Has anyone dealt with an overbearing or unsettling neighbour?

[Angelic999]

Has anyone ever experienced overbearing or creepy neighbour behaviour? I don't want to give too many outing details, but a male neighbour is giving me the creeps.

He always pops out when I do, he has a camera on his home so can easily see when I come and go (obviously I can't prove he is watching me but it seems a bit too coincidental). He's always doing 'jobs' on the side of the house that backs onto mine so I can't leave my house without passing him. Every time I leave my house or come home he always shouts over to me to banter (I think he thinks he's flirting ) even when I avoid eye contact. He took my number from a whatsapp group and started messaging me 1-1 with things like "got your parcel, will bring it round later on".

I've started dreading leaving my house. He also parks near me so say I'm getting shopping out my car, lo and behold he needs to pop something in his car too. 😫

There's nothing explicit, and he does it all under the guise of "friendly neighbour" but it gives me the creeps. I live in a neighbourly place with a lot of retired folk (he isn't he works) so lots of people do chat to each other lots.

I don't mind small talk, but he's making me feel uncomfortable.

Do you have a burly male friend you could bring round so neighbour thinks you’ve got a partner (assuming you don’t have one)

To begin with, I would leave the group and block his number. What is the group for? My road is on the ‘my neighbourhood’ app or something similar, I’ve never joined it and don’t know what it’s for.

Some men take any interaction as an invitation. You'll probably need to be quite rude, as in just ignore him in the future, don't engage in small talk.
Any yes leave the group and block. This is one reason I would never join a school/neighbourhood group, don't want a load of randoms having my number because guaranteed there'll be someone just like your neighbour over stepping.
Try not to order parcels unless you know you'll be home to receive them or just get them delivered to the storage boxes that are everywhere now.

That sounds awful. Are you renting or with a mortgage?

Unless moving in the near future I’d consider putting in a Claire’s law request about him.

No, that's probably why he's 'targeting' me as I'm the only single woman near his age although I'd estimate he's about 15 years older than me at least- most are very elderly.

I didn't realise you could do Clare's law about anyone, I thought it was only romantic partners.

Yes, in his head he might have conjured up a very different reality. I made the mistake of fake laughing at some of his relentless jokes initially. I won't be doing that again!