More neighbour issues

[Bobblehead]

<begin rant>
I come home tonight, and see the neighbour has hired someone to pour a concrete front walk/steps. The steps are about 6' from the property line, but the neighbour has some "decorative" crap on his lawn, so the workers have apparently used my yard as a work area. The lawn is a muddy mess. On top of that, when I got home they had their extension cord plugged into my exterior outlet.

I've never gotten along well with these neighbours. It has been an uneasy relationship at best for the 8 years I've been here (my first encounter was them asking the home inspector to move his truck because it was parked in front of "their" spot on the road).

I've already made my displeasure known to the contractor, who denies he used my yard at all, even thought it is pretty obvious (he was standing there when I got home). </rant>

What do I? Is there anything I can do?

[Traditional_Ale]

^Break out the Elephant gun.

[jayswin]

when I got home they had their extension cord plugged into my exterior outlet.


Steal their extension cord?

[flip]

Call the city make sure they have a permit for the work they are doing. Maybe you can piss them off by having the city put a stop to the work if they are sans permit.

[Rathji]

1. Take Pictures
2. Go unplug the cord, wind it up and stick it in the garage.
3. Send PM to jolinar of malkshor asking if he is still looking for his
4. Profit!

Seriously though, when I ran my own business we walked on eggshells when we were forced to use someone elses property, and avoided it at all costs without explict permission. If I came home to find a contractor using my power, piling crap on my yard I would freak. I pin this totally on the contractor, and when you bring it up with your neighbour make sure you word it like it is not a problem with him personally, but the person he hired.

Take pictures first, that way if anything gets disputed or things escalate to the point where you need to seek compensation you have proof. A little mud isn't a big deal, but if some moron pours concrete on your lawn that is a totally different story.

If you feel like being a jerk, put the stuff that was left on your yard in the alley in your garbage. Tell him you had no idea whose it was and you assumed some random person had dumped it on your lawn in the middle of the day. You asked the contractor and they claimed they didn't do it, so who else could it have been?

[Dion]

Phone Jolinar and tell him that said contractor has his extension cord.

Seriously i like Flip's idea.

[Bobblehead]

I just had a chat with the contractor and the neighbour. She apologized, but the contractor said, "I wouldn't still be here, if I was you"

So while I am satisfied with the neighbour's response, I am more than a little PO'ed at the contractor.

[Dion]

I'd be happy with the nieghbours apology.

You could phone the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint against the contractor. If people use the BBB to check businesses this could hurt his business as well as his reputation.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I just had a chat with the contractor and the neighbour. She apologized, but the contractor said, "I wouldn't still be here, if I was you"

So while I am satisfied with the neighbour's response, I am more than a little PO'ed at the contractor.

Wow, that's pretty arrogant. With luck this guy will fall on hard times an adopt a more "I don't own the planet attitude".

I used to have neighbors that were a problem, their teenage daughters would have their dates park in my drive way to drop them off.
I never could understand how someone would think that there is no issue in using someone else's property.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

"I wouldn't still be here, if I was you"

What is that supposed to mean?

If they aren't finished their work, flip the switch in your electrical box that shuts off power to that outlet.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

What is that supposed to mean?

If they aren't finished their work, flip the switch in your electrical box that shuts off power to that outlet.

A threat.

I flipped that switch right away. It isn't like I'll do any more whipper snipping this year, anyways.

[Rathji]

BBB is a good bet. I would be involving every possible rule of law against the contractor though.

Does he has a trailer parked on the street that is not connected to a truck? Instant ticket right there.

Is there a trailer that is connected imporperly? Need 2 safety chains and a emergency brake cable all fastened to the truck seperately.

Does he have any materials in the street? Gravel etc are not allowed to be on the street without a street use permit from the city. Almost no one gets them due to hassle and cost especially for a short job.

Are his trucks commerically licenced? He have his Tare, GVW and company name on his doors? Does his truck look overloaded according to that weight?

Is there a road ban access to your house that he almost certianly had to cross to get to your house. a 50% road ban prevents alot of vehicles from travelling under any real load.

Are the loads on his trucks secure and no longer than the end of his box/deck? Are they flagged if not?

Do his tires look under inflated or thin on tread?

His headlights broken?

Is his deck/box wider than standard width? If so does it have clearance lights on both sides?

If you could somehow convince DOT, City Bylaw or a cop to come pay him a visit, he could face large fines.

I know this stuff seems petty, but I move wide/long loads for a living now and we need to be 100% on all this stuff all the time or we get nailed. I am sure with some complaints DOT will gladly come and issue some tickets. Especially since most of the stuff I listed are safety violations, which are very important when dealing with comercial vehicles.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Get the name of the contractor and call in a "tip" to Revenue Canada. That's the drive by that'll cause years of pain...

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

A threat.

I flipped that switch right away. It isn't like I'll do any more whipper snipping this year, anyways.

I'd get a couple of friend to call him for estimates. I'd make sure they give an address that doesn't really exist (i.e. the street goes up to 200 Some St tell him 204 Some St) and those addresses would be in the SE and NW. Hopefully they could book with him for the same night so he'd have to rush from one end of the city to the other on a wild goose chase.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Get the name of the contractor and call in a "tip" to Revenue Canada. That's the drive by that'll cause years of pain...

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

A threat.

What is this guy, 12 years old?

I'd definitely phone the BBB and anyone else you can think of. Is there some sort of contractor licensing body? Threats of violence might be in the rulebook somewhere.

[peter12]

Phoning the BBB is a good idea. Otherwise just move on and don't be a baby. Not saying that you are being one, just that any overreaction is a bit silly.

[Dartem]

Snip the extension cord exactly at the property line.

[normtwofinger]

Talk to you neighbours and individually call up the city to complain about the contractor using the street and other lawns as workspace.

Park your vehicles in a way so that the contractor has to park farther away from the site.

Tell him that if he ever enters your property again, the police will be immediately called and will be informed of the threat expressed towards you in front of your neighbour.

As a construction worker, disturbing a neighbouring property and using it's power is very unprofessional and really unnecessary.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Get the name of the contractor and call in a "tip" to Revenue Canada. That's the drive by that'll cause years of pain...

Best idea so far!