To Think My Neighbours Calling The Police Re. Their 50p BBQ Cover Is Harrasment?

[JoffreyBaratheon]

New neighbours called the police at xmas, claiming some solar powered lights had been stolen from their garden. TBH, I never saw any lights in their garden so assumed insurance fraud. Police were polite, friendly, stood at the door didn't barge in. I said I knew nothing (although it was clear they'd been sent to us and no-one else, deliberately). Forgot about it.

Neighbours are very violent and threatening to their kids - constantly shouting, swearing and saying just unbelievably vile things to the 2 toddlers. I rang SS on them but it seems, after visiting for a couple of months, it was dropped. Now it is back to 'normal' with neighbours once more saying obscene and cruel things to their kids or screaming at eachother. (We call the man Fuck Fuck because we have never heard him say a sentence, even to the 3 year old, without the words fuck or cunt in it). Of course when officials come round, butter wouldn't melt.

This week at 9pm we had coppers at the door this time insisting on coming in. Apparently, this time we were guilty of stealing a BBQ cover (windy day so we assumed it blew away. They have an empty house and garden but because they saw us having BBQs, think they wanted to spend their last £15 and regain a presence in the garden. 3 foot fence which I can't afford to replace. A six foot one would solve my problem.

Anyway, rather than ask if it had blown over to our side their first reaction was to call the cops (and send them to us).

We'd been out but returned to see this cheapo plastic cover on the floor in our garden and despite loathing them, threw it straight back over the wall. It wasn't til after coppers left that I remembered seeing the woman scuttle out and retrieve it, seconds after I threw it over.

Later my teenage son told me he had overheard when we were out the man saying "Some cunt has stole my BBQ cover" (to the 3 year old - who replied that the police would come and get them!)

So if the woman lobbed it over, it is without the man's knowledge.

Took the coppers a good five minutes getting shirty with me before they understood that I was saying yes I saw the damn thing and chucked it back over... He kept insisting that the man said he had velcro'd it on firmly.

Dick. Coppers went to tell them the results of their investigations then returned to us, now laughing as it was so pathetic (5 mins ago had been the crime of the century).

This has unsettled me. We are council tenants. They are new tenants with an Introductory tenancy. In two months that will become a secure tenancy unless we can do something.

Are 'only' 2 incidents of having the cops called on you harrasment?

There is all the fighting and swearing and child abuse (verbal but we suspect physical - we have given up on that as the council and SS don't seem to care).

Oddly, apart from calling their kids cunts and wankers, they are largely silent in the day time. If they left us alone we wouldn't give a flying fuck.

But I am starting to think I may have to pursue harassment/antisocial behaviour as the only way to get them out.

The man left a previous area's social housing, apparently because he couldn't take the noise of living in a normal semi and he has accused us of slamming doors (all we do is normal family stuff. Hell, I have 2 teens and a 21 yr old in the house, as well as a 12 year old, and my kids only have iPods with earphones - hardly playing gangsta rap at midnight).

Anyone else had false accusations from nutjob neighbours? They are unemployed, and apart from the £30,000 car they just bought appear to have no life and no possessions and no interests. So they do seem very obsessed with us and our doings.

I'm freaked out by this. Do I have to expect a lifetime of coppers knocking the door at night? Anyone else had similar and how did you proceed?

We feel vulnerable as they could throw anything over the fence then claim it was stolen... Do I have to fear a knock at the door every time there's a strong wind? Council are (supposedly) ringing tomorrow.

[xihha]

Did you post about this earlier? I vaguely remember reading it before but didn't have time to reply.

Have you spoken to your housing officer about all of this? (not just the fighting and swearing) they are 2 months off assured tenancy so now is the best time to kick up a fuss.

[Theodorous]

Good God, nobody should have to live with this. If it wasn't true it would be funny. It doesn't sound as if things will improve and I really feel for you. I would record and film everything and try to move. All the beat

[QuizzicalCat]

If they have gone back to their previous behaviour please ring ss again for the sake of those children. And keep ringing.

[Hissy]

Please record the comments they're making to the dc. Don't give up on them.

Do what you can.

[Birdsgottafly]

If they are swearing at the toddlers, it will get repeated, that's what SS look for.

Some people swear a lot, use verbal abuse (but don't see it as such) if you don't or aren't used to it, it sounds vile, but SS can't dictate how people should be 24/7.

The children will be in Nursery soon (or might already be), so the staff will know about SS involvement and anything they aren't happy with, will get reported.

This might be a low level "hit back" campaign, or they may think you've got it in for them, so have been stealing from their garden (you or your teens).

You say they are quite of a day. So is this family noisy of a night time?

[headlesslambrini]

Set up a cctv camera from an upstairs window on your garden. You cant record their side of the fence or it could be envasiob of privacy.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

I would complain complain complain to housing so their tenancy does not get made permanent. Encourage others to complain if they have had issues.

[BigPawsBrown]

Harassment requires a course of dealings = more than one time. So yes, could be.

[musicalendorphins2]

What is your reason for suspecting these people of physically abusing their children? Have you seen bruises and injuries on the kids?

[ComposHat]

they are unemployed, and apart from the £30,000 car they just bought appear to have no life and no possessions and no interests.

