Neighbour burnt my Hedges with BBQ

Complaints Corner
41

WHAT makes you think I have not done this?

In fact, someone even told me, that I did TOO MUCH.

Free ice-cream for them and their son, free BBQ chicken, etc etc.

All goes in, but nothing comes back.

It may have sounded longwinded, but honest to God, I think I have done a lot, while the other party, just did nothing.

And to top it off, they burnt the hedges.

Yes, I agree I do have an idea about SOME swiss people, but I will say this, other swiss neighbours here, did us no wrong, and they are polite to us.

Only this one.

HAT

42
Is there another house on the other side of your neighbour's house? Do they have the same relationship that you do or do they get on?

Once you get into a battle you cannot win.

I once lived in a beautiful cottage that was in a dip. We had a 3m wall on one side but because we were on lower ground it was only 1m on my neighbours side. He started to park a HUGE juggernaut HGV so it was literally towering over us. The wall was supporting and we could not go out in the garden for fear of being crushed to death if it fell over or the ground gave way. We asked but to no avail. I discovered that you are not allowed to keep such a large lorry as it has to be kept where your registered business is. He got away with it as he registered it in Belgium.

To cut a long story short, life was hell and we had to move . The whole village supported us but in the end we had to move...

As I say you must nip this in the bud before things escalate into an impossible situation.

Incidentally, 3 months after we were forced to move my lovely neighbour got himself in big trouble with the law and ended up "inside" - No more truck driving for him

43
If i did not make myself clear, I will do this again.

Speaking to them about the Thujas, 1 year back, they only denied every single thing, and instead they accuse my son of throwing stones into their garden.

This is called "changing the topic".

A second wrong does not equate the first wrong.

Let me share another "story". My son goes to playgroup now. There is a KNOWN boy who bullies and hits other children. The teacher is aware of this boy. Other parents have complained to her too.

My boy, he is a talker, and he is taught NOT TO HIT BACK. He reasoned with his teacher, complains to her. Last week, he complained to the MOTHER. Guess what she said? "You also hit him"....came her reply. She did not even "admit" or say sorry to a 4-yr old child. Sigh.

Hahahahah.....shall I continue with other "swiss" stories?

Anyway, I do know I sound prejudiced against some swiss practices. I take it as cultural differences. But to be on the receiving end, most of time, ALLOW ME the privilege to complain here, instead of setting their garden on fire.

I understand I am minority and I respect the majority. But there is a limit too.

To others who see beyond my complaint and try to attack my "persona", please....allow me to rant without judging things which you can only read about. There are more to it than meets the eye.

I will wait. No point talking to them, I only expect denial.

If they BBQ again, on the granite ledge, then it is confirmed. Stupidity has no cure.

HAT

PS: My sane side will prevail (for now)....I will not burn their plants or anything like that....glad to think so many people actually think I will.

44

CORRECTION:

In order not to be branded as a stupid selfish idiot, I actually spoke SOFTLY to the parents, albeit privately.

It was THEM who spoke loudly about their rights.

In case others misunderstand me, I was really doing my best to "intergrate" into the new neighbourhood.

However I strongly believe, this type of people prefers falsehood, even though they may call you by your firstname.

Hell, I even wanted to hold a BIG BBQ, for all 14 houses, but my wife forbid me and veto'd the idea.

So, get this right please, I am no ******* and do not intend to be.

45
next time they start to BBW throwh a bucket of water over the plants (into the BBQ). If they complain (which they will ) just tell them in your most innocent voice that you thought hedge was on fire again...

Have you thought of placing a solid wooden fence on the outside (seen from your property) of the hedge ?

46
THANKS.

They are in double-family house. The other side, has a daughter, in same playgroup as our son. We say hello but nothing beyond that, they speak no English and I only speak hi-german, like "hoi"...

They do talk, but since we moved in, we saw something funny.

They also built a hedge around their garden, shielding theirs from this XXX neighbour.

And to top it off, they also built a metal fence around their hedges. They have a dog.

To be fair, they are on better terms with XXX, then we with XXX.

But why did they also build a fence and hedge? Privacy? Maybe.

To be clear to all, I live in a garden unit in a 6-family house.

I am the second occupier.

The first one (Swiss teacher), when told about this problem, she asked me to fence up our garden.

She stopped short of explaining why she kept all her windows, facing XXX, shut all day long.

Does this help?

47
I did.

1. It will look bad (all covered up)

2. It will isolate us even more, making us look like stupid selfish idiots

3. It means uprooting my thujas to make room

4. It will cost money

5. It will cause this neighbour to hate us even more (they are lower in ground level and will be covered up)

Yes, I am not stupid, I thought of all possibilities.

Only solution is: these people suddenly