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AIBU?

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Original poster

To rat out these CFs

279 replies

gerbalgreen · 29/08/2022 15:28

Two family members, who I used to think were very nice, gleefully told me two years ago that they have been moving back their fence every year and have been stealing land.

But it's ok because their neighbours are elderly and haven't noticed. 😱

They live in the country side and you cannot see the neighbours house from their garden. Their neighbours land covers all three sides of their house and is a wooded area. They have tripled the size of their garden.

They were smug when they mentioned that if they used the land for a certain number of years the rightful owners couldn't take it back due to some law.

After this conversation I can't see them in the same light and now every time I meet up with them I realise they just aren't good people. I also feel so guilty knowing this and not doing anything.

I also know that either at the end of this year or some point next year the time will have passed that the neighbours can't do anything.

I am considering sending them an anonymous letter. Should I? I could find them on google maps. A big part of me doesn't want to get involved then another just wants justice to prevail.

I also live abroad. So any letter sent from my country, should the neighbours show it to said family members, would obviously be from me. I don't want this family to know how I feel as it would cause chaos with the rest of the family. I would rather make it anonymous. How would I do this? Would this give me bad or good karma?

YANBU : Write the letter
YaBU : Don't get involved

OP posts:
chinuptitsoutonwards · 03/09/2022 11:47

LadyLothbrook · 29/08/2022 15:31

Send it via moonpig.

This made me scream.

Do it.

danblack87 · 03/09/2022 11:48

@Dougieowner : what you said is exactly what I was thinking - now I am no snitch but that is just downright disrespectful. What are they trying to do ... do the neighbours out of their land for gain to themselves (when they sell) ... it is illegal and should not be allowed to happen. Land registry should be informed whilst the elderly couple have the chance to reclaim their land ... it is theirs, they paid for it. It's disgusting behaviour by any means.

JassyRadlett · 03/09/2022 11:50

LampLighter414 · 29/08/2022 15:39

Nope. Nothing worse than a snitch. Keep your snout out. Just don’t talk to them anymore if you don’t agree with them.

A thief of thousands of pounds' worth of land and an exploiter of elderly people ranks slightly higher in the 'who's worse' stakes for me.

But hey, we all have our own moral codes.

burnoutbabe · 03/09/2022 11:57

i think as long as its REGISTERED land, its not an issue, they can't claim it.

If unregistered (ie they haven't bought/sold it recently) then they still can't easily claim adverse possession - as they are doing this land grab SNEAKILY.

if they had carved out a big bit of front lawn and it was obvious to the owners and no one said OI OFF MY LAND, then thats one thing - but some far bit of the garden, moving fence bit each year? thats not POSSESSING it in an upfront way.

but either way, will cause hassle when the place comes to be sold.

Qik · 03/09/2022 11:59

PM me the address and postcode. I will go on google earth and the Land Registry and do it for you.

daisychain01 · 03/09/2022 12:11

LampLighter414 · 29/08/2022 15:39

Nope. Nothing worse than a snitch. Keep your snout out. Just don’t talk to them anymore if you don’t agree with them.

"I didn't speak out, because it was none of my business

I turned a blind eye even though I knew an elderly vulnerable couple would have their rightful property stolen from them.

I slept soundly in my bed at night because I didn't interfere even though I was party to material facts by the very perpetrators of the crime"

danblack87 · 03/09/2022 12:42

I would send a letter on your behalf, as many others have said, contact each of us and we can ALL do it (a collective embracement of doing the right thing) ... it is extremely difficult being a family member but, at the end of the day, laws are laws, these people are thieves, stealing from the elderly for their own eventual gain ... I wonder what other fraud they are capable of/doing???

danblack87 · 03/09/2022 12:48

@daisychain01 : I definitely would not sleep soundly in my bed if I knew ///I have trouble sleeping at the best of times. It would just be the 'knowing' and, as the Poster said, she doesn't want to be identified for logical reasons ... either the rest of the family would be with her on it or she would be austricised. I would rather be 'cut off' than be related to such people myself. I believe in doing the right thing. Report it.

MillennialFalconer · 03/09/2022 12:50

I haven’t gone through the entire thread but your relatives are talking about adverse possession. They can try to obtain this, but they would have to formally apply for it, and the property owners would be notified and have a chance to object.

Still, I would feel morally obligated to let the elderly couple know what’s happening so that they are aware and can take steps to protect themselves.

I’m sorry to say this, but your relatives sound like terrible people.

BorgQueen · 03/09/2022 13:02

I’m glad that adverse possession in no longer legal.
It still annoys the hell out of me that the two bungalows I can see from my bedroom window had their land obtained in that way, with everyone congratulating the bloke who did it as as being so clever.
It used to be an open field that said bloke fenced in and put horses on, after a few years he had the bungalows built for him and his Son, nobody ever got to object to the planning because it was done via council back handers 🙄

Sandra1984 · 03/09/2022 13:23

If they were stealing from a multimillion company I’d let it go, but stealing from elderly folks who can’t fight? No way. I have a problem with people who take advantage of the elderly.

I would rat out those thieves big time.

Summerfun54321 · 03/09/2022 13:35

Absolutely disgusting behaviour, I would definitely inform the neighbours.

mam0918 · 03/09/2022 13:40

Its not theft, the law only allows you to do it if the land is unregistered and unused meaning it doesn't ACTUALLY belong to the neighbor.

You can check if land is owned via land registry.

