My neighbour's lawyer friend helps him to harass me, advice needed.

[Anotherwomanhere]

I have a neighbour where there are various harassment tactics (started when I refused to write him a letter against his neighbour). As an example, his false allegation was removed from police record due to my obtaining of public CCTV verifying I did nothing wrong. (NCHI took 18 months of my time to prove his perception as not reasonable.) His high profile lawyer friend, who is his ex boyfriend, gives him legal advice and represents him in person, on some matters. Both of them flew a drone over the roof of my flat where I grow plants, with the lawyer operating the remote control and the neighbour instructing him on its direction. I then received a threatening legal letter to remove my pots, a copy or record of which can no longer be found on the system of the solicitors who sent it. I feel the lawyer friend is mixing his career with my neighbour's pursual of me but it feels weird, why would someone do this as a high profile professional? Is this right and what can I do to expose it, if it is not right? (Afraid of legal threats as do not have money to pay a lawyer.)

As the crime report reads, HOCR is victim based and no further information (or proof) other than the victims word (or belief) is required to record a crime. I had to provide AVI.

What do you understand by the acronym
HOCR?

Home Office Counting Rules. I've read already what you pasted. This quote is from the crime report, "HOCR is victim based and no further information (or proof) other than the victims word (or belief) is required to record a crime." So. I had to submit AVI (Additional Verifiable Information) in the form of the CCTV, a public footage which I myself obtained. If I did not the accusation would had been visible to an employer. Most people have no idea what's on their police record. I thought that Police just going away with NFA is the end. Then I realized that is the beginning of purging my record. I advise participators to read Fairhurst v Woodard 2021 Judgement and also Rynes case study on CCTV. I also advise to watch some You Tube on NCHIs, although belief without evidence (perception) seems to apply outside of NCHIs. I'm sad that most discussion here was quite critical. Also some people rhetorically said they'd like to hear the other side of the story, when obviously they knew my neighbor wasn't in this thread. So this blame was unhelpful. But. I have learned a lot about how I show up, too. And some suggestions and wording on here has been very useful.

You can represent your ex-partner in a professional capacity as a lawyer btw. I’m a lawyer. I often help out my friends (including ex-partners) on an informal basis and would have no issue whatsoever in formally representing any of them on a professional basis, assuming there was no conflict of interest (the mere fact of being previous romantic partners does not constitute a conflict of interest).

Hi Elektra, thanks so much for your input. Yes, this does make sense. I am just wondering in a situation where you, as a lawyer, helping your friend, were at the same time helping your friend with other things such as coming to your friends home and flying a drone over your friend's neighbour's roof, with your friend being rude to the neighbour in your presence when the neighbour asks about what is happening. So it is a sort of involvement. Or how would you reason this?

There is nothing wrong with that. You can be someone’s lawyer and also their friend.

I suppose it comes back to the lawyer being a citizen, and not seeing them as a lawyer. What I am seeing is neighbour and their friend doing something which is alarming for me. Whether they are a lawyer or not, is not necessary relevant. If they ought to know and a reasonable other person considers it as ... cannot recall the wording of PHA 1997 ... then the lawyer in this case is just a citizen defending himself. Do you know any interesting case law that might open up my mind more? Whatever you think I should know.

OP, respectfully, if you have not been actively harassed by your neighbour since the fake solicitor’s letter, I would try to refocus your attention to another part of your life. You sound totally consumed by this, and you’re throwing acronyms you don’t appear to fully understand around — HOCR is simply the rules according to which police record crimes. It’s has nothing to do with no proof other than a victim’s being required to establish that a crime has been committed, otherwise there would be no investigation to establish evidence, no prosecution required to prove something beyond reasonable doubt, and no legal system! You are thinking of NCHIs, which are, by definition, not crimes and can therefore rely on the victim’s belief.

Who visits your neighbour and what their relationship consists of is not your concern unless that person is actually harassing you. Is your neighbour currently harassing you?

I appreciate your life advice. Thanks. I am finding too much personal advice and opinions here. I was trying to talk with the lawyer on here. HOCR is very much in application to how the harassment incident has been recorded, which I had to AVI. Also may I mention one last time, as possibly you didn't read this before. This is an ongoing situation, with parts of the conduct mentioned. I have not been consumed with it but have learnt so much about crime reports, the police, data protection and PHA 1997. It's been the best thing I've learned since pure mathematics at university, which yes I do get obsessed about. I love logic. I find law also very consuming, and read a lot. But as with the Bible you need teaching, so with law. Currently my neighbor is in breach of GDPR and is harassing other tenants with processing our data unlawfully. His friend, the lawyer, I feel has joined him in this harassment. On one occasion. However it would be part of the conduct if a second occasion took place. I think I've gotten everything out of here I could. Thanks for trying to help.

OP, after you mentioned GDPR and CCTV, I was interested and did go and look it up. The ICO guidance says that they are unlikely to take any action against domestic CCTV, they just send the person a letter suggesting that the other person has a chat with you. I think you're getting a little too far into the letter of the law, and not what's actually prosecutable.

