Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay for my excess dust?

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Should I pay for my excess dust?

We are in the process of having our driveway reflagged and recently a new neighbour from across the road came over to complain about the dust from the flagging that had fallen on his car. My husband apologised and said we didn't know what we could do. We then saw the neighbours taking pictures of the dust on his car before driving off. I am a bit taken aback by this and wondering what the neighbour hopes to achieve. Should I pay to have his car cleaned?
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Comments

  • macavity
    macavity Posts: 199 Forumite
    I'd be interested too to see what he hopes to achieve!! i can think of a few choice words i'd like to say to him, if i were you. Surely, it will make his house look better by having a neighbour with a smart new driveway. I would start by apologising nicely, explain how long is left until completion of the work and if you dont like confrontation, offer to sponge it down yourself. Personally I'd tell him to stop being such a **** and 'do one'. I'm pretty sure he couldnt put any sort of claim in for dust on his car, he'd surely be laughed out of the courtroom.
  • Kazz81
    Kazz81 Posts: 219 Forumite
    Let him know how long the work will take and suggest he parks elsewhere if he has a problem! What does he do if a bird does its business on the car-take a picture and send it to him!?

    I wouldnt even offer to clean the car for the neighbour-if he mentions the dust again ask him exactly what he is hoping to achieve from making an issue out of it.
  • hardtime
    hardtime Posts: 13
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Absolutely you should pay! Just a fiver to run it through the local car wash. It would have been courteous to your neighbour to have told him beforehand that you were having the work done so he could expect the dust in the first place. I wish people would consider their neighbours more when they have any type of work done.
  • MORPH3US
    MORPH3US Posts: 4,906
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Tesco value car wash = £2 if you really want to be generous and "fix the problem"
  • Do you have a hose? No problem.
  • I would offer to hose his car off for him, not wash it - just hose the dust off. Thats fair enough if you ask me. Secretly though I would be thinking how pathetic the neighbour is and just doing it for the sake of a quiet life
    With love, POSR <3
  • jax1305
    jax1305 Posts: 47 Forumite
    has he bothered to sue the icelandic government for volcanic dust? or farmers when the wind gets up and lifts dust off the dry fields? probably not - it's just you're an easy target for him to vent his spleen and feel better about his sad little life. Don't pay anything, he's a bully and if you give in now he'll be hassling you for every little thing. If he says anything just smile sweetly and say something like 'there's always something isn't there' or 'we need someone with your motivation on the neighbourhood watch scheme'. Don't get into an argument, that's what he wants - don't give him the satisfaction. Life's too short to worry about people like this - let him get on with his sad life, just enjoy yours and you're nice new drive (but seal it before you get oil stains on it!!)
  • Trialia
    Trialia Posts: 1,108 Forumite
    If you have a hose, hose off the dust - no reason you should have to pay for the full service on your neighbour's car when it can't be a huge amount of dust if he lives across the road from you anyway! Passive-aggressive people make me sick.
    Homosexual, Unitarian, young, British, female, disabled. Do you need more?
  • scotsbob
    scotsbob Posts: 4,632 Forumite
    Dust on neighbour's car today, some corrosive acid could spill on your new flag stones later in the year.

    Be a good neighbour and do the decent thing, be big.
  • falady
    falady Posts: 584 Forumite
    Like others have said, if he makes a fuss about it, just offer to hose it off or swill it off with a bucket of water. He's being petty, but you can be the 'bigger' person :-)
    Not Buying It 2015 :)
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