AIBU not to pay this? WWYD?

[InALonelyWorld]

I just want to know if IABU here or what i should do.

I have come home from work today to a note from a gardener saying I owe them £10 for de-weeding my garden. To note my garden is mainly paving slabs/stones so there isnt much weeding that needs done in the first place so not sure how it would even be £10. However, this isnt a service i arranged, I do not know this person and I obviously was not around at home to speak to them or even give permission for them to do anything with my garden but they have gone and done it anyways.

I am a lone parent household and am now worried I will be pestered by this stranger for this money i apparently owe. I do admit I may be overreacting here, but i, like many people, am financially strained at the moment. I was recently burgled which added to my financial issues and has probably made me quite sensitive to receiving this note.

Can you get a crime number when there's not been a crime? I'm not sure anything illegal has happened yet, even though it's clearly dodgy.

This is your front garden?

Did he leave any contact or Payment details?

I would ask in a what's app group if anyone was expecting a gardener who never turned up. If no-one owns up I would report on 101, sounds well dodgy to me. Surely no-one want want to spend their time doing the garden of someone who most likely didn't want their garden done and wouldn't pay, unless they had a back-up plan for trying to persuade those in authority to that the person did want the garden done and needs to pay!

Happened to nan it started off with unasked for gardening then they suggested they do her driveway needed cash upfront obviously then they took more money to "fix her roof" she lost a couple thousand her daughter went mad and removed all the cash from her home they basically found a target stripped it dry all over a small area within a few weeks and vanished (and no she had nothing done to her roof or driveway it was supposed to be done in one day)

Forgot to say absolutely dont pay

Charge them £10 for taking your wild nature plants!

To do someone's garden you normally set foot on their land and move stuff in or remove stuff from their garden, that's trespass and vandlisim, both of which are crimes.

You can for suspected coercion, yes.

Edited to add - because the OP has been burgled before and because no gardener I know puts ‘Pay ASAP’ on a note having done no work, I strongly suspect they are preying on a vulnerable person. I think the police would/should feel the same.

Don’t pay. Don’t phone. and let local police know.
It sounds super dodge. And if it’s legit then it’s downright rude if it’s not a service you have requested.

That sounds super dodgy.

It won't be someone's reputable gardener getting the wrong address, even if that's what they want you to think - no one is charging a tenner for pulling weeds for half an hour, unless they're a 9 year old on bob a job week.

Weird. Did they even give you bank details? Name? Don’t pay though

The key is… is this your front or back lawn?

if front lawn and he leaves no payment or contact details… I think it was a barbed way of telling you that you needed to tidy up your front garden as it was peeing him off but he doesn’t actually want the money! He was making a point

I Would message and explain that you’ve reported their trespassing to the police and will report any and all future communication.

I would just assume it was a mistake, if there was a number I wld block my number then ring them & say that they posted note through wrong door & u didn’t hire anyone to weed ur garden so won’t be paying.

Given your previous burglary report to the police, they might be also trying it in with other vulnerable people and all reports will help if they eventually need to prosecute.

I would report via 101, online form of available. Also ask your neighbours if they had the same note. It could be someone trying to find out who they can get money from and exploit. £10 is a small amount that someone might just pay. It’s also a lot less than what a gardener would charge.

It sounds to me more like "we've looked at your garden and if you want it weeded, it'll cost a tenner".

Given that the OP has looked and seen the weeds are still there.

It's a scam I have come across before. Next time they will do a little work and say it's £500 and will threaten you if you do not pay. Contact the police online or on the emergency number. Be wary of opening the door if they call and make them aware you are in touch with the Police if they further contact you.

Do you have a local police station/service?

We have got ours back - in a fashion, it's NOTHING like a proper old police station, but at least it's local. They do a couple of 'coffee & chat' mornings a month & you can message/email them with any issues. Unfortunately you can't ring them. If it was me I'd take a photo of the note & email it to them.

Hopefully you have a reasonably local service you can contact.

if you have reasonable neighbours talk to them about it. Tell them you haven't given anyone permission to work inside or outside of your property (assuming that's the case) & ask them to keep an eye out for you.

DO NOT pay or contact them!

Even if they’d done a perfect job, you shouldn’t pay. You didn’t ask them to do the job. It could all be an innocent mistake, or then again it could be the thin end of the wedge - next thing you know they might claim they’d cleared your gutters etc. and ask for payment.

Don’t pay. I bet it’s just a chancer. I like @Arlanymor 's suggestion of texting them to say you’ve already reported it via 101.

No. Don't pay. You cant be entered into an agreement without your knowledge and consent.

Ignore it. In all probability the person has gone all over the place with these notes and likely won't even remember who's who. If they come back, tell them you did not ask for their service and you have reported them to the police

yup.

I once answered the door to a guy from “greenfingers lawn treatment” who told me he had finished the front grass and could I just let him through to do the back. He did look a bit gutted when I told him I hadn’t booked his services. Turned out he was supposed to do our neighbours.

I would check with your neighbours and you’ll soon find out if it’s a scam or a mistake

Do you have a local FB group? I bet you're not the only person this has happened to.