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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To take these things and leave them outside old owners' door?

21 replies

JumpJockey · 13/10/2011 09:31

We moved house a month ago, and the previous owners left quite a lot of junk behind. The most annoying things are a socking great floor polisher in the shed, and a loo cistern in the cupboard under the stairs. They also, it transpired on moving day, lied about some of the things we insisted were done before exchange (fixing lock on patio doors, putting door handles back on all rooms, etc) and seem not tohave arranged a postal redirection as bank statements etc keep arriving. So all in all we're not that positively disposd to them in the first place.

I have tried many times to ask previous owner when she will come and collect, as she now lives only about 500m away. Left notes and phone messages saying Please give me a call, have knocked at the door, she never replies. WIBU to cart these bloody things round and leave them on the doorstep? I know I could freecycle them but frankly why shouldn't she have to deal with them?

OP posts:

LaurieFairyCake · 13/10/2011 09:36

Wouldn't it be easier to freecycle them where someone comes and takes them away rather than you taking them round there and manhandling them into the car

Your responsibility to them has finished. Put the post in the mailbox with 'not known at this address' every so often - don't let it interfere with your life.

And contact your solicitor about the outstanding issue with regards to fixing stuff - or take them to small claims court.

catwithflowers · 13/10/2011 09:38

If your local council will pick up, I would just arrange a delivery date for everything to be collected and taken to the tip. Saves you the effort. Agree with the 'return to sender' option regarding the mail.

Original poster

JumpJockey · 13/10/2011 09:38

Laurie - i could wheel the polisher and chuck cistern into buggy, it takes under 5 mins to walk to her new house. I guess i just want her to appreciate what a pain she's been and that she can'y just leave her rubbish for other people to deal with.

OP posts:

LaurieFairyCake · 13/10/2011 09:43

But she can and she has.

It is now your responsibility as far as I am aware - I don't want you to get done for littering or something when you dump it in her garden.

It is much easier for you to get rid of it and focus on the REAL issue that bothers you - the fact that she may owe you money to get stuff fixed.

If you want to piss her off then do it - I just don't want you to suffer any consequences as the stuff is now 'yours'

spottypancake · 13/10/2011 09:44

OP - I totally see your POV. But there are some people who do not care what inconvenience/expense/upset they cause others. They really don't care and nothing you do will get her to care so any attempt is futile.

You need to consider yourself and forget about the nasty vendor. The best thing to do for yourself is:

Put all her mail back into the postbox saying "not known at this address"
Get rid of the rubbish yourself - I know that this is inconvenient but you need rid of it.
Get the jobs around the house done yourself. I honestly think involving solicitors over this is far more hassle than just getting it done and forgetting about it.

Please remember that she simply doesn't care. She has already been a PITA so you need to move forwards without her and try and forget it and enjoy your new house.

Icelollycraving · 13/10/2011 09:53

I would send mail back as no longer at this address. I would dump the stuff on her doorstep too! Do it,you will feel cleansed!

HeidiKat · 13/10/2011 09:54

We had similar problems when we moved into our house, the loft and shed were full of crap that we had to hire a mini skip to get rid of and there was random stuff left in some of the bedrooms, including full ashtrays, lovely. Binned it all and the previous owner came to the door a few days later asking for her stuff back and didn't seem to happy to be told it wasn't possible. I still occasionally get post for her and just bin it, don't have a forwarding address and can't be arsed to go out of my way to put it back in the postbox, its her responsibility to let places know she moved out 5 years ago.

GHAHSTLYGHOULYpants · 13/10/2011 09:54

Sell the floor polisher
Free cycle anything else.
Every bit of mail- just write on it "not known at this address and chuck back in the post box. Feel good in the knowledge that she is not getting any of her mail, which is a massive inconvenience to her.

You owe her nothing, stop interacting with her, she is taking the piss and you are looking like a fool if I am being brutally honest.

Original poster

JumpJockey · 13/10/2011 09:55

Gah! But I don't want her to have won! [hangry] we spent £350 getting the patio doors fixed and the side door attached to the house where her crappy builder ex had just wedged it into place then cunningly ensured no key was available when our surveyor went round.

We need to move on don't we? Right, will freecycle her crap and no longer worry when baby starts to chew on post in her name. plus we have all the apples from the trees and she doesn't

OP posts:

GHAHSTLYGHOULYpants · 13/10/2011 10:08

I know, it does feel like that but she has not won! She has been a shitty vendor, so take comfort in that.

