Gardener fixed the wrong side of the fence

[ZoobyZoobyZoo]

The gardener has replaced the fence on the right side of my garden looking out, which I think is not mine, but not the left, which I know is. He did it whilst I was away for the weekend. I'd given him clear instructions beforehand and I've paid him. He's not a cowboy, he's been used by many friends. But he fixed the wrong side.

In the meantime there's still the rotten fence on the left side of my garden. It's not as bad as the one that's been fixed which was like sponge, falling down and a strong wind would have blown it over.

I've spoken to him and he feels silly but of course he needs paying. He's suggested I talk to the owner and ask him to reimburse seeing as he is actually responsible. He's happy to confirm the state of the fence with him

The guy who owns next door is tighter than Ebenezer Scrooge however and he may just refuse. AIBU to ask?

If you asked me as your neighbour to pay for this I'd say no thank you. You don't get to decide how I spend my money.

It's your mistake OP. You should have been there to supervise. The builder should have followed instructions.

Between you, you are responsible. The neighbour owes you nothing.

But the neighbour has gained a nice new fence for nothing!

You've got no chance, it's almost cheeky to ask. This is all on your gardener to put right and the reimbursement should be coming from him not your neighbour

Then his own bank account need to cover the cost.
I can’t believe the OP is going to ask for money from some random other person completely unconnected to her or her gardener or their arrangement and his mistake.

Which he didn’t ask for. It’s like a mail order company sending you an unsolicited item and then taking you to court for not paying for it.

So? He didn’t ask for it and didn’t want it. and doesn’t need to pay for it.
The Gardener is welcome to remove the new panels and replace with the previous ruined panels. But he can’t remove them and leave nothing so if the old panels are gone then that’s his fault.

I agree it’s the gardeners fault, although if the OP didn’t have it confirmed with a diagram, it could be a problem, but the gardener does seem to have accepted it was his mistake. However the neighbour could show some goodwill here, and he is benefiting. However, it doesn’t sound as if he’s very amenable. Wonder what he thought when he noticed his nice new fence!

Echoing others in that this is the gardeners mistake and he should take full responsibility.

My neighbour once paid a company to fix her damaged fence at the back of her garden. She had also told them which fence, but on the day, when we were all out at work, they ended up fixing the one between our houses which did have some minor damage.

She spoke to them immediately, and the next day they came back very apologetic, and fixed the one she had asked them to without expecting additional payment.

Good business practice includes owning your mistakes, and rectifying them accordingly.

But it's not the neighbour who owns the house, they're just renting it. It's the landlord who would normally pay for this sort of thing, so asking the neighbour to pay for something his (useless, by the sound of it) landlord should be paying for isn't on. It's not a question of good will. The neighbour is only benefitting as much as the OP is by having a new fence panel.

OP could try he luck with the landlord but I wouldn't hold my breath, and she already paid the gardener so she's accepted the work.

Wonder what he thought when he noticed his nice new fence!

Maybe they thought "finally, the landlord has finally fixed the fence"

Usually there is no requirement to maintain a fence or a boundary, people usually do but it's not compulsory. Our house there is no our side on the deeds, but over the years everyone seems to have adopted their left fence.

The idea of moving your old fence to the other side and move the new fence to the correct side seems like a good plan. You can ask your neighbour to pay but why would they? They didn't want a new fence and hadn't allowed for paying for a new fence. The good news is you will have a solid fence on both sides, hope it wasn't too expensive. The gardener should probably at least chip in a bit for his mistake at least free labour for both lots of fencing.

It's not your neighbors problem and tbh you could be in trouble for doing this and might have to pay to return it to the state it was if the neighbour so decided. I wouldn't rattle that cage. It's down to the gardener to fix. Yabu here. If the neighbour wants his fence to be like that so be it. Not your problem.

I shouldn't have laughed at this thread but I did, it's like something which would happen in a sitcom. I don't think the guy next door would insist on a brand new fence being ripped out to put some rotting sticks back in, well I wouldn't. He's on to a winner here.

