Caught on camera - neighbour filling up my skip

[cannehelpit]

I need some guidance here please!

I have a skip outside my house. Several times a week, whether there is someone in the house or not, my neighbour comes and deposits something there. Bulky items, not small tiny things. I'd say about a quarter of the skip's contents is now my neighbours. I can see him on the camera crossing over the road, walking about 6 doors up and going back into his house. I don't know him personally, though I've lived on the street about 3 years.

What should I do about this. I do need that space for myself. I have also learned that I am responsible for the contents, so if it is rejected by teh skip company when they come to return, or god forbid there is anything illegal etc in there, I am liable. Also, it's just my skip!

What should I do? My parents say I should report it to the police. My uncle says he'll come and put the stuff back in my neighbours front yard!

So if you have a skip for weeks get it with a lockable cover,prevent opportunistic chancers filling it

𝕋𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕚𝕞...𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟...𝕚𝕗 𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕕...𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕖....𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕪𝕒𝕣𝕕...

What CF does this! Get one of your own or take it the tip. Somehow you've got to tell him it's not acceptable.

Thank you.

I will now put a letter through his door instructing him to collect it. I will tell him that if I have to pay to dispose of his stuff, I will recover it in court. If he still does nothing, I will report it. If that comes to nothing I will be very sure I am not vulnerable to a charge myself if I do put it back on his property, so I will!

I wouldn't mention court, it's an empty threat. You aren't going to expense if court re his property. Just say to him come get it or you'll put it back on his property where it came from.

I think it would go through a smalls claims court

It would cost a fortune to do it. Unrealistic and a complete hassle..just take the stuff to his house and knock on the door

A short to the point letter will suffice
Remove your rubbish from my skip, Give a timeframe
No empty threats about court, it’s costly. It’s disproportionate

Probably about £35 to go through small claims court (assuming that a quarter of the skip space is worth £300 or less). If OP has to get a whole skip extra to be able to dispose of everything that would have gone in the initial skip, then it is possible that would go into slightly more expensive court fees, but I doubt more than £100. For me the bigger cost is using a day of annual leave to appear. You don't need legal representation for a small claims court case so it's pretty affordable depending on the size of claim you're looking to make. Where evidence on one side is indisputable (possibly the video footage would count, they might even make a judgement in OPs favour before the case and then the claim is settled before it gets to court)..
www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

It costs £35 to bring a claim of less than £300...

No, it isn’t. It’s a very unneighbourly thing to do. Ask permission first.

I feel for you I had to put a tarp over mine to stop people putting their crap in mine

i wouldn’t say “if I have to pay”, they tells me there is an option for him not collecting it.
Your wording needs to be stronger. If he doesn’t collect it - “it will be returned to your door, and we will share the cctv on local SM groups”.
Not dancing around, just getting on with it.

Keep us updated OP

Knock on their door and tell them to take it back out, simple.

Report to police 👮

I agree that, sadly, this is likely to happen with a skip, because there are a lot of CFs around.

However, it's disgraceful to blame the victim by saying that you 'invite' it.

Do you also believe that, just by having a nice car on your drive, you are inviting/tempting thieves to steal it? Is a woman who goes out alone at night 'inviting' a 'poor defenceless' attacker or rapist who has no agency in the matter but to take her up on her 'offer'?

This is a horrific mindset that goes far beyond 'just' a skip.

Wow, imagine how the Platty Jubes could have been even more exciting if they'd brought along a dozen skips and bin lorries to the celebrations!

Do you put up bunting made from old roof tiles and plasterboard?!

Seriously, though, your street sounds lovely. There's a world of difference between using up somebody's spare skip capacity at their invitation and just presumptuously helping yourself to half of it.

It's sad when neighbours don't show any interest in you as a person - not even a friendly Hello when they see you in the street - and yet, when you pay for a skip, they're suddenly your best friend ever.

Totally agree with your uncle. Take it all out and dump it on his doorstep. It's the only way he'll get the message. Our neighbour once asked if he could put something in our skip. We said ok as long as it's only rubble or soil ( that was the agreement with the skip company as we got it at a special rate) . We came home to sheets of glass, old paint tins, and a great big carpet thrown over the top. Then the cheeky sod made out he was doing us a favour with the carpet as the garden waste wouldn't blow allover !!. We made him take it all back.

'Totally agree with your uncle. Take it all out and dump it on his doorstep'

If the op couldn't bring herself to do the very obvious, go and knock on his door have a conversation explaining that it is a private skip and to remove his tat then I hardly think she's the sort to get involved in dumping stuff on doorsteps.

I'm amazed at the number of people on here berating OP for not 'just' going to speak to him about it.

How would we know what kind of man he is? I'm guessing that a decent, respectful person wouldn't have presumptuously stolen a large amount of her paid-for skip capacity in the first place - plus it's hardly going to make him happy and friendly when he's challenged about it; so why the assumption that he won't kick off unpleasantly or become threatening in response?

I'm more amazed at the amount of people advocating dumping his tat on his doorstep. If he is unhinged I would imagine that would make him kick off more than a polite chat would.

Always try a conversation first before pitchforks and fury.

Take it all out and dump it on his doorstep
Reframe it instead of thinking about dumping his stuff on his doorstep think that you are returning his belongings that he left at yours!

Don't go to his door alone. You don't know how he'll react.

Dumping it back in his garden might be entertaining - but it could be a problem.

Write him a very clear assertive letter informing him he has been recorded on camera fly tipping his rubbish in your skip (in your garden?) without your permission.

Tell him he will remove his rubbish from the skip by a specified date, or you will take him to the small claims court with your video evidence of him fly tipping and he will be liable for the cost of the hire and removal.

Maybe worth paying a solicitor to advise you and write it?

A different approach would be to ask him to pay for the space he has taken up with his rubbish in your skip?