To rat out these CFs

[gerbalgreen]

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

The people that are doing this deserve to be caught, they think they are being so clever and even funny. And against elderly people too. Let us know how it goes op.

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.

Writing to the local council [find the right department] would seem the best compromise.
Apart from the general scumminess of what they have done, they have increased their land size but not paid taxes on it, so the council should be interested and intervene.
Since their actions have been [in effect] theft, the council's legal department may wish to include the police.

Yeah was just going to say, even if they moved their fence, the land will still be on the elderly couple's maps as being theirs

True, but that relies on someone picking up the discrepancy when the property is sold. If it's a large area, without an obvious boundary (other than the wandering fence) that may be difficult. The conveyancing solicitor will rely on the sellers confirming that the title is correct and, if they don't notice the change, they will probably confirm that it is, without noticing that it no longer corresponds with the position of the fence.

The Land Registry will still show the correct boundary but, as time goes on, and once a sale has taken place, it will be difficult to dispute and correct - not because of adverse possession, just because of the passage of time.

This is theft from an elderly couple.

If there is a local planning portal and one of the houses has submitted planning permission in the last few years you will be able to see the boundaries of the surrounding houses as part of the submission. Its usually just a line drawing and shows a few of the houses and their boundaries.

Yes. You can obtain maps from the Land Registry for a nominal sum, which shows exactly which house is where in relation to your relative's property. Search your relative's house, and then you can get info for the neighbouring ones, too. Really is not costly - I always did it before offering on a house, so I could be sure on title, any encumbrances etc before getting involved.

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry

Really, really awful thing to do. Planned theft on a considerable scale, just miserable behaviour. Well done you for wanting to do something.

For a lot of councils you can just search planning applications online, no need to register or pay a fee. You just need to know the address and you should be able to work it out from there.

Conning the elderly. What utter scumbags. How do people lose their moral compass to the point that they think anyone else would see this as ok?

If you send a gift from any company then they can't say who you are without consent. We had a glitch with a gift note when buying from Meg Rivers, and they called us to say the recipient had called asking who had sent the cake, but they were unable to tell him without our consent as it breached data protection to do so, so did we want him to know.

If it's still within time for Valentine's Day I am quite sure Moonpig won't be providing info on that, for example! And anyway, you can simply give Moonpig the wrong address details, and then pay via Paypal. That's 2 layers of protection there.

If you don't want to send it to an individual- send it to every house on the road (4 neighbours down either way). It's only the cost of some paper and 2nd class post stamp. Address it to the occupants and say they should check their garden boundaries and make sure fence lines remain as they should.

Hell- I'll send it for you!!!

Should add that this is only what Meg Rivers told me - and I know Biscuiteers warn you that no note equals no info on sender, too - I wasn't told this by a lawyer.

Moonpig do send anonymously. Bit unsettling, given people may not have the same honourable motives you do, but helpful here.

support-uk.moonpig.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360008015758-I-received-a-card-gift-but-I-don-t-know-who-sent-it-

I think the old “squatters rights” belief that use land for 12 years and it’s yours went out the window years back. All owned land is registered at the Land Registry.
The idea of putting it on the village website is genius. Parish Councillors love stuff like this to investigate. You’ll have a totally anonymous name , you can later delete the account. No one will know it’s you.
Preying on vulnerable people is despicable — as bad as creeping onto their property and stealing.

Nothing worse than a snitch? Not even nasty people who take advantage of the elderly? 🙄

Local council. Parish council and County Council or Unitary authority.
Just email them say this is confidential. They wouldn’t dare break data protection because the fines are huge.

if you are really bothered pm me the details, I’ll do it.

Do the right thing - anonymously!

Why?

I'm fairly sure the law changed to stop chancers like this.

I 100% think you should report it, but do you know for certain if you’re the only person they’ve told or if others know? You’re going to a lot of effort to send an anonymous letter via moonpig, but if you’re the only person they’ve told, the family members will know it was you who sent that letter and you could be in a load of family drama anyway.

I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t send the letter because of this possibility, just something to consider before you do get fully involved. Other options would be far more direct and, I admit, not very appealing (e.g. talk to the family members and tell them you think it’s wrong and if they don’t put it right you’ll tell the neighbours - obv more difficult but if they’d find out it was you anyway might actually be less dramatic in the longer term). Or slowly leak it to other family members in the hope they’ll agree with you and you can all tell them…neither are great options, I know.

They are definitely in the wrong and you are right to report it, just think through all possibilities before you do.

Thirty years ago, friends of my parents had a kitchen extension built. The desired layout involved building out as far as was allowed under planning permission, which caused a lot of stress keeping the builders strictly to the plans.
After completion, the couple took a holiday and while they were away, the next door neighbours moved the fence, pinching a little over a foot of land. When the neighbours denied any wrongdoing, poor John had a heart attack and died. The fence was then returned to its original location and the neighbours couldn't understand why the widow wasn't grateful.
Landgrabbers are scum. Snitch away OP.

Why do we have such terrible laws?

Is it just criminal families that say this? I’ve always wondered. How is the snitch the bad one?

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 always wonder if people like this tell their children not to speak out too. Against bullying or abuse. What a dangerous attitude to wrong doing.

This is why no one was coming forward about the shooting of Olivia PK. There is no honour amongst scum.

Really? Nothing?? Are you sure about that?

Wondering if you're that poster from a while back who was absolutely obsessed with 'snitches' and would pop up on every single thread about reporting something.