Can I have the vehicle towed away on private property?
Suddenly, someone else's car is parked in your parking space or in front of your garage. The first thought: call the towing service. But beware: towing from private property should only be a last resort and can quickly become an expensive boomerang in terms of costs.
It's annoying, takes time and your gut says "Tow away!". But we should still be careful not to call a towing company too quickly if we see someone parked on our own property: The risk of being stuck with the costs is quite high. In principle, the following applies: On public property, the police can have the vehicle towed away at their discretion and claim the costs from the owner through official channels. On private property, however, calling the police is useless: they are not responsible and cannot and must not do anything.
Private towing has its pitfalls. It is subject to strict conditions. Towing must be proportionate. Even a sign that threatens parking offenders with towing does not change this. In other words, it is the last resort and only permissible if it is really necessary. You should first check whether the parking offender has perhaps left a note with a cell phone number in the car. Then wait for a reasonable amount of time to see if the parking offender drives away after all. If he does not, you should try to notify him, for example by ringing a doorbell at a nearby house or checking the license plate number and calling. If none of this helps, towing is an option - but only if the incorrectly parked car really is in the way. Could you park next to it yourself? Then it's better to swallow your anger and not have it towed away. Otherwise, if it goes to court, it could be ruled: Towing was unnecessary.
This is particularly costly. It is true that you can claim the costs from the towed vehicle (or assign the claim to the towing company). However, if the offending driver does not pay voluntarily, the client must pay and then sue for the costs - which is time-consuming, costly and never guarantees that you will get your money back.
So penalize the parking offender differently, by blocking his car? Yes, don't! That can be really expensive as coercion. This is based on the fact that vigilante justice is prohibited and that mistakes made by others do not entitle us to break the law ourselves. It is possible to claim compensation from the parking offender, for example because you missed a business appointment as a result. But proving this damage is time-consuming. In other words, feeling right and then being objectively right are often two very different things.
Can you at least distribute a "private bus"? Compensation can only be demanded if there is a judicial ban and it is clearly signaled. The owner then has a choice: he can demand an appropriate amount of compensation (usually between CHF 20 and over CHF 50) or, in the event of non-payment, be fined (usually from CHF 200). The parking offender can hardly avoid paying. The downside: depending on the authority, such a court ban usually costs from at least 600 francs plus the plaque.
