Whining neighbour!
Discussion
I'd been out for a run in the Tiv a week or so ago and I returned home and shuffled the cars around to get the S parked back inside the garage and I was just getting out the car when my neighbour had entered my drive and banged on my side window.
I jumped out and she complained about the noise from my car (I was only parking it, not revving up) and that she had put her 3 yr old to bed and I'd wake her up. So I apologised and said I didn't realise and wouldn't do it again thinking that it must be rather late.
When I got back inside the house I looked at the clock and it was only just 8pm, so at 7:45 my neighbour considers it too late for me to use my car.
I understand her request had I been sitting outside demonstrating to a load of fellow PH'ers how loud my car could be but on reflection I think that her complaint was unjust.
If her child wakes and will not return to sleep and becomes a troublesome child all night because a car passes her house surely that can't be normal?
And when I was sleeping in until 8am the other sunday morning her child was outside screaming at 7am and I never said anything, I just got up and forgot about having an extra hour in bed.
Can't neighbours be a real pain in the butt!
I jumped out and she complained about the noise from my car (I was only parking it, not revving up) and that she had put her 3 yr old to bed and I'd wake her up. So I apologised and said I didn't realise and wouldn't do it again thinking that it must be rather late.
When I got back inside the house I looked at the clock and it was only just 8pm, so at 7:45 my neighbour considers it too late for me to use my car.
I understand her request had I been sitting outside demonstrating to a load of fellow PH'ers how loud my car could be but on reflection I think that her complaint was unjust.
If her child wakes and will not return to sleep and becomes a troublesome child all night because a car passes her house surely that can't be normal?
And when I was sleeping in until 8am the other sunday morning her child was outside screaming at 7am and I never said anything, I just got up and forgot about having an extra hour in bed.
Can't neighbours be a real pain in the butt!
Kentish said:
Can't tvr drivers be a real pain in the butt!
what a selfish man you are fancy wanting to USE your pride & joy 
i think you did the english gent thing and backed down too easily, if the situation occurs again i would tell her politely that it really is none of her business when you use your car.Keep a noise log. Neighbour complained because of angle grinding / sanding noise whilst playing with camper van. Fair enough so we cut back the times, then she tried getting an environmental health order or somesuch. noise logs showed she was living in a world of fiction.
Then she moved to spain to get away from it all (yes that life of doing nothing all day whilst your husband supports you can be quite stressful i hear). Then she moved back because it was hot. Whod have thought that... Then she moved back to spain again. Guess what she did after that?
Then she moved to spain to get away from it all (yes that life of doing nothing all day whilst your husband supports you can be quite stressful i hear). Then she moved back because it was hot. Whod have thought that... Then she moved back to spain again. Guess what she did after that?
Speaking as a father and someone with a neighbour who likes to start DIY'ing at about 9pm of an evening...
Whilst as a parent it is annoying to have your child woken up the person making the noise didnt exactly force you to have kids or indeed force you to put them to bed early.
With this in mind I'd do one of two things
1) Ignore her.
2) When that child has a bad night (and it will sooner or later) and if you can hear the crying, even the faintest of background whimpers go and knock on her door and ask her to keep the noise down.
The small minded, they need exterminating and soon.
Whilst as a parent it is annoying to have your child woken up the person making the noise didnt exactly force you to have kids or indeed force you to put them to bed early.
With this in mind I'd do one of two things
1) Ignore her.
2) When that child has a bad night (and it will sooner or later) and if you can hear the crying, even the faintest of background whimpers go and knock on her door and ask her to keep the noise down.
The small minded, they need exterminating and soon.
There's a bloke who lives next door to our (student) house who keeps complaining about my housemate's Land Rovers. Say's they're an eyesore, that they're polluting, that they're noisy and that they cause congestion (one of them's a non-runner FFS!).
He drives a Kia. Enough said.
Some people should just keep their nose out.
He drives a Kia. Enough said.
Some people should just keep their nose out.
I can understand her annoyance - she's probably had a hard day and could do without the sprog waking soon after going to bed.
