To be fucked off and ask for help writing a notice to my neighbours?

[lasketchup]

I'll get straight to it and save the waffle for breakfast!

My gas meter is in the communal bin shed with 4 large metal bins. Not wheelie bins but the big huge ones about 4 foot in length and height. People keep dumping rubbish like mattresses, sofas, furniture and other things they can't be bothered to take to the tip in the shed! This means I can't access my gas meter. It's been off for two days now and I have a 2 year old!

Spoken to housing officer she sends out texts to residents reminding them to be considerate but it's still happening. She's sent out another text today and asked the cleaners to attend to remove the mattress but still waiting to hear if they will come out today! Apart from that there not much else the housing association can do!

I'm fucked off!! Had surgery on my hand on Thursday so I physically cannot move the stuff myself and it bloody heavy anyway so I wouldn't be able to.

It's cold, I need gas! I can't bath properly or cook. My daughter relies heavily on her bedtime routine to get to sleep properly (she's awaiting an assessment of ASD, Sen & SpD amongst other things) and a bath is a huge part of that! I've been doing the kettle thing but it's long and heavy and I have a bad hand.

Coming off the meter is not an option.

I'm waffling!

WIBU to write a passive aggressive notice to stick on the bin she calling the guilty neighbours insensitive cunts!?

Any suggestions on what to put?

You can see my meter on the back wall. I'm the only person with a meter in there.

Tbh a notice is not going to make any difference to people who are as inconsiderate as this.

Can you get the gas meter moved?

Last time I asked about 2 years ago, it was hundreds of pounds which I don't have. I could call and ask again though. It's just so frustrating!!

I would be going knocking on doors and finding the arsehole who has done it to get them to come and move it. Or you might find someone who will take pity on you and will come and shift the stuff for you. That's a bloody outrage, you shouldn't have to be without hot water.

It's a pain the backside, I once lived in a place with a card meter for the electricity which was in the stairwell for the two flats above. They used to lock the entrance because a few years previously they'd had drug addicts kipping in the hallway. They had a key. I didn't.

Can you ask for the meter to be moved?

Ah, just read about the charge - would the HA be willing to pay, given the circumstances?

your neighbours are going to do nothing about this. You need to approach this through your landlord / the leaseholder.

I can suggest that the housing pay for it to be moved but I won't hold much hope on that one!

I've gone to my landlord they send text messages to people telling them not to do it!

I would love to knock on everyone's door but not sure how well that would work out lol.

I'm thinking to write my own letter and post it through people's doors just don't know what to write.

As you have a young child being without gas is unacceptable. Contact your Housing Officer and see if they will make arrangements for the metre to be moved - also try speaking to the Gas company - not customer services but maybe a Welfare type team. They may have grants available to help - if you were disabled and unable to reach your meter they must have something in place for these situations

Put a notice on the shed saying that you need access at all time to be able to use the gas meter and provide central heating for your 2 yo DC.
You can also call the council to remove the rubbish.

renting?
get on to your landlord. they should solve it and in the meantime provide you with alternative heat&hot water source.

I'd put a note through asking for help moving it, explain why you cant do it. Hopefully that'll get people on side to stop doing it.

I agree with Blue turtle

I probably wouldn't call them insensitive cunts in your note! How about something like:

Dear Neighbours,

I've just had surgery and I'm struggling to get to my gas meter at the back of the bin shed. I can't lift all this stuff to get it out of the way. I have a 2 year old and we are both hungry and cold! Could someone help me out by clearing a path to the gas meter, please?

Thank you, lasketchup.

Yes, definitely put something like Glad's notes around right away, with big red letters "URGENT, please don't ignore" on the top, with the day and date.

Assuming they're not total dicks (which they might be of course), they probably have no idea why it's important. It's easy to ignore a landlord's vague mandate by text, much harder to purposefully torture the woman downstairs!

But also, what a generally fucking rubbish situation for you to be in (no pun intended). Once this crisis is over I hope they/you find a way to fix it.

My advice would be to contact your Housing Officer again and tell her you will be phoning her every hour on the hour until this is resolved and you have gas again. Then follow through and do it, leave messages if she doesn't answer. It's uncomfortable to do but will be uncomfortable for her too and whenever I have employed this tactic (as a last resort after other attempts had failed) it has never failed to work. It will soon become easier to deal with the problem than it will be to fob you off.

To add - try a nice note as gladisgood has suggested too but this situation sounds really urgent so best to do everything you can.

Thank you chewingcurd that's really lovely!

I went across the road to the building site and one of the guys helped me clear a path so I have had now!

I have been in contact with British gas who said again it could cost thousands to move the meter! So I have emailed my housing officer again and told her that this is the only option seeing as the text messages are not working and she clearly stated there is nothing else she can do.

I'm waiting for her response which will probably include her saying that I have to pay for it! I feel a long battle coming on

This is of no immediate help but when we bought our last house we inherited pre pay meters. The energy company wanted £££ to change them to normal meters but when I called British Gas and changed my supply to them they switched the meters for free.

Hope you get something sorted out soon.

Sorry X post with you about British Gas.

mp, councillor and been a bloody pain in the neck to the housing officer.

Are you a Council or HA tenant? If so, you could raise the problem with your local councillor.

Bloody hell, that is ridiculous. Surely they have a duty to ensure you can get access? 2 days without hot water/gas - just because some fucker has dumped a mattress there - is awful.

Why can't you shift it and put money in the meter? Confused.

If it's housing association email/ring the CEO. My housing officer is worse than useless so I just email the CEO and it gets sorted straight away