Be Excellent To Each Other

I'm just at my wits end, and I am so so so fed up.

My neighbours are the most disrespectful selfish people I can imagine. For two years now I am constantly having to ask them not to do certain things. I live in a block of four flats - two upstairs and two downstairs. The neighbours in question live directly beneath me.

About two years ago they started stacking their rubbish by the back door to the communal garden. Household waste (food and such) in black bags, old chairs and lamps, rotting carpets. I asked them several times not to leave their waste by the back door as it blocks the exit and the bin is, at most 30ft away (also, it reeks, but I never said this). The woman said she must put on her shoes and she would do it right away. Four days later it was still there.

I have had to ask them so many times not to leave their rubbish there. the space is about four foot wide, and once ws stacked with 9 big black bags and a table. i asked them to move it and they just nodded and shut the door. i phoned the council twice who said they would send someone around, and nothing happened. In the end I had to get my uncle to take it to the bins, because no-one could get through the back door to take our own rubbish out. i didn't want him to do it but there was no choice.

Every time I ask them to do something like this it starts about 5 or so days of them playing prayer chants on the TV at 2 am for hours and hours and hours. I phoned teh council about the noise problem and they did nothing again - they never looked into it.

Now, yesterday I said there were loads of seagulls lost around the area?

I slipped past a dead houseplant, two black bags and an old chair today to getto the back door to take my rubbish out, and as I went to push the door open there is something in the way, it is a piece of foil with something on it. went around teh block as I couldn't get out the back door and get to the bins - the area there is covered in a 1 meter diameter pile of rice and a yellow flour (perhaps chickpea flour?). I assume this is the reason for the seagulls. I walk over to the back door to see what is blocking it and it is a whole flippin' chicken carcass - it looks like it has been there three or four days.

Why not just get a blinkin' rat flap fitted?!

I am just so angry. It stinks.

The neighbours will never listen if I say anything to them, and will only subject me to a week's worth of sleepless nights, so I have taken a photo with my camera. I do not care if they saw me

The thing is, the council does nothing about the problems - who can I complain to?

I'm just so fed up. Everyone has been a git to me today. I'm just invisible - three people walked into me when I was out today, and one squashed the birthday cake I was holding as they were running for the bus looking behind them and just plaoughed into me.

I'm just at the end of my tether and it is making me feel so unbelieveably down.

I

I forgot to mention - none of the residents in the other two flats speak any english at all, so I will find it difficult to even ascertain if I have their support in any meaningful way.

Can you not have them arrested as terrorists? From what you describe (prayer chants, chicken carcasses, rice) they sound DANGEROUS.

In the real world,

http://www.lgo.org.uk/complaint_form.htm

(council ombudsman)

Really sorry to hear about this situation Mimi, I'm afraid I don't have anything useful to suggest to you.

Nuisance neighbours are a real pain in the arse and can get you down if you let it (which it seems you already have). Do you own your flat or rent it? Is it council or private rental? I know it sounds obvious, but if it's really that bad have you thought about moving?

I don't know what else to say.

Who is your local council?

I can make some recommendations once I can scan the website of your local lot, see which departments they operate, etc.

If you are calling the council hotline to report it, nothing will happen. A visit to a housing office is far more likely to succeed, though not guaranteed. I'm a tenancy support officer through Cardiff City Council, so I've a slight general insight into how such operations run and to be honest, noise and neighbour refuse problems are two things I deal with a fair bit, though they never take long to solve once someone like me is leaning on the appropriate lazy bastard. Let me know who you are with, though.

A good housing office will give you an 'incident diary' to record the goings on, but beat them to it. Glad you took photos, but all names, dates, times of calls, conversations, with council and neighbours alike, should be in your own notes. And do a history thus far as accurate as possible.

Are you known to your locally elected councillors? I'd recommend you have a chat with them also, familiar or no, good people to have on your side 'inside city hall' as it were.

As for the noise - http://www.noiseabatementsociety.com/tcms/home are the lads for you. Though as council tenants your neighbours are answerable to the landlord.

Don't be put off, regardless of what happens. Quitters never win and all that.

No, it's privately owned, I think it needs to actually fix the problem rather than escape from it.

I think that council ombudsman form is a start. I didn't know such a thing existed - and I have got copies of all of my correspondence with the council, and I also have recorded delivery slips for the last three letters, because they weren't replying (and still didn't).

