Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Neighbour borrowing my electricity

202 replies

SuffolkQueen82 · 10/12/2023 18:55

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.
OP posts:
GrumpyPanda · 10/12/2023 20:25

She can rent a generator.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 10/12/2023 20:25

Is it really only her phone? Does she not have a fridge or use any other lights (mind, the lamp you mention isn't her phone, is it?)

Unless she's been cut off for not paying the bill, it is probably something like a fuse or other simple thing to fix. You wouldn't normally lose all of your electricity just like that. The electrician will probably recommend/urge a full house rewire before long, but can probably get it working again to at least how it was before.

Aside from anything else, it must be very cold in your house at this time of year with an open window to accommodate a cable!

Grendell · 10/12/2023 20:26

She doesn't sound like the type to take care of business.

ButterCupPie · 10/12/2023 20:28

PropertyManager · 10/12/2023 19:58

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!!

@PropertyManager

Second risk is she has a widowmaker in her house,

Didn't see anything about that in the OP. Fully agree about bridging phases.

Redglitter · 10/12/2023 20:28

Definitely not taking the piss

But she is. She's made no effort to get the situation resolved & is happy using yours. Unplug tonight definitely

ChateauDuMont · 10/12/2023 20:29

I can't believe you agrees to it in the first place, without seeing what she was plugging in the other end.

You've been more than generous and have given her plenty of warning.

She could have bought a power bank and asked you to charge that in your home and give to her each day.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 10/12/2023 20:29

Of course, she does need to get this (and probably lots of other stuff) sorted ASAP, but I don't think she's quite the baddie/CF that people are painting her as.

She very much sounds like she has MH issues and/or other vulnerabilities - and she did give money unbidden to pay for the electricity.

Axolotlrulestheworld · 10/12/2023 20:29

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 10/12/2023 20:20

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

Please look up the ss emergency phone number and report the situation Now tell them what has been happening with this vulnerable lady. The council has a team that can help with this. If you can't find that number call the police 101 number tell them the lady is old and vulnerable don't leave it she could die or burn the house down if she starts a fire to keep warm

plumtreebroke · 10/12/2023 20:30

As all above unplug it now. You could be in so much trouble.

Abbimae · 10/12/2023 20:30

Cut her offf. Cheeky fecker

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 10/12/2023 20:36

Axolotlrulestheworld · 10/12/2023 20:29

Please look up the ss emergency phone number and report the situation Now tell them what has been happening with this vulnerable lady. The council has a team that can help with this. If you can't find that number call the police 101 number tell them the lady is old and vulnerable don't leave it she could die or burn the house down if she starts a fire to keep warm

Show quote history

Agree

A friend of mine has a neighbour who sounds similar but her electricity is still working. It took a while to get to the point of contacting Social Services but they were very clear it was correct to report and they would act.

tachetastic · 10/12/2023 20:39

You've done your best. More than enough. Don't leave an open window or whatever while you're away. Let someone else help out for a while. She's in her sixties, not her nineties. Most people that age are still working. She'll be fine.

cheshirebloke · 10/12/2023 20:41

It could well be a serious electrical hazard running an extension lead into a different property. All sorts of safety reasons not do this at all. Even the most basic is what happens if she plugs in something to your extension lead that trips your own breaker or RCD while you're away? You'll come back to a defrosted freezer.

youveturnedupwelldone · 10/12/2023 20:42

This isn't about whether you're a being a good human being or not, this is about your safety (and hers). You just don't mess with the electricity supply. In fact messing around with it can be a criminal offence - because it's bloody dangerous! Unplug it now, not tomorrow. Do not even contemplate leaving it on while you're away.

There is a network supply infrastructure in place that means she can get help to get it sorted. Very unlikely she's been disconnected by the way, it's not that simple. But she might, for instance, have a prepayment meter that's not working/she can't top up - which her supplier will help with. I don't believe she has or will call an electrician.

But unplug it now and explain you didn't realise what a safety issue it is until just now.

I thought neighbours borrowing internet was bad enough, this takes it to a new level!

Tracker1234 · 10/12/2023 20:43

Whether she has MH she is still fibbing about an electrician coming on a Sunday.

Ladyj84 · 10/12/2023 20:53

Can't you pop in and help find what's tripping it? Ours did that 2 nights ago and by process of elemination we eventually found it was the bread maker

BananaPyjamaLlama · 10/12/2023 20:59

Unplug! A relative of mine has recently had her electrics go bang and not work for a while, thankfully the kitchen was fine but the rest of the house was rather dark! It would never have occurred to her to do what your neighbour is doing.

topnoddy · 10/12/2023 21:06

Has anyone checked her consumer unit ?

It may well have tripped leaving her with non working sockets

KombuchaKalling · 10/12/2023 21:06

Unplug. She’s taking the piss. How long does she think it’s going on for?!

whatchagonnado · 10/12/2023 21:12

She sounds like she is in a desperate state there. I would unplug, but report her situation to adult social services. She must be freezing

Viviennemary · 10/12/2023 21:13

Unplug it. She is totally nuts. You should have just taken her phone and charged it at your house.

HamBone · 10/12/2023 21:16

whatchagonnado · 10/12/2023 21:12

She sounds like she is in a desperate state there. I would unplug, but report her situation to adult social services. She must be freezing

I agree, @whatchagonnado Something’s not right if she hasn’t sorted this out yet. She doesn’t sound as if she’s coping - it’s not your responsibility, OP, but a call to adult SS would be a good idea.

DontListenToWhatYouveConsumed · 10/12/2023 21:18

This time of year reminds me of the lady who's home caught fire (Christmas lights I think) while she was out shopping.
Her kids were home.
Don't take risks with your family. Even if the fire starts next door you're taking the risk too.
It may be sad she lives the way she does but it's not for you to fix, especially not when there is risk involved.

LakeTiticaca · 10/12/2023 21:19

Just pull the plug. It's not your problem

Pretz123 · 10/12/2023 21:20

I'd be super careful here also as you will be voiding all your house/contents insurance by doing this .....

Swipe left for the next trending thread