Neighbour's fence down - refusing to replace
Discussion
davek_964 said:
There are some pretty unreasonable people on this thread.
I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
davek_964 said:
There are some pretty unreasonable people on this thread.
I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
This is a very common attitude these days sadly. It's always someone elses problem. I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
Happily some of us still like to maintain our properties and create a nice living environment, unlike the OPs neighbour.
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
davek_964 said:
There are some pretty unreasonable people on this thread.
I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
This is a very common attitude these days sadly. It's always someone elses problem. I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
Happily some of us still like to maintain our properties and create a nice living environment, unlike the OPs neighbour.
At the end of the day, if the neighbour is more bothered by a £350 bill than a missing fence then he won't replace it.
If the OP is more bothered by a £350 bill than a missing fence (regardless of who's responsibility it is) then he won't replace it. If the missing fence bothers him more than the £350 cost - and he can afford it but his neighbour can't - the solution would seem simple.
Regardless of how much you care about your property, if the neighbour can't afford it then he can't afford it.
ETA : what's curious is the neighbour clearly stated that he didn't have the money to do this. And yet most of the replies seem to think that means he doesn't want to or is trying to scam the OP into doing it.
As I said before - plenty of people don't have £350 to spend on a fence. The assumption that he should suggests that some people are slightly out of touch with the real world.
Edited by davek_964 on Saturday 25th February 09:45
davek_964 said:
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
davek_964 said:
There are some pretty unreasonable people on this thread.
I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
This is a very common attitude these days sadly. It's always someone elses problem. I'm sure it's annoying. Last year, my neighbours fence blew down and wasn't replaced for about 6 months.
But to some people, £350 is a significant amount of money and spending it on a fence will be way down on their priority list. If the biggest worry you have in your life is that your neighbour can't afford to replace his fence, then you really don't have much to worry about.
Happily some of us still like to maintain our properties and create a nice living environment, unlike the OPs neighbour.
At the end of the day, if the neighbour is more bothered by a £350 bill than a missing fence then he won't replace it.
If the OP is more bothered by a £350 bill than a missing fence (regardless of who's responsibility it is) then he won't replace it. If the missing fence bothers him more than the £350 cost - and he can afford it but his neighbour can't - the solution would seem simple.
Regardless of how much you care about your property, if the neighbour can't afford it then he can't afford it.
ETA : what's curious is the neighbour clearly stated that he didn't have the money to do this. And yet most of the replies seem to think that means he doesn't want to or is trying to scam the OP into doing it.
As I said before - plenty of people don't have £350 to spend on a fence. The assumption that he should suggests that some people are slightly out of touch with the real world.
Edited by davek_964 on Saturday 25th February 09:45
Joe5y said:
Sheets Tabuer said:
He says he hasn't got the money, I really don't see what you can do.
True dat! Picture for reference
Neighbour is a bit of a sausage.
Option E: offer to do it and set him up on my company payment plan!
t!!!!!! 
The wind appears to have knocked your entire house onto its side, so why are you worrying about the fence????
In all seriousness, £350 is a lot of money for a lot of people, and just because the average PHer would allegedly be able to find that down the back of one of the sofas in their place in Tuscany if it wasn't too much hassle having to sort it out from the Euros down there, it doesn't necessarily mean that your neighbour is one of them. He might well be sitting thinking he's going to have to cancel the family holiday to fix the fence, which isn't nice for anyone.
My thinking would be to suggest he gets a couple of quotes from third parties for the replacement, then draw up a list yourself of the cheapest viable parts at cost to you and show him the difference.
Then agree a weekend in the spring once the weather gets a bit nicer where he gets a couple of beers in, you'll get the materials at cost for him and help him to replace the fence. So long as neither of you have small children or dogs and aren't looking to sell your house at the moment, does it really matter if it's not replaced for a few months so long as the damaged stuff is cleared up? Who knows, it might cement closer neighbourly relationships...
If he says he can't put away £75 or so a month to get it done would throw a different light on him compared to saying he doesn't have £300+ right now to get it done.
Kermit power said:
Holy st!!!!!!
The wind appears to have knocked your entire house onto its side, so why are you worrying about the fence????
In all seriousness, £350 is a lot of money for a lot of people, and just because the average PHer would allegedly be able to find that down the back of one of the sofas in their place in Tuscany if it wasn't too much hassle having to sort it out from the Euros down there, it doesn't necessarily mean that your neighbour is one of them. He might well be sitting thinking he's going to have to cancel the family holiday to fix the fence, which isn't nice for anyone.
My thinking would be to suggest he gets a couple of quotes from third parties for the replacement, then draw up a list yourself of the cheapest viable parts at cost to you and show him the difference.
Then agree a weekend in the spring once the weather gets a bit nicer where he gets a couple of beers in, you'll get the materials at cost for him and help him to replace the fence. So long as neither of you have small children or dogs and aren't looking to sell your house at the moment, does it really matter if it's not replaced for a few months so long as the damaged stuff is cleared up? Who knows, it might cement closer neighbourly relationships...
If he says he can't put away £75 or so a month to get it done would throw a different light on him compared to saying he doesn't have £300+ right now to get it done.
I like this idea - he might really appreciate it and you two would become good mates or at least good neighbours. t!!!!!! The wind appears to have knocked your entire house onto its side, so why are you worrying about the fence????
