Boundary problem - fence/hedge (pics)

getmore4less

I remembered the previous thread and commented then as it is an unusual situation.

The new pictures are from inside the house.

Davesnave

coachman12 said:

getmore4less said:

Previous thread. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6188496/strange-garden-boundary-observation-wwyd-pics-sort-of

So now we know that fiwen30 raised the exact same thread on 8 September at 3.56pm. 
And AskAsk, alias fiwen30, has risen it again now to waste everyone's time on this thread now, started on 4 December. Thanks getmore4less----well spotted. A Report is needed I think as the rules seem to being broken by 2 posters who are the same or acting together.

Am I missing something? Is there any proof someone has used an AI ?

It used to be an offence worthy of a warning under the previous forum rules to accuse someone of having an AI, so although it may not be specifically mentioned now, it must still be viewed quite seriously.

If there are concerns, there are ways to express them quietly to MSE without going public. However, now you have, I'd give those concerned the time to respond.

AskAsk

Waunakee said:

AskAsk said:

i think the neighbour would thank the OP for clearing up that mess. it is waste land with grown weeds. it may have been a hedge at some point, but it is obviously abandoned and can no longer be called a hedge. if the OP does clear it and the neighbour takes the OP to court to claim for damages, he would have to proof that damage has been caused and the value of that damage. in this case, no damage has been caused as the OP has simply cleared waste and overgrown vegetation that had been abandoned, and which has no value to anyone, even to the neighbour as he has intentionally section it off and don't want anything to do with it. i would think the neighbour would have a weak claim for compensation from the OP.

I’m shocked that you actually believe this is good advice.

i am not advising the OP and no one can claim to do this as this is a public forum and only a solicitor will be qualified to give legal advice, which this falls into.  my statement is in answer to a compensation claim against the OP, should the OP clear that mess up.  that it would be difficult for the neighbour to claim damage for a complete mess as there is no damage, and in fact the OP is doing the neighbour a favour clearing that mess up.

if the OP offered to clear the mess up for the neighbour, he will defintely jump on the offer.  he has sectioned it off because he doesn't want to spend money clearing it.

Slinky

AskAsk said:

if the OP offered to clear the mess up for the neighbour, he will defintely jump on the offer.  he has sectioned it off because he doesn't want to spend money clearing it.

One person's messy garden is another person's rewilding project.

When you're in a hole, the best advice is to stop digging.

AskAsk

robatwork said:

coachman12 said:

AskAsk said:

Deliberately and wilfully destroying someone else’s physical property is surely the very definition of criminal damage.
Sure, the neighbour MIGHT NOT care about the hedge but that would just be guesswork on our part, so it would seem reckless in the extreme to do anything to the hedge without first talking to the neighbour.

i think the neighbour would thank the OP for clearing up that mess. it is waste land with grown weeds. it may have been a hedge at some point, but it is obviously abandoned and can no longer be called a hedge. if the OP does clear it and the neighbour takes the OP to court to claim for damages, he would have to proof that damage has been caused and the value of that damage. in this case, no damage has been caused as the OP has simply cleared waste and overgrown vegetation that had been abandoned, and which has no value to anyone, even to the neighbour as he has intentionally section it off and don't want anything to do with it. i would think the neighbour would have a weak claim for compensation from the OP.

Your posts are a menace and incitement to break the law. You have no idea what the neighbours think.Your posts on various threads that have started appearing recently are lacking any knowledge , thought or consideration of the consequences that your "home-made" waffle might cause to genuine people who come on this site for advice from folk who know what they are on about. Visitors here want knowledge and help, not instructions to break the law from someone who can't even get a mirror unglued from the wall ( as in one of your other childish posts ).

Indeed, AskAsk just joined in August and has been posting like crazy in what appears to be some scattergun method of either filling her hours or dispensing homespun wisdom without the aid of capital letters. I think it's some sort of self-therapy. 

What's problematic is not that everyone isn't entitled to an opinion, but more that on this thread in particular she has dispensed some advice that is plainly unlawful. She won't apologise, witthdraw, or acknowledge that fact, and is doubling-down on her mistake. 

I hope the OP can sort the wheat from the chaff on this thread.

everyone is entitled to their opinion and i stick by mine.  i do think that the OP would be doing the neighbour a favour by clearing that mess.  if it was me, and my neighbour cleared the mess, i would be more than happy to let them do it.  i don't see why someone would object to this.

the neighbour obviously think it is a complete mess, otherwise, why would he section it off from view?  just think logically.

