This Redditor Reported A Car Parked By A Fire Hydrant—Now Their Neighbor Wants Them To Pay The Ticket

A 28-year-old woman refused to just let a mystery car sit in front of her house, and now her neighbor is demanding she pay for the ticket. It sounds petty until you remember the one thing you cannot block, a fire hydrant.

Here’s the messy part, the OP noticed an out-of-state plated car parked by the hydrant and it stayed there for days. She assumed it might be stolen or abandoned, called the cops to check, and then the car finally moved across the street to an area with plenty of parking. Of course, her neighbor did not take that well.

Now it’s trash day drama, a cussing match, and a question nobody wanted to answer, are you paying for the hydrant ticket?

After several days passed and the car hadn’t moved, the OP started to worry it might have been stolen and abandoned there.

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Original Post

In front of my house is a fire hydrant. My neighbors park their car in front of their house and I do not. I use my driveway.

One day I came home from work and there was a car there out of of state plates. I figured it was a guest for my neighbors and didn't think much of it. Then a few days passed by and the car didn't budge. I thought it was a stolen car that was dropped off in front of my house because I don't live in the best neighborhood.So I called the cops to see if they could come check it out. Please keep in mind it was also a day before trash pick up and seeing as the car hadn't moved in a few days, I assumed it wasn't going to move again any time soon.I called as I left to work and when I got home. The car moved across the street (where there is PLENTY of parking). Well fast forward to today. My neighbor is parking there now and I've asked her before to move her car due to trash day and this time she made a remark "yeah, I'll move my car. Before you call the cops again on us. I got a ticket by the way, are you going to pay for it?" I told her the reason why I called, stating i thought it was a stolen car because it had out of state plates and that it was there for almost a week and hadn't moved. She claims it was only two days. She said I could've asked them to move the car, but how was i to know it was someone visiting them?She tries to argue with me but I didnt want to argue because her son is there literally watching the interaction. Then she called me an asshole for calling the cops and I told her that I was being nice by asking her and I could've just called the cops again because it's illegal to park in front of a fire hydrant. That I don't care if they park there, they just need to move their car for trash day. She started to cuss me out in her native language and I just went into my house and shut the door on her. Thankfully I'm moving out of here at the end of the month. One year was all I could take living in this neighborhood. So am I the asshole?

Let's see how the Reddit community reacted.

ada-byron

You should've just acted surprised.

Traditional-Sky5252

NTA.

ButItSaysOnline

How did she know someone called?

Puzzleheaded-Call351

Don't mess with fire prevention.

humble-meercat

It's their responsibility to park legally.

Bill__A

It also feels like the cookie-baking tradition that imploded after a secret recipe betrayal.

She might need to learn the hard way.

secret_identity_too

I'd be calling reporting it every time.

Sensitive-Way-5477

Okay, but why would you admit to it?

Capable_Victory_7807

She deserves it for being petty.

sirhackenslash

It's a safety violation.

RedTruck1989

I think your neighbors might be my neighbors!

Boring_Fee_9572

She sounds like a slow learner.

GlobalLifeguard8928

The OP’s out-of-state mystery car sat by the fire hydrant long enough to make her think it was abandoned, not visiting.

After the cops checked it out, the car shifted across the street, and that’s when the neighbor started acting like the OP overreacted.

When trash day rolled around, the neighbor told the OP she’d move her car only after the OP stopped calling the cops again.

Then the hydrant parking ticket showed up, and the neighbor flipped the script by asking if the OP was paying for it, right in front of her son.

In the end, the Redditor says the situation only reinforced their decision to move. With the end of the month approaching, they’re ready to leave the neighborhood drama behind for good.

Still, the awkward encounter left them wondering if they handled things the wrong way. So they turned to Reddit with one simple question: were they actually the jerk in this situation, or just trying to follow the rules?

Nobody wins when you mix a fire hydrant, trash day, and a neighbor who thinks the ticket is your bill.

For another brutal family fallout, see the AITA fight over skipping a grandmother’s funeral after years of ostracization.