In all seriousness, £350 is a lot of money for a lot of people, and just because the average PHer would allegedly be able to find that down the back of one of the sofas in their place in Tuscany if it wasn't too much hassle having to sort it out from the Euros down there, it doesn't necessarily mean that your neighbour is one of them. He might well be sitting thinking he's going to have to cancel the family holiday to fix the fence, which isn't nice for anyone.
My thinking would be to suggest he gets a couple of quotes from third parties for the replacement, then draw up a list yourself of the cheapest viable parts at cost to you and show him the difference.
Then agree a weekend in the spring once the weather gets a bit nicer where he gets a couple of beers in, you'll get the materials at cost for him and help him to replace the fence. So long as neither of you have small children or dogs and aren't looking to sell your house at the moment, does it really matter if it's not replaced for a few months so long as the damaged stuff is cleared up? Who knows, it might cement closer neighbourly relationships...
If he says he can't put away £75 or so a month to get it done would throw a different light on him compared to saying he doesn't have £300+ right now to get it done.
One of the best misleading thread titles
Neighbours fence down - refusing to replace
And yet in the OPs third line in the first post
However, the neighbour has said that he "hasn't the money to repair and therefore won't be doing so anytime soon if at all".
Not being able to afford to do something is a totally different kettle of fish to refusing to do something!
Two options
Frog march the neighbour down to his bank, having first drafted a letter for him to hand to said bank ..... something along the lines of
'Dear Bank Manager
My fence blew down and I can't afford the £350 to get it replaced.
Please can I apply for a loan to get my fence replaced.
I fully understand that in the long term it will cost me more than the £350 for the cost of the replacement as you will be charging me a high interest rate on the loan that I can't afford to take out.
many thanks
From the bloke that lives next door to the chap that can afford to replace my fence.'
Or
Be neighbourly, help someone out that is less fortunate than yourself - and simply replace it yourself.
Neighbours fence down - refusing to replace
And yet in the OPs third line in the first post
Joe5y said:
However, the neighbour has said that he "hasn't the money to repair and therefore won't be doing so anytime soon if at all".
Two options
Frog march the neighbour down to his bank, having first drafted a letter for him to hand to said bank ..... something along the lines of
'Dear Bank Manager
My fence blew down and I can't afford the £350 to get it replaced.
Please can I apply for a loan to get my fence replaced.
I fully understand that in the long term it will cost me more than the £350 for the cost of the replacement as you will be charging me a high interest rate on the loan that I can't afford to take out.
many thanks
From the bloke that lives next door to the chap that can afford to replace my fence.'
Or
Be neighbourly, help someone out that is less fortunate than yourself - and simply replace it yourself.
Edited by Squiggs on Saturday 25th February 11:16
We had elderly neighbours some years back who didn't look wealthy (of course I could have been wrong there). The cost of fixing some fencing to us was not going to break our bank, so we just asked if they would mind us getting it sorted, and they were more than grateful. Similar costs to what are being discussed here.
Capital costs for many people just aren't in their monthly budgets, You can't force your neighbour to put that to the top of their spending plans.....if you can get some mutual consensus where they appreciate the help and ideally you don't have to pay all, then go for it.
Capital costs for many people just aren't in their monthly budgets, You can't force your neighbour to put that to the top of their spending plans.....if you can get some mutual consensus where they appreciate the help and ideally you don't have to pay all, then go for it.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Stupid suggestion. Some people just don't have £350 available for repairs straight away. You don't know his circumstances, he could have just spent thousands on a new kitchen, booked an expensive family holiday or just lost his job.The excess on an insurance claim would be about £250 anyway!
Got anymore s
t ideas?
Threads. You win some. You lose some. 
The neighbour has agreed the material cost which actually worked out to be £328.00 but he'll need to pay over 3months. This isn't an issue for me as I have 90 day payments terms with my supplier. I've agreed to install it FOC and I can have the faced side.
The neighbour has agreed the material cost which actually worked out to be £328.00 but he'll need to pay over 3months. This isn't an issue for me as I have 90 day payments terms with my supplier. I've agreed to install it FOC and I can have the faced side.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
What point though?As somebody already stated, his current financial situation could be temporary for a whole host of reasons. Even if it isn't, where do you draw the line?
What if somebody can afford a £350 fence but not a £1,500 boiler? What if they can afford a £1,500 boiler but not to replace the collapsed water pipe inside their boundary?
Not to mention the fact that we all have different priorities in life - so he may not consider a fence as important as keeping his car on the road / his hobby / his 20 a day or even his class a drug habit for all we know.
The cash flow issue maybe down to the 2 story extension he's just completed.
As a side note, the garden isn't kept. He cut the grass once last year and clearly isn't a priority or a space that he enjoys using. Unfair to post pictures but it's mainly used for storage of random things and mountain bikes etc.
The broken panels and post are currently still in my garden.
As a side note, the garden isn't kept. He cut the grass once last year and clearly isn't a priority or a space that he enjoys using. Unfair to post pictures but it's mainly used for storage of random things and mountain bikes etc.
The broken panels and post are currently still in my garden.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Actually, yes - in my view they are. As I said, we all have different priorities - and the OP post after yours suggests that the neighbour does not prioritise his garden.Is it annoying for the OP? Of course. But if the neighbour considers that his hobby or some kind of legal addiction is more important than a fence then that's up to him. The idea that he should move into rented accommodation because he can't or won't pay to repair a fence was a tad ridiculous.
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