Help! Neighbour from hell is secretary of residents association - advice needed pls!

Incyder

Yes, filming people in their own garden can be dodgy. They can say its harassment or invasion of privacy.

I used to have a hideous woman neighbour, one summers afternoon I looked out of the window which overlooked her garden and she was on a sun lounger, topless and playing with her lower parts vigorously. (flicking the bean I believe it's called)

I grabbed my vid cam and filmed it with a view to showing the cops and hopefully getting the witch done for 'outraging public decency'

I assumed that it would apply as her garden was visble to about 4 houses and that makes it technically public as it can be easily viewed by the public from windows.

The tape lasted about 20 mins and was dvd quality with some nice zoom work. :cool:

Before I rang the law, I rang my mate. He works in the local magistrate court and I wanted his opinion on the content and if I was ok to take it furthur.

He viewed it and said no. It would most likely to be turned round on me as a peeping tom/perv etc and I would very likely find myself being the criminal and her the innocent victim.

I still have the tape but did nothing with it. That was 2 years ago.
I no longer live there.

G_M

Incyder - you'd have ended up on the sex offenders register, local mum's demanding to be informed of local sex offenders would have identified you, you'd have had excrament put through your letterbox.... etc etc.

What a world!

JuniorSherlock

I can understand her not joining if this woman is the secretary, it may be intimidating for her.
Keep a diary as others have said. Film the noise etc. You don't have to film their faces, you are just interested in capturing the noise and the time of day.
Write a formal letter to the Neighbourhood Watch team and also to the environmental health dept of your local council stating that you have evidence of the offences being committed. If you are very brave you can also copy the letter into the Residents Association naming this woman, although she will then know who is complaining about her.
You are in the legal right here. She is breaking the law and if she does anything to intimidate you, she is further breaking it. So make a note of everything and inform them that if nothing is done you will be reporting all future incidents to the police. They should act on a noise complaint quicker and may get to them in time to catch them 'at it'.

You don't have to put up with this - so don't.

If you get the police involved at least they will make a log of your complaints.

Incyder

G_M wrote: »

Incyder - you'd have ended up on the sex offenders register, local mum's demanding to be informed of local sex offenders would have identified you, you'd have had excrament put through your letterbox.... etc etc.
What a world!

Yes indeed. Lucky for me I didn't race off down the police station and show them my production.

In all these situations, they can get out of hand very quickly.

My mate was a voice of reason and looking back, I am glad I consulted him first.

He also said that if it was the other way round, e.g me on the lounger (doing things) and her filming from her window then I would have got done also.

He said the law would favour the woman in both situations, thats just the way it is

He also said, if I had filmed it in the precence of my upset wife as my witness then my case would have been strong as I could prove the filming was not for my own gratification.
I did not, and still do not have a wife, upset or otherwise, so that was a non starter.

Flyboy152

JuniorSherlock wrote: »

I can understand her not joining if this woman is the secretary, it may be intimidating for her.
Keep a diary as others have said. Film the noise etc. You don't have to film their faces, you are just interested in capturing the noise and the time of day.
Write a formal letter to the Neighbourhood Watch team and also to the environmental health dept of your local council stating that you have evidence of the offences being committed. If you are very brave you can also copy the letter into the Residents Association naming this woman, although she will then know who is complaining about her.
You are in the legal right here. She is breaking the law and if she does anything to intimidate you, she is further breaking it. So make a note of everything and inform them that if nothing is done you will be reporting all future incidents to the police. They should act on a noise complaint quicker and may get to them in time to catch them 'at it'.

You don't have to put up with this - so don't.

If you get the police involved at least they will make a log of your complaints.

This would not be a matter for the Neighbourhood Watch.

joolsybools

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I can't fathom why you haven't joined this Residents Association before now. Then you could bring up the issue of antisocial noise and whatnot without mentioning anyone or at least find out what their policies are. Sometimes these sorts of issues are easier to address from the inside.

In the meantime keep a detailed diary and record the racket is often as possible.

I am quite aware what the policies are on noise etc. I have not joined the tenants association as I have no interest in it whatsoever as they are totally ineffective, ie do nothing. The trouble is with her being the secretary of the residents association, she knows all the antisocial behaviour enforcing people and it's just laughed off. I think the Council noise nuicance team and police are the next step. In writing.

Thanks for all the replies

olly300

JuniorSherlock wrote: »

I can understand her not joining if this woman is the secretary, it may be intimidating for her.
Keep a diary as others have said. Film the noise etc. You don't have to film their faces, you are just interested in capturing the noise and the time of day.
Write a formal letter to the Neighbourhood Watch team and also to the environmental health dept of your local council stating that you have evidence of the offences being committed. If you are very brave you can also copy the letter into the Residents Association naming this woman, although she will then know who is complaining about her.
You are in the legal right here. She is breaking the law and if she does anything to intimidate you, she is further breaking it. So make a note of everything and inform them that if nothing is done you will be reporting all future incidents to the police. They should act on a noise complaint quicker and may get to them in time to catch them 'at it'.

You don't have to put up with this - so don't.

If you get the police involved at least they will make a log of your complaints.

The police are powerless to act on noise complaints.

EHOs will come out to enforce noise complaints in the presence of the police if something is actively going on and they have a noise patrol at the time. Otherwise everything will be done in writing.

The police will act or at least record the complaints of intimidation, if you complain to Environmental Health and then her family or her intimidate you by threatening or harassing you in anyway.

olly300

joolsybools wrote: »

I am quite aware what the policies are on noise etc. I have not joined the tenants association as I have no interest in it whatsoever as they are totally ineffective, ie do nothing. The trouble is with her being the secretary of the residents association, she knows all the antisocial behaviour enforcing people and it's just laughed off. I think the Council noise nuicance team and police are the next step. In writing.

Thanks for all the replies

That's due to the people who are in the association. Residents associations are only as good as their members.

C.C.L.

Hi, I had problems with noisy neighbours and got excellent help from this site http://www.nfh.org.uk/forums/index.php
There are plenty of people on there with the knowledge to help you sort this out.

serious_saver

On the filming side of things, it's a very grey area. A general rule of thumb is you can film provided it is visible from the highway and not intruding into their house. So you can film if they are being noisy in the front garden but not through their windows, doors or into their back garden. As F_T_Buyer suggested it may be worth filming inside you house/ garden to give an indication of what you are dealing with. You could also ask you local police force for guidance on this. My mantra is to always get it in writing. If they tell you that you can film then it is fine to do so and you have the written evidence to prove it.

If you complain to the council about the noise they will likely ask you to keep a noise diary so it may be a good idea to start that straight away.