Parking disputes are one of the most reliable sources of neighborhood conflict, and this one escalated in the most satisfying way possible.

A homeowner who had been dealing with strangers blocking his private gate to pop into the nearby pharmacy finally encountered a driver who not only refused to move but told him directly that if he didn’t want people parking there, he should just close the gate.

So he did. With the car still inside.

The homeowner went home, took a shower, and listened to the intercom lose its mind ten minutes later.

The driver called the police, accused him of car theft, and started a scene that quickly got out of hand. The police showed up and the story took a very satisfying turn from there.

Keep reading for the full story.

This is private property, sir

I’m not sure if it’s petty revenge or malicious compliance, but I think this story can fit here.

Some years ago I used to live above a pharmacy.

The homeowner continues to set the scene.

Next to the pharmacy there were four parking spaces and a gate giving access to our private courtyard where I had my garage.

In the area there were three other parking areas with at least 80 parking spaces.

Nevertheless, coming back from work I always found one car parked in front of my gate, as it was closer to the pharmacy.

So soon, he came face to face with the errant parker.

The gate during the day was always open, as the pharmacy kept their stock in there, and to avoid opening and closing it every time, they used to block the photocell with a piece of wood.

One day I arrived at the gate, which was luckily free, but the man in front of me turned into the gate to park.

I started honking to tell him to move.

The parker clearly didn’t care at all and went on his way.

He left the car there and said, “This space belongs to the pharmacy, I am going to the pharmacy and I found the parking place before you, so I am leaving it here. If you don’t want people to park inside, you need to close the gate!”

Needless to say, I explained why he was wrong, but he just left.

But I noticed one thing: his car was not blocking the photocell.

The homeowner decided he needed to take action.

So this is what I did:

I “accidentally” nudged the wood to let the gate close with his car inside.

I parked my car in one of the nearby parking spaces.

I went home on foot to take a shower.

This created a huge scene.

After 10 minutes, the intercom started going absolutely crazy.

I got dressed and went downstairs five minutes later.

The man was furious.

“I called the police and you are going to have problems now, you stole my car!”

The parker soon got everyone and anyone involved in the dispute.

He went ballistic, complaining to everyone coming out of the pharmacy, and when he saw me he started insulting me like there was no tomorrow.

I told him to calm down, because he was wrong and that I had been in the shower.

He said, “No, I don’t care, now you stay here and wait for the police!”

So then the police finally pull up and start getting both sides of the story.

The police arrived, and the man said, “He stole my car — look, I have the keys and he closed the gate to steal it!”

And here the real show started.

Of course, the homeowner and the parker don’t agree on what actually happened.

The police asked me what happened, and I told them that yes, I had complained about him parking on my private property, but then I went to park somewhere nearby and went home.

The man kept shouting that I was lying.

About the piece of wood, I said I didn’t know — it must have fallen by itself — but even if I had removed it, it was within my rights to have my gate closed, as the man himself had told me fifteen minutes earlier.

Soon, the police rightfully sided with the homeowner, which only made the parker even angrier.

The police understood what had happened, told him to be quiet, and said, “This is private property, sir!”

The man was purple with rage, couldn’t stay still, and was absolutely furious.

The police continue to try to get through to this guy.

The police asked me to open the gate, and I told them I needed to get the remote from my car.

I asked them to explain to the man what he had done wrong in my absence, saying, “I am a little scared of him.”

I took my time walking to the car to allow the police to give the man a proper talking-to.

When I returned, the man was looking down at the ground, like someone had knocked the wind out of him.

Luckily, the police’s intervention appeared to finally get through to him.

I opened the gate, the police made the man apologize to me, and told him to leave.

There were no fines or charges, though the police did tell him, “You could be charged with filing a false report, but we won’t do it as long as you don’t park here anymore.”

I never saw that man again, and for a while, no one parked in front of the gate.

What a saga.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a family who is resisting pressure from the HOA to remove their tree and lights.

Redditors are sure to get a kick out of this one.

Sometimes you just have to let karma step in.

Some people are so wrong that any reasonable person would never believe a word they’re saying.

Maybe some warning signs would be a good investment.

The most satisfying part of this story isn’t the gate closing or the police showing up. It’s the moment the driver had to stand there, purple with rage, and listen to the police explain what private property means while the homeowner waited calmly nearby holding a gate remote.

This stranger had been parking in that spot because it was convenient, but deep down, he knew it was wrong and he knew the homeowner was right all along. Some people just are too proud to admit it before the cops show up.

And as for the gate closing? The homeowner had only done exactly what the parker asked.

Don’t give people instructions you don’t want them to follow.