Nosey neighbour and the CCTV situation

[Wanttobenameless]

Posting here for traffic.

I found this out by accident...I don't think I was ever meant to know.

Anyway, I knew my neighbour had CCTV installed, and recently found out that it covers all of my driveway, and a lot of my garden.
I've even heard / seen the camera swivel when I was in the hot tub!
Pretty sure that's not allowed.

But I've more recently found out, that their CCTV also records sound, even the teeniest noise is picked up.

On a rare day off, I've had what I thought were private conversations with friends in the top corner of my garden, when everyone else was at work.
As it turns out, every single word will have been recorded.
I feel violated.

He particular, is a bit of a nerd, and is obsessed with knowing everything about everyone on the estate.
He gives me the creeps.

I can't even speak freely on my drive or in my garden as I know it is all being caught on CCTV.

I could report it, but he could easily say he's disabled the noise recorder, and I would never know if he has or not.

I'm pretty sure it's not legal to record noise, and also have their CCTV literally covering so much of my property.

I have no privacy at all and it's really starting to get to me.
I avoid areas in my garden I know he can see and I don't say very much when I'm outside or have the windows / doors open.
He has his nose in to everything around here and I've really had enough.

I don't know what I can do tbh.
Like I said, I could report it, but that won't stop him re-enabling it.

I just wish he'd piss off and move house, but I'm not that lucky!

I would have deliberate conversations when you have friends over about how your neighbour has cameras and recorders everywhere so no gossip allowed.

Laugh it off like you don’t care and it’s all a bit weird

Ask him for a copy of the video with sound.tell him you want to confront the kids.

Then report him to the police.

Very sensible😣

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator
Really? 🤣

This place is hilarious at times.

Fairly sure @DistinguishedSocialCommentator is a bad AI experiment hence the random comments.

😂

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator
Bored now, 👋👋

@frankentall

Pretty sure I agree with you!

Put up wind chimes 😂

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/domestic-cctv-systems/#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20recording%20equipment,shared%20spaces%20or%20public%20streets.

Next time your friends come round sit outside and have a very loud conversation about the nosey perverted twat next door 😉i

Get your kids a paddling pool and tell police he is recording children with no clothes . At a minimum it will scare the s**t out if him

Technically he shouldn’t be recording beyond his property boundaries, into a private dwelling like your back garden. Front gardens are in public view so trickier.

However, I’ve had a neighbour do exactly the same. The police advised the camera shouldn’t be there, but when the neighbour refused to show what was being recorded the police couldn’t do anything more. It’s not pleasant feeling that you have to be careful not to say anything private within earshot. I recommend half a dozen windchimes, as close to the camera as you can get them.

The ICO gives good guidance but won’t do anything to help you as an individual.

If you put in a freedom of information request he has to supply you with any recordings of you, which is a hassle for him.

A possible idea. You can get fabric or netted garden wind breakers. Buy/build a raised planter (4ft ish high) and place along the boundary/fence/wall. Then "plant" the wind breaker in it where it blocks the main sight line of the camera. You can even get retractable ones. Together with windchimes this would give you some privacy.
Ideas below.
He sounds a creep. If you think he's watching your kids then do report it to the police.

Put a complaint through to your local council via their website and I can tell you this, they will be onto your idiot neighbour in a flash.

They can and will come down on him over this and I hope you notify them asap as he's infringing on both your privacy and that of your neighbours. Just tell them what you told us here.

I'd ring my friend in the garden and have a conversation about your weird neighbour and how you're considering reporting him to the police as his cctv covers your property and records sounds, I'd also throw in "his camera even swivelled towards me when I was in my hot tub the other day"

An infra red flood lamp would dazzle the camera

a necklace of infra red led’s would hide your face

Playing a CD of Derek and Clive would make a listeners ears fall off

I’m not a fan of hot tubs but someone recording you using one in your own garden is creepy as fuck. He shouldn’t be filming you (and any children) in your garden, he shouldn’t be storing any recordings and he shouldn’t be recording audio.

Your neighbour isnt doing anything wrong from a legal POV.
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/domestic-cctv-systems/

Complaint about what? He’s not breaking any laws.

Get several planters, long and narrow to go along your fence. Plant bamboo in them. It will quickly grow to cover the view into your garden.

Thanks so much for all the fantastic advice on here, much appreciated.
I’ll definitely be looking at what I can do, as him filming my garden and recording every word we say cannot be right.
Not to mention recording children, and me in the bloody hot tub. I’m not exactly a super model, so no idea what he’s up to there.
I’ve got a friend who’s a police man, and another who’s a lawyer, I’ll see what they say before I contact anyone else.
I’ll be putting measures in place to make it harder to hear and see (though I should not have to!), and hope the pervert moves house soon.
I wish!

Well that says the ICO won't take action against domestic use but it does say that they need to delete the images etc.
So you can ask them to do that. You can report them to the ICO if they refuse. You could report them for filming your children in a hot tub which is slightly odd. So there is some stuff you can do