
    perfectly good field would do. I'm sure that most people who park like
    that are dying to be noticed anyway so you'd be playing straight into
    there hands. But you go right ahead.
    
    			Chris

    
    Maybe the car doesn't belong to a DECcie at all? Maybe it's been stolen
    and dumped?
    
    Mark

Hang on a sec,

In the LEEDS office, if you block someone in, or they've left their
lights on, you ring reception and say "Whose car is G111 xxx"? They
tell you and you ring the person up.

Anyone thought of trying this?


Greg

    Same applies in Basingstoke at the CSC. If it's a visitor, they'll have
    put their car reg in the visitors book, else if it's someone who works
    here, they've got a record of everyones cars registration.
    
    Steve.
    

    This is better than Poirot!
    
    so, WHOPARKEDIT?
    

>>    ..., else if it's someone who works here, they've got a record of
>>    everyones cars registration.
    
    Only at the time the form was filled in.  I did'nt think it was updated
    (mine certainly was'nt !)
    
    Shaun.
    

    
    	It seems to me there are two ways of resolving this situation.
    
    a)	Ask security who owns the car.
    
    b)	Report it dumped to the police.
    
    	This car could have been dumped & it may be stolen. No normal person
    would park like this, unless they really couldn't give a s*!t, and if
    thats the case I'm sure they wouldn't like a sticker.
    
    	From what I can remember this car has been there for quite a while,
    if someone told security this whole matter could be settled by now.
    
    Andy

Looks like someone took a _real_ disliking to the way that this white GTturbo
is being parked; it's had the rear rhs quarterlight smashed out when I saw
it this morning! (reported to security - they don't know who owns it)


...Art

    Well since ARts reply this car has been well seen to.
    
    Both drivers side windows smashed and the wing mirror hanging.
    
    R
    

    I think your car would be safer parked in a Reading multi-storey than
    DEC Park overnight.
    
    Roy

    With regard to security knowing who's car it is - I've just recently
    bought a car and have not heard of any form to fill in .......am I
    parking illegally ????  Should I let security know about my car ???
    
    Any advice ?
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Obviously this car's owner isn't around and security don't know who it 
    belongs to. I presume that security have now contacted the police to see
    if it IS stolen?
    
    After all, it seems that what the thief didn't wreck, the local yobs
    will (Assuming it is stolen, which is looking pretty likely now).
    
    Mark

    Can someone please mail me (Doug Arnold @reo) the Reg. No. of this
    vehicle, then I can see if it's a leasemobile and whether I have yet
    another claim to deal with.
    
    Doug

    I can't help adding another comment......
    
    Maybe it's driver wasn't a bad parker at all. Maybe s/he was a *very*
    good parker. S/he might just have have managed to fit 11 cars into 10
    spaces, so increasing the capacity of the car park.
    
    And what you see as bad parking, might just be the view after all it's
    neighbours went home......
    
    JK

    >>Maybe it's driver wasn't a bad parker at all. Maybe s/he was a *very*
    >>good parker. S/he might just have have managed to fit 11 cars into
    >>10 spaces, so increasing the capacity of the car park.
    
    
    ...and also increasing the amount of knocks/dents/scratches to other
    peoples cars.
    

    Just seen the white R5 being carted away on the back of a breakdown
    truck.
    
    -Roy

    
    Well, at least that should save the car becoming a burnt out shell in
    the car park.
    
    Mark

    Did anyone mail Doug ? Did it belong to a Deccie ?

    Anyone gonna answer my earlier question...please....
    
    Bazza
    

Barry,

 I'ts worth giving security a call and letting them know the registration of
your car, your location and your phone number. Then if they spot someone
messing with it or some nice person reports that youve left your lights on they
know how to get in touch with you.


	Barrie.

    
    Also means people can slag off your parking too! :^)
    
    Mark
    

    Thanks Barrie, I'll do that ....
    