Mickey666

Yes, think logically.
You DON’T KNOW for certain what the neighbours will think about having THEIR property cut down/removed/destroyed.
You THINK they won’t mind (a valid opinion) but you DO NOT KNOW for certain.
Therefore, the best advice would be to suggest ASKING the neighbours BEFORE removing the hedge.
If they don’t mind then go ahead but if they do mind and you remove the hedge anyway then you will have committed an offence.  Is that really so difficult to understand?

AskAsk

Mickey666 said:

Yes, think logically.
You DON’T KNOW for certain what the neighbours will think about having THEIR property cut down/removed/destroyed.
You THINK they won’t mind (a valid opinion) but you DO NOT KNOW for certain.
Therefore, the best advice would be to suggest ASKING the neighbours BEFORE removing the hedge.
If they don’t mind then go ahead but if they do mind and you remove the hedge anyway then you will have committed an offence.  Is that really so difficult to understand?

but i did ask the OP right at the beginning if they have spoken to the neighbour about it?  of course speaking to the neighbour first would be the best thing.  however, people seem to think that the OP could be sued for damages, but how can you be forced to pay for damages when the hedge has no value to anyone, and least of all to the neighbour, who is supposedly going to sue for damages.  to claim for damages, you have to prove it has some value for the claim.  weeds have no value, and this is what it is.  it is not a hedge.  it may have been once upon a time, but now it is simply overgrown weeds and waste. 

if anything the OP can sue the neighbour for allowing the overgrowth to come over to their garden and damage their fence.  negligent.  as the neighbour has sectioned that off so he obviously has every intention of letting it grow wild and into the OP's garden and fence.

Davesnave

AskAsk said:

Mickey666 said:

Yes, think logically.
You DON’T KNOW for certain what the neighbours will think about having THEIR property cut down/removed/destroyed.
You THINK they won’t mind (a valid opinion) but you DO NOT KNOW for certain.
Therefore, the best advice would be to suggest ASKING the neighbours BEFORE removing the hedge.
If they don’t mind then go ahead but if they do mind and you remove the hedge anyway then you will have committed an offence.  Is that really so difficult to understand?

it is not a hedge.  it may have been once upon a time, but now it is simply overgrown weeds and waste. 
if anything the OP can sue the neighbour for allowing the overgrowth to come over to their garden and damage their fence.  negligent.  as the neighbour has sectioned that off so he obviously has every intention of letting it grow wild and into the OP's garden and fence.

Unlike the famous Monty Python parrot which had 'ceased to be,' the privet hedge in the photos is very much alive. It appears reasonably healthy and will not have caused any great damage to the fence, which is old and shows clear signs of having been heavily covered by ivy at some time. The privet hedge behind the fence is a situation common throughout the land and one which we had in our last garden 20 years ago. Believe it or not, the fence is still there, but I buy decent fences.

Real people don't go around suing each other when hedges grow, but they may fall out with each other and that's about as far as it goes. Best to avoid that.

We've been told the neighbours are an elderly lady and her daughter. It looks to me as if they have employed someone to create a sitting-out space without worrying about the removal of vegetation that would have added to the bill. It's all a bit Heath Robinson, but there's no law against being short-sighted in planning things and maybe a bit daft.

allconnected

AskAsk seems very hung up on the likely outcome of a civil claim for damages. However, the relevant damage here would potentially be criminal damage:-
Section 1(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971 - A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another, intending to destroy or damage any such property, or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged, shall be guilty of an offence.
No reference to value there, just to knowingly damaging someone else's property.
It's not the potential cost in damages that stops me from going onto my neighbour's land and tidying it up because it doesn't meet my standard of tidiness - it's because it's against the law! (and their garden is neater than mine...................)
And as has been said repeatedly - ask the neighbours if they want their land sorted out by you. If they do, fine, if they don't just fence it off and forget about it. There isn't an acceptable middle ground where you do something on the neighbours land without asking, but it's all OK because you wouldn't have objected if you'd been the neighbour.
AllConnected.

Davesnave

The OP set the scene in their opening paragraph and nothing was hidden, so there's no great problem. Yes, it's better to update an existing thread than start a new one, but duplication over a longer time period isn't a major crime. I wish all threads were accompanied by such good photos as we had here. It's often difficult extracting sense and detail from posts made by people who don't possess good descriptive abilities, or who drip-feed relevant info.

However, the above shortcomings are part and parcel of being here, in a public space inhabited by the public.  People arrive of their own volition and they may leave without penalty too if matters displease them. It's better for everyone's mental health if acrimony and personal attacks are avoided, as it's possible to disagree without becoming confrontational....rather like the way boundary issues should be approached!