Neighbour borrowing my electricity

[SuffolkQueen82]

So… I have a recluse neighbour, probably in her 60’s, we speak regularly and are neighbourly to the extent we’ll put each others bins out etc. Her electric sockets stopped working in her house 6 days ago and asked if we could run an extension lead so she can keep her phone charged, with the promise she’ll call an electrician the next day.

obviously we don’t want someone to be without power so we obliged. 2 days later she sees me
walking past, explains that she has an electrician coming and gives me £20 for the electric asking that we don’t unplug it yet. at this time I warn her I am going away with work and the house will be empty for a significant time during the day so it will need to be sorted before I leave as it’s a security risk.

2 days later still nothing I knock on her door yesterday evening to say I am away Monday and it needs sorting. She says the electrician is coming round today (Sunday) and it should be fixed. She then comes round 30 mins later to tell me the main electric has now tripped and my extension lead is her only
source of power. I mention getting a petrol generator as I can’t have a cable sticking out of an open window while I’m away.

she has been ignoring me all day today, I am leaving in the morning and will be unplugging the lead as I leave. I don’t want someone to be without power but she’s had nearly a week to sort this, I have told her. AIBU?!

I know for a fact her house is in a state of disrepair and her wiring is definitely not up to standard so the house most likely will need to be completely required, she doesn’t even have central heating or double glazed windows.

but:

1. it’s a fire hazard as she could have a number of leads running from that 1 extension
2. it’s a security risk, esp at Christmas when I have a lot of footfall in front of the house and the cable is visible.
3. least importantly it’s plugged into the only socket free for our Christmas lights which has put a dampener on an already difficult Christmas season.

As others have said OP, you made it clear from the start that you were away tomorrow so I’d just unplug it tomorrow. Is she of sound mind? If you’re confident she’s fully understood then I think you don’t have to feel any guilt unplugging tomorrow.

Unplug now. Not later, not in the morning before you leave. Now. She's taking the piss.

Is it an indoor extention cable outside? That's dangerous for a start and there would be no way I would have done this to start with. Take in fridge /freezer stuff if had the space, phone charge at library or even on the bus going to the shops.

What does her house look like if you go outside OP? Are there some lights on? You can usually tell the difference between a lamp and a light by the brightness.

I think she's taking you for a ride and doesn't want to add to her own electric bill.

If the cable doesn't have the correct IP rating for being outside then it's a serious hazard and needs to be brought indoors immediately, and certainly not left out over multiple nights in the middle of winter! You might feel bad cutting her off but you'd feel worse if she died of an electric shock or her house burned down.

Electrician here, there is a risk, if she has extension lead after extension lead connected that the first plug in the chain (in your house) could overheat. There is a 13A fuse in there, but depending on the quality of the plug, the plug can melt before the fuse. Quick way to find out, put your palm on the plug, is it hot/warm, particularly on the right hand side of the plug.

Second risk is she has a widowmaker in her house, this is a bit of flex with two plugs on, enabling her to back feed her installation. This is incredibly dangerous, 1 because you have a live plug one end, but also because each house in a street are fed sequentially off the three phase supply, if you are on Live 1, she will be on either Live 2 or Live 3, the voltage between any combination of these is 415V not 230V, therefore an interconnection between two dwellings can, rarely, introduce a much higher voltage into equipment not meant to handle it.

I would just unplug the extension lead, if she has no power whatsoever she should call the DNO (Distribution Network Operators) emergency line and they will send an engineer to at least look at the reason, it could be a fault on their side.

Failing that, us sparkys are around 24 hours a day across the nation, we just charge a lot more if we have to miss evening telly and work😁

Good luck, unplug now!!

You are far nicer than me OP. Unplug now.

Sounds like her electrics been cut off because she hasn’t paid the bill

Obviously you need to unplug it, you are putting your household in very real danger to help her out. She’s had a week, an extension cable between two dwellings is crazy for any length of time.