    Bazza
    

    
    Anyone found out if the White 5 was a DEC car or not?
    
    Mark

>>    Anyone found out if the White 5 was a DEC car or not?


If you mean a lease car then I don't think it was as it was too old (it also
had a Devil exhaust system).


...art

    Yeah, Art mailed me, it wasn't a leasemobile, did I hear it got carried
    away ? - so I'll walk on water for an encore !!  I did very little but
    the DECpark Car Park is enough of a target without a tempter like the
    R5.
    
    Doug

    On a similar note to the bad parking episode above I spotted a notice
    looking for information on the cause of damage to a car in our car-park
    recently.
    
    The owner went to a lot of trouble with diagrams of the car and where
    it was damaged. When it was discovered etc. etc.
    
    I felt great sympathy until he revealed how he had parked the thing.
    
    Here in Galway we recently had to take
    on board extra people from Clonmel and no provision was made to
    increase such facilities as car-parks canteens etc.
    This makes car-parking a problem which some people have "solved" by
    parking at the top and bottom ends of the car spaces,thus making it 
    difficult to reverse a car out of the regular spaces.
    He had parked in the top end thus blocking the cars in the regular
    spaces.
    
    It is obvious that some-one lost his temper and reversed into him.
    
    In this situation I have adopted the following rules of survival,
    	Get to work in time to get a good space.
    	Park only in the centre lines of the carpark where you can't be
    	cut off and blocked off in the manner described above.
    	Reverse into your chosen space while you have room to do and
    	this will save you having to reverse out in the evening when
    	the carpark is full of badly parked cars.
    
    What made me mad was the self righteous way this prat described the 
    damage.He even drew a diagram of the way he parked!!
    
    I'd be ashamed to admit to such bad parking on a public notice board.
    
    	The real culprit behind all this has to be the management who 
    should have foreseen the need for extra car-parking and provided it
    in time.
    

    At Wimgrove, parking space is so valuable that parking has now become a
    major exercise in lateral thinking. We now have a game we play every
    evening called "WTF has my car gone?". It goes like this;
    
    Arrive at work in the morning. Nowhere to park. Throw the dice to see
    how many times you must drive around the car park. 
    Double/Triple/Quarduple park, depending on preference. Hand keys in at
    reception. 
    
    At 6pm, pick up keys from reception, then look for your car. On a
    really good day it may have been moved several times. 
    
    One good trick is to arrive early and get a Proper Parking Place. Then,
    throughout the day periodically check until someone with a Really
    Expensive Car blocks you in. Then nip down to reception to get the
    other car drivers keys, because you've suddenly realised that you have
    an Important Business Appointment. This is known as the Cor I don't
    half Fancy a Drive in That Car gambit.
    
    

    A last word on the little R5 Turbo that started this note...
    
    It was stolen and dumped.
        
    -Roy 

    On the sticky labels. I've seen them used in public car parks from time
    to time.
    
    I'm possibly about to have some problems with the reserved parking
    place where I live. Some guy with a TR7 has settled in. I've tried the
    polite note under the windscreen, but it doesn't look as if it's going
    to have any effect. I've seen the car around the place, so I know it
    isn't stolen. Unfortunately, I don't know where the owner lives so I
    can't complain to them.
    
    These sticky difficult to remove labels sound like my best bet. I'm not
    interested in making enemies, but it sounds like it might be the most
    practical course of action I could take to get my space back. Sources?
    And are they legal?
    
    Dougie
    

    If you have a right to the space and he doesn't get him clamped!
    
    
    Greg

    RE: .64
    
    How? The space is mine. It is off-street parking, one parking bay
    allocated to each house. It's in the deeds of the house. The bays are
    numbered according to house number.
    
    There is probably a big gap here between my legal rights, and the most
    practical way of getting this bugger moved. My first reaction was to
    throw a bucket of paint over his windscreen. It wouldn't have achieved
    much, though.
         
