A mum has expressed her fury after a neighbour stuck a rude note to her teenage son's car using superglue, criticising his parking efforts. Crystal Murphey, from the US, shared the incident on Instagram, explaining that her son Brett had parked his car on a street near his school after receiving permission from a resident.
Note Superglued to Window
When Brett returned to his vehicle at the end of the school day, he found a note angrily stating that the area is not an "overflow parking lot for high school students." The note was not simply taped to the window but had been superglued, leaving Crystal shocked. In her video, she said: "I'm in shock. This is superglued on."
Brett described the situation, saying he had asked neighbours for permission to park in a driveway but was refused. One woman directed him to park on the street, telling him exactly where to go. He added: "Two weeks later, I start school, and I show up today, and I park perfectly. I'm not on the mailbox, on a turn, on a fire hydrant, nothing. It's wide enough for a fire truck or an ambulance to get through. Then I go to school, and I come back with my friends, and this is on my window."
Teenager Confronted by Yelling Man
The teenager also claimed an "old guy yelling" at him about his parking as he approached his car, whom he assumed was the one who left the note. The letter read: "You are impeding emergency vehicles. This is not an overflow parking lot for high school students! Suggest you park elsewhere."
Crystal added in her video that while she understands the frustration of students parking in the neighbourhood, there is a "nicer way" to ask someone to move that does not involve supergluing notes to other people's property. In her caption, she wrote: "Brett parked on a street where he had permission to park … only to come back to a note that had been SUPER GLUED TO HIS CAR. Not tucked under the windshield wiper. SUPER. GLUED. I'm standing in the driveway trying to peel this thing off like, surely no grown adult actually super glued a parking complaint to a teenager's vehicle?"
Advice from Commenters and The AA
Commenters on the video offered advice on removing the note without damaging the car, including using a heat gun to warm the glue and isopropyl alcohol to dissolve it. Others suggested the family should file a police report for vandalism, especially if the car was parked on a public road, as the teenager would have done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law.
The AA advises taking the following steps if your car is vandalised: call the police on 101 if you are not in immediate danger, do not disturb any evidence, take photos, and contact your insurer. While comprehensive car insurance policies usually cover malicious damage, it is not typically covered in Theft, Fire, and Third Party policies. Vandalism claims usually affect your no-claims bonus, as they are considered "at-fault" claims, though it is unlikely you will be able to identify the vandal to recover costs.