The house we live in now, the vendor left 2 kitchen cupboards FULL of stuff, and a shed full of stuff too. She also painted around pictures, so when everything was off the walls, they were mostly green with big square of yellow on them. no post redirection either. She left the electricity card pay as you go thing in the red. The house was also really dirty.

I chucked everything out, painted the walls, cleaned the house, switched to regular billing and changed utilities provider.

Imagine my glee when she called me up about 2 months later looking for her stuff- er no it has been thrown out love, and querying the electric biller no thats yours too you insolvent idiot, and oh do you have my post-- no, just been returning to sender as you did not sort out a mail redirection, and I have to go now, Byeee!

stop being so "helpful" with the notes and phone calls. Move on!

LaurieFairyCake · 13/10/2011 10:17

Agree - she has not won - the moral highground is all yours

I would be contacting my solicitor about the £350 - I assumed it was a small amount but I really think that is worth chasing for. It would take you 10 minutes to do a small claims online (you could pay your solicitor to send her solicitor a letter demanding the money by X date) and cost you £40-ish (costs reclaimable). www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Scholes34 · 13/10/2011 10:48

Don't stoop to her level. Dump or freecycle her stuff, sell the floor polisher on eBay. Remember that whilst you may have paid for the work yourself, it will have been done to a standard you want, rather than what she would have been prepared to pay for. You would be being unreasonable to yourself to dump her stuff on her doorstep.

soandsosmummy · 13/10/2011 10:56

I understand how you feel but don't stoop to her level.

When we brought our house we found the owner had left - manky sofa and two arm chairs, broken chairs, kitchen table, a broken ski-ing machine, a broken oven, broken dishwasher, filthy saucepans and plates in cupboards (and I mean truly filthy), a broken barbeque and a pile of porn mags on top of a broken washing machine and a pile of other stuff besides mainly broken. We had to get two skips to get rid of it all!

kitsmummy · 13/10/2011 11:06

Well I'd dump the stuff in her garden and bin her post

lurkerspeaks · 13/10/2011 11:14

Get rid of stuff - pay someone if you have to
Get jobs done - keep invoices
If all jobs are listed in legal documents as requiring to be done pre-sale then raise small claims action to claim back costs of 1 + 2.
Print a whole wodge of stickers saying "not known at this address - return to sender" leave by front door. accumulate huge pile of post and periodicially dump in post box.

Don't be nice if/ when she returns to claim items/ complain about missing bank statements - she failed to take responsibility for her actions.

I had a thread about mail redirection about 8 weeks ago. The old tenants have proved what arses they are and still haven't paid for the Royal Mail service so I'm back to returning their mail to sender. If they come round to complain (again) I will not hold back as they get on average 2-3 pieces of mail / day.

Floggingmolly · 13/10/2011 11:35

Dumping the previous owners stuff in her own garden is not littering. She is definitely the one in the wrong.

LaurieFairyCake · 13/10/2011 11:38

It may or may not be littering - it may be flytipping.

I think, unfortunately the stuff becomes legally 'yours' after completion so therefore dumping it in someone's garden means you could be cautioned for fly tipping if she were to complain to the police.

thereistheball · 13/10/2011 12:27

Agree that you should go through proper channels to claim back money owed for things that were supposed to have been done before you exchanged. I would also sell/freecycle/bin her stuff and return post to sender. Apart from anything else, if she is only 500m away then she can just as easily dump the stuff back on you, and you may well be bumping in to her for years to come. Take the moral high ground and enjoy the apples.

jeee · 13/10/2011 12:34

OP, honestly the stuff she's left isn't that bad. The previous owners of my house left a box stuffed with dog poo.

Decide whether to chase the money owing, and forget about everything else.

dweezle · 13/10/2011 12:37

Lord, we had this years ago when we moved into a new house - there was so much stuff we actually had to get a skip to get rid. The worst thing was a 4 drawer filing cabinet full of personal files for the dating agency the previous owner used to run. Felt responsible for it and ended up burning all the paperwork as there was some really, really personal info. Previous owners were a bit weird - would not have been surprised if they were swingers........

TheOriginalFAB · 13/10/2011 12:53

The previous owners of our house left all their rubbish (9 bags of it) and broken things in the garden, she stopped gardening once we agreed to buy the house so there were nettles and weeds everywhere. She took things she said she would leave, they were still in the house well after it belonged to us and then her father came a few days later to pick something up and nosied around. Just got some post for her today (she moved out 10 years ago) and she appears to have married her lover/taken his name. Have left the post for DH to deal with. It looks official though.

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