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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Neighbour made a mistake and now wants money

422 replies

DomingoFlamingo · 20/09/2016 02:55

Neighbor moved in about 10 months ago - its a house converted into flats with a communal hallway, front door and letterbox (I live upstairs, she lives downstairs) since she moved in we've had several issues including persistent loud music and her "borrowing" my things that then take several weeks to be returned (if at all)

Then today she knocks on my door with a letter address to me and dated July. She then proceeds to tell me that the letter (a bill) was picked up by her son and she didn't bother to read the name on the front until today when she went to pay again.. hence she's (somehow) been paying my bill since July Hmm and I now owe her a 3 figure sum for doing so......

I'd have normally payed this bill in installments throughout the year, but she payed the whole amount in two payments. Because of this I don't have that amount of money available to pay her back immediately (I work part time and its nearly 4 weeks wages for me)

She's asked for the money by the end of the week, I've offered to pay her in installments but she refused the offer and said she wants it in one go or she'll call the police. :( is she BU or am I? I will/would pay her back but I simply can't afford the whole amount in one go......

OP posts:
Blu · 22/09/2016 09:19

Boden keep sending me mail NOT EVEN IN AN ENVELOPE!

WhiteDraig · 22/09/2016 09:28

I'd better phone and tell my council that. They seemed to manage it with no issue at all.

Partly why I suggest the OP should write and inform the council in write what has happened and what she is doing. Having lived under many different council and utility companies there all have different ways of doing things - but you get the occasion where speaking to a different person in the same department gives different answers which can cause additional problems.

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 22/09/2016 09:37

I'd better phone and tell my council that. They seemed to manage it with no issue at all.

In what circumstances? If you close your account because you are moving house and you have paid more of the year than you are due you will get a refund. That is not the case here.

SoupDragon · 22/09/2016 09:45

First point, it's against the law to open post addressed to someone else

First point, no it isn't.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/09/2016 09:47

Because I paid it into the wrong account. They just transferred it into mine.

HereIAm20 · 22/09/2016 09:54

I agree with the poster who said many moons ago let her contact the council and ask for the refund etc. Your bill by installments would be pretty much 10% of the bill over 10 months so write to the council saying that you will be paying that sum in on the 1st of each month

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/09/2016 09:57

That may be true, Jacquetta, but Lass seems to be suggesting that it is impossible in all councils which isn't true.

The mistake was entirely mine. I accidentally paid it into someone else's account and didn't realise until I got the reminder notice that mine hadn't been paid.

I still think that it's going to be the neighbour that needs to sort it out with the council rather than the OP as a 3rd party.

diddl · 22/09/2016 09:58

Yes I would say that it's up to her to deal with now.

Hope that you get a seperate letter box soon, Op.

diddl · 22/09/2016 10:02

If she has receipts it should be easy enough for her to sort out.

Longtalljosie · 22/09/2016 10:18

Just say to her, that this is between her and the council, but you're happy to supply a letter confirming her mistake.

JacquettaWoodville · 22/09/2016 10:18

Good idea Josie!

unexpsoc · 22/09/2016 10:22

First point, no it isn't.

Soupdragon, have they changed the law since the Postal Act 2000? Because that said it was (although you have to also prove that the person did it intentionally to cause detriment - which in this case it doesn't sound like it was).

Google is my friend.

ILoveDolly · 22/09/2016 10:22

This is totally scammy. If she does go to the police she is more likely to get into trouble for time wasting than anything else. Oh and for opening/keeping someone else's mail.
Check with the company that the bill has been paid before thinking about how next to proceed.

JacquettaWoodville · 22/09/2016 10:27

"This is totally scammy. If she does go to the police she is more likely to get into trouble for time wasting than anything else. Oh and for opening/keeping someone else's mail.
Check with the company that the bill has been paid before thinking about how next to proceed."

The thread has 364 messages. Even just the OP's posts cover that she has talked to the payment recipient (the council, not a company, in this case).

JacquettaWoodville · 22/09/2016 10:27

This is why I usually hide AIBU!

ILoveDolly · 22/09/2016 10:29

OK RTFT it seems a terrible solution for the OP to have to pay her neighbour back in cash. It is an error between the neighbour and the council. Personally, because I'm a bitch, I'd tell her it's her problem and she needs to sort it out with the council. And then sit there with my nice paid bill. Although in the spirit of neighbourly harmony that might not work....

ILoveDolly · 22/09/2016 10:35

Jaquetta: problem is reading on the phone I end up missing whole pages and then having to laboriously backpeddle when it's obvious I missed some updates.

But thanks so much for pointing out my mistake. I suddenly remembered why I stopped using mumsnet now. The pedants.

AbyssinianBanana · 22/09/2016 10:37

That's not pedantic.

JacquettaWoodville · 22/09/2016 10:40

Give over, Dolly. Even if your phone makes it hard for you to read the whole thread, reading the first couple of pages and the last couple should surely be reasonable!

MuseumOfCurry · 22/09/2016 10:45

Very weird indeed.

There's no way the council is going to transfer council tax receipts from one account to another.

ILoveDolly · 22/09/2016 10:47

AIBU to just hate being singled out and having my wrist slapped. That's not really a great thing to do. It's petty and playground bossy.
I'm going to go and do some work now so I won't be commenting again on this thread, you can have it back as you obviously think it belongs to you.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/09/2016 10:48

How do you miss whole pages just through reading on the phone?

JacquettaWoodville · 22/09/2016 10:55

Sigh.

I'm not being playground. My first post was perfectly reasonably pointing out that your points were covered (granted, the same is true for many on the thread) and you then decided to call me a pedant. So I responded.

I don't think it belongs to me. I do think, in general, forum users should read a fair chunk of a long thread before posting, otherwise there end up being many repetitive posts about questions already covered.

cherrybath · 22/09/2016 11:14

Sounds more as though she is a utterly dozy btch than a scammy btch. Obviously the police would not be interested, sounds perfectly reasonable for you to pay her in two instalments as you suggest. We've had problems with a near neighbour with a similar address who takes ages to put our mail back into the postbox if it is wrongly delivered, and who has managed to get our address put on his bill for broadband.

SoupDragon · 22/09/2016 11:18

you have to also prove that the person did it intentionally to cause detriment

Bingo.

Opening someone's post is not illegal.

Opening it with intent to cause detriment is.