    Dougie
    

I thought that you could clamp somebody on your own land,  just like owners of 
private car parks do...? (Something to do with ancient laws about stray sheep or
cattle etc...)

Fortunately I used persuasion when in the same situation,  and it worked!


_Richard

BTW: I would be interested to know where those dreaded sticky labels come from,
a few of those would come in very handy. ;-)

Borrow a couple of good trolley jacks and with some help jack the car up and
move it somewhere. The owner will get the hint that you mean business.

/Dave.

    Actually, if trolley jacks are a problem to find, four strong blokes
    should be able to pick the back-end up and drag it out into the road.
    Simply leave it right in the middle, wherever it has to be to get yours
    in, choose the worst place possible.
    
    If it has an alarm, try setting it off every five minutes.
    
    Laurie.

RE: .68 regularly setting off alarm...

No damage to the car, no legal come back on yourself.  Results; one 
very paranoid owner.

Absolutely love it!!!

Rob.

    
    Let the tyres down. Will also create a state of paranoia and quite a
    bit of inconvenience for him.
    
    Chris
    

By moving the car, you are reclaiming what is rightfully yours, I think letting
down tyres and setting off alarms goes too far.

/Dave (experienced car mover).

    I agree with .71, no matter how tempting it is, you are breaking the
    law. Also this kind of thing leads to retaliation. How about a
    reasonably strongly worded letter explaining your legal rights,
    trespass etc? THEN, call the Police and have it moved for obstruction.
    
    NR
    
    Anecdote: I once lived on a house boat, had a parking space just off
    the main car park by what is now Moody's boat yard at Bursledon
    (Tarrant to TV soap fans). 
    
    One Bank Holiday w/e, I came home from work to find a Rolls parked on
    my patch of grass. It stayed there for the entire w/e.
    The car park was full, and every time I went anywhere, I couldn't find
    any spot to park. This drove me insane, and on the Monday morning I
    bought a packet of white gummed labels, stuck them ALL over the
    windscreen, with messages about parking on private property, demands
    for 25 quid fee etc.
    
    I returned on Tuesday evening after work to find the Roller gone. A
    note on my door said very politely that they were sorry for any
    inconvenience caused, but there was no sign stating that it was private
    parking. With regard to my 'very reasonable' parking fee, they would
    not pay it this time, as they felt the cost of getting their car
    cleaned  would exceed the sum requested! 
    
    I felt pretty bad about my actions!

    Just remember that if you do move this car from your parking space,
    and then park your car in your space, it's going to be pretty damn
    obvious who moved the car.
    
    Clamping sounds like the best idea to me. He won't be able to move 
    his car, then you can call the police to come and take it away as
    an obstruction. 

    I took about three yards of computer fanfold paper and wrote PLEASE
    MOVE THIS CAR on it in large friendly letters. I then affixed it to TR7
    windscreen with several tons of selotape.
    
    It has gone now. Apparantly it had broken down, and the owner had tried
    to roll it down hill to start it. I'm at the downhill end of the car
    park. I felt pretty bad at first, but then thought it wouldn't have
    cost them anything to stick a note under their wiper telling me there
    was a problem. Or even putting a note through my letter box.
    
    I thought of setting the alarm of every 5 minutes ploy. But that only
    makes sense if they are around the area somewhere. Otherwise its going
    to lead to some very pissedoffpeople. The idea of bouncing it out the
    way is the best one I've heard so far! Certainly sounds most fun.
    
    dougie
    

    
    I have EXACTLY the same problem in my car park. Like Dougie, my flat is
    allocated a numbered parking bay, and it really annoys me when I have
    to find another parking space late at night.
    
    My cure ? I block them in TIGHT. I then go in and go to sleep and
    refuse to answer the doorbell (I unplug the battery if the owner is 
    *really* persistant) until the next morning. 
    
    Works every time!
    -Tony