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Original poster

Neighbours broke our fence!

39 replies

Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 13:06

The neighbours behind us had a massive conifer tree that they hired a 'professional' tree surgeon to chop down. The so called professional felled several very large branches into my and the next door neighbour's garden, breaking two fence panels and also damaging some mature shrubs in my garden. Fyi I had not been notified that this was going to happen.

The tree surgeon and his assistants then leap frogged into my and next door's garden without asking us at all, and started chainsawing the branches and chucking them back onto the other side. Whilst all this was happening, I was in the front room so didn't witness anything. As I walked into the back, I noticed and went outside to ask what the hell they were doing! They said not to worry, they will replace the fence the following day and remove all the branches. I wasn't super thrilled they hadn't bothered to knock or ask.

Later, me and my next door neighbour went to talk to the tree surgeons and the neighbour behind us who was chopping down the tree. I asked the tree surgeon why nobody notified us, and that there could have been somebody in the garden so surely it was really unsafe? He then got super aggressive at me and started shouting about his credentials and how incredibly offended he was that I was worried he may hurt somebody with falling branches. Fyi my garden is quite bushy so a small child or dog could have been resting or playing under a bush and not in clear sight from across the fence.

I'm not an aggressive person myself (also the guy was about a foot and a half taller than me), plus after speaking to the neighbour he assured us he would sort it and a new fence put up the next day.

The next day it wasn't done. My partner and the next door neighbour went over to ask the offending neighbour what was going on, and he then assured us the fence would be fixed on Monday morning. Again, we were the ones who had to chase to get information.

Still not done.

What should our next steps be? It is a huge inconvenience to us at the moment as we have a dog that we have had to blockade away from the missing fences to avoid him going into next door's garden. I am starting to feel like the offending neighbour is taking is for a bit of a ride. I didn't manage to get the tree surgeon's company name but we did get the vehicle registration, turns out it is untaxed. The whole thing feels super dodgy.

Any advice?

OP posts:
GoodnightGrandma · 13/09/2021 13:13

I’d be very careful with the van not being taxed, and I’d be concerned that they were more ‘odd-job people’ than tree surgeons, so I’d probably make my dog’s safety my main priority and replace the panel ASAP.
It’s not up to you to do it, but you need to keep your dog safe, and you don’t want to clash with the wrong people.

watsitcheeto · 13/09/2021 13:23

I’m presuming the fence is yours and not your neighbours?

I’d get two new replacements, put them up and charge your neighbour for the damage. They can then chase these cowboys for them being out of pocket. They’re not the innocent party here as they’ve hired cowboys.

Original poster
Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 14:33

@watsitcheeto yeah, it's our fence. Me and the next door neighbour are affected, the guy behind us has his fences intact.

OP posts:
LemonSwan · 13/09/2021 14:38

I’d get two new replacements, put them up and charge your neighbour for the damage. They can then chase these cowboys for them being out of pocket. They’re not the innocent party here as they’ve hired cowboys.

Definately this. Say you didnt hire them and so want nothing to do with them. Your issue is with the neighbour. Its his property, his tree and he hired them.

JadeSeahorse · 13/09/2021 14:40

I doubt very much they are qualified tree surgeons.

We had some large bushes pruned by a highly qualified tree surgeon last year and he very politely spoke to all 3 neighbouring property owners before even commencing work. I understand this is pretty much the norm for professionals.

The untaxed van is very concerning. I would be asking your neighbours to contact their insurers.

simitra · 13/09/2021 14:46

If some arsy workman began to disrespect me I would immediately go nuclear regardless of how big they were and threaten them with the police. Been there, done it. In my experience the "cash in hand" type of work people wish to avoid the police at all costs and will quickly make themselves scarce. I would bill your NDN for the fence replacement and let them know next time their work people trespass there will be a bill to pay which you will persue in court if need be.

I have a gardner who trims my trees and is very safety conscious. He puts out warning signs on the pavement and anywhere the public are likely to pass by.

KonTikki · 13/09/2021 14:58

Let your dog roam, crap in their garden.
He'll quickly replace the fence panels !

Original poster
Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 15:27

@simitra trust me, I wanted to go nuclear! I think the biggest part of it which pisses me off is how nobody asked permission for any of these things!

@KonTikki sadly the fence that came down is bordering my nice neighbour, his is the house behind ours. Otherwise I would totally let my dog loose 😂😂

We are now contacting somebody to fix our fence, thanks for the advice all. Will definitely be hitting him with the bill. I think we may post a letter through his door and also share with the affected neighbour, with an itemized list of all the damage / illegality. Our mature shrubs alone would probably cost around 500 to replace (and they still wouldn't have the height we had before).

I forgot to say in the original post, but they left soooo much rubbish in our poor ndn's garden! Tree stumps, broken fence, branches everywhere. What horrible tradespeople.

OP posts:
fuckoffImcounting · 13/09/2021 15:45

Some years ago I mistakenly hired a cowboy 'tree surgeon' off the internet. The dodgy gang that turned up were people I would usually steer clear of.

DocAutumn · 13/09/2021 15:56

Just replace the fence panels and move on.

saraclara · 13/09/2021 16:16

The people who knock on doors to do tree work around here are from the travellers' sites.
If that's the case with these guys, and this guy's car is untaxed I'm afraid you don't stand a chance of getting your money.