However to complain in such a manner after one isolated incident smacks of being unreasonable. In the spirit of avoiding neighbourly feuds, perhaps a compromise could be reached? E.g. she tells you the "normal" bedtime for her kid, you try to avoid running the Tiv on the driveway if practical for, say, an hour after this time. Maybe she can be persuaded to keep the bedroom window closed and invest in a fan if its too hot? etc etc
Basically what I'm saying is: as NIMBY as she comes across, it could be a Big Deal to her and in the interests of a "quiet" life is it not better to try to keep her on-side somewhat?
However to complain in such a manner after one isolated incident smacks of being unreasonable. In the spirit of avoiding neighbourly feuds, perhaps a compromise could be reached? E.g. she tells you the "normal" bedtime for her kid, you try to avoid running the Tiv on the driveway if practical for, say, an hour after this time. Maybe she can be persuaded to keep the bedroom window closed and invest in a fan if its too hot? etc etc
Basically what I'm saying is: as NIMBY as she comes across, it could be a Big Deal to her and in the interests of a "quiet" life is it not better to try to keep her on-side somewhat?
Youth Gone Wild said:
There's a bloke who lives next door to our (student) house who keeps complaining about my housemate's Land Rovers. Say's they're an eyesore, that they're polluting, that they're noisy and that they cause congestion (one of them's a non-runner FFS!).
He drives a Kia. Enough said.
Some people should just keep their nose out.
You could tell him that with care there's no reason why the Land Rovers souldn't last 50 years, while his Kia will probably last 5, so he's causing ores to be used up needlessly.
No point trying to reason with numpties. They can't even reason with themselves, which is why they read the Daily Mail.
My other neighbour is just as bad, we did loads of work in the garden over this b/h weekend. Laying land drains, levelling the site etc and we had a skip that was too small initially but then got a replacement and had the small one put outside next to our gate in a communal area of our private road and she was out like a flash ...."you not leaving that there" she said.
It was in her way at all and her only reason was that she didn't want to be able to see it.
"No, it will be going very soon I said, another chap is picking it ......Oh here he is"
All was well with her again.
Saturday, my mate arrives and parks next to our gates and almost opposite the same neighbour and before the poor guy could get out his van she had jumped on him, "you can't leave that there". He told her he couldn't get on the drive with a skip, digger and 9 tons of sand, shingle and soil in the way so, basically hard luck!
Anyway, on Sunday night the road outside was full of cars, in fact so many that I could even get out of our drive if I had wanted to and they were all at a party this damn nosey neighbour was throwing for her spoilt brat and her friends!
I didn't say a word but I'll remind her of that fact next time she moans!
It was in her way at all and her only reason was that she didn't want to be able to see it.
"No, it will be going very soon I said, another chap is picking it ......Oh here he is"
All was well with her again.
Saturday, my mate arrives and parks next to our gates and almost opposite the same neighbour and before the poor guy could get out his van she had jumped on him, "you can't leave that there". He told her he couldn't get on the drive with a skip, digger and 9 tons of sand, shingle and soil in the way so, basically hard luck!
Anyway, on Sunday night the road outside was full of cars, in fact so many that I could even get out of our drive if I had wanted to and they were all at a party this damn nosey neighbour was throwing for her spoilt brat and her friends!
I didn't say a word but I'll remind her of that fact next time she moans!
My neighbour used to complain about the noise I made. This never started till 10 am and would finish by 4 pm. he would never complain to me only to karen. One day i was struggling to remove an old fireplace at about 2pm on a sunday, he had a go at Karen about the noise, and reduced her to tears. That was the last straw. I went round still with my 2 pound club hammer in hand, started to have a go at him, not realiseing I still had the hammer about my person. He was hiding in the corner, looking very scared. It was only as I calmed down and Karen took the hammer from me that I realised why he was frightened. He has never said a word to me or her since.
pdV6 said:
I can understand her annoyance - she's probably had a hard day and could do without the sprog waking soon after going to bed.
However to complain in such a manner after one isolated incident smacks of being unreasonable. In the spirit of avoiding neighbourly feuds, perhaps a compromise could be reached? E.g. she tells you the "normal" bedtime for her kid, you try to avoid running the Tiv on the driveway if practical for, say, an hour after this time. Maybe she can be persuaded to keep the bedroom window closed and invest in a fan if its too hot? etc etc
Basically what I'm saying is: as NIMBY as she comes across, it could be a Big Deal to her and in the interests of a "quiet" life is it not better to try to keep her on-side somewhat?
