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Topic: what would you do?
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Posted by: Bernadette Paul
Date/Time: 09/12/10 08:56:00

I live in a small development of 14 flats.  We have a car park which can take approx 10 cars.  Most of the residents do not own cars however, someone living here has a fixation about the car park and who parks there.  There have been aggressive notes left on cars, interference with tyres (letting down/slashing) once when my daughter's car was left in the car park for a couple of days because it had broken down, there was a note left on it threatening all sorts.  I in turn placed a note on it warning what would happen to anyone arranging to have it removed etc.  Then, someone who lives in the front of the flats, who does not own a car but who evidently has his own cctv trained on the car park (and who knows where else) came to my door and warned me not to let my daughter drive the car as it had been interfered with and wheel nuts loosened or removed.  Naturally at that time I was grateful for this information as without it my daughter could have been killed.  I was new to this flat at the time and was not fully conversant with the workings and paranoia of the self elected car park vigilante.

About 10 weeks ago a friend of my daughter came to stay at my flat.  She had just finished uni and had a training contract with a London firm.  She is staying with me until she finds somewhere of her own.  Her car was parked in the car park.  No notes were put on it but when she went to drive home to Swindon for the weekend two front tyres were totally flat and it turned out they had been cut - not just let down.  Her boyfriend was in the process of putting on the spare when the cctv chap appears his first words are "Do you live here?" she of course said yes and his tone became slightly more conciliatory.  The point is,I cannot prove this man is responsible for the miscellaneous damage that has occurred to cars in the car park BUT he is always first on the scene to challenge anyone he does not know (he verbally attacked my second daughter for parking in the car park) he was also the one who KNEW about the wheel nuts on my daughter's car and he is without doubt my number one suspect for the vandalism that has occurred to this and other cars.

Needless to say my lodger was extremely upset.  I had all manner of crying and hysteria etc.  I called the police.  I was given a crime number and was told someone would visit to take a statement.  The person on the phone took my lodger's mobile number and said they would arrange a time to call.  The next evening she told me she had received a call from the police at Chiswick I think, who had virtually said there was nothing they could do and wait to see if it happened again!

I didn't think that was good enough so I went to Brentford police station and spoke to the officer on duty who listened whilst I reeled off the list of previous occurrences that I had experienced or knew about and I made the point that I personally thought that whilst I did not expect them to actually solve the crime, on the balance of probabilities I thought it may be suitable for them to at least knock on this person's door and question him which may possibly result in a cessation of the vandalism.  He appeared to agree with me and called the person that had telephoned my lodger the day before, they had a conversation (which appeared to be in code) and he assured me that someone would attend at the flat but it could take a day or so.  Virtually the next day my lodger received a PRE-PRINTED UNSIGNED letter from the police basically saying TOUGH there was no further action to be taken.

I'm sorry but I still don't think that's good enough.  The cars of known residents in the car park have never been vandalised to my knowledge but, whenever there is a new car which is unknown to our vigilante car park attendant there are notes and damage caused.  In the light of the above WHAT WOULD YOU DO?


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
what would you do?09/12/10 08:56:00 Bernadette Paul
   Re:what would you do?09/12/10 12:11:00 Keith Iddon
      Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 12:15:00 Vanessa Smith
         Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 12:29:00 Adam Beamish
         Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 12:37:00 Bernadette Paul
            Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 13:00:00 Vanessa Smith
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 13:12:00 John Connelly
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 14:19:00 Bernadette Paul
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 14:36:00 Jim Lawes
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 14:49:00 Adam Beamish
                           Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 15:17:00 Bernadette Paul
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 16:22:00 Adam Beamish
   Re:what would you do?09/12/10 14:25:00 Keith Iddon
      Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 18:17:00 Keith Iddon
         Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 20:30:00 Kevin Farnan
            Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 21:47:00 Adam Beamish
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?09/12/10 23:19:00 Jim Lawes
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?10/12/10 08:39:00 Bernadette Paul
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?10/12/10 12:31:00 Robin Taylor
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?10/12/10 12:44:00 Adam Beamish
                           Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?10/12/10 14:25:00 Bernadette Paul
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?10/12/10 18:55:00 Vanessa Smith
   Re:what would you do?11/12/10 11:47:00 Michael Brandt
      Re:Re:what would you do?11/12/10 15:07:00 Matt Harmer
         Re:Re:Re:what would you do?12/12/10 17:52:00 John Connelly
            Re:Re:Re:Re:what would you do?12/12/10 17:58:00 Matt Harmer
      Re:Re:what would you do?12/12/10 21:55:00 Steve Taylor
         Re:Re:Re:what would you do?13/12/10 08:53:00 Bernadette Paul

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