Did it come with a free 500" flatscreen and goat?

[CrazyNeighbourLady]

Over the years my neighbour has called the police several times, accusing me of various things from criminal damage to filming her daughter. Despite never being able to provide any evidence - for the obvious reason that none of it happened - the police have still come around to 'investigate'. I have shown them the long, ranting letters she's written me, making accusations of physical violence, criminal damage, 'stalking', etc. and asked what I can do to stop her harassment. They tell me to 'just keep a diary'.

It beggars belief that people are allowed to make repeated allegations - without a shred of evidence being provided - and that no action is taken against them. So, OP, yes I have experience of mad neighbours making malicious allegations and calling the police - a situation which has now gone over for about 7 years and involved perhaps one visit from the police per year. The police call this a 'neighbour dispute' and won't get involved, but suggest mediation. I've had one meeting with mediators, but refused to take this further as they said the next step was to get together and discuss the 'things that have happened'. I've refused to do this as these 'things' only happened in her fantasies and I don't want to give them further credence. I believe my neighbour is an attention-seeker and probably has MH issues, as well. I would normally be incredibly sympathetic to people with MH problems, having suffered depression myself, but it's very hard when you're the target of someone's obsession.

I wish I could tell you otherwise, OP, but my experience is that people like your neighbours and mine will try to escalate these issues and continue to make allegations.

I would definitely contact SS again about their treatment of their children, though. That is very disturbing.

[CrazyNeighbourLady]

Sorry that was so long. In short: people that make false allegations tend to do so repeatedly in my experience.

[AnyoneForTennis]

You don't sound too pleasant yourself op!

[ssd]

I think the op sounds fine and shes unlucky enough to be living next door to scum.

maybe the local police will get wise to them op?

sorry have no experience on this

oh and ignore the flatscreen tv's and goats comment, people on here are desperate to be smart arses sometimes.

[APotNoodleandaTommy]

In what way does the OP sound unpleasant?!

[Theodorous]

Yes I thought the op sounded perfectly nice as well. Unless of course she is really a barbecue lid stealing monster! When people violate your home, your own safe place you are allowed to dislike them.

[sashh]

Yes 2 incidents is harassment.

101 to report this, you can either ask the police to investigate or just put it on file in case there is another incident.

Then call the council. Both to report them and ask for a 6ft fence.

[fifi669]

The council don't install fences (well mine doesn't). They only have to mark boundaries.

[ILoveWooly]

In this day and age a voice recording of the verbal abuse would help with your accusations to SS. Obviously you just happened to be out the back door messing around with your phone when it happened.

Call the antisocial behaviour team at the council too. You never know, they may have already done the same to you.

[wannaBe]

I had issues with a neighbour reporting me because one of my dogs barked when I went out. I will add at this point that their dogs bark morning, noon and night, and that one of them is so aggressive it can only be walked by one member of the family after dark.

But she rang the RSPCA, environmental health (who weren't interested) and guide dogs who she told that my dogs were underweight (they're not) that I go out and leave them in the garden for hours at a time (I don't) that the neighbour on the other side moved house because of my dog (they didn't).

Anyway one day I came home and she was waiting at her kitchen door for me and came out and started shouting the ods, how she had "rung some people," and how it "won't be happening again."

It so happened that I was recording a voice message at the time so I just left it running, and after she'd finished ranting (during which time I pointed out that her dogs bark far more than mine which she conceded) I told her that I would see what the police had to say about possible harassment, and that by the way, this conversation was recorded. She ran screaming into her house and they haven't bothered me since.

I will also add at this point that there are clearly some mh issues at play, but that doesn't given people the right to behave like that, it just gives perhaps a slight bit of understanding how they came to be that unpleasant.

[CrazyNeighbourLady]

101 to report this, you can either ask the police to investigate or just put it on file in case there is another incident.

They will in all probability do nothing. I have had several malicious investigations made against me by my neighbour, some of which were investigated to an extent where I had to visit a custody centre (where, of course, there was found to be no evidence and no case to answer). Despite this all being on record, the police have advised me only to 'continue to record' incidents of harassment. They have basically given her carte blanche to continue. I've been told I can bring a civil case against her at my own expense, which I can't afford.

[ComposHat]

So the casually dropped in reference to the new 30,000 car and being unemployed were strictly necessary in the context of a noisy/antisocial neighbour thread?

As for social services involvement, how do you know what type of engagement they had with them? Do the social workers call round before and after each visit to debrief you?

[CrazyNeighbourLady]

And one other thing to bear in mind - obviously this doesn't apply to OP who is a council tenant - all of this stuff will have to be disclosed if you ever want to sell your house. Neighbours like this cause huge problems that impact your life in so many ways.

[ssd]

Compos, the op never casually dropped in anything FFs she told her story about her shite neighbour, you're the one that seems to be getting their knickers in a twist and making arsey comments...why do goats and flat screen tellies always need to be brought up on threads like these??? Does it make you feel part of a gang to mention it??

[Floggingmolly]

Did the police really spend a "good five minutes getting shirty with you" because your neighbour alleged you'd stolen a plastic BBQ cover?
I can't help thinking you must have responded with a certain amount of attitude...