So what you do is make a recording of your Tivs glorious engine noise. Record this to your Tivs sound system. Then remove the engine from your Tiv (it's environmentally unfriendly and terribly uneconomical anyway
) and replace it with a fridge motor. Then just play the recording every time you go for a blat. Everyones a winner!
wits. carry on driving/parking your car, up to say 10pm in a sensible manner of course, and if she complains then tell her tough. lanciachris said:
Keep a noise log. Neighbour complained because of angle grinding / sanding noise whilst playing with camper van. Fair enough so we cut back the times, then she tried getting an environmental health order or somesuch. noise logs showed she was living in a world of fiction.
Then she moved to spain to get away from it all (yes that life of doing nothing all day whilst your husband supports you can be quite stressful i hear). Then she moved back because it was hot. Whod have thought that... Then she moved back to spain again. Guess what she did after that?
That cracks me up! Spain has got to be one of the noisiest countries I've ever lived in! If she's annoyed about 1 car parking, imagine what she'll do when the local cofraída walk past letting fireworks off 
When i used to live in a rented flat in harrogate one of the dolies from next door came out in her dressinggown to tell me to not start my 3000M because it was too noisy .. it was probably about 8am and i'd be going to work.
I politely told the work-shy b*tch that whilstever my taxes were paying her dole I'd start my blinking car whenever the heck i liked.
One of the other doley ladies in the house loved the car though and we'd regularly chat about stuff
*apologies to any genuinely out of work people on the dole but actively seeking employment .. don't want to tar you all with the same brush, so to speak.
I politely told the work-shy b*tch that whilstever my taxes were paying her dole I'd start my blinking car whenever the heck i liked.
One of the other doley ladies in the house loved the car though and we'd regularly chat about stuff
*apologies to any genuinely out of work people on the dole but actively seeking employment .. don't want to tar you all with the same brush, so to speak.
pdV6 said:Eminently sensible - well said that man.
I can understand her annoyance - she's probably had a hard day and could do without the sprog waking soon after going to bed.
However to complain in such a manner after one isolated incident smacks of being unreasonable. In the spirit of avoiding neighbourly feuds, perhaps a compromise could be reached? E.g. she tells you the "normal" bedtime for her kid, you try to avoid running the Tiv on the driveway if practical for, say, an hour after this time. Maybe she can be persuaded to keep the bedroom window closed and invest in a fan if its too hot? etc etc
Basically what I'm saying is: as NIMBY as she comes across, it could be a Big Deal to her and in the interests of a "quiet" life is it not better to try to keep her on-side somewhat?
You have to live next to this person. Try to live in peace - it's much better for both of you. This may involve a certain amount of compromise on both sides.
Oli.
zcacogp said:
I can understand her annoyance - she's probably had a hard day and could do without the sprog waking soon after going to bed.
However to complain in such a manner after one isolated incident smacks of being unreasonable. In the spirit of avoiding neighbourly feuds, perhaps a compromise could be reached? E.g. she tells you the "normal" bedtime for her kid, you try to avoid running the Tiv on the driveway if practical for, say, an hour after this time. Maybe she can be persuaded to keep the bedroom window closed and invest in a fan if its too hot? etc etc
Basically what I'm saying is: as NIMBY as she comes across, it could be a Big Deal to her and in the interests of a "quiet" life is it not better to try to keep her on-side somewhat?
Eminently sensible - well said that man.
You have to live next to this person. Try to live in peace - it's much better for both of you. This may involve a certain amount of compromise on both sides.
Quite. Her method of complaint might have been confrontational and overly aggressive, but she probably didn't mean it that way. It's really hard to broach such subjects with neighbours without seeming to be a grumpy bugger, even if your complaint is reasonable.
At our last house we had a neighbour who worked for Transco and had a Transit van outside his house - outside our lounge window - 24/7 (he didn't seem to do much work). It irritated me but he had no choice. There wasn't really anywhere else he could leave it. It would have been hard to complain to him without introducing bad feeling so I left it.
Your neighbour probably doesn't want to fall out with you, but perhaps she was having a bad day and that was the last straw. I think you'd be wise to keep a log though, so that if she does make an issue of it and takes her complaint further, you're armed with clear facts proving your innocence.
Give her a (small) bunch of flowers to apologise and buy the kid a chocolate bar. I bet she'll be a lot slower to complain next time she hears the car.
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