Neighbours & Gutters

[daisychain237]

Neighbour's had work carried out on their gutters recently. This morning I received this letter through the postbox.

FYI I am mid terrace and the alleyway referred to is shared by neighbour's on both sides. I had my gutter cleaned in Sept and there wasn't any issues raised. I did notice a small puddle in the alleyway after a big rain the other day, and I am willing to pay to get that repaired if it is found to have leaked from my gutter.

Other than that, I can't see any other leaks in and around my property. I'm not sure I need to pay to have my entire gutters replaced just because it's a different size to my neighbour's where it joins, and they have a leak at their property? Surely it should be something they deal with?

I am a first time home owner and moved here about a year ago so want to make sure there is no bad blood, but equally don't want to be taken advantage of.

They haven't approached me personally but I suspect they will if I ignore the letter. I just want to make sure I am not being unreasonable?

Opinions and advice welcome.

This reads as though it’s from the person your neighbour hired to sort their gutters and whilst they may be telling the truth in that your gutters are a different size, I think it’s a bit ambiguous in the ‘leaking’ part. What can’t the stop leaking? Doesn’t read to me that they’re saying that there’s an actual leak on the neighbours property.

I think this reads massively as ‘clever’ marketing. If I got this, I’d think they were touting for business in a very cheeky way and I’d be ignoring.

It's quite an aggressive letter, why on earth do you need to contact them ASAP? Who do they they think they are?

This is a contractor pushing for more business.

If there's a problem, your neighbour can discuss it with you but make sure you get an independent assessment

I think they are touting for business. Perhaps they should have installed gutters the same size as yours for the neighbours so they could be joined!

Sorry to clarify the letter is from the contractor, but they have also put my neighbours name as one of the peeple to contact which I have crossed out to avoid it being outing.

So I suspect my neighbour is aware of the letter, and it's perhaps more than just the contractor touting for business.

Another vote for the above. This is the contractor touting for business. If they have replaced the neighbour's gutter with a different size, it isn't your issue to solve. I would get someone of your choosing to assess the situation.

Anything with ASAP in it is usually to be avoided.

Best thing to do is wipe your arse with it and post it back to the neighbour who should then frame it or deliver to the contractor.

:)

Did the neighbour have their gutter replaced during this recent work?

The neighbour will likely only know what they’ve told them though. Probably not been up the ladder themselves to look so is accepting what the contractor is telling them about your gutters. I’d get someone else (not the contractor who sent the letter) to look at yours if it would make you feel more comfortable but I heavily suspect it’s money for old rope for the contractor who sent the letter.

That reads more like the contractor has now caused your gutters to leak where it's joined to your neighbours.....

I'm not entirely sure what they had done. I don't speak to them apart from the occasional Hi or Bye if I bump into them.

Can you see from the ground whether it looks new? I'm minded to agree with @thinkfast that the problem has been caused by the work that's been done by this contractor.

Speculation of course, but if there was no problem when you had it looked at previously, then something has happened since, and it seems like a bit of a coincidence.

@daisychain237 you can usually look at the gutters and tell if they look new/ anyway, not your problem. even the same size can often result in leaks. if they are leaking at the joins to other houses, who is to say it is not the fault of the other guttering and not yours?

Just talk to your neighbour .. we are in 3 adjoining houses & all had our gutters done as the same time, arranged by one of the said neighbours. Needed doing, and saved us a job

We have a very similar problem, our gutters are newer and plastic, next door neighbours is much older and in not great condition. There’s a persistent leak at the join, we’ve had multiple people try to fix it but it always comes back. The only way to actually fix it would be for the neighbour to replace their guttering. It’s annoying but not causing any damage or damp at the moment. I’ve mentioned it to them (face to face in passing) when we’ve attempted fixes but it’s up to them when they replace it.

This sounds like total BS. No you wouldn't is the short answer, and on the say so of some random builder who clearly wishes to sell you new guttering.
Have your own gutter guy come round and double check it, if you do want to be on the safe side? But I fail to see how it's your problem that they are incapable of fitting a gutter correctly on your neighbours home. Surely your neighbour should approach you on this, not their 'builder'?