CF Neighbours threatening to complain to council over EV charger ‘hire’

[FootballMumm]

We live close to the head office of a big corporate company - thousands of employees attend across the week.

Our house is a couple of streets away, and we’ve got an EV charger. We have made this available for ‘rent’, and it’s at a far more affordable cost than the chargers at the head office. Therefore, we’ve built up over time through word of mouth etc and we usually average about 3 people using it a day.

This has been for about 3 months with no issues at all.

Yesterday, our neighbour knocked and said they are uncomfortable with the ‘comings and going’s’ and not knowing who these people are, and feel it’s cheapening the street . I pointed out they work more or less over the road in corporate roles.

They then said that they have found some of the behaviour ‘unacceptable’. I asked for examples to which they gave two:

-A man smoking whilst waiting for his charge to finish
-A woman on the phone making an ‘extreme’ sexual remark. On pressing what this was, it was basically a fouler version of ‘I’ve had a crap day and want to have sex tonight’.

I said that usually, people leave their cars and then go into work before returning either on break, lunch or at the end of the day. But said I’d keep an eye out for any untoward behaviour.

I thought this would placate them, but they said that if we don’t stop it this week then they will speak to the council to register a ‘formal complaint’.

I don’t intend to stop, and am aware we are acting perfectly legally. Is it me, or they are batshit?!

Nice idea. People with a life wouldn’t notice nor care. I imagine she sits at home most of the time to obsess over this, and to be around to witness the smoking and lewd remark! Our NDN’s are like this and would honestly have a hissy fit if we did this. They bought a second car they don’t use purely to park it in front of their house. Some people need to get out more.

There’s mild annoyance and there’s threatening to report to the council! It’s no different to people parking by your house - sure it’s irritating but not illegal. I’m annoyed they’re installing speed bumps on my estate. It’s annoying, but it is what it is. I’m annoyed there are kids outside my house playing until 10pm now it’s getting warmer but it’s not illegal and they can do as they please.

It’s not their driveway, they have no ownership, it’s not illegal. Deal with it.

Reminds me of my former next door neighbours who used to apologise if it had taken them more than hour to get their bin in after emptying on bin by saying “sorry you had to look at our bin for so long.” I used to tell them that I was too busy to spend my days staring out of the window but apologizing for making me look at their bin and a few other things was very common. Ridiculous! As is your neighbour OP.

I can assure you the government aren’t looking to charge people business rates for a domestic charger. That would be like charging business rates for people who rent out their drive, or sell Avon from their porch. The rateable value would be so small they would all qualify for small business rates relief anyway. Valuing the chargers, applying the relief etc would cost far more in admin than anyone gained revenue.

Anything valued for rates at under £12k (ie would realistically have a commercially viable rent of £1k per month) is not worth the admin.

This is a great idea! I can’t believe anyone would care about 3 different cars parking on your driveway to charge during the day or “comings and goings” … whatever next are supermarket and Amazon and parcel deliveries going to be reported too???

Maybe they should get an EV point installed and cash in as well :)

I regret posting to support you now.

Are you the neighbour?

OMG you're running an EV charger brothel! 😁

Why would people on here get upset and comings and goings from a neighbours house? Or mention "running a business from a domestic property" as if it isn't allowed.

What if a childminder started on your street, or a beauty salon/hairdresser from a room in someone's house? Or a self employed accountant/book maker who had clients calling?

I called at a local seamstress today who has a stream of customers from her house

Loads and loads of people run small businesses from home, surely we should encourage entrepreneurs and how is three lots of people coming every day even noticeable.

Crack on OP and thanks for making me aware this is a thing! Am going to look into it

I didn’t know this was a thing you could legally do but having read the comments YANBU

Your neighbours are probably jealous!

Why would you think she’s the neighbour? She’s right, that post was nasty. But that attitude is commonplace in classist Britain, so perhaps you just didn’t notice.

OP I’m wondering what the actual sexual comment was and why you gave us the cleaner version instead of just telling us what the woman said?

“Riff raff from the local estate”
How unpleasant of you

If you are helping to enable people with SUVs or the usual BMW drivers then I would be unhappy, if normal sized cars I would not.

I cannot see the council acting on a complaint, though be prepared for the neighbours say to mention it to HMRC.

It may be legal but I would be mental if you were my neighbor.

Isn’t that Carist? 🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

why is the make of the car now in the mix here bahahahaha

Yep! And to be honest its very similar to the driveway interms of disruption
Frustrating for neighbours but no worse than many other things

To all the posters upset with OP for the riffraff comment and siding with the neighbour as a result - if they’re having a mare over someone having a cigarette on their street, can you imagine what they’re saying about the people from the estate 🤣

‘riff raff from the local estates’? You’ve just lost my sympathy.

My view is that good relationships with your neighbours is more important than your side-hustle.

Wow, aren’t you a charmer. I imagine the people from the local estate are a lot more pleasant than you are. I hope your neighbour does report you to the council.

A car is parked on your driveway for a few hours, i dont see how it affects them at all. They could have much worse problems with their neighbours. And aren't they at work themselves most of the time anyway?

Some people are just spiteful and nosey and think owning their house means they also get a say over what happens in their immediate vicinity too.

Business rates replaces council tax and for most residential properties the equivalent rateable value gives a charge of zero so the OP could save herself a bit of money by applying to be a business premises, but I doubt she’d qualify.

I agree, ' Loads of cars and strangers been near my house' is nuts .
There is no way it would affect the nighbours negatively.
In fact it's more likely to put off anyone that's thinking of getting upto no good

Gosh - it is a different world on here to the one I know.

First a neighbour complains about 3 cars a day parking next door - obviously standing outside to neb at them, do they not have anything else to do. Then we have it confirmed the car parking people are not ‘riff faff’ from the estate - do you check their home address is up to scratch?

And then there are other people commenting who would be very upset at this happening on their road. I can’t imagine even noticing - how long do you stand there/look out of the window and do you write the reg down?

but I also can’t imagine where everyone lives without any ‘strangers’ ever appearing in their Road - I assume they are at the very end of a dead end street so no one would walk past going from A to B but there’s posties, deliveries, carers, friends/family, mobile hairdressers, podiatrists etc etc. And as people you don’t know are so upsetting and scary how do you navigate going out yourself?

Normally, you buy a house and it doesn’t include the street, or give you any rights over your neighbours - maybe we need some more gated communities for folk keep out the riff raff more easily!