what can we do about our neighbour?

what can we do about our neighbour?

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smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Saturday night was the last straw, fed up of our neighbour.

I'll just try and summarise and keep it short.

about her
-mid 40's guessing
-doesn't work
-everyone's business is her business
-she's up at all times of the day, I don't think she sleeps!
-possibly violent, she told us she was aggressive towards people that piss her off and she's got a reputation on the street (perhaps trying to tell us she's the alpha? rofl )

what she's done
-on the first day we moved in she walked straight into our house
-she used to open the kitchen window when it was unlocked and slightly open (2 part door what ever they're called) or the "wind" somehow blew it open.......
-on camera we've repeatedly caught her in our garden, from chasing cats to cleaning up after us!?
-She owns no cats (or has bought one very recently). When we first moved in we were on a talking basis so knew she had no pets, every day she leaves out cat toys, cat food etc in her back garden, she's even had a cat flap installed in her door (back to the point of maybe she's bought one, however her and her husband argue all the time because he's fed up of her bringing them in the house).
-every single time without fail if we have someone at our door wether it be a friend coming over or a person doing a questionaire she'll be at her door/window listening in. She's even gone as far as taking a photo of my friend when we were training for a comp in the back garden!
-if the mail man knocks on our door and we don't answer within 5 seconds (not literally) she opens the door and tells the mailman we're in bed asleep - like she knows what we do at what time!?
-she's been caught (not on camera) dumping her garden waste in our 3rd garden. It hasn't been done since the last person who rented so it did look messy but no excuse for dumping. Since we've tidied it she hasn't done it since.
-she took out our bins for us which was nice until we heard her bhing to other neighbours claiming that we force her to take our bins out!? confused this has stopped though now.
-We overheard her having a conversation with the neighbours opposite complaining that our curtains were always closed and they can't see inside our house! WTF!?
-she comes into our front garden and just cuts down the hedge seperating the two gardens, this one we're not too fussed about because she cleans up after herself but she never asks, however she doesn't like it if I want to cut it as it's "her" bush.

This is just some of them, there's far too many and you're probably already bored of reading smile

most recently
-Tuesday 22nd. I was talking to the neighbour on the other side who we're on good terms with, she goes to same gym as me as well so plenty we talk about. We had taken our pet rabbit outside to clean out the cage so was just on the patio with the top half of the cage stopping her from running away, prior to the conversation with the neighbours we had gone inside for about 10 minutes with the window open to hear anything incase the rabbit was being teased by cats. When crazy lady came outside she looked at the rabbit and said how the neighbours child had been playing with the rabbit but we would have heard/seen them if they had been in our garden long enough to play with which leads us to believe crazy lady may have taken our rabbit over.
-Saturday 26th. Our cats are house cats and do not like to be outside, even with persuasion. Our male cat normally falls out when trying to sit on the ledge where the window opens which we're not bothered about as he'll come back in almost straight away. This time however we noticed our female cat had also gone outside which isn't like her at all, when we went to have a look the female cat ran in straight away however was not followed by the male cat. As we went outside crazy lady scampered inside (this was at about 11pm anyway so why was she outside?). We went on a cat hunt and could not locate our cat anywhere, no meowing or anything which is not like him. We eventually gave up and slept downstairs leaving the window on vent so we could hear him if he meowed outside. Crazy lady was watching us but with all lights off, this is not like her as she in very nosey and normally outside to join in other people's business. At around 5am my OH heard the male cat and let him in, this time is also around the time crazy lady's husband gets in - between 2-6am depending on what shifts he has worked. This was our first suspicion that she had stolen our cat. I've just been outside to hang my washing up and crazy ladys door was open, my OH pointed out that her carpet was ripped up which is exactly what our cat does when he's trapped away from us.

So now we're fed up of her and want her gone, we rent and like it here except her. She terrorises us and enough is enough. My OH is pregnant and doesn't need the stress. Anything we can do?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
So now we're fed up of her and want her gone, we rent and like it here except her. She terrorises us and enough is enough. My OH is pregnant and doesn't need the stress. Anything we can do?
Three options, basically.

- Smile, shake your head, accept she's got issues, and just live with it.
- Move.
- Get legal with a restraining order, after plenty of exact time-and-date documentation.

One of those is the most expensive, most stressful and least likely to do anything. Three guesses which.

tenpenceshort

32,880 posts

216 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Talk to her?

Perhaps 'over the garden fence' so none of you feel you're in the other's territory. Explain that you're private people and you'd prefer to take your own rubbish out (as you don't like putting people to trouble). Perhaps say that you're grateful for the attention and being looked out for, but you're feeling a little claustrophobic.

She might be a little on the mental health issue side and from your description she doesn't sound like she's been malicious.

Paul Dishman

4,670 posts

236 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
I think you'll either have to put up with her or move. Any of the campaigns that will be suggested in this thread will prove to be ineffective or too much hassle to put up with.

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
We're trying to put up with her for now. Next move we're buying, just a little short on deposit but should be sorted by Christmas. I was just seeing if anyone had any legal advice for the mean time "/

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
tenpenceshort said:
Talk to her?

