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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Nightmare Night Shift Neighbour

37 replies

adviceneeded2188 · 10/08/2021 14:47

We live in a small row of terraced houses in a cul-de-sac, neighbour to left is end of the row. He is a night-time taxi driver, leaves the house at 2pm and comes back at 2am. Every night he wakes me up parallel parking outside the house but I deal with it - he lived here before us and living in a terrace you have to be realistic about noise. Right?!

So herein lies my issue. I sell a lot online and I also work full-time, so I have a courier come to the house to collect my parcels rather than drop off, as I don't have time. Courier turns up this morning at 11.30am. I hear a bit of to-ing and fro-ing outside. Open the door and my taxi driver neighbour is saying in fairly defensive terms 'You're too noisy mate. Everyday the beep on that machine wakes me up, and your voice is too loud'. I ask what the problem is, and I'm told the same thing. I say 'But the problem is, it's daytime?!' and I'm told in no uncertain terms that he wants the courier to be quiet and that he's within his rights to ask - then shuts the window.

Now. Who is in the wrong here?! I feel as though the beeping on a Hermes couriers machine at 11:30 in the morning is really not too much of an annoyance, is it?!

I would also add - this neighbour can be extremely difficult. When I was pregnant about 2 years go he would have loud parties, which we could hear in great detail through our paper thin walls. I got so stressed I ended up stayed at my parents house for 2 weeks and my boyfriend almost had to threaten him with loud noise in the day, when we had previously been quiet thoughtful towards him as we knew he worked at night.

He also once attempted some DIY and knocked a hole through the wall into our outside cupboard (weird Victorian house quirk) and actually asked us to pay for the damage as 'the damage would have happened anyway'.

I just feel like he is a nightmare and I want to up sticks and move ASAP - looking for some reassurance that's not too extreme of a reaction?! My partner seems content to put up with it!

OP posts:
Itwontstopraining · 10/08/2021 15:01

Your neighbour is being unreasonable about daytime noise - it's hard as a shift worker but you can't expect silence in daytime hours. However I do wonder if your neighbours objection is about you running a business from home, and therefore objecting to that?

AnonymousCheerleader · 10/08/2021 15:02

What happened with the hole?!

Wjevtvha · 10/08/2021 15:03

Well he can ask and you can ignore him and carry on with what you’re doing as you’re doing nothing wrong. I suspect if you say that he wakes you in the night then he’ll start being even noisier.

GreatAuntEmily · 10/08/2021 15:07

Whats the beeping - how often do you sell stuff and have to have it collected?

Sparklfairy · 10/08/2021 15:10

@GreatAuntEmily most likely the handheld scanning machine to scan the tracking barcodes on the parcels. Either way it's irrelevant.

OP i work nights and live on a busy city centre street. I have loud backfiring cars, shrieking kids, drunk shouty people later, drilling, construction work, the lot. I use headphones and white noise and just get on with it. The world doesn't have to tiptoe around one man who wants to sleep.

phishy · 10/08/2021 15:14

YANBU. I would complain to him about the noise he makes at 2am. Hopefully that will shut him up.

Original poster
adviceneeded2188 · 10/08/2021 15:20

@AnonymousCheerleader

What happened with the hole?!
We agreed to pay a token sum to keep good neighbourly relations (LOL) and on the premise that he never did any work involving a party wall again without consulting us. I honestly think he's a bit stupid. He was literally swinging at the wall with a sledgehammer!
OP posts:
WiddlinDiddlin · 10/08/2021 15:20

He's being a massive dick.

Both in being a noisy parker at 2am, and in demanding silence during the day when he sleeps.

Original poster
adviceneeded2188 · 10/08/2021 15:22

[quote Sparklfairy]@GreatAuntEmily most likely the handheld scanning machine to scan the tracking barcodes on the parcels. Either way it's irrelevant.

OP i work nights and live on a busy city centre street. I have loud backfiring cars, shrieking kids, drunk shouty people later, drilling, construction work, the lot. I use headphones and white noise and just get on with it. The world doesn't have to tiptoe around one man who wants to sleep.[/quote]
Yes to the white noise. We have a toddler and use white noise for her so she doesn't hear him get in at night and at least she can sleep soundly. It's common sense isn't it? I would understand if we were doing noisy DIY all day long or shouting at each other 24/7 but we're honestly pretty considerate neighbours.