For heaven’s sake what were you thinking? Stop now before this snowballs into something a lot bigger!

For heaven’s sake what were you thinking? Stop now before this snowballs into something a lot bigger!

I think it has been very kind of you to help her out, but there’s no electrician coming. Whether it’s because she doesn’t have the money for big jobs, or is embarrassed at the state of her house or just that she doesn’t want to talk to anyone new, there’s more chance of Father Christmas turning up than there is of an electrician. I think she’s probably just hoping she can bung you some money each month and you’ll let her carry on running an extension lead from yours.

Realistically, I think you only have a few options here. You could let it carry on and pray there isn’t an electrical fire, or switch it off and accept that your days of being neighbourly are probably going to be over and that she’s probably going to try and guilt trip you by telling you that she’s sat alone in the cold and dark over Christmas. Which is an absolutely shit position for her to put you in, but it would be worse for you knowing she’d died horribly in a fire which would also impact on your home.

I think that the most sensible option is to phone Social Services and let them know the conditions she’s living in. They’ll be stretched to breaking point so will probably just hope that you’ll be there to support her, so you’d need to be very firm that you can’t do that. If she refuses to engage with them, there is nothing you can do, but I would still let her charge her phone, if she leaves it at yours.

Not unreasonable of course!

1. make sure any garden plugs are switched off if applicable at the box.
2. maybe you could contact the council if you feel she is vulnerable? If her house is in disrepair she may not have funds to make it safe.

If the wiring is in disrepair, but the supply up to the meter is OK, it would be fairly simple, and not very expensive, to provide a builders supply, with a few sockets and a light in the hall, surface wired.

This is often done during building works and renovations.

Would it help you to think that unplugging her when you go away might be doing her a favour, if it gives her the impetus she needs to sort her problem(s) out?

So many to reply to! Thank you! I just needed to make sure I’m not the biggest douchebag for leaving someone without heating or power in the winter.

she has no lights on only a small lamp from what I can see, she is a very kind lady but a complete recluse! she wears the same clothes every day and I’m not sure she washes regularly. She will only leave her house to take her cats to the vet once a year. Definitely not taking the piss, but probably does need some kind of help.

the place is an old property the kind with an outside toilet… I can only imagine it’s a very old system that has finally stopped working.

i’ll unplug it before I leave tomorrow and hope that she sorts something out tomorrow I have told her to look at hiring a petrol generator.

Goodness OP, that's gone on long enough, make sure you unplug before you leave and secure the windows and doors just in case she tries to get in to plug it in again!!

Unplug it in the morning, as you've told her you would.

I'd probably also log the address with the Police for a welfare check.

Please unplug it or I will have to come and do it for you.

I would make a report to social services no power and a house in disrepair suggests that in some way she isn't coping and needs support

I live next door to someone in similar circumstances. It concerns me about the state of her house and the electrics she seems to be tampering with. Please do not give her supply. It prevents her from addressing the issue by borrowing from your supply, and may cause a fire in either property. If that happened, an insurance surveyor and fire expert would soon establish what had happened. Your claim would be null and void for acting illegally, and endangering health and safety of both address occupants. I appreciate it was well intentioned but a generator from toolstation or similar is the way to go.

If she perhaps finds it hard to deal with electricians, the council may have a list of electricians who work with the elderly and vulnerable.

She's not borrowing it. It's not like she's going to give it back to you. She's taking it, and you're letting her. Unplug her fire hazard today.

OP, if she is ignoring you, I wouldn’t be waiting until tomorrow to unplug, I would do it immediately. This might get her attention and then you can tell her in no uncertain terms she needs to call an electrician immediately, and you won’t be plugging her back in.

Jesus! This is a good way to invalidate your fire insurance, home insurance, breach the terms of your electricity supply (so they cut it off and charge you an arm and a leg if they consent to reconnect), and God know what else!

UNPLUG IT NOW.

What's the betting she's been cut off for non-payment?