Bill from neighbours for tree damage

fluffnutter

Might be some useful info in here, OP.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jan/11/storm-damage-insurance-pay-policyholders-homes-weather

Mojisola

And there's always https://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

fabforty

betsie wrote: »

Hi
Not sure if this is the right section but I just wanted some other opinions. We have some 20ft high conifers in our garden on border line with our neighbours. During the recent storm one fell into their front garden and another 2 plus a small one (4 inch diameter) were leaning over. The first we knew of this was the sound of chainsaws at 9am when they had already got a tree company in too remove the one that fell and cut down the other 2 1/2. All 4 stumps left at about 3ft high.
He told us it was a friends company. Roll on 3 wks and he gives me a bill for £700. This seems very expensive especially as our tree man we use would have charged a fraction of this priceu.
I do accept we have to pay but given the fact he gave us no option to sort it ourselves and it is a friends company can we dispute the amount.
We have not been in the house long and the neighbour does not really speak to us due to their religious beliefs.
All opinions gratefully received x

Have they actually said this, or are you just jumping to conclusions? If they don't talk to you, how could you know?

betsie

Hi
they are Betheran (I think this is classed as a cult not a religion). The man speaks but only to discuss business issues.
When we moved in he came round to ask what we had planned for the trees as he wanted us to keep them. He said if he agreed to pay for them too be lopped would we keep them (they like their privacy). We said fine (we had thought we would get rid of them as I hate leylandi). A few months later he said they would be lopped in November, this never happened and next thing the winds caused one to fall completely and 3 overs to lift and hang over (I wouldn't say they were an immediate danger that second). We have large front gardens so his property and cars were not at risk. Obviously if they had been lopped they probably wouldn't have fallen.
We did not know the tree had fallen as I have my breakfast in the kitchen at the back. I heard chainsaws at 9am and said to my MIL that someone must have a tree down! My daughter then came running in about 15 mis later from her bedroom at the front of the house and said it was our tree. When I looked out the tree people were already there cutting them up.
No one made any attempt to knock (I had been up since 8am).

My husband got up and dressed and went round (the neighbour was no where to be seen). He spoke to the tree bloke who was finishing up at this point (I would say they were there for about 1 hour). No property was damaged.

The neighbour later came round and said it was a family friend who had his own landscaping company and hence why he had come out so quick (he never mentioned any bills, costs etc and implied they had done it as a favour).

This happened on the Monday before Xmas on the saturday after xmas, I again heard chainsaws and he had tree guys lopping the remaining 4!!! (the ones that were removed were in the middle). He knocked about 15 minutes later to say he was having them lopped. I did question this as our tree man said the remaining trees would not be safe and should go (you can see the roots have been disturbed and one is split) and I told him this but he carried on.

Then today he comes round with the bill (nearly 3 weeks later).

My OH is going to ask our tree man how much he would have charged to do the same work and we will pay them that as this is what it would have cost us if he had given us a chance to get the work done ourselves. I think this is fair and if he isnt happy he can take us to the small claims court.

paddy's_mum

..and when their friend took the tree down (criminal damage) what did he do with the brash (the twigs, foliage, slender branches etc)?

If he took it away without any consultation whatsover with the owner of the trees, then they are guilty of theft.

Think on this - if (and who knows if you wont become the owner of one) you have a woodburner or aga, then the wood belongs to you.

I rarely advocate confronting a neighbour but in this case, your neighbours have gone off half cooked (euphemism) with no consultation whatsoever and therefore, the bill is theirs and they should be thanking their lucky stars that they are not on the receiving end of legal action.

It's quite revealing how often threads on here feature a new purchase ....

fluffnutter

betsie wrote: »

Hi
they are Betheran (I think this is classed as a cult not a religion).

Betheran?? What's that? Do you mean Brethren? Which, incidentally, is certainly not a cult. It's a bona fide religion, or religions really - there are a number of different groups (some of which probably are a bit odd it has to be said).

gunsandbanjos

He asked you to keep them and he would pay for them to be lopped, then presents you with a bill for lopping them? I'd tell him to do one.

fluffnutter

I wonder if it's possible to contact the previous owners/occupants of your house, OP, and see whether he tried something similar with them. Sounds like a bit of an opportunist, frankly. Ignoring your neighbours, doing work without their agreement or knowledge, the presenting them with a large bill. The height of rudeness IMO. I certainly would be making no efforts to accommodate their demands.

AnnieO1234

OP please stop take a breath and consider what a neighbour dispute could do the the saleability of your home, move forward from there.

X

betsie

Yes sorry bad spelling they are Bretheran. When I looked on the internet it said they were classed as a cult as it is not open to everyone to join and attend their meetings (they hold their sermons in a building called a meeting room it has no windows and high security all around it).