This sounds strange to me. So the gardener and OP were absolutely clear about which bit of fence should be fixed, yet he does a completely different bit.

I reckon he subbed it out to someone else to do it and they screwed up.

If I were your neighbour/landlord I'd tell you to piss off, why should he pay you for work that he didn't want doing? Your gardener cocked up so he should take the hit to put it right. And I wouldn't be using him again if he could get something so basic wrong.

You can ask the neighbour but really he’s well within his rights to say no. He didn’t instruct it and probably won’t pay. I realise he’s got a nice new fence “for free” but tbh I don’t think he’ll care about that. I live next door to a rented property. Not my choice, the owner moved overseas and rented it, not long after I moved in…and he’s done nothing on it in 10 years. No maintenance whatsoever. He’s happy for things to be falling down and fallen off. He honestly doesn’t care. Like your neighbour, my neighbour was happy when I eventually caved and replaced the fence between us. In fact he was probably hoping I’d just had enough and I would pay!!!

unfortunately it’s your gardener/fencer that has made the mistake. I understand you’ve already paid and effectively the money already gone on the “new fence” in terms of materials etc but really he does need to rectify his mistake. Personally I suggest he cracks on with fence you instructed him to do and he needs to pursue the money back from the other fence from the landlord himself.

Yes, Victor Meldrew comes to mind!

I know but I also know legally op gardener has made a major mistake which if the ll was as nasty as the op says could cost her a pretty penny. No it's a keep quiet and get the gardener to fix the problem.

If he were a reasonable person he might agree to contribute, since it obviously needed doing. But it sounds like you already know he's not so what's the point. All you will do is poke the hornets nest.

As others have said, gardeners fault, his responsibility. But like you I'd feel bad maybe not for his time but for materials he's out of pocket for. Since you get the benefit of the fence I think in your shoes I'd pay for those anyway. Your neighbours tenant will also get the benefit, depending how long they stay, so if it's really put you out of pocket you could ask them if they'd chuck in a hundred quid or so towards it out of the goodness of their hearts. If they're not too strapped for cash they might. Then again they might laugh in your face and close the door...! Are you on good terms with them generally?

If this mistake is the gardener's fault rather than yours OP, I would expect the gardener to approach the landlord to sort this out directly with them, it's nothing to do with you. I would also expect the gardener to replace the fence they had been contracted and paid to replace, without receiving further payment from you.

Then again they might laugh in your face and close the door...! Are you on good terms with them generally?

If I was a tenant and my neighbour came round asking for me to contribute to a fence that I neither owned nor was responsible for I would be rolling around on the floor laughing whilst making a mental note to never engage with my apparently insane neighbour again.

Oh wow, this really does sound as if it’s your fault. Can you ask for discount on the other side, as you’ve now paid him?

If you were absolutely clear and the gardener admits he has made a mistake, he needs to do the job he was paid to do, which is put up a fence on the correct side of the garden.

This is between you and the gardener.

The neighbour - I would leave that as is. If you push it by asking for money he COULD actually make you take down the new fence, if it is actually right on the boundary, he could make you re-erect it a few inches in, he could charge you for the old fence (his property, tatty as it is, it is still his).

So I would absolutely NOT rock that boat.

Reading the OP, it looks as if they intend to ask the landlord not the tenant. I'd punch the air if someone fixed my crumbling fence. If I had one that is, I don't.

I don’t think there’s anything in it for them, if they’re not the nice people sort. It’s done, you’re unlikely to undo it, you can’t legally pursue him for payment.

Did you brief the gardener clearly? If so, it’s his mistake and he should be putting it right without it costing you more. If not, I’d be trying to make a deal on the other bit of fence as a bulk-buy type thing.

Would you still punch the air if "the someone" then turned up asking you for 5K for the fix if you didn't have it spare ?

Our builder ordered the wrong bifolds (door on right side looking out, not left side). His error, he paid for replacement and sold on the ones he had ordered in error. I would expect your fencer to take the hit.