Complaining Neighbours

GotToChange

^^ Re. the post upthread wondering if the Neighbour lives alone. Whilst it is fair point. the other side of that coin is that people aren't so quick to pick on neighbours who (rightly or "wongly" - very subjective that is) have a complaint if said neighbour has a strapping truck driver standing up for them. In today's world, people who live alone are not only considered to be losers or mental health patients but are also treated abysmally.

OP - whether or not she lives alone (and I'm afraid I suspect she does), a little kindness would not go amiss here. It is horrid to be on the receiving end of p-taking and being ignored and disregarded.

Tropez

JMW77 wrote: »

I live next door to the neighbour from hell, firstly objected to our planning consent perfectly legitimate Stone Garage spoiled her view but it got approved .
Next she complained to the enviromental health because my cats go to the toilet in her garden.They followed up her complaint but laughed with us.
Next i hear through the grapevine she has made a complaint about my business which she can do nothing about as i am within the law .

What next i wonder?

Anything i can do ?

Isn't it fun when your neighbours are such a nightmare?

Sadly, some people are like that but on the plus side if she continues to complain, particularly if she is making complaints to government/council services she will quickly get a reputation as a trouble maker and her complaints will be taken less seriously - boy who cried wolf syndrome.

I'm not too pleased about the local cats coming in my garden and doing their business but I wouldn't be making complaints to environmental health over it as there are plenty of perfectly legal, inexpensive and non-harmful ways to keep cats out. Obviously, if she has cats then she wouldn't want to employ any such methods but she should also know how they behave. Are we to assume her cats never do poopies outside of her property? It is possible, of course, but often the people who complain are as guilty as those they complain about.

The only thing you can do is just ignore her. When she makes a complaint, just provide any relevant authority with evidence to the contrary and strike it from your mind. She will either run out of complaints to make, or be told off for continually wasting council time.

You may bring a harassment case against her but I would really use that as a last resort. You can always keep records of her various complaints and the outcomes as evidence in the mean time.

summerday

Hi,

We have had problems with neighbours in the past also. Of course we've only heard your side of the story, but it does sound like they're being unreasonable.

I'm not sure there's anything much you can do, but i know it's not very pleasant and you're always waiting with bated breath to see what the next 'complaint' will be. We found that it was best to just give them as little response as possible, do not let them see that it bothers or upsets you at all and they will be less inclined to cause you bother if they're not getting a response. And just try to keep out of their way and not do anything obvious that might rile them.

Sarah

Running_On_Empty

JMW77 wrote: »

I don't have a problem with them other than there petty complaints which just don't stand up.

If they have issues with us they should talk to us, i dont think we should go and talk to them as they clearly don't want to talk to us.

In fact maybe we should go round i would love to hear her reasons why she would worry if we were licensed or not,what business is
it of hers anyway.
It never crosses my mind to see if shes qualified in her work .
Its none of my business.

The minibus that you keep parked next door to her property is her concern. It causes noise, pollution and it's an eyesore.
I wonder why you haven't said what's the nature of the business you run.
Presumably it's a licensed mini bus service?

As another poster has said, we have only heard your complaints about her and nothing about why she would feel the need to complain about your noisy, smelly, view-blocking bus.

JMW77

10 years down the line is a little late in the day to complain in my opinion ,and if i want to run another business from my home i am allowed as long as i have received the right permission should i need it.
One day neighbours might be able to have a say but at the moment they don't , and that the way it is.

deedardingle

Our next door but one neighbour is always reporting the neighbours for one thing or another. One morning last week, she knocked on my door to tell me that she was reporting me for letting my two puppies poo all over her back garden. When I asked when had she seen them on her garden, she admitted that she hadn't actually seen them but it must be them because it had only started happening since we got them. I just smiled sweetly and invited her through to inspect the 6ft high fencing that surrounds our garden (she declined) and I reminded her that they would also have to get through or over the middle neighbours' 6ft fence to get into her garden. As she went away, she was saying that she was still going to report me.

As far as I'm concerned, she's welcome to report me, I'm 110% certain that my dogs have never been in her garden. To be honest, I feel quite sorry for her, that she must have so little happening in her life that she has to spend half of it at the window watching for something to complain to the authorities about.

Maybe I should have reminded her though, of what a short memory she has. Not so long ago, when she had a dog, almost daily she would stand behind my next door neighbour's hedge and wait while he did a poo on my front lawn. Did I ever complain to her about it, or report her? No, silly me, not wanting to cause any bother just went out and cleared it up. :mad::rotfl:

mikey72

JMW77 wrote: »

10 years down the line is a little late in the day to complain in my opinion ,and if i want to run another business from my home i am allowed as long as i have received the right permission should i need it.
One day neighbours might be able to have a say but at the moment they don't , and that the way it is.

Neighbours can complain, and that's the way it is too.
If they can put in another complaint as long as they have the right to, they can.
One day the may have a valid complaint, and then you'll have to stop.
Works both ways.

Savvy_Sue

Running_On_Empty wrote: »

The minibus that you keep parked next door to her property is her concern. It causes noise, pollution and it's an eyesore.

More to the point, some properties have restrictive covenants about what you can and can't park on the front drive. And in rented properties, that can be even more of an issue.

So, while the OP may have all the appropriate licences for the vehicle, that doesn't automatically mean that the business is operating legally from the OP's home.

slummymummyof3

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

More to the point, some properties have restrictive covenants about what you can and can't park on the front drive. And in rented properties, that can be even more of an issue.

So, while the OP may have all the appropriate licences for the vehicle, that doesn't automatically mean that the business is operating legally from the OP's home.

I think you will find that unless the OP lives in a relatively new development, once all of the properties have been sold; the developer is not interested in enforcing any restrictive covenants. Many properties have covenants such as no sign written vehicles, caravans or farmyard animals such as chickens. A developer who has sold all houses and where they have no further interest in the devlopment, is not going to bother with the cost of legal work to stop someone parking a white van/minibus or whatever it is.

Savvy_Sue

slummymummyof3 wrote: »

I think you will find that unless the OP lives in a relatively new development, once all of the properties have been sold; the developer is not interested in enforcing any restrictive covenants. Many properties have covenants such as no sign written vehicles, caravans or farmyard animals such as chickens. A developer who has sold all houses and where they have no further interest in the devlopment, is not going to bother with the cost of legal work to stop someone parking a white van/minibus or whatever it is.

Oh, true enough, but it wouldn't necessarily stop a neighbour complaining about it, would it? "The deeds say ..." and so on.