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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to have reported the dustbin lorry to the council?

393 replies

Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 15:09

Bit of back story us and our next door neighbours quietly dislike each other. Nobody has really said anything but I know we both annoy each other from what is said about the street. They moan about us, things we do etc.

Recently they have been playing loud music in the garden at the weekends in a passive aggressive way. This started when they complained about our chickens being noisy ( we have rehomed the chickens because of this but thats another story) the reason I'm saying all of this is because in general I am just in a bad mood about our neighbours and don't know if this has tainted my reaction.

So next door neighbour is a bin man, he wasn't at work.
Bin lorry come and parks up across my drive . Workmen get out and go in neighbours house/garden for 40 minutes having a drink and break. All this time I was unable to get off or access my drive. There was a bin lorry parked unattended across it.

So husband rings to complain to the council. They were confused as on their tracker the lorry was supposedly elsewhere. They also agreed 40minutes was excessive but said they must have been emptying bins? No they were having a cuppa at my neighbours! Council are going to investigate, I suspect they were taking unauthorised breaks and turning the tracker off.. maybe.

Anyway the reason this has also annoyed me so much is our neighbours have lived hear 30+ years and act like they own the street. Complain about anything we do (leaves from our trees fall in their garden for example.) They are 60+ and set in their ways and we are a young family. Tbh I just dont think they like us, we normally don't rise to it and smile and wave etc. But this time I had had enough and complained.

Aibu? And have we just started ww3?

OP posts:
PhilosophicalCheeseSandwich · 30/07/2026 16:32

You've landed some strangers in trouble with their employer and gained nothing for yourself. Not sure why you'd do that. Do you know why you did it?

Thr33lions · 30/07/2026 16:29

What an odd thing to do.

Why would you chose phoning the council as your first port of call over, you know, knocking on the door and asking them to shift the lorry? Presumably you didn’t want to do the latter because you weren’t actually going somewhere and knew the lack of then moving your own car would make you look a bit of a knob?

ExtraOnions · 30/07/2026 16:28

Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 16:23

This was my point as well. It was assumed I knew where they were.
They were also blocking my other neighbours drive and they definitely wouldn't have known where they were

Show quote history

You didn’t report them because you were inconvenienced by them blocking your drive

You reported them because you are in a petty war with your neighbours

That’s why you look shitty

CaptainMyCaptain · 30/07/2026 16:24

IdentifyingAsAWoollyMammoth · 30/07/2026 16:19

I'm with you OP as we live in flats and there are couple of car parks and two recessed bays and kerbside parking. We are continually being blocked in by delivery lorries or visitors who double park, stopping some of us getting our cars out - even when there are spaces available. Last week a builder parked his van so that I couldn't get my car out of the recessed bay even though the car park 100 yards away had lots of space. I had to get a taxi to get to a hospital appointment (I tried ringing the number on the can but no answer).

They're just too bloody lazy and don't give a toss about inconveniencing other people. And you can't go and ask them to move as you've no idea which fiat out of 93 they're in.

Did you ask the builder to move? I have had tradesmen's vans block me in (bottom of a cul de sac) but they always move when asked.

Original poster
Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 16:23

LizzieSiddal · 30/07/2026 16:16

Id have been very pissed off by that. If they’d parked and come and knocked on the door and said “we’re just next door if you need to move let us know” that would be ok, but they didn’t.

This was my point as well. It was assumed I knew where they were.
They were also blocking my other neighbours drive and they definitely wouldn't have known where they were

OP posts:
OhBettyCalmDown · 30/07/2026 16:23

BirdLandedonmyHead · 30/07/2026 16:12

A parent blocks a drive for 5 mins when going to pick up a child...
"Block them in"
"Complain to the council"

Bin lorry parks there for 40 minutes...
"You are evil"

I do get it because blocking someone’s drive is inconsiderate but for me if it were a bin man, workman, delivery man etc it wouldn’t bother me if I knew where to find them. I.e at next doors property.

When someone does it on the school run they’ve abandoned the car so can’t move it even if you needed it.

adragoncalledaudrey · 30/07/2026 16:23

Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 16:19

Well if my friend came round for a cuppa and were parked infront of my neighbours drive I would have told them to move.
They bin men were wrong because you cant park over someone's drive.
If we had done the same to they neighbours they would be the first to complain.

This is the first time we have been petty I am not proud however they have been petty many times in the past and we have not retaliated.
Their pettiness included leaving their led disco lights on a timer to come on at night in their garden while they went on holiday knowing they would shine directly into our bedrooms. That is just an example of many things.

So be petty with your neighbour if you must.

Knock on the door and get them to move offthe drive if you must.

But don’t do what you did.

You know it was shit. Or else you wouldn’t be but-but-but petty.

Theunamedcat · 30/07/2026 16:22

RoaryMouth · 30/07/2026 15:32

You’ve complained about a group of bin men having a cuppa though, not about your neighbour. So some guys you don’t know, who slightly annoyed you and didn’t actually inconvenience you might get a telling off. Your neighbour wasn’t involved as not working. Poor bin men - hot, grubby work, taking a chance to cool down and chat.

Her neighbour IS the binman

And they could have blocked his drive not hers

Iwantanothergo · 30/07/2026 16:22

Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 15:53

I think my point is they have been petty about countless things with us and I finally broke and was petty back.

I sympathise - but it won’t actually be your neighbour who gets into trouble, will it?

TheCrenchinglyMcQuaffenBrothers · 30/07/2026 16:22

Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 15:53

I think my point is they have been petty about countless things with us and I finally broke and was petty back.

Not to your neighbour you weren’t.
But to a crew of workers doing an unpleasant but necessary job, in blazing hot weather.

My DD is a postwoman. Yesterday, in 30+ heat, one of the last customers on their round invited her and her colleague in for cold drinks - they were so grateful. I wonder if someone was watching them and rang the depot to complain about completely being inconvenienced in no way whatsoever by their van being parked outside whilst they had a break…

Zimunya · 30/07/2026 16:21

BirdLandedonmyHead · 30/07/2026 16:12

A parent blocks a drive for 5 mins when going to pick up a child...
"Block them in"
"Complain to the council"

Bin lorry parks there for 40 minutes...
"You are evil"

Thank goodness for your post, @BirdLandedonmyHead - I was beginning to wonder if I was in a parallel universe here!

OP, you have done nothing wrong in reporting people who were blocking your drive.

luckylavender · 30/07/2026 16:20

Lifejigsaw · 30/07/2026 15:36

Where did you find the children?

I was wondering that

IdentifyingAsAWoollyMammoth · 30/07/2026 16:19

I'm with you OP as we live in flats and there are couple of car parks and two recessed bays and kerbside parking. We are continually being blocked in by delivery lorries or visitors who double park, stopping some of us getting our cars out - even when there are spaces available. Last week a builder parked his van so that I couldn't get my car out of the recessed bay even though the car park 100 yards away had lots of space. I had to get a taxi to get to a hospital appointment (I tried ringing the number on the can but no answer).

They're just too bloody lazy and don't give a toss about inconveniencing other people. And you can't go and ask them to move as you've no idea which fiat out of 93 they're in.

LumpyandBumps · 30/07/2026 16:19

Has anyone else noticed that there are frequently threads on Mumsnet where the comments and percentage statistics seem to be at odds?
I haven’t counted but in this thread there seem to be many people stating OP is being unreasonable, but the voting shows 65% thinks she’s not being unreasonable.
I don’t have a strong opinion either way in this thread.

Prisonbreak · 30/07/2026 16:19

I can’t express how little this would bother me. I reckon I’d be too busy to notice anyway.

Original poster
Bumpyroads · 30/07/2026 16:19

Well if my friend came round for a cuppa and were parked infront of my neighbours drive I would have told them to move.
They bin men were wrong because you cant park over someone's drive.
If we had done the same to they neighbours they would be the first to complain.

This is the first time we have been petty I am not proud however they have been petty many times in the past and we have not retaliated.
Their pettiness included leaving their led disco lights on a timer to come on at night in their garden while they went on holiday knowing they would shine directly into our bedrooms. That is just an example of many things.

OP posts:
CluelessAboutBiology · 30/07/2026 16:19

I’m a manager for a waste collection service and if this had been one of our crews, we would want to know about it.

fartotheleftside · 30/07/2026 16:19

Velvera · 30/07/2026 15:20

I doubt your bin will get emptied for a few weeks now. They might just forget to empty it.

yep. Don't piss off the binmen!

adragoncalledaudrey · 30/07/2026 16:17

user67392097643 · 30/07/2026 16:13

Oh dear - our bin men are fab and will take anything we put out even if the lids not closed like the official rules. I suspect you might find your bin is overlooked or similar now OP!
Why didn’t you just ask them to move, fine to report if they'd refused to do so but you’ve created an unnecessary fuss here and added fuel to the fire. Real mystery why you’re unpopular with them!

Ours are immense. We all look after them in this heat (and the cold) and the only folk ringing the council are folk singing their praises.

Maybe this is why I’ve taken such a dislike to OP’s actions.

I don’t think there is any justification to involve them in what is a neighbour dispute. And a snippy petty one at that.

JustGiveMeReason · 30/07/2026 16:17

YWBVU.

What a nasty thing to do.
Also, what a daft thing to do, as they are your neighbours and you still live next to them.

Because of your petty dislike of your neighbours you've got a whole crew of bin workers into trouble.
Even though you didn't want to go out so the lorry being there didn't inconvenience you, but if you had wanted to, they would no doubt have just moved it if you asked them.

what a sad way to live your life.

Sandiedoors · 30/07/2026 16:17

Why didn’t you just go round and politely ask them to move the lorry? Phoning the council to complain wouldn’t have done your relationship with the neighbour any good.

tinyspiny · 30/07/2026 16:16

Total over reaction , normal person would have knocked the door and asked them to move it , what you’ve done has potentially got multiple people in trouble .

LizzieSiddal · 30/07/2026 16:16

Id have been very pissed off by that. If they’d parked and come and knocked on the door and said “we’re just next door if you need to move let us know” that would be ok, but they didn’t.

Weeellokthen · 30/07/2026 16:15

Dearie me, so spiteful and petty. Great way to escalate tensions with your neighbours.

Temporal · 30/07/2026 16:15

Grass...