Perhaps 'over the garden fence' so none of you feel you're in the other's territory. Explain that you're private people and you'd prefer to take your own rubbish out (as you don't like putting people to trouble). Perhaps say that you're grateful for the attention and being looked out for, but you're feeling a little claustrophobic.

She might be a little on the mental health issue side and from your description she doesn't sound like she's been malicious.
We don't talk to her, she doesn't talk to us. It's just an act when other people are around, probably for her own benefit but we just ignore her.
She's stopped the bin thing now, it was just an example I was using.
She's definitely mental though smile

Grandad7184

2,014 posts

134 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
all very sensible so ill just put this out now

Frozen sausages in her lawn??

on a serious note maybe a formal chat with her or speak with the local PCSO?

tenpenceshort

32,880 posts

216 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
tenpenceshort said:
Talk to her?

Perhaps 'over the garden fence' so none of you feel you're in the other's territory. Explain that you're private people and you'd prefer to take your own rubbish out (as you don't like putting people to trouble). Perhaps say that you're grateful for the attention and being looked out for, but you're feeling a little claustrophobic.

She might be a little on the mental health issue side and from your description she doesn't sound like she's been malicious.
We don't talk to her, she doesn't talk to us. It's just an act when other people are around, probably for her own benefit but we just ignore her.
She's stopped the bin thing now, it was just an example I was using.
She's definitely mental though smile
Maybe you should start talking to her? It seems a bit glib complaining that she's doing things you don't like and looking for options beyond her, when you haven't even discussed the issue yet.

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
tenpenceshort said:
Maybe you should start talking to her? It seems a bit glib complaining that she's doing things you don't like and looking for options beyond her, when you haven't even discussed the issue yet.
I understand your point but she shouldn't be doing the things she does anyway -exception if the bins which we weren't fussed about until the forcing comment.

We just don't want to speak to her if it's possible. If we catch her again in our garden or anything in person we'll mention it but apart from that we'd rather steer clear

tenpenceshort

32,880 posts

216 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
I understand your point but she shouldn't be doing the things she does anyway -exception if the bins which we weren't fussed about until the forcing comment.

We just don't want to speak to her if it's possible. If we catch her again in our garden or anything in person we'll mention it but apart from that we'd rather steer clear
Put the shoe on the other foot; how would you feel if the council / police or whoever else turned up out of the blue because neighbours you thought you got on okay with had complained about you behind your back?

I'd feel pretty hurt.

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
tenpenceshort said:
Put the shoe on the other foot; how would you feel if the council / police or whoever else turned up out of the blue because neighbours you thought you got on okay with had complained about you behind your back?

I'd feel pretty hurt.
I wouldn't do anything in the first place. I always ask permission to go into a neighbours garden.

She also knows we don't get on with her. OH has told her off before for something as well. There's no relationship with her whatsoever. It's all an act if she speaks to us because there's other people about.

edit: a careworker for OH's uncle knows about our neighbour from when she lived on the street. Her words were she's watched her turn into a nutter and going into our garden is the least of our worries......

TroubledSoul

4,589 posts

193 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Did anyone mention Option 4 yet?: Out nutter her!

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
TroubledSoul said:
Did anyone mention Option 4 yet?: Out nutter her!
laugh I wouldn't know where to start

Magog

2,652 posts

188 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
We rent. Anything we can do?
Probably should put that at the start of the post to save everyone lots of reading! If it's that much of an issue then just move, it's one of the perks of renting that it's a lot cheaper and easier to escape problem neighbours. The world's full of crazy middle aged cat ladies though, sounds like she's just a bit odd and enjoys playing with your pets, she's hardly Norman Bates.

TroubledSoul

4,589 posts

193 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
laugh I wouldn't know where to start
Start small. Go to her door with the cat in a travel box and ask if she's seen him as you haven't seen him for days!

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
We don't want to move ideally. Not until we can afford to buy anyway, I know that doesn't help the situation.

I also forgot to mention she buried cat poo in our garden, no video proof only our word against hers. That was what prompted me to get a camera up but unfortunately she stopped.

STW2010

5,713 posts

161 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
How does she get into your garden so easily?

Tell her to stop being a ? Or why not have a chat with the husband and ask him if she's mentally retarded?

STW2010

5,713 posts

161 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
smiffy180 said:
We don't want to move ideally. Not until we can afford to buy anyway, I know that doesn't help the situation.

I also forgot to mention she buried cat poo in our garden, no video proof only our word against hers. That was what prompted me to get a camera up but unfortunately she stopped.
She was probably just returning it to the owners. After kidnapping and scaring the st (literally) out of your cat.

smiffy180

Original Poster:

6,017 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
There's a gate from hers to ours, apparently it's access gate but it's been so long like that I think she can use it as access now. We are however putting up a fence around the garden this week to deterr her.

STW2010 said:
She was probably just returning it to the owners. After kidnapping and scaring the st (literally) out of your cat.
Hah, that would be fine if it was ours. However it's not and its also buried under a layer of stones in the garden. Meaning I can't walk across it now without checking every step

73mark

774 posts

126 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
I thought you were the woman and the OH was the husband.
rofl