Tenant discovers neighbor has been secretly using their parking stall outlet to power a car block heater, running up their electricity bill: ‘His own outlet is clearly labeled and available right next to it’

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Dec 26, 2025 4:00 PM EST

This guy has two options: Start a cat-and-mouse game of plug and unplug, or he can do what we do in my building, and that is a group chat shaming extravaganza.

I know everyone has their own neighborhood drama, but I swear our building group chat is one for the books. Because even though 90% of it is asking for spare parking spaces or a missing ingredient, the other 10 are just pure war. War about anything and everything.To a point, my partner and I have a ready-to-send " Oh $#!^ here we go again" sticker we send each other when the group starts heating up.

It always strikes me as weird when my neighbors start these huge passionate arguments because it's always about things I have pretty much zero taken on. Like, why do all these people have so many emotions about how to phrase a maintenance complaint?

It's apparently just me because things as tiny as who in the building management company we as tenants should text about a gardening problem can become a hundred-text-long thread. 

But what my partner loves the most is when a group chat war is just two neighbors fighting each other in public. It always starts with a passive-aggressive text à la: "to the very sophisticated person who thought I wouldn't know they disconnected my parking charger. Remember that we have CCTV in the building. Please do not unplug it again." And things go off the rails from there. 

Which brings me to this guy's case. He found out cold weather brings out two types of neighbors, the ones who knock before borrowing and the ones who just plug in. Specifically, he discovers that the shared parking outlet is so shared that every time their breaker flips, the neighbor's car goes dark too. Turns out the neighbor has been quietly juicing his block heater off someone else's electric bill, turning winter survival into a low‑voltage heist.  

So my advice would be: tell the other neighbors a text telling them to bring out the popcorn and then, in the group chat, of course, expose and shame the outlet squatter.

You and your neighbors can thank me later.

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  • 01

    Neighbour is using my parking stall outlet, what should i do?

    A man sits at a kitchen table reading a document with a concerned expression, while an inset photo shows an outdoor electrical outlet labeled “82” with cords plugged in and surrounded by snow, suggesting possible unauthorized electricity use.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    Cheezburger Image 10591105536
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  • Hi guys, what would you do in this situation?

    I moved into my apartment this fall, and now that it’s getting really cold, block heaters are basically necessary to start the car in the morning. Each parking spot is supposed to have its own power outlet.

    My parking spot has two outlets. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I recently found out that when I turn off the breaker in my unit, both outlets lose power. That means my neighbour has been using electricity from my unit to run his block heater for who knows how long.

    Block heaters draw a decent amount of power, and his own outlet is clearly labeled and available right next to it.

    What would you do here? Would you consider this electricity theft, or is there a more reasonable way to handle it?

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    82 1232
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  • 04
    Ok_Accident652 I wonder why he does that. Is he trying to save money or just dumb... let us know how the breaker being off turns out!
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  • 05
    OP No-Examination2577 I think he's trying to save some money, that block heater constantly draws 400-500w, it's not cheap if using it every night.
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  • 06
    Chastity-76 Say.... hi neighbor. Stop plugging your stuff in my outlet, I cant afford it. Merry Christmas. Or Lookie here neighbor....stop plugging your shit here or I will cut the cord. Merry Christmas
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    OP No-Examination2577 I can talk to ChatGPT for 2 hours but sadly I can't talk to real humans
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  • 08
    Bammalam102 Id plug mine into theirs
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  • 09
    OP No-Examination2577 I just turned my breaker off, I hope he won't start his car tomorrow lol.
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    A worried man in a plaid shirt sits at a table holding paperwork, resting his head in his hand while reviewing documents, suggesting stress over bills, finances, or an unexpected problem.
    via andres barrionuevo lopez

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 11
    louielou8484 I have never heard of such a thing before. I had to Google it. Where do you live?? How does it attach to your car and what part of the car does it go to?? Edit: Woahhh! I just watched a bunch of videos and that's crazy to me! 35 years old and I have never heard of this. Very neat!! How much does this add to your electricity every month (not including your thieving neighbor ) and do cars in your area come with the plug port already or do you have to get it installed? I'd love to see
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  • 12
    OP No-Examination2577 In areas where the temperature drop below -20 in winter, the car's engine will have a great suffer trying to cold start in the morning, so we attach a piece of heating pad somewhere around the engine to pre-heat the oil/fluid, if not doing this chances are your car won't start.
    via No-Examination2577
  • 13
    JP_Tulo Just move it and plug it into their own. If they say anything to you, let them know that you thought they just made a mistake by plugging into your electricity.
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    beachbum818 Turn off the power to that outlet until you need it
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    Ritval Today I learned what a block heater is. You snow people are crazy.
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  • 16
    Dizzy_Yard7671 I'm baffled by the lack of top comments that say contact the Landlord. Once he stops plugging it in, check your monthly statements and compare. Depending on how high it is, take him to small claims to recoup. 100% turn off the breaker when not in use.
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  • 17
    Happy_Standard_4534 Today on reddit: "HOW DO I TALK TO OTHER HUMANS?"
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  • 18
    Antique-Assistant359 This is 100% theft lol, no way they are doing this accidentally.
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Tags

neighbors snow neighborhood car neighborhood-drama bad neighbors heater electricity parking entitled people apartment
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