I just wonder how long it will drag on for, is all.

Yeah, it has got me down, but people, strangers, have just been so unbelievably rude to me today for some reason and it was just the last straw. I just can't understand why they'd want to live like that? WHY would you put a chicken carcass by the back door?

Goatboy - it's Brent Council. I don't actually know if they own the flat downstairs or rent it, actually.

If they share a landlord with you simply say "Sort this or I'm off".

Actually, I do kind of know one of the councillors - one of them pops around every few months and insists on dropping around a whole box of rape alarms for me and any friends.

I never know how to read this.

What is the nature of their tenancy? Renting? Own the place?

If its rented, get onto the landlord.

If its Owned, get onto the council.

also invest in a decent stereo / sub woofer. Play music Full blast.
Get some big marigolds, and dump the rubbish back outside their front door.

Failing that kill them and hide the bodies in the pile of detritus outside the back door.

Perhaps they have friends who do... the council will be under some obligation to lay on a translator to poll their views if this is necessary, although I'm going to make an assumption that they will be likely to clam up even if they could speak English, as they probably won't 'want any trouble' and may well come from somewhere that makes this seem like paradise and they won't want to complain.

Nothing ventured, mind you.

You could report it as fly tipping, for a laugh http://www.brent.gov.uk/servlet/ep.app? ... 90&auth=16



The council housing office will know whether they own the flat downstairs. If so, they can then act (and if they don't, there are other avenues). If not, then the landlord is responsible (not your own landlord, is it?) and the council should have some degree of service in place to get a letter off to him, or can point you towards someone who might.

Furthermore you might try going to your own landlord about it, they should know what is what with tenancies and ownership in your block.

is not good advice

Keep it squeaky clean. If you want to play dirty save it for the bedroom. My advice to all clients, frankly.

You heard goatboy. Go and shit on their bed.

Erm, I've really got to rush so I only read the word 'rat' but if you are having a problem with dirty people in a nearby flat causing rats, then see if you have the same landlord (if you are renting) as we had this problem, the 'rat man' told us it was the fault of the people in the nextdoor terrace next door. We told our joint landlord and he kicked them out.

Sorry if that is irrelavent, gotta go drinking for first time in like forever. Bye!

Thinking about it I think that downstairs IS council owned as when they were putting in the new kitchens in all the flats in the area they had theirs done, and they have the windows that match many of the other flats.

I wouldn't make loads of noise, anyway - I don't like loads of noise

Thanks for the advice, Goatboy - that is a good starting point, and I have the ombudsman's form.

I have had experience with the housing officer regarding another neighbour from years and years ago and they were absolutely useless, but I think that was because of the neighbour in question (a 'Mr Big' from the traveler's community who moved into a dad woman's house with his family and refused to leave and made the whole neighbourhood a misery when I was there), and they were reluctant to get involved.

Yeah sorry that was a joke but it would be damn good fun :)

Dude that's so funny, I was going to make this suggestion and had it in my mind while scrolling down the thread, but you beat me to it.

But personally I'd take it one further and set the flat on fire, or beat them to bloody pulps.

You are a nice person Mimi, and we are different in that things like this make you sad. They don't make me sad, they make me angry beyond compare. This is why I'm never depressed but always angry.

lol I get your sort evicted for a living



I wouldn't touch a pikey infestation with a bargepole. Can't blame the fella, he's got to think of his own safety. Rule of thumb, if they aren't afraid of the police and you can't realistically have them beaten shitless yourself, leave well alone, GTFO, whatever is necessary.

That said housing oficers vary in my locale from the angelic to the inept to the vengeful and the fine. There's usually more than one person to speak to, if you are lucky, and that can often make the difference. Get someone who doesn't like an evil HO and you will profits from the "enemy's enemy" rule.

http://www.brent.gov.uk/services.nsf/Providers+by+Name/Environmental%20Health?OpenDocument

Environmental Health are usually very friendly and efficient when it comes to problems like yours.
Failing that you could always resort to this

Keep laughing, you're next.

I'm really sorry to hear this Mimi - bad neighbours can really, really get a person down.

Have you been to http://nfh.org.uk/?

