Bill from neighbours for tree damage

bargainbin

betsie wrote: »

The wood is in his garden, he said a family member is having it.

Well then as it's your wood perhaps you should offer to sell it for £700 :T

penarthian

You mentioned you had your own tree man. This is an indication the trees were cared for and only the very bad weather was responsible for the tree falling. In this case it is an insurance job! I believe it is their insurers that should be presented with the £700 bill.

Mary_Hartnell

This is not directly related to the ("obviously"?!?) dangerous trees blowing down
in an (exceptional?) God given gale and the damage and potential damage (that needs to be "mitigated").

Picture the scene - in Edwardian times a street of semi's was built. These were the days when you needed to live at Downton Abbey to afford a motor car; sensible people used the train, and the station at the end of the road was the reason why the houses had been built.

However as the street prospered, the new residents discovered there was just room to drive said motor car between the kitchen door and the side fence, so over the years pairs of non matching garages appeared in the back gardens.
(For readers aged less than 50, I should explain that January weather like we are enjoying was almost a guarantee that the motor car left outside would not get to work on time on Monday morning - that is another thread;)).

Eventually the right hand semi was occupied by Mr business man, his wife and two kids.
On the left there was a single elderly relative of mine. The proud owner of some pre-war gardening tools and a semi derelict shed of similar vintage.
The shed backed onto the fence that by custom was the responsibility of Mr Right.

"Spontaneous combustion" occurred and the fire brigade was called. I expect the crew enjoyed the outing, but they might as well have stayed at their station because the shed and two panels plus an oak post of the fence were just charred remains.

Any one want to suggest what the outcome was?

JeremyCH

I tend to agree with the overall thrust of the arguments. Provided there was no immediate threat to life or property then your neighbour should have asked you to clear the trees - it is your responsibility as they are your trees incluidng making good any damage so renewing/repairing the fence as an example.

The price does seem high but as an emergency call out it may be different. I would do as others have suggested ask for a couple of written quotes from local firms to see what the actual cost would have been. Also was this a weekend or weekday as that can well affect the price?

Ultimately you are, I suspect, going to have to pay the only question is how much? If your quotes are substantially lower than the £700 then offer to pay that amount and let them sue you for the rest - from your post it's clear that yo're not on good terms with your neighbours so a dispute is hardly likely to change that situation.

Try to solve things amicably first as Courts put a lot of weight on that

chocky

:T

Ich wrote: »

To give folk some idea, this is a Brethren meeting house.

Good grief, what goes on in there to warrant security at this level? or are the fences to keep members from escaping?

ronangel

Might be another way of going at this. Contact the tree surgeon tell him that you will be suing him for trespass and criminal damage to your tree on your property. He only had the right to cut off the tree where it bounded the neighbours property without your express permission, also for stealing the part of the tree he cut off and not returning it to you, and entering your property without permission. Please to inform his insurance company.
The amount you will be suing for is that of the bill your neighbours are asking for that was paid to him plus any court and other expenses. Suggest a way around his problem might be to refund your neighbours so that they no longer request any money from you for an expense that you did not agree to, then you may reconsider your taking legal action. If you do not hear from him or them within 14 days you will be taking legal action as stated.

tallgirld

I would tell him to shove the bill where the sun don't shine!

There is no way I would pay it. He would have to take me to court.

skirtyh

Hi, as it was due to Storm Damage you are not liable to pay for any repairs to your neighbour as it was not your fault. In the big storm 2 years ago my roof light blew off and damaged a neighbours car...my insurance company first told me they would cover the repairs to the car however 10 mins later i got a call to say i was given the wrong information and in fact i was not liable and did not have to pay...so I think it depends on whether you want to have an on-going battle with your neighbour...i managed to get the insurance company to pay for the damage as i was first told that they would so after a few weeks of pressure they relented as the phone conversation was taped and they paid out, had they not then rightly or wrongly i would have offered to make a contribution to try and keep the peace with my neighbour as like you i was new to the street and didn't want to live with neighbour hostility...good luck, it's a horrible situation to be in.

Kenarf

Pthree wrote: »

Might this be covered by your buildings insurance?

I dont have a clue about this kind of this as I rent so dont have it, but it seems like the kind of thing that should be?

Absolutely correct, put your neighbours in touch with your building insurers. BTW, the wood belongs to you!

lostinglass

Hi, don't worry about this, basically your neighbour has the right to cut off your trees overhanging his property, however, the tree remains your property and he must offer the off cuts to you, if he doesn't do this before disposing of them he is stealing your tree! Tell him that you want you tree back, if he can't return it, tell him you estimate it's value at, say, £700.00p. If this doesn't have the desired effect, tell him you will report the theft to the police, and DO it.