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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be thoroughly fed up with our neighbours?

77 replies

SH27 · 15/03/2009 21:54

When pregnant with my DS two years ago, I ordered quite a lot of baby bits from the internet. Our neighbour commented on the amount of stuff we had delivered and asked me not to have it delivered on a Saturday, as the knocking at our door disturbed his wife's lie in! I politely told them I couldn't control delivery days!!

Anyway, this same neighbour has recently decided to have two pints of milk delivered on a Monday and Friday. The milk arrives anywhere between 3am and 6am and not in a milk float. In comes in a diesel truck and stops outside my 2 year old DS's bedroom window. We live in a really quiet cul de sac, so you can imagine the noise of a diesel truck arriving at the crack of dawn. It has woken us all up many times and I know that come the summer when we have windows open I can kiss goodbye to a good night's sleep or anything resembling a bit of a lie in.

I don't really know what to do to be honest. They only have 4 pints of milk a week. I'd get it at the supermarket for them if it means that much to them!!

AIBU?

OP posts:
talbot · 16/03/2009 11:31

Our neighbours asked us to stop having the paper delivered as the noise of the delivery van was waking them up. We were irritated by it but cancelled the delivery.

anniemac · 16/03/2009 11:50

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Message withdrawn

VinegarTitsCoveredinChocolate · 16/03/2009 12:05

YABU and i think you are looking for an excuse to get back at your neighbour because he complained about the deliveries, he was BU then and you are BU now

If the noise of the truck wakes you, you need to contact the milk company and complain to them, its not your neighbours fault that they use noisy trucks to deliver the milk

Same as it wasnt your fault that your deliveries were early on Saturday. This Tit-for-tat, well he complained so i should too, is just childish

shortcircuit · 16/03/2009 13:08

YANBU

Ring & complain about the diesel truck waking you up at antisocial hours. Say if nothing can be done about it, you'll be cancelling your (ie next doors) milk

MrsBeakman · 16/03/2009 13:23

I think your neighbour would be a lot more understanding about your grievance if you had tried to be more understanding about his wife needing a lie in at the weekend.

southeastastra · 16/03/2009 13:23

mad, my neighbour used to drill half eight every saturday morning.

i'd go out the front and start chopping logs or summat.

basementbear · 16/03/2009 13:47

If the neighbour's wife was disturbed by your delivery, how come the milk van doesn't bother her??

I would find it incredibly annoying, and especially if you and your DC are being disturbed. It might not actually make them do anything about it, but I would definitely let the neighbours know they are disturbing you and your LO (and presumably the rest of the street!).

NewTeacher · 16/03/2009 15:13

Isnt there a law against nthis?? Thats why the dustbin men dont come before 6am.

I'm sure you can contact the milk company and speak to your local council and enquire if deliveries are allowed to made so early.

This is not a one off its a regular thing twice a week which is two times too many.

YANBU at all.

littlefrog · 16/03/2009 15:22

there are rules about deliveries to commercial premises, not sure about domestic?
where i used to live i was occasionally woken by a huge flour lorry that would sometimes deliver at 1am - the problem was that it was a narrow residential street and one time it took the driver 20 minutes to get the lorry backed down the road - with all the beep beep beep 'this vehicle is reVERsing' that involves.

Same place, and a market trader used to drag his hard-wheeled trolley laden with banging boxes past the house at 4am every morning - I did call the council about that, and he was asked to stop (not allowed to 'set up' that early) and did.

Why not call the council and ask about what the rules are. If they say it's ok then it is, even if it annoys you. Though given that he had no qualms about asking the 'favour' of you, why not return it by asking back? He can't do worse than ignore you...

jack99 · 16/03/2009 15:24

es, herbietea, but you knew what you were getting into when you moved to these places!

I have never heard of milk being delivered in a big diesel truck! Definitely complain to delivery company, it is unreasonble to put up with a noisy truck waking kids up regularly.

Original poster
SH27 · 16/03/2009 16:35

Thank you to all the supportive emails.

I called the milk delivery company and someone is getting back to me.

To those who think this is tit for tat. It isn't. The post on a Saturday incident happened over two years ago and we haven't had any problems since. I didn't tell my neighbour to get lost and I didn't continue to have parcels delivered on a Saturday.

OP posts:
Aeschylus · 16/03/2009 16:45

Whilst I agree being awoken by a truck is annoying, if that is all you hear, you need to count yourself lucky, we have such noisy neighbours, who have installed some sort of surrond sound speakers on their walls, and when they play it, it vibrates the walls so much it has knocked ornaments off the wall, and often this noise goes on till 1 to 2 in the morning

Blu · 16/03/2009 16:53

It is a monstrous use of energy for the delivery co to use a huge truck to deliver 2 pts of milk! If it is a cu-de-sac I imagine it is short - tell the delivery co to get the driver to park on the main rd and walk up the cul-de-sac!

