Neighbour Problems |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 07:04 PM
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Neighbour Problems
Hey Everyone,
I just need to vent really badly. We have had trouble with our neighbour for awhile now.
It started with him complaining about a skip bin on our verge that was there because a car ran into our house and the insurance people were using it
to clean up. He was complaining that his children were playing in it and when was it going to be removed. He knew what had happened and I couldn't
believe he was complaining about that and really he should watch his kids to make sure he looks after them! He also complained that our garden was
ugly and asked when we were going to fix it. At that time we had only just moved in and it used to be a rental and the tenant had ruined it. We are a
first home buyer couple and were a little bit focused on the gaping hole where the car came through at that time. This was the first incident.
A couple of weeks ago he dumped all his garden waste on our verge. I went over and asked him nicely to move it as we were going to do our garden and
couldnt if it was there he argued for a bit but in the end he agreed to move it. Then my boyfriend broke his hand so we couldnt do the garden and
while walking past his house the neighbour had a go saying he had to move his stuff so why isn't our garden done? It resulted in a heated argument
between them.
And now two weeks later the RSPCA has just been here saying they have had complaints that we were mistreating out pets. In particular that we kicked
out cat like a football and it could be seen over the fence. When the man had a look at our pets they could see how well looked after they are and how
happy and healthy they are. So the RSPCA man said not to worry. Although he said if he is called back he might have to take them even if there are no
signs of injury or neglect.
Now i am really really upset about this and I dont know what to do!
It makes me so angry that they can do this!! My cat is a pedigree ragdoll and he is treated like a king!! |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 07:17 PM
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That's just awful.
It sounds like you might like to get some professional advice if he's going to start causing trouble.
Maybe ring the Legal Aid people who offer free advice over the phone, or the council, or even drop in to the local police station?
Someone will point you in the right direction.
You need to know your rights if he's going to start getting you into trouble with the RSPCA etc.
I think they say too you should start documenting incidents and what exactly happened.
Fingers crossed things won't escalate. |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 07:27 PM
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One piece of advice I would give is to try not to let your neighbour see that what they are doing to you is annoying you. Often that is when they get
their enjoyment, seeing the distress that it causes other people.
Karma will catch up with them eventually. Hopefully you can shut your door and try and get him out of your mind. His punishment is that he has to
live as himself with his own miserable existence 24 hours a day. When he wakes up at 3am he is still that miserable sod that he was when he went to
sleep. He is living the life he deserves.
I would suggest that you start documenting the situations that come up including conversations etc in a notepad so that should it be needed later you
will have a full record of the neighbour's behaviour and won't have to rely on memory.
You are dealing with a person that doesn't seem to be playing with a full deck of cards but I would recommend that you and your partner try not to
react with a heated argument. An argument needs two people and two hotheads don't equal a resolution.
I am sorry you have this problem and hope that some sort of peaceful existence can happen in the future. |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 07:31 PM
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We had a neighbour that literally bought me to tears....this was when my 15 year old daughter was 1 year old.....he realised that he could push my
buttons . When I realised this and didn't react anymore he turned to another neighbour to hassle. Let me tell you, when the For Sale sign went up at
thier house there was great rejoicing by all.
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 08:26 PM
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Our current neighbours were like this for four years and ignoring them only made us feel sicker as we felt like it almost condoned the bad behaviour
by doing nothing.
I remember some movie I watched and there was some biblical saying...it was along the lines of 'evil survives when good men do nothing'
As much as we hated it as it felt juvenile, we felt we were going to go mad unless we gave them a small taste of how we were feeling after years of
rubbish like what you are going through..
We never directly retailiated but what we did was when we saw a 'unsafe' issue with their house, we reported them to the council, when they used their
hose to wash their flash super expensive cars in the street we dobbed them in to...etc
Part of me hated it but after years it sadly felt good to have some recourse other than a yelling match. We never broke any laws but we made things
uncomfortable for them..