The guy was actually really sweet, and he explained exactly why he wouldn't go into the situation - it was too dangerous to him. he said exactly the same as you - that hey aren't scared of the police, and him getting involved would probably have all sorts of consequences.

I couldn't blame him, but it was no help to me. It upsets me that someone can go out of their way to make people's lives a misery and there is nothing that anyone can, or is willing to, do about it.

And yeah, it does make me feel sad, CG. Mostly because I just find it so disrespectful to me and the other people living here, and because when the periods of noise start up it affects my health.

Not seen that site, RevOwen, I am gogn to go and have a look now, thankyou.

Thankyou everyone xx

Sorry if i am being a grump.

You're not being a grump m'dear, you're just a nice person, baffled at being in a world full of arseholes.

In periods of noise you can call the Police. Sounds drastic, but if knocking on their door and asking them to STFU doesnt have any effect, I'd do it.

Nah, I AM being a grump today. And the day started off so well. the postman actually arrived, and he bought me scrummy fabric and there were gifts of buttons, ribbons and a monkey badge with the fabric, and also an eskimimi card for me ^_^

I should never have gone outside to buy that birthday cake

I remember once reading that you could call the police for excessive noise now you say it - I remember seeing a bus stop poster to that effect once - out of hours noise or something. Hmmm...

Hehe, this smiley looks like me now

You might be pleased to learn I bought felt from that etsy lady for a special mini-project of mine. Does this cheer you up?

I will aim to be buying something from your newly launched store, Mimi, if you'll let me.

Do you take paypal?

Noise after 11pm is usually frowned upon, Id definitely seek advice at the very least. call CAB or something similar, perhaps?

Hi LaceSensor,

Sorry, no, I don't take paypal, they iz de evilzzzz I have Google Checkout and Nochex if either of those suit. I am making something fun now, though. Right now - I am on a sewing break

I have been to citizen's advice regarding this before. Citzen's advice, I think, varies in quality vastly from area to area - they basically told me to write to the council.. I explained I had many times, they said to write agin - that was more or less the extent of it

CG, she told me you bought felt. I also bought felt - it was she that gave me a cascade of buttons and ribbons and a monkey badge. I have not started with my lovely felt yet - my nan gave me two yards of indigo denim, most excellent!

I really hope it pans out, my sister got all of the creativitity genes, leaving me with the computer skills. As such anything I try to make or draw looks utterly shite

Will we be seeing the product of your project at any point?

Are yu making your own snooker table?

PS - you can iron it with a light/medium iron, by the way - put a sheet/pillowcase/brown paper between the iron and the felt first.

Nothing that exciting, but if it pans out I'll drop a pic into the bits n' bobs thread or something, or maybe go crazy and devote a whole thread to it.

Your earbuds should be there tomorrow anyway, so fucking cheer up! (assuming they fit...)

My postman doesn't deliver on Saturdays, but I had the spare pair from Hollocks the other day so I was listening to a book a bit earlier. I will put your pair inside the bagpuss pyjama case, which doubles up as a safe (currently containing my animal crossing DS game and a milky way.)

Thanks again - I had my earphones for 2 years before I lost the nubbin thing, so hopefully I'll never run out of nubbins again between the two of you.

Hugs 4 Mimi

Personally I'd wait 'till they go out then pull the fuse to their flat, find the cable duct running from your flat down to theirs and empty your entire district's water supply down it.
Well, I wouldn't, but I'd enjoy thinking about it. That and very-loud-speakers playing industrial German techno at religiously inappropriate intervals, face down on the floor.

That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.



That's the most suggestive thing anyone has ever said to me.

Nah, if you use music people have to be really 'scene conscious' or alternatively really deeply into their music to enjoy, all that happens is theyeventually begin to develop an appreciation for it, as they are forced to listen to it and they will subconsciously bask in the warm glow of cognitive dissonance and tap their foot eventually.

Better to play something everyone likes, say, Bowie's Ashes to Ashes on repeat, or Elbow's recent 'A Day Like This' which is by all account utterly wonderful and deserves a good few repeat listens... eventually either of these will prove a more effective torture device.

German industrial techno is the bludgeon, contemporary and earlier popular masterpieces are the knife.

Scooooooooter!!!!!!

I'm so sorry to hear you're having these problems Meems! Big hugs to you and Monkey, I hope the suggestions given here work for you!