In my naivety, I got stung by these guys twice. Second time I looked up the guy's card (I wasn't in for the knock, so thought it was just a tree surgeon's card through the door) and it seemed legit. But no, he was also traced back to the site.

Original poster
Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 16:38

@DocAutumn
I don't want to set a precedent for the neighbour to continue with this bad behaviour. Half of the issue is the tree felled but the other half is the complete lack of consideration for his surrounding neighbours. How hard is it to come over and knock on the door / put a note under the door?!

OP posts:
Original poster
Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 16:40

Plus it's a few hundred quid at least to replace not including damaged trees, I'm tempted to go down the legal route if he doesn't pay up.

OP posts:
saraclara · 13/09/2021 16:47

I wonder if the neighbours insurance would cover it?

GardenGloveless · 13/09/2021 17:01

@DocAutumn

Just replace the fence panels and move on.
What a pointless comment. Not helpful in the slightest.

If I lived next door to you, came to your property and smashed all your windows and kicked your fences in, would you pay for the damage and 'just move on'?

If the answer if YES to the above, then I'm sorry to say... you seem like a pushover and need to pull your big girl pants on.

Clearly the neighbour should reimburse the damage caused by the contractor. To suggest that OP suck it up and let is slide is silly and unhelpful.

respecttheforum · 13/09/2021 17:18

Do you have email addresses for the tree surgeon and neighbours?
If so, I would email both giving 24 hours for any damage to be made good and damaged items replaced. I would list what these are in some detail.
If they don't then state you will be arranging this yourself and will be billing them.

This gives them a final warning to sort it out and also states your intention to sort it yourself which will make it harder for them to argue this if needed.

I wouldn't go ahead and spend any money until you've done this.

TwooThirty · 13/09/2021 17:27

Work out the costs and send them in writing to your neighbour beforehand.

Do not spend any money before telling them what you’re doing. What if they claim to be out of pocket because their fence fixer was paid upfront or example?

TreeTed · 13/09/2021 17:30

@DocAutumn

Just replace the fence panels and move on.
Fuck no! Why should she be several thousand out of pocket? OP go and ask for their tree surgeons contact details. See if you can find a name or anything, report them to the police for the van and tell your neighbours to expect a bill and you’ll chase it up in small claims
CornishTiger · 13/09/2021 17:31

Have you been and spoken to the neighbour who had the work done?

CornishTiger · 13/09/2021 17:32

Apology I can see you have.

I’d go back. Tell him you are now getting quotes for the work. And the garden shrubs. And you’ll be in touch with the bill

Original poster
Stevie1983 · 13/09/2021 18:04

Thanks everybody, definitely a good idea for us to get a quote / costs to him beforehand. We are going to send a detailed letter with everything on it so it's in writing, and copies to our other neighbour who is involved. Will also ask for the details of the tree surgeons, although my partner already reported their van for being untaxed.

OP posts:
TwooThirty · 13/09/2021 18:13

Will also ask for the details of the tree surgeons
To what end? Chasing the money from them is something your neighbour needs to do. If they give you the details they may think that you’re doing it and not bother.

KloppsTeeth · 13/09/2021 19:23

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance? My neighbour had similar with another neighbour, but their contractor broke their fence by reversing into it. Insurance sorted it all out for her, claiming of neighbours insurance, without it being a “claim” for her.

LindaWilson · 13/09/2021 19:40

Same thing happened to me a few years ago, when i was living in Reading. My neighbour hired an 'official' tree cutting company too cut down an old Yew tree. Of course the timber crashed down onto my new fence!!! The 'official' tree company gave me the money in cash. I googleed the website advertised o the van and the company went under two years after, were bad reviews for the place.

IM0GEN · 13/09/2021 20:20

The neighbour might have assumed that the tree surgeons were legit AND that they had contacted you about the work. So I’d just concentrate on getting the fence panels replaced.

It’s not that I don’t think you are legally and morally in the right - I’m sure you are. And I can understand why you are furious. But you really REALLY don’t want a neighbour dispute if you can possibly help it. People can make your life hell if they want, even if they are doing nothing illegal. Also disputes have to be declared when you are selling.

So I’d make every effort to sort it out with the neighbour in a conciliatory way.

Get a couple of quotes for repairing the damage. Ask them if they will give your the money upfront to get it done or will they instruct one the the fence companies themselves.

If they want to try and recover their costs from the tree surgeons / their insurers , that’s up to them.

Don’t send a detailed letter with all your grievances. I know you want to - I would too. But it will just inflame things.

If you can ( and if you feel safe ) talk to them face to face. Take the tone of “ I’m sure we all want this sorted out as quickly as we can for everyone’s sake, none of us want to fall out over this “ .

Rather than “ I demand you give us details , our dog could have been killed by a branch “ etc.

Assume they are as upset as you - that they thought this company would do a safe job , not cause damage and then repair it if they did. They may be angry and embarrassed.

They probably said it would be fixed on Monday because that’s what they rogue contractors told them. You don’t know.

With regard to your nature shrubs, cut off any broken bits and they will come away again. It’s unlikely to have caused any long term damage.