OP posts:
Inthemuckheap · 10/08/2021 15:27

Bung him some ear plugs.

He's a knob and if he gets home at 2am that's 9.5 hours before 11.30am and plenty of time to sleep.

godmum56 · 10/08/2021 15:35

not just yanbu but why did you cough up for damage he caused?

Tisha0 · 10/08/2021 15:42

^ this.
Why on earth would you pay for damage your neighbour 100% caused? That’s bizarre.

ChikiTIKI · 10/08/2021 15:45

He probably woke up because it was 9.5 hours after he got home and so he didn't need any more sleep....

user1471538283 · 10/08/2021 15:47

I would shout of the window when he wakes you up at 2am. I get it's hard when you work nights but this is an ordinary noise, it's not music or shouting.

Redglitter · 10/08/2021 15:55

Trying to sleep during the day when you've been working night shift is hard but basically it's just tough. The way I see it when I'm.nights, I'm out of synch with everyone else so can't expect them to adapt to suit my shifts

Saying that if he's home at 2am that's not really a night shift. That's just like a late night.

I cant believe he can even hear the couriers machine let alone be woken by it.

He needs to invest in earplugs

Thedogscollar · 10/08/2021 15:59

@Inthemuckheap

Bung him some ear plugs.

He's a knob and if he gets home at 2am that's 9.5 hours before 11.30am and plenty of time to sleep.

100% this. It's his problem not yours.
gogohm · 10/08/2021 16:01

A courier turning up every day with beeps is very annoying even if you aren't sleeping. If it's that regular you might need to be classed as business premises

OhRene · 10/08/2021 16:13

Well he needs to do what other night shift workers do. Make their bedrooms as quiet and as dark as possible.

We use the back bedroom as DH does continental shifts. We have blackout blinds and DH has earbuds if needed.

I'd tell the Hermes fella to do what the hell he likes and to make sure he gives his van door a nice good slam. Gotta make sure it's closed properly! If the neighbour was nice I wouldn't say that but this guy is a prick who the world revolves around obviously.

messybun101 · 10/08/2021 16:22

2pm - 2am isn't night shift. It's basically back/late shift. He is BU to be unhappy that a beep, two hours before he is due on shift is the reason he can't sleep.
He needs sleep therapy or earplugs at least
CF

Original poster
adviceneeded2188 · 10/08/2021 16:25

@gogohm

A courier turning up every day with beeps is very annoying even if you aren't sleeping. If it's that regular you might need to be classed as business premises
I very much doubt this as Hermes offers this service 7 days a week to every person in the UK. But if you can find any info on it then please do share...
OP posts:
JaneTheVirgin · 10/08/2021 16:30

YANBU.

I wouldn't have actually said anything to you or the courier but I do understand how frustrating it is to be woken up in the middle of the day because you work Night shift. I've wanted to scream at several loud people because many people expect services to continue through the night but don't have any respect for those who then need to sleep in the day to get that done.

I've also often wanted to make noise in the middle of the night to show them how it feels so I do wonder if that's why he parks so loudly! Again, just a dream, I'd never actually do that to anyone but sleep deprivation makes me strange.

That said, with everything else you've said about him he doesn't sound like a great person anyway so don't feel guilty! You've done nothing wrong.

OhRene · 10/08/2021 16:35

The guy isn't even doing a nightshift. I often don't go to be until 2am just because I'm reading a book and I'm still up for the school run.

If he's only working until what i class as "a late 'un" then why's he upset at 11:30am? It's over 9 hours later!
Is he not really just on his Xbox til the birds are tweeting?

starrynight87 · 10/08/2021 16:40

You are both just not a good fit, I would look into moving or having a proper meeting with him.

laura246810 · 10/08/2021 17:12

Hes not a night worker - he finishes at 2am and should be awake by 11am. Thats evening work, not night shifts.

longtompot · 10/08/2021 17:21

YANBU 11am is not early.

We used to live in a road where a neighbour down the hill had early morning catalogue deliveries. I think they delivered them for them. Every morning at around 6am the van would drive up the road and then beep, beep, beep as it reversed outside our bedroom window (the turning circle was outside our house) and drive down the road and then beep, beep, beep as it parked. I emailed the delivery company and asked if there was any way they could turn off the beeping. I didn't hear back, but the very early deliveries stopped, just came later in the day.