Sometimes 'good men' do have to do something. Our neighbours a month ago rang us and called a truce and apologised!! Things have been great ever
since, with cheery little waves hello & goodbye etc
Shame things even get to that in this day and age but you can't pick your neighbours!
Ring the RSPCA and speak with them, I would be very surprised that they have the right to confiscate your beloved animal without evidence!
Anyone remember a animal cruelty case here in VIC years ago to do with horses? The media went nuts as the RSPCA would not take the horses away from
their owner as she apparently had to have an opportunity to fix things once the RSPCA turned up.
So I doubt your kitty cat is going anywhere
Try and ignore the old buzzard, if that doesnt work speak with the police about what you can do about the harrassment......
Keep your chin up hun and keep us posted!
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 08:31 PM
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The land out in the street belongs to the council, not to you or to him, so get him to take it up with the council or the insurance co. that put the
skip there, it isn't your problem.
What you do if/when in your garden is none of his business, if it is bothering him so much say he is welcome to come & fix it up for you due to
boyfriends broken hand.
If none of the above sinks in ignore him, he is probably a nutter. |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 08:44 PM
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Emily thats terrible!
So sorry you have to go through this. I would be upset too and even more so now the pets are involved!
I wonder if you might be able to google for ideas on how to sort this out once and for all, or call a solicitor and get some free legal advice? Its
distressing to think someone can lie and have your pets removed Am wondering tho
why the RSPCA person would say "dont worry" and in the next breath say he can take them away. Is he TRYING to upset you!!??
Really hope you can get this neighbour to back off, nothing worse than people making life difficult. Dont they have anything better to do! |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 08:52 PM
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I wonder if the neighbour even owns his house or is renting and jealous that you bought your house ? And the fact is it`s YOUR HOUSE he can`t tell
you what or when to do anything to it!!! Sounds like he has too much time on his hands tell him to take his kids to the park so they don`t have to
play in a bin !!!! |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:01 PM
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Try not to react to his baiting, and absolutely write everything down, even better if you can get some video evidence of his ranting.
Sadly, it can be very difficult to get authorities to take action in these circumstances. We have a near-neighbour (thankfully not next to us) who is
mentally ill as a result of a drug addiction. His paranoid-psychotic episodes are extremely frightening for anyone nearby, and has included him
throwing petrol bombs at the house next door. He has driven good people out of their homes, left hoping they can get a sale for them after vacating.
It becomes very difficult when the root cause is mental illness, because our health system just cannot cope with the number of patients with mental
health issues as a result of drug use, and police are very reluctant to become involved in what they see as a "neighbourhood dispute".
You might like to consider moving, although I can understand that this feels like a very unfair solution. |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:05 PM
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How sad for you being stuck next to such idiots!!
Some people have no life and just whinge all day. Just ignore him if you can (I couldnt but I have a bad temper..LOL) Hope things start going ok and
please stop kicking your cat like a football...LOL , OMG now I have heard it all. RSPCA should know better by the state of your king!!
Good luck with the idiots xxxxxxxxxxx |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:15 PM
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I would be emailing &/or ringing the RSPCA & speaking to the PR person or public liaison officer and I'd be telling them that I have a
vexatious neighbour who you suspect has a kangaroo loose in the top paddock! Then I would tell them that as your cat is KING why would the officer
even SUGGEST he would take it away with absolutely no substantiated evidence of any kind re animal cruelty & that you're VERY UPSET. Don't take
that treatment lying down. How dare they say that! I doubt very much that legally they can do that when they see no evidence of cruelty & the
complaint is on hearsay only and they have NO EVIDENCE!!!!
The RSPCA does a great job but they're not there to harrass innocent people.
I'd get a letter from your vet re your cat's condition - not that you should have to do anything. I'd talk to the RSPCA first.