If the land is registered and they own the deed they dont just suddenly pass that deed onto tresspassers so your family would get nothing.

I know loads of people who have done it, half our village extended their gardens that way and its perfectly legal to claim unclaimed land and in no way theft to expand your garden into unclaimed woodland.

Dontfencemein · 03/09/2022 13:45

Make an adult safeguarding referral (about the neighbours) to the local authority. They are being robbed.

Mossygreenchypre · 03/09/2022 13:53

gerbalgreen · 29/08/2022 16:47

I think the land is big enough that the neighbours may not notice even if they went for a walk down there.

If the land is large and wooded/ uneven terrain, would it even be picked up in the event of a sale? The garden was small before and now is just a nice normal size. So it's two small gardens worth of land.

I believe my family have built on the stolen land or partially on it.

I am going to try and find the address then ill head to moon pig

Wow, this sounds like a lot of land if the size of a small garden has been taken.

I agree this is not just theft but elderly abuse.
I would not be happy to have these people around my elderly or otherwise vulnerable family members, something perhaps for your Mum to think about.
You sound like a decent and caring person, and you know you are doing the right thing by not allowing the CF's to get away with this.

I would definitely seek advice from Age UK as to what to do next, how best to approach this without causing undue alarm for the elderly couple. They are going to be upset, but seek advice of how to minimise this.

What have the CF's built on the stolen land?just wondering if they needed planning permission. Bet the council would be interested if they didn't, I'm mentioning this as it may be a way for the neighbours to grab the council's attention and get an investigation underway.

Coxy1234 · 03/09/2022 14:03

gerbalgreen · 29/08/2022 18:03

I'm having a hard time locating an address through google maps. I can't tell which of the three houses owns the bit of land by my family. It's all wooded so I can't see the fence lines.

Do you have any recommendations to find it?

Also if moon pig give out sender details then I need another option. I don't want to do Facebook group option because I will panic that I've posted from my own account. They also live very remotely I have no idea if there would be a Facebook group of their area.

Not sure if anyone has said already, but on the Land Registry site, there's a function called "mapsearch". If you put a post code in (use your relative's) it will then show the boundaries and title numbers of properties in that area. You should be able to work out which belongs to the elderly couple. If you then click on that area the address will show on the left of the page. Also, it's free to use,

kateandme · 03/09/2022 14:23

Dontfencemein · 03/09/2022 13:45

Make an adult safeguarding referral (about the neighbours) to the local authority. They are being robbed.

Good luck with anyone doing anything about this right now!

WiddlinDiddlin · 03/09/2022 14:40

I'd send an anonymous message to each of the properties it could affect, if it isn't obvious from land registry which it isn't always.

Then theres a strong chance they will talk to each other and if it affects more than one, there is strength in numbers hopefully.

daisychain01 · 03/09/2022 21:44

danblack87 · 03/09/2022 12:48

@daisychain01 : I definitely would not sleep soundly in my bed if I knew ///I have trouble sleeping at the best of times. It would just be the 'knowing' and, as the Poster said, she doesn't want to be identified for logical reasons ... either the rest of the family would be with her on it or she would be austricised. I would rather be 'cut off' than be related to such people myself. I believe in doing the right thing. Report it.

You missed my point.

i quoted a poster who said to the OP to effectively mind their own business and keep their snout out.

my point was to play that back to that poster, that they want the OP to say nothing even though the OP was told directly by the CFs that they are thieving land from elderly neighbours. It's not like it was hearsay, it was fact, which they were suggesting they shouldn't say anything. Which is appalling not to want to help the neighbours.

Saracen · 04/09/2022 02:10

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, what your relatives are doing is very wrong and they shouldn't get away with it, and I would love to see them stopped. That would be deeply satisfying.

On the other hand, what effect would receiving a letter from you have on this elderly couple? Might it not just cause them a huge amount of worry and upset to discover someone is stealing from them and have to decide what to do about it? If they have so much land that they have not noticed, maybe the loss of the land doesn't actually affect them as much as they'd be affected by the stress of fighting to get it back?

averageavocado · 04/09/2022 08:36

chinuptitsoutonwards · 03/09/2022 11:47

This made me scream.

Do it.

Show quote history

Why did it make you scream?

Dexysmidnightstroller · 04/09/2022 09:21

These people are thieves, stealing from their vulnerable, elderly neighbours. They are disgusting. Dob them in big time.

Notfancyfree · 05/09/2022 07:59

Scroll back and get the number for the land registry fraud prevention line, as mentioned by an earlier poster. They'd be best first step

Leftbutcameback · 05/09/2022 16:01

mam0918 · 03/09/2022 13:40

Its not theft, the law only allows you to do it if the land is unregistered and unused meaning it doesn't ACTUALLY belong to the neighbor.

You can check if land is owned via land registry.

If the land is registered and they own the deed they dont just suddenly pass that deed onto tresspassers so your family would get nothing.

I know loads of people who have done it, half our village extended their gardens that way and its perfectly legal to claim unclaimed land and in no way theft to expand your garden into unclaimed woodland.

Unregistered land 100% does belong to someone! It's not just up for grabs - what a dreadful thing to suggest!

All land belongs to someone BTW - it reverts back to the crown in certain circumstances.

A lot of farmland remains unregistered. Owners should voluntarily register it as it does give your more protection

darkbluenails · 05/09/2022 16:05

Yes, definitely tell someone. Send an email to the council.