If you believe they are harassing you, create an evidence log and then take it to the police - which is also what the ICO suggests.

If you or anyone else feels they are being harassed then report to the police, if you want legal advice speak to cab or a solicitor, this is not the place for free legal advice from anyone who may or may not be solicitors or have any legal knowledge or qualification.

He's not "in breach of GDPR" because he's not a company or organisation. Put down the law book and take the practical advice above.

I agree, there is no GDPR breach here. GDPR does not apply to private individuals for a start, its when you give your personal info to an organisation for one purpose and they use it for another or give it to another organisation to use withour your permission.
People like to throw that term around while having no idea what it actually means.

This reads like a Channel 5 drama.

Thank God for my dull and boring life.

I’m out, OP. You’re clearly paranoid and obsessed with your neighbour, wasting huge amounts of time on ‘clearing your name’ of non-crimes and inventing narratives where none exist. This is like an internet rabbit hole you’ve fallen down for five years. You’d be better off moving house and finding other ways of occupying your time.

There is a really weird problem with the ICO. I've been talking to them for years. The latest of things which just shows the issues with their guidance is the Judge in Hairhurst v Woodard 2021 at Paragraph 32 in the Judgement saying that the Defendant should had been registered with the ICO but the ICO say the Judge was wrong. However one thing the ICO and the Judge say is that domestic CCTV is under GDPR if the cameras film outside the boundary of your property. ICO only take action with big organisations. They say for domestic owners, you yourself have to take it to court. That is correct, all they do is send the owner the guidance, a bit like the grooming scandal where the perpetrators know that the girl reported them. And of course nothing happens to the perpetrators. With the case law available, it absolutely can be prosecuted. Again read the Judgement Fairhurst v Woodard 2021. It's available in PDF online. Can I ask, on how many occasions have you taken anything to the Police?

I think I've mentioned it would come up in my job clearance, but thanks for name-calling.

As someone who has taken someone to court for harassment, and won substantial damages and costs (which is extremely difficult under the English legal system), I'm here to say you really haven't a clue. This sort of thing is like oxygen to some people, they constantly need their feed. Stop making hurtful and damaging statements like this please.

If you are a domestic CCTV user filming outside the boundary of your property, then you are a data controller, and if you are found to be misusing your data subjects' data, you are in breach of GDPR. And this is prosecutable. You do not have to be a company or organisation. I don't think ignoring the law is the right thing to do.

In cases of genuine harassment, it is usually not correct to ask this question. The harassment itself is the reason, it provides a narcissistic feed to the perpetrator.

100%, it’s rented accommodation so she should be able to move, she has spent years of her life and time stressing over this when she could put an end to it easily and just live her life
I presume she thinks that moving would mean the neighbours win but she isn’t winning here either as it seems to be destroying her life and she has become obsessed with it
She seems to have cleared her name so she should now do the sensible thing and move on…..she also sounds like she should get some therapy and possibly a job as the amount of time she has spent writing these lengthy posts ( and researching the law) suggests to me that she might not be in employment

Therefore, anyone without legal experience (informal), please can you refrain from contributing. I am looking for a space to share knowledge, not advice on moving home. I am not able to move, as I have a fantastic landlord and lived here for 15 years. This mumsnet is taking up all my time answering what is literally gossip. You sound like my neighbour's friends! As I have mentioned I am looking for individuals with legal experience, to talk to, in an open square, not advice, or anyone responding to that affect. Posts are becoming about me. Mumsnet heh!!

Gosh, I have studied narcissism from Dr Ramani and this comment is so powerful. I totally missed this! Thank you!

Gosh. I must admit this is something I don’t really understand.

The ex-boyfriend 'lawyer' does not 'represent' him. If he did, his name/office would have been on the letter you were sent.

If I had a friend who was a professional circus clown, and they opened my door to a police officer (or anyone else for that matter) in full makeup and pulled a hundred handkerchiefs out of their pocket while saying "Hello, this is my client" and honking their nose, their 'representation' would carry the same amount of legal weight as that of your neighbor's 'lawyer' - none.

Opening a door is not a legal matter. Speaking while not under caution is not a legal matter.

You also seem caught up in the notion of having some kind of criminal record that you had to clear. As PP have pointed out, you seem to have misunderstood what an NCHI is.

Apply common sense here: If the mere recording of an NCHI would cause someone to fail any kind of vetting, everyone with a grudge would be filing them and tanking people's careers.

All that aside, you accuse your neighbor of gossip, while stating that the reason you know his ex is a 'high-flying' lawyer is via gossip from other neighbors and conversations heard over your garden fence.

One minute they're flying drones over your house, the next you're in theirs watching the 'lawyer' open the door to strangers and introduce your neighbor as their client.

I think it's likely that there's a serious case of Soap Opera-itis going around your little group, and both sides have got so deep into the gossip/drama that you can't back down.