1. None of his business what you do in your garden...& I'd tell him so
2. None of his business if you legally have a skip on your verge
Give him a card & a box of chocolates for Christmas as sometimes heaping coals of fire on his head might just work wonders.
p.s. My mother had a nutcase friend of a neighbour dob her in to the council re vermin in her house & to the RSPCA re her dog and cruelty. I rang
this woman & told her if she ever rang again or harrassed my mother in any way, Mum was in her 80's, I would get my lawyer on to her so fast she
wouldn't know what hit her...we never heard from her again as most of these people are cowards!!!!
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:24 PM
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I have worked for the RSPCA, as far as I know they cannot take your animals unless there is evidence that you are mistreating them. We had a Great
Dane that people kept ringing the RSPCA about because she was skinny and yes they have to come out and investigate but they just rang the vet we went
to and said everything is ok. She use to take fits and could not eat meat, just went straight through her. She was healthy other then looking
skinny. Bright eyes and coat, and they could see that. Some people just have too much time on their hands. I personally would just ignore him.
They cannot tell you that you have to do something to your yard, or anything else. I am with Griffin if the garden bothers him so much then tell him
he is welcome to fix it himself. No really just ignore him. A bully can only be bully if you let them. Is it not his problem if his children are in
someone else's yard any way? He should stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and concentrate looking after his own undisciplined children. |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:46 PM
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OMG, I so agree with Shocker and Kismet (except for the part about giving him chocs!).
Is he renting? If so can you make legitimate complaints to the Real Estate . We had a bunch of young guys renting across the road from us
(loud,swearing, hooning around, etc), after a few calls from a couple of neighbours, they were gone at the end of their six month lease. Do any of
your other neighbours have a problem with him? If so you maybe legally safe with the RSPCA, (ie, he's a weirdo), and what was he doing looking over
the fence, (ie weirdo again).
Document everything.
Contact the RSPCA and the council and inform them what has happened.
Good Luck.
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:51 PM
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That sucks. Every day i am thankful for my lovely neighbours. If you have neighbours on the otherside that are nice take time to let them know Hope everything works out for you. As others have already said, document everything
- just buy a cheap diary for the reject shop and write it on the day it happened. Have a wonderful christmas |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 09:57 PM
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Thanks for the replies everyone!
It's nice just to be able to vent and have people commiserate and give advice. I love this about lottos!
I think I will give the RSPCA a ring and just see what they can and can't do. We told them we have had problems with our neighbour so hopefully if
they ring again they might not believe whatever story they're spinning.
We aren't going to confront the neighbour and hopefully he will leave us alone. Although we are having a birthday party here in a week and I hope that
they won't be ringing the police about noise and just generally be a nuisance.
I'll keep you all posted! |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 10:04 PM
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Emily, I have had a neighbour that made noise regularly and the police told me there had to be 3 complaints before they would come out, so he wont be
able to cause trouble for you in that regard even if he does ring because it will only be one complaint. Unless different states have different rules?
Im in QLD.
Enjoy ya party! |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 10:13 PM
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I think they still come out here HT. My hubby's best mate is a cop and he has always said to us that if someone rings the stations directly they often
dont bother going out to sort an issue but if anyone rings 000 then they have to no matter what the issue is.
The difference being 000 is recorded so they can't brush it off.
I just remembered tonight once having a ranger turn up at my house saying that the neighbours behind me were complaining about the dog barking (news
to me) he came back another time also saying they complained but that he considered them to be vexatious so no further complaints would be listened
to...so they figure out the weirdos
I am sure weird harrassing neighbour stories are common to the council/rspca etc
Just a thought - to cover your a*s I would drop a slip of paper into your surrounding homes advising them of the party and the time it will commence
and finish and that you will be mindful of the noise...etc
Just looks nice and shows you are a nice neighbour (worth looking after)
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 10:21 PM
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Count me among to those that can 'relate' to hellish neighbours!
What state are you in? I'm a VIC expert |
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posted 10-12-2009 @ 11:56 PM
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I'm in WA |
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