Bill from neighbours for tree damage

ripongrammargirl

This is legally criminal damage. They have removed something of yours without asking, saying anything to you or asking you to sort it- of which you were under no legal obligation to do so, unless it was dangerous etc. Nobody can come on to your land without your permission, especially to remove your property. I would point this out to them, that they are legally wrong (look it up on google and there are plenty of websites giving you info on rights) and you are entitled to sue for criminal damage. We had to point this out to our neighbours (who are stroppy and rarely speak) as they hammered several flowerpots on to our brand new fence that cost us over £1000. I am still fuming. Their response? "We wanted some pink flowers to brighten up the garden" (which is a dump and a dog playground). We had to say that they are not allowed to do this, paint it or touch it in any way without our permission as we paid for it and its our boundary. Unbelievable. These people have done the same to you. Tell them that the bill is unreasonable, unfair and nothing to do with you as you did not give permission to remove your property. If they threaten any kind of legal action, say you will sue them for criminal damage and point out your legal rights for wilful destruction of your property. These kind of people make me so mad. The previous neighbour to us brought some men on to our property several years ago and started removing our fence panels as well as hack down a beautiful honeysuckle plant without our permission. He said that the panels were broken. He had not discussed it and if he had he would have known we were going to build a wall. He put up 2 new fence panels, threatened us not to ever touch them and then said we could not build a dividing wall or he would sue us (Mummy was a solicitor!!) We built it anyway, on our land so he could do nothing about it. He then moved, taking his threats with him. Would not surprise me if this is not the same individual!! Learn your rights and stick up for yourself, as nobody else will. My blood is boiling

pennypinchUK

Of course you should dispute it. Presumably you're covered by insurance, and presumably the insurance company will want to assess your claim, and may well bring in their own tree surgeon, who will carry out the work according to the insurance schedule of fees. Or if the insurance company authorises you to get the work done they'll give you a maximum they're willing to pay. So, the maximum you should pay is the maximum your insurance company would pay.

jorok

Surely this is storm damage covered by your respective insurers.
Anyway, the neighbor took it on himself to clear the tree without consulting you so you have no obloigation to repay him other than a moral one to contribute the amount YOU would have paid to have it removed yourself.
You may have to pay a tradesman a fee to get an estimate for a job you cannot offer him.

betsie

Thanks for all the replies. As I said we have now sorted it out and given him what it would have cost us to clear them which the neighbour was happy with.
They are not neighbours from hell as someone posted and I think he realises he went about it the wrong way.
They are very quite and keep themselves to themselves which is fine by us.
It is not nice living somewhere once you have fallen out with the neighbours so we are happy with the outcome.

Annabelle12

Your neighbour has a legal obligation to give you the opportunity to remove the tree first. What he has done is not lawful. The best thing to do is to request a quote from three local companies - you don't have to tell them the full story but ask for a quote to remove a fallen tree of XX height from whatever type of location is appropriate, ie is the access difficult etc. On the assumption that at least one of the quotes will be less than the £700, offer your neighbour this amount and tell them that this is your full and final offer. Don't argue but put it in writing and then you are in the clear.

minicooper272

I did post a response but I just saw that the OP has mentioned this problem was solved prior to this weeks MSE email going out.

A bit worrying, does all of our MMD advice get to the recipients weeks after they've been asked? By that point I'm sure a lot of people will find the advice is too late...

Talent

Write to them, signed for delivery, keep a copy, explaining it was not up to them to employ a tree surgeon as you would have removed the felled tree and the problem trees yourself as soon as you was aware of the problem.
You could also state that any further incursion into your property will result in legal action against them and their employees. As far as you are concerned the £700 bill is extortionate and they should have consulted you before taking on a commitment ostensibly on your behalf which they had no rights to do. However, as a gesture of goodwill you are prepared to offer £200 (or some other amount that you may find would be the going rate for the job) in full settlement.
End of.

marich

This was out-of-order on the part of your neighbours .

They are not allowed to commission work on your behalf , and if they commission work independently then they are liable for the cost . Simple as that !

I am left wondering if the people in your house let the trees get to 20 feet to forget about these wonderful neighbours ...

I've nothing against people with religious beliefs , there are some really nice ones . But that aside , these neighbours are not nice and they are chancers .

How are you going to say a cheery "Hello" to them for the next 20 years when they took a chance to shaft you for £700 to split with their chainsaw-massacre pal ?

Their folly . Their problem . Let them sort it out with the contractor - after all - he was doing the job for them and it's them who are liable to him . You had no contract with him . Cut them dead now and forget it . Don't even start to discuss it .

marich

I'm glad you have sorted it out amicably . Glad also that your neighbours are actually decent folk and that you have established an equitable start to what might be a long relationship .

Well done both of you !

bargainbin

Agree with most other posts.
The non speaking neighbours did not enter into a contract with you to chop up the trees.
They made no attempt to contact you before getting the "tree surgeons" in.
If they asked for the work to be done the contract is between them and the tree surgeons.
If you would have paid a contractor to have done the work then you might feel morally obliged to pay the amount he would have charged but I do not think there is any legal obligation on your part.