Aibu to have reported the dustbin lorry to the council?

[Bumpyroads]

Bit of back story us and our next door neighbours quietly dislike each other. Nobody has really said anything but I know we both annoy each other from what is said about the street. They moan about us, things we do etc.

Recently they have been playing loud music in the garden at the weekends in a passive aggressive way. This started when they complained about our chickens being noisy ( we have rehomed the chickens because of this but thats another story) the reason I'm saying all of this is because in general I am just in a bad mood about our neighbours and don't know if this has tainted my reaction.

So next door neighbour is a bin man, he wasn't at work.
Bin lorry come and parks up across my drive . Workmen get out and go in neighbours house/garden for 40 minutes having a drink and break. All this time I was unable to get off or access my drive. There was a bin lorry parked unattended across it.

So husband rings to complain to the council. They were confused as on their tracker the lorry was supposedly elsewhere. They also agreed 40minutes was excessive but said they must have been emptying bins? No they were having a cuppa at my neighbours! Council are going to investigate, I suspect they were taking unauthorised breaks and turning the tracker off.. maybe.

Anyway the reason this has also annoyed me so much is our neighbours have lived hear 30+ years and act like they own the street. Complain about anything we do (leaves from our trees fall in their garden for example.) They are 60+ and set in their ways and we are a young family. Tbh I just dont think they like us, we normally don't rise to it and smile and wave etc. But this time I had had enough and complained.

Aibu? And have we just started ww3?

Regardless of whether or not OP needed to get on or off their drive it was unprofessional of them to block it. They could've parked elsewhere to take a break. Imagine if you needed to get out in an emergency. You weren't unreasonable to report it to the council, if they get on trouble it's their own fault not yours OP

No, and this is not what this is about, you are diverting the issue, this is about the fact that instead of choosing to park lawfully in a proper parking space or if they had to block a drive, why not the drive of the people they had called in on instead of blocking a third parties drive i.e the OP's.

The dustbin men being on an unauthorised break had nothing to do with the complaint the OP made to the council, it was the fact that the lorry blocked their drive. When the OP rang to make the complaint that is when it was discovered they were on an unauthorised break because they had been there for 40mins.

If the bin men didn't want to create an issue, they shouldn't have blocked the drive and no one would have been any the wiser about the extended and unauthorised break. That is their problem and not the OP's.

Nope, the neighbours have been making the OPs life a misery and why didn't their visitors park across their drive....I'd like to bet because the neighbours wanted them to park where they did to upset the OP.

OP has to set boundaries, its beyond me that people are upset at the the OP when she has done nothing wrong but to assert her right to have access and ingress to her own drive.

It's the fact she only did it to be nasty. She's admitted she didn't need to use the driveway and was just being ridiculous.
It's beyond me that people have the time to be so pathetic.

I didn't only do it to be nasty. If it was another person/company I would have reported it if they were not with their vehicle or unloading/loading.
The added thing is that its pissed off the neighbours but I dont think that should mean I should be scared to report it.
They now have a taster of all the pissy things they done to us I guess.
Are people saying I should of let them park their just because they are our neighbour/friends of the neighbours? I have no loyalty to our neighbours and we are not friends so why would I?

None of our plants overhang their gardens the leaves blow in the wind. Because, you know, its outside. They want their garden to be concrete without any dirt, which is unreasonable to expect me to do the same just to please them.
Other neighbour have chickens in fact the ones over the street are probably closer to their house than ours were at the end of our garden.

this is about the fact that instead of choosing to park lawfully in a proper parking space

Exactly - What is so difficult to understand about this?

I don’t think people are saying let them park because they’re friends with your neighbours.
My take on it was the bin men are completely separate to the issues with your neighbours. So the let them park there was more because bin men have a horrible job to do, it was 30 degrees again last week, their day is long and hard and they don’t have regular places to stop for breaks or for the toilet (at least in our district) and you knew where they to find them should you of needed them to move.

I have no sympathy with your neighbours. I’m not saying the bin men weren’t wrong for parking there I’d of just cut them more slack given the fact that I wasn’t actually inconvenienced. If I needed to get in our out and they wouldn’t move then I’d report it

Exactly. They want you going knocking to them as though they are in charge. OP should not have to go to the house of someone who is so horrible to her to ask them to unblock her driveway. She did right to just report it.

Its simpler than that OP, they (not YOU) shouldn't even be thinking of parking across your drive, its their error not yours and you shouldn't be afraid to set boundaries on this.

But the reality is that your neighbours are a nightmare and this won't make them more reasonable, infact the opposite but its about not being walked all over and given then a reason to pause and think.

Hold the line.

I didn't only do it to be nasty

Au contraire…

Telling tales I guess was a build up of frustration of them constantly moaning about us and them swanning about like angels.
Don't think they done it to piss me off but to go round for a cuppa on their shift.

and

I think my point is they have been petty about countless things with us and I finally broke and was petty back.

and

This is the first time we have been petty I am not proud however they have been petty many times in the past and we have not retaliated.

and

So yes I agree with others I was unreasonable but until you've had problems with neighbours it is hard to understand how It gets to you.

and

However if they are going to act like toddlers I will of course eventually snap back like I did
And whilst we're acting like toddlers "they started it"

and

And in future I will probably think more carefully before I act, I was at my wits end with their shit, and took it out on the wrong people. I would now say yes our neighbour disagreements did affect my decision making.

Perhaps you didn’t only do it to be nasty.

This suggests otherwise. I would understand if you had needed out of your drive. But you didn’t.

It might well be that it wasn’t only to be nasty and of course petty - but also to give a big fuck you to your neighbour. I’m only going from your posts.

My eyes are old though so what do I know?

😂

Well I have read the same post and I don't see if from that perspective at all.

I’ve read all the posts and I agree with @adragoncalledaudrey.

Lots of changes in story, but ultimately OP doesn’t want anyone to say she is BU!

Yippey DooDa, good for you, I don't and I am allowed my opinion and the OP has asked for opinions so now she has a variety and ultimately she makes her own mind up, but I agree that parking the lorry across her drive was unreasonable.

Are you quite alright?oo

You offered your opinion and I offered mine!

Where did I say you weren’t allowed an opinion?

Yippydooda we can but have a differing opinion !

Nope, I am acknowledging and accepting your opinion.

Happy to discuss stuff and open to new opinions which could change my mind but just telling me you have read everything on the thread and don't agree with me, isn't something I can discuss as it brings nothing new to the table so what do you want me to say?

I don't need other peoples validation on my viewpoint. The OP has asked for opinions, I have given mine, you have given yours so job done.

No one has said you weren’t allowed an opinion.

No one said they should have parked across her drive though. Just that it could have been dealt with better.

Op admitted themselves that they were spiteful, petty, snapped back and were unreasonable and probably allowed their dislike for their neighbour to cloud their judgement and subsequent actions.

For me, spiteful, retaliatory and petty is the same as nasty. So not only nasty but petty, spiteful, unnecessary and retaliatory.

She wants to get back at her neighbour? Great. Have at it. No need to be nasty to others in order to do that though.

OPs husband made a valid complaint about a valid issue, if they don't like it they shouldn't have done it. Simple really.

I used to work for the council and they take their trackers really seriously. If it’d been removed that’s a firing offence as it could invalidate the insurance policy for every single council vehicle. All the bin Lorries had a bunch of cameras so they’d be able to check footage.

That said everyone is entitled to a break which is mandatory and unpaid. Bin Lorries often park up in lay-bys or a car park but it’s at driver discretion so could have break wherever. They shouldn’t be blocking your property for an extended period.

They could have spoken to the men in question. It looks as though they were keeping a close eye on matters for the whole 40 minutes.

A quiet polite word would have sufficed. Then, if there was a repeat performance, then escalate.

Simple really.

Okie dokie! As you were.

All opinions count!

I’ve no interest in discussing your opinion, anyone that starts a response with yippy dohda is really my on my wave length!

No, they shouldn't have done it in the first place, they could have parked responsibly or blocked the drive of the place they were visiting then they wouldn't have had to watch out would they??? They created this scenario , not the OP and the neighbour let them.

Good, and everyones opinions counting is exactly what I said several times now and its OK to disagree. The OP wanted everyones opinions and she has a wide spread.

Honestly, I just don't get how you expected me to respond to the statement quoting me where you simply advised me that you had read everything and didn't agree with me? Did you think I would say, Oh Pinhchickenwine has read everything and doesn't agree with me, I must be wrong?

Its fine to disagree, but I haven't asked for your thoughts, the OP has. I said yippy dohda and you said Okie Dokie! Not getting at you, I genuinley don't know what you were looking for.

They did indeed create the scenario.

Op and their husband acted in the way they did because of their neighbour.

All I’m saying is that the bin men were not in the right and that it could and should have been handled differently. Going nuclear should be the last option. Not the first.

Age isn’t a bad thing - it has taught me to pick my battles.

And more importantly, pick them with the people that you actually have the issue with. Not some random people who haven’t caused you any grief.

I hope it doesn’t escalate because no-one needs that. But if it does? Then their actions enabled it to go that way even more than it already had. That isn’t right of course but if you want to go in with big guns then expect it back and more.

The bin men likely won’t give a shiny one. They don’t live next door.

But the neighbour will. I’d put money on that.

Were they the only ones who were wrong though?

(peers over spectacles and does bad impression of caring and sharing lady vicar)