Having your own car is great, but it’s not all miles of smiles. You’ve gotta pay for maintenance, insurance, and, if you live in a city, a safe parking spot. You could skip the car and Uber, sure, but that’s gonna cost you almost as much if you’re doing it daily.
One woman, who has her own paid-for parking spot, reached her limit after her roomie’s boyfriend kept parking in it. She tried being polite at first but, after getting two parking tickets, she decided to take revenge. She shared her story with an online community.
More info: Reddit
Having your own car comes with its perks, but struggling to find a parking spot late at night isn’t one of them
Image credits: user24121185 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One woman, who works late shifts, got a paid parking spot in her building, but things started going wrong when her roommate’s boyfriend kept stealing it
Image credits: artursafronovvvv / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Forced to park on the street, the woman picked up two $75 parking tickets, so she asked her roommate to stop her boyfriend from parking in her spot
Image credits: 1403 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The third time it happened, the woman put her foot down and had the inconsiderate boyfriend’s car towed, much to the horror of her roommate
Image credits: Upstairs_Ad_5355
Now the tension in the apartment can be cut with a knife, so the woman turned to an online community to ask if having the car towed was an overreaction
Living with roommates can be tricky, but the original poster’s (OP) patience finally ran out after her roommate’s boyfriend kept stealing her paid parking spot. At 31, she shares an apartment with a 27-year-old friend and pays $180 extra a month for guaranteed parking. Despite clear rules, her spot quickly turned into the boyfriend’s “borrowed” space.
The first few times, she handled it politely, leaving notes, texting reminders, and even confronting him directly, but her repeated requests were brushed off with laughter and excuses that it’d only be for a few hours. Unfortunately, that “few hours” cost her dearly: each time she had to park on the street late at night, she racked up $75 parking tickets.
The final straw came one night at 1 AM, when OP found his car in her spot again. Exhausted and frustrated, she took photos and called the towing company listed in their lobby. Twenty minutes later, the boyfriend’s car was gone, her space was free, and she headed off to bed for some shuteye.
When her roommate discovered what happened, though, chaos erupted. She accused OP of being dramatic and demanded she cover the $275 towing fee. Instead, OP offered her a deal: she’d split it if her roommate reimbursed her tickets and next month’s parking. Now their home is tense, leaving her to ask netizens if she went too far.
Image credits: fr0ggy5 / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
From what OP tells us in her post, it would seem her roommate’s boyfriend is an entitled jerk. If you’ve ever come across anyone who thinks the world owes them constant favors, you can probably relate. What makes some people expect special treatment, though? We went looking for answers.
WebMD says entitlement mentality is defined as a sense of deservingness or being owed a favor when little or nothing has been done to deserve special treatment. It’s basically a “you owe me” attitude.
While it’s not exactly known how this mentality develops, experts agree that it’s a narcissistic personality trait that may crop up due to social factors like the environment you grew up in, the way your parents treated you, whether adults solved your problems for you, or how you’re treated by authority figures.
So, what’s the best way to deal with someone who doesn’t respect boundaries like OP’s parking thief? The pros say that words alone don’t always lead to the change you’re looking for. If someone keeps ignoring your boundaries, follow through with consequences they can’t ignore. Which is pretty much exactly what OP did.
OP couldn’t have been any clearer, or more polite, about what she expected. Who can really blame her for finally taking action that’d actually get through to the bothersome boyfriend?
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in her shoes? Do you think she went too far, or did her roommate’s boyfriend get exactly what he deserved? Share your thoughts in the comments!
In the comments, many readers said they’d have had the car towed even earlier and that the boyfriend deserved what he got for laughing her previous requests off
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