I think regular night time deliveries in a residential area are unreasonable....and your neighbour was outrageous in asking you not to have parcels delivered on Saturdays!

herbietea · 16/03/2009 19:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MadamDeathstare · 16/03/2009 19:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BakewellTarts · 16/03/2009 20:08

It would annoy me too and I think contacting the co to complain is a good idea, after all they control the delivery schedule rather than your neighbour.

Actually I'm also a little impressed that anyone is delivering at that time. My milkman never arrives before 10am and today was 12.30 (lunchtime). Not ideal for breakfast.

jack99 · 17/03/2009 00:15

herbie, if you live in RAF accomodation I guess you're gonna expect to be near planes!

If you live in a quiet residential road you are quite entitled not to expect a flippin' great truck to scream up to your house in the middle of the night!

Why aren't they delivering it using a normal milk float? Then there wouldn't be a problem.

Sorry, but i would call having disturbed sleep twice a week when you had JUST got your DC sleeping through a pretty big problem!

katiestar · 17/03/2009 20:47

I can understand you being annoyed but I am not sure what you can do about it..With a dustbin ,I am guessing it is the ancillary noise of the bins being emptied that is the proble.In this case it is the sound of the engine but If the road is public they are perfectly entitled to drive into it whenever they want

BuwchBywiog · 17/03/2009 22:00

It would annoy me too I'm afraid I like my sleep. I've been woken the past couple of nights by a barking dog at 5am. The awful thing about it its my own bloomin dog barking at my own bloomin cats who like to sit at his window just to annoy him! He's in the house so luckily nobody else hears the daft thing. If he does it tonight all three are being drowned. If he woke the DC's as well I think I'd have to have him stuffed

Disclaimer ... I will not drown any of my pets or take them to a taxedermist ... I know some people can be offended just with the threat of it.

BuwchBywiog · 17/03/2009 22:00

PS who on earth wants milk at 2am anyway!! I hope you get something sorted.

wastingmyeducation · 18/03/2009 07:30

BuwchBywiog - the milkman can't deliver at every house on his round at 6.30am, he has to start somewhere. He's not Santa!

cimeow · 13/04/2009 23:31

I think really be thankful you don't have noisy loud playing chavs like i have, who play any night they feel, including the shouting.

Children learn to live through certain noises do feel your overacting.

lovemycat80 · 28/07/2014 06:34

I'd be keen for this to go further if others are affected. I do not order milk but am on a road with 2 milkman pitching for business. As I live in the middle of the road, despite not ordering milk myself I find that my house is the location they both tend to choose to park/idle whilst they fiddle with all their bottles and deliver to many houses up and down the road.
One van comes at 3amish and is electric, the other is 5am and is diesel - there are taxis up and down the road until 1am.

The 5am diesel van is unbearable and so noisy that it is loud through double glazed windows so my sleep will now not return to normal after the many years. It is also the approach of the deliverers - I would guess there may have been a day once where they acted like someone being quiet for that time in the morning, but as with everything, of course it is just like it was middle of the day - they just do what they need to do to get their job done regardless of the noise and the time of day so are there normally for 10-15mins outside my window with a very loud diesel van (about twice as loud as a taxi for those who havent had the pleasure - they are one of the loudest vehicles that you can have when idling - not normal vehicles as many assume - I noticed how much abuse those who have noted this across forums have received and I can only assume it was a lack of knowledge of quite what the situation was because they are very loud!). Its blighted my life- my health really declined in the last 4yrs and sleep has been a direct issue - I cna no longer get refreshing sleep and being interrupted every 2hrs for an extensive period (would be different if it wasnt so long you were wide awake by the time they finish) whilst probably didnt cause it, certainly does not help .

I cannot understand this practice has just become accepted - but then they seem to pick the people who dont order to sit outside!

Indeed maybe in the old days the early drop-off had a reason, but given they have changed their 'way' of doing it (i.e. no longer being quite, respectful and using vehicles with doors, loud diesel engines and not pre-organising their loads so they spend 10mins clinking through bottles to find their orders) it is time to change the time. I think it is time for something which just gets this slightly weird, now anti-social situation sorted. At first you think you will ruin someones business, then realise it is big companies, and that the timing is unnecessary - and lets be real I also need to survive, so do others who are affected, and they are no longer playing ball on the consideration front. We wouldnt be OK if delivery vehicles (who didnt have the apparent 'tradition) starting turning up at 5am every day in trucks and they would be quicker and quieter than this - so I dont get why people are defending this when you break it down to what it actually is.

Tiggywinklespinny · 28/07/2014 06:42

We stopped using our local milkman because he left his car running, door open and radio on loud. It didn't matter that we spoke to the company and to him nothing changed so we cancelled him.

Shame as I'm all for supporting local business. I don't think YABU at all.

AngusAndElspethsThistleWhistle · 28/07/2014 06:43

Zombie thread...