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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have shrieked like a fishwife in my dressing gown, in the street?

21 replies

PiousPrat · 02/12/2011 12:57

Well not the street but in my back garden by the gate.

Mornings tend to be a bit hectic here, so I usually get DP off to work, get the eldest DC out the door to school,give the baby his breakfast then grab a shower and get dressed myself, so at 8:30 this morning I was still in my PJs and dressing gown when I heard a clanking in the back garden. I opened the side door to find a man standing next to the shed, rooting through a pile of junk. We are having the kitchen done, so the old units are there until we can fit a skip in and there is also the old fuse board in there which is what I assume he was trying to get to. I heard more clanking so looked toward the back gate only to see another guy carrying my sons' seesaw and the legs from our patio table towards his van. He was already halfway out of the gate and I'm afraid I panicked a bit and shrieked "Noooooo!" and started towards him. The guy by my door tried to block my way and started saying "sorry sorry sorry, I knock you door, you no answer" while still trying to look over my shoulder at the heap of junk.

Now I'm afraid at this point I lost it a bit as a) I know full well he hadn't knocked as I was in the dining room which the side door opens from for 10 minutes before hearing the clanking and b) his mate was still trying to juggle the table legs and seesaw while now trying to open the doors to their van. I stormed down the path, asked him once to put my stuff back in my garden and leave and when side door guy wouldn't get out of the garden I got progressively more and more shrieky. I was waving my arm, pointing out of the garden and yelling loud enough to get a few of the curtains opposite twitching Blush

For the sake of clarity, scrappies going round doing collections from houses are pretty common round here, I often see 3 or 4 vans a day. I am new to the area and where I used to live didn't have people coming round picking up scrap so i was curious about it and asked around. It turns out the scrappies are licensed and have to abide by certain rules, such as asking permission before taking anything and only coming onto the property to knock and ask permission. I may have yelled that I was going to get this guy's license pulled if he didn't get out of my garden now. He didn't seem that bothered so I am wondering if he was in fact licensed, as he did jump in the van and bugger off sharpish when I started taking down his van reg.

DS2 is now mortified that I was out in the garden in my garish bright pink fetching dressing gown and making so much noise that the neighbours were looking. He left for school with his hood pulled down low in case anyone saw him. Was IBU to have flapped my arms around like a demented flamingo at half 8 in the morning? Will I be forever known by the curtain twitching brigade opposite as that shrieking harridan? Blush

OP posts:
kreechergotstuckupthechimney · 02/12/2011 13:03

Not in the slightest bit U. We had a couple of garden gates and a gaz can thing in our front garden for about four months.
I had never really thought about them until a neighbour knocked on our door to tell me some people (she used a different term) had loaded them onto their flatbed and driven away with them.
I didn't have a car at the time so went looking for them. Luckily they were in the next road and, although we had a disagreement, they brought them back once I'd threatened Police.
I was dressed though.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/12/2011 13:03

YANBU... it's getting ridiculous here. It's theft, pure and simple. Keep a camera handy by the door and take pictures of the theives and their vehicles and pass them to the police. It's the only way. Carriers of waste have to have a waste carrier's licence. It''s the law - the thieves know that and don't have them because it costs money.

If DS2 is so mortified, he can help you next time... give you time to put something warmer on because it's freezing!

waterlego6064 · 02/12/2011 13:03

YWNBU, I would have been outraged too and probably would have behaved in a similar way.

I have never heard of people doing this, they don't do it round here.

HeadfirstForHalos · 02/12/2011 13:04

So some men were in your garden stealing your stuff? I'd have done more than shrieked like a harridan! did you get the whole reg no? I'd call the none emergency police number tbh!

SantaDesperatelySeeksSedatives · 02/12/2011 13:08

YANBU and I'd shamed your DS even more because not only sm I hardly ever dressed before 8.30am but I probably would have been louder and more sweary. Seriously can't get over the cheek of some people though! Letting yourself in someone else's garden and just helping yourself! WTAF Xmas Shock

SardineQueen · 02/12/2011 13:09

YANBU

We get them around here too. I had no idea there were licences Hmm but we have been having building work done and they just walk into your garden and start rooting through your stuff. One bunch I was watching them through the window and they couldn't have cared less that they were being observed and even when DH went out and asked them what they thought they were doing they were rude and wouldn't get off our property. In the end they went and went to a house a few doors down who were having work done and started picking through that and loading stuff into their van (the people were on holiday). So I took their number and reported them to the police.

I just think it's atrocious, I don't understand why people suddenly in the last couple of years have decided it's OK to come onto your property and help themselves to your possessions.

There was a poster on here recently who was painting a radiator and put it outside her front door and some people came and took it, she chased after them and they wouldn't give it back, said it was theirs.

It makes me really angry TBH.

PomBearAtTheGatesOfDoom · 02/12/2011 13:11

And tonight when your windows go through, be ready to shout that you have them on CCTV. Or borrow a large dog for the night. (speaking from bitter experience here)

Heleninahandcart · 02/12/2011 13:13

I'm all for a bit of fish wife, keeps everyone on their toes. You had the garish dressing gown so get the full title of Harridan. You have extra points because the neighbours noticed. No one is going to piss you off for a good while now Grin

YANBU.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/12/2011 13:14

SardineQueen... It's the metals market, value of scrap is really high - especially copper, which is about £3k per tonne at the moment.

I still can't believe my husband took his defunct exhaust to the civic amenity site... catalytic converter compete (£120 or so)... Hmm

HeadfirstForHalos · 02/12/2011 13:17

I can't believe this is so common! Xmas Shock

We get a lot of them coming around too but they only ever take what has been left out on the street for them.

Mind you, earlier this year one of them was driving around collecting on a Sunday afternoon, blind drunk and with 2 young kids helping him. He turned onto a narrow street of terraced houses that has cars parked both sides and drove up it scratching, scraping and bumping cars all the way! A couple of irate owners gave chase, managed to corner him on a dead end and managed to detain him until the police came. 'Twas quite the scandal in our little village Xmas Grin

WilsonFrickett · 02/12/2011 13:19

Am I missing something cos to me that's stealing, are people able to just come into your garden if they feel like it? Tell DS you were out protecting his stuff and you actually deserve a medal for it! YANBU.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/12/2011 13:20

It's not necessarily 'bad' areas, it happens in affluent areas where people are replacing their large appliances, ringing the council for collection and these people turn up first.

Small villages are not exempt but they may be lower on the 'list' because of the curtain twitchers, maybe?

I have an idea!!! That's what we need... an electrical, automatic 'curtain twitcher' for when we're at work... Grin

Original poster
PiousPrat · 02/12/2011 13:20

I have to say, all the other scrappies I have met in the last few months have been polite, friendly and chatty. The odd one has woken us early on a Saturday which is less than ideal, but it was waking us by knocking the door to ask if they could please take away something and apologising for the early hour. In general I like the idea of people earning themselves some money by clearing away junk other people want shot of and taking it to be recycled. That has to be good, right?

I just object (apparently very vocally) to someone taking it upon themselves to take stuff that wasn't actually junk.

On the bright side, I don't think DS2 will be using the side or back doors for a while as they both lead out to the back garden which is overlooked by the neighbours who saw my screechathon, so at least it is only 1 door that he will be traipsing muddy boots through now. A reduction in floor mopping is a tidy silver lining ;)

OP posts:
SardineQueen · 02/12/2011 13:24

No-one has ever knocked on our door about stuff! I had no idea about these licences and knocking and things.

HeadfirstForHalos · 02/12/2011 13:25

Lying if these curtain twitcher are made of metal we would be coming to home to find they had been taken for scrap Xmas Grin

I like the idea though, I'll order one!

Original poster
PiousPrat · 02/12/2011 13:32

Sardine, maybe I just get a better class of scrappy than you Wink

Honestly, the consensus is that I wasn't being unreasonable? Because I wasn't sure if i was being a bit precious about it given that I do have old kitchen units by the back door so I suppose it could have been construed that it was just a garden full of junk and fair game for the taking. I was thinking about phoning the non emergency number for the police to rert it, but wasn't sure if I would just be compounding any twattishness by doing that. I figured AIBU was the best place to find out if I was being an arse or not Grin

OP posts:
Pancakeflipper · 02/12/2011 13:34

Good for you OP.

We live in a lovely area and everyday at least 2 different scrap metal merchants drive up and down our little road - lots of houses do have building work going on and there is often stuff left out for collection.

We are having building work done on our home and I have had a run with some scrap metal merchants who smashed a load of glass, didn't clear it up when taking stuff from our garden ( in a skip). They didn't ask if they could help themselves.

I wasn't in my dressing gown and I used my best Radio 4 voice. But they hurled abuse at me until I took down their reg. number. I have kept the number and if anything 'disappears' will report it.

My builders were most amused. They often mimic my Radio 4 voice when talking to me.

Original poster
PiousPrat · 02/12/2011 13:40

Nicely done on the Radio 4 voice, Pancake. I stared with my best phone voice, then rapidly degenerated into shrieking Harridan (thanks for the official title Helen) because I am secretly common as muck Blush

OP posts:
theworldaccordingtome · 02/12/2011 14:10

As I said yesterday to the lady who worked at the school where theiving bastards stole donations THIS IS THEFT. No justifying it - it just is! I would have done exactly the same. Some teenagers are just really easy to embarrass, have a mulled Wine tonight and be proud you stiid up for yourself.

puffylovett · 02/12/2011 14:25

We get a good class of scrappy here too. They always knock and ask politely.

I live on a main road and am too lazy to go to the tip :)

mollymole · 02/12/2011 16:19

They are no better than thieves. Take their registration number and report it but it may well be fake anyway.
You did well OP - scare them off.
They even steal the drain covers and man hole covers.

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