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

betmunch

Simply wait for it to rain and inform him that you arranged for the rain to wash the dust of his car for him

Ebenezer_Screwj

Presumably he washes his car regularly anyway. You should point out to him very slowly that the dust would just disappear after the next wash . .

Amanda007

Obviously the neighbour is thinking of suing you for damage to his car - hence the photos. Firstly though, IF he has washed the car, he has simply scratched the dust in - therefore he was the last person to touch the car, therefore he did the damage.

IF the car hasn't been washed, DON'T. Get a soft brush - like a paint brush and very gently brush the dust off. If there are any scratches - the car owner has to prove it was from your dust.

This whole situation is ridiculous, I can only presusme he has a very expensive car!

Also, if the company laying your drive made such a mess - tell your neighbour to take the situation up with them and that you will give them full company details incl. a contact name and number.

Generally, in the eyes of the law you need to be seen to be taking every possible meaure to rectify the situation.

If the paintwork is damaged, simply ask for the proof that it has resulted from your dust, that the car wasn't washed, and that you are resposible. Then say you will cover costs for him to buy a paint pen from Halfords to do the job himself. You've then covered your bases.
It can't come to this, as no doubt the car has been washed or left out in the rain, but just in case the neighbour goes to the small claims court you need to come out squeaky clean.

A lesson to us all methinks to let the neighbours know is we are undertaking any work on our properties to tell them there may be dust or noise and to prepare for it.

philrich1064

Although on the face of it, it looks like your neighbour is being petty, & the majority of answers appear to have that viewpoint, IMHO it depends on what kind of dust it is? Is your new driveway blockpaved by any chance? did the builders use a powersaw to cut the blocks? If so, then the dust is almost certainly a mixture of coarse sand and powdered concrete which, when windblown is akin to a mini sandstorm & would be capable of damaging a cars paint finish. Taking it to a carwash would be a definate no-no as that would certainly cause more problems than it solved. Gentle hosing would probably be the best answer. If there is any damage, then I would have thought your builder is culpable & should have Insurance to cover the eventuality?

silverswan

This type of idiot neighbour makes me sick. Perhaps he should join the real world and stop worrying about something as materialistic as a car.He probably has more sympathy for the vehicles lost in the Pakistani floods and the Chinese earthquake than he has for the people killed there.
He should try living here in the south of Scotland where farm muck coats your vehicle; not to mention volcanic ash and once - sahara sand after a sandstorm, but hey it's worth it to live in this beautiful place.
Tell him it's part and parcel of life and that if he ever gets work done, you promise that you won't complain!

pulliptears

joeybishop wrote: »

What the hell has this got to do with money saving?

Well arent you a rude little oik?

As far as the topic, personally I'd do nothing for now. He hasn't asked for anything yet so leave it. In all probability it will be the last you hear of the issue. If he comes back again just ask him politely how he wishes to resolve the issue and then take it from there.

kneelbeforezod

Amanda007 wrote: »

Obviously the neighbour is thinking of suing you for damage to his car - hence the photos. Firstly though, IF he has washed the car, he has simply scratched the dust in - therefore he was the last person to touch the car, therefore he did the damage.

IF the car hasn't been washed, DON'T. Get a soft brush - like a paint brush and very gently brush the dust off. If there are any scratches - the car owner has to prove it was from your dust.

This whole situation is ridiculous, I can only presusme he has a very expensive car!

Also, if the company laying your drive made such a mess - tell your neighbour to take the situation up with them and that you will give them full company details incl. a contact name and number.

Generally, in the eyes of the law you need to be seen to be taking every possible meaure to rectify the situation.

If the paintwork is damaged, simply ask for the proof that it has resulted from your dust, that the car wasn't washed, and that you are resposible. Then say you will cover costs for him to buy a paint pen from Halfords to do the job himself. You've then covered your bases.
It can't come to this, as no doubt the car has been washed or left out in the rain, but just in case the neighbour goes to the small claims court you need to come out squeaky clean.

A lesson to us all methinks to let the neighbours know is we are undertaking any work on our properties to tell them there may be dust or noise and to prepare for it.

In my opinion Amanda here is spot on. The OP needs to be VERY careful how they handle this lest they be on the receiving end of an expensive civil action.

I can't believe the attitude of some of the respondents on here saying how petty the neigbour is being. It may well appear to be a potential complaint about nothing, but obviously there are far too many people out there ignorant of the actual effects that concrete dust can cause to car paintwork, and even more so a poorly thought-out attempt at washing the dust off (most mechanical car washes will leave fine scratches in paintwork, and I'd rather clean my car with a scouring pad than allow those idiots with the wheeled trolleys that prowl supermarket car parks loose on it).

Plus we have had no details of the neighbour's circumstances - as someone has previously suggested, what if the guy had just had his car (we haven't been told what make/model of car it is - it could be quite expensive, maybe a classic car with an original paint finish or one very difficult to replicate using modern methods) professionally cleaned and detailed at a cost of several hundred pounds, left the car on the driveway for a couple of hours not knowing about the work next door then came out and found the finish totally ruined, wasting all that money? Again, some on here might question who would waste that kind of money cleaning a car, how petty and egocentric that neighbour must be. But he's allowed to do with his property what he wants. The OP, however, is not, and is legally responsible for putting their neighbour back in the position he was in prior to the car being covered in dust... and a bucket of water will not be sufficient restitution.

For those critical of the neighbour's attitude, let's take a hypothetical example of a different problem for them all to consider. Say the OP or their partner had been out and bought/hired a very expensive outfit for a special night out. Then they went to the hairdressers, the manicurist, the beauty parlour, to make themselves look and feel really good. Over the top perhaps? Maybe its a birthday. An anniversary. A wedding. Whatever... they have got themselves all ready, go outside, and are covered in building dust due to a freak accident next door. Perhaps some dust got in their eye...and they wear contact lenses, and the dust is irritating and scratching the surface of the eyeball. They take a picture of their ruined state then go to you complaining about what has happened. Do you tell them to go away, stop bleating about a little itty bit of dust? ;-)

Now I say to those people...imagine it wasn't the OP. Imagine instead that it was YOU.

;-)

tahariel

I'd be a bit miffed. I wouldn't take photos but I would expect an offer to clean the car. You caused the dust

jgriggle

It's probably courteous to let your neighbours know if you're having building work done, but I think the neighbour should get a grip! No damage has been caused to his car. It's annoying if something like that happens - especially if you've just cleaned your car - but hey, that's life, sh*t happens.

If you want to keep good relations with your neighbour then offer him a fiver for a carwash, but personally I wouldn't be too bothered about keeping him on side - he sounds like a cantankerous old so-and-so.

One more point - NEVER offer to wash his car. If you're a bucket & sponge type of person, you're putting tiny swirly scratches in your paintwork, caused by your sponge trapping dirt particles and then dragging them over the paint. If you don't believe me, look along the panels of your car next time you're under the flourescent lights in a petrol station, or under bright sunlight. If the carwash causes the same problem then that's between him and the carwash owner.

http://www.clean-image.co.uk/articles/swirl_marks.htm

Most people won't notice - but he certainly will!!

quizzical

It's really not worth falling out with a neighbour over something so trivial. He's obviously a bit of a Victor Meldrew but at least you know what he's like now and hopefully you can avoid a similar situation in the future