How’s this for a whole new level of cheeky fuckery - someone has token our allotment!

[YaMuvva]

Moved into our new house in January. Bought off a lovely lady who was a widow and something of a popular figure in the street (relevant).

We were pleasantly surprised to find that in the deeds it came with a garage across the road (which we’d seen at the viewing but it wasn’t clear it belonged to the house) and an allotment plot. We’ve actually been on an allotment waiting list for years so it was nice news.

We’ve already had aggro with the garage - when we got the keys we went to open it and found that it was rammed full of full boxes! I called previous owner directly as she gave us her number (as assumed they were hers) and she said she allowed our next door neighbour for years to use it. He was most put out when we told him to clear his stuff as we needed to use it. This was 3 months ago, and only last week did he finally clear it out, and only did so when we had to get shitty with him and say if he didn’t clear the garage we would do it for him (don’t want to get off an a bad foot with the neighbours but he was taking the piss).

Anyway we have never checked out the allotment before now (it’s not far about a 10 min walk from here) just because of time constraints and illnesses and crappy weather but decided to finally today go and find it as the sun is shining here.

Anyway, when we got there we looked on the sheet of paper we’d been given and found the plot - and a person sitting next to a full and lush patch sitting on a chair having a cuppa! There is also a shed full of tools coffee cups newspapers etc in it too . We asked the person if we’d got it wrong as we are new owners of number 8 on X Street and thought this was our new allotment.

Apparently she is our neighbour down the road (never yet met her) and yes whilst it is the allotment belonging to number 8, the previous owner (a “very dear friend” of hers apparently) let her use it, she’s been using it for 10 years.

My DH, still stinging from the garage debacle, said well I’m afraid your very dear friend doesn’t live in no 8 any more we do and we are reclaiming the allotment, thank you for looking after it but it is OURS to enjoy.

She bloody said no! And that she’s cultivated this patch for several years, she grows all her veggies here and it’s her sanctuary so if we want it we will ‘have to fight for it’! She also said she paid for the shed.

DH said that’s fine, expect a fight then, and we shuffled away in shock. I then rang the old owner and she said “Oh yes it’s Barbara’s plot really she was good to take it off my hands and it would be awful to take it off her”. To be clear - the plot has NOT been sold to Barbara.

I just can’t believe the piss takery of this. DH thinks we should just go and take down the shed, leave it at her front door and dig up everything and chuck it all in a bin.

I feel like the neighbours just took the piss out of the old owner and think they genuinely have a claim to the stuff she was kind enough to let them borrow.

I might have to do a diagram but the collective plots which our ‘allotment’ is part of are in the middle of a random field just next to the main road that runs into the next town. It’s a bit random, a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ spot. I’m guessing the field belongs to a farmer but I can find no information about management. No water supply, most plots have a butt

@Infectiousdisease of course 60 is 'old'. It's not young is it and it can hardly be described as middle aged 🤣 Getting your knickers in a twist about a certain age being described as old is ageist in itself.

Anyway OP, what the wrecked lawyer said.

What did that poster say? 👀

Sorry quoted the wrong poster!

@BungledBundle apologies if you've already told that story on the thread (you used to be able to view all messages then find on page. Not sure where that option has gone) but I would love to hear it in full if you would be so kind.

What did that poster say??

She's guarding something in that allotment. I'm betting there's a body buried under the carrots

That’s the sort of question I would be wanting my solicitor to ask during conveyancing - ‘what arrangements will the vendor make to ensure vacant possession of garage and land on completion?’ Your solicitor should have sorted this out for you, but I can’t believe you didn’t actually know what you were buying, or inspect it before purchase!!

All these Barbara supporters. Like they’d just “gift” her a plot of land if they owned it 🙄

Honestly OP there’s some loons on here and I highly doubt in the same situation they would shrug and give up a garage and land they had just paid handsomely for to be kind to some CF randomers they have no connection to.

Send the solicitors letter, Barbara and Brenda can fight it out between them but it’s yours.

Is this a joke post?
If not….
House keeping? I don’t live in Downton Abbey it’s a 3 bedroom 2 reception room end terrace.

Also I don’t let people I don’t know look after my kids. Or my tomatoes

It will be the previous owners money, they signed a legal doc saying they were selling with vacant procession.

@FrogTheWarrior yeah, These are probably the same people who get angry at people parking in their street but are happy for OP to gift her land away to a complete stranger.

I am 70. That's not old either.....unless i am pulling a frail old lady scam....then its one foot in the grave and the other one on a bar of soap :)

Definitely not the tomatoes anyway 🤣🤣🤣🤣milady

It's not young but it's not old, I'd absolutely say 60 was mid to late middle age

Be kind to Barbara is bollocks.....Barbra has had the use of the plot for 10 years because the previous owner let her. Great. OP has already said that it is obvious that the previous owner was selling the house, so Barbara knew that new owners were coming, just like Nigel the garage stealer did (felt he needed a name too, sorry) both hoped the status quo would be maintained, in their favour. Neither bothered to approach the OP, and have a conversation with them. Barbra has a huge garden, which can be seen from OP's house. OP didn't approach it the best, she admits that and was maybe a tad on the offensive, which would have got my back up if I was Barbara, but ultimately it's their and Barbara needs to move her stuff, and accept she's had 10 yrs of free space. It isn't a race to the bottom of who needs it more for their MH- OP owns it, Barbara doesn't, and I hope you get it back soon @YaMuvva

Good grief what a mess.

The vendor lied on the questionnaire by not disclosing she had unofficially and without payment rented out a plot of land and her garage to neighbours so I would be threatening her with legal action.

Sounds like you might have to get tough with allotment lady as you did with garage man.

I would be checking your loft to make sure she hasn't given storage rights to another CF neighbour. No wonder she was so popular.

Barbara threatening a fight would tick me right off so I would go down the legal letter route first and then make sure you go along regularly to make sure she knows you plan to regain your ownership rights asap. If she has a large garden why doesn't she use that?

Be prepared to be unpopular with the neighbours though.

@dearohdearwhatdowehavehere.....at 60 you still have at least 7 years of working before you get your pension. I wouldn't class it as old if you're still expected to have a full time job.

She is actually a dead ringer for Camilla Parker Bowles, so DH keeps calling her Camilla, on MN she is Barbara and I have to remember neither are her name 😂

there is one. You can edit your posts for abotu 15 minutes

Barbara needs to do one and anyone than thinks otherwise is mad! Your land. End of. The cheek!

as i said earlier, getting in early with the unpopularity saves time later

Indeed. She hasn’t planted loads of stuff for this year as it’s too early and we’re still having frosts. So best to nip this in the bud now so to speak before she plants for this season.

I can see this is a tricky one in that the vendor allowed her to treat the plot as her own, but now she’s sold you own the plot. Obviously if the vendor had explained to allotment lady and garage man her selling position and change going forward this situation would be different.

Sometimes whatever the legality of things are, a measured and reasonable approach works best than going in all guns blazing. But that takes both parties to be reasonable. Good luck.

Don’t worry @Mamanyt youre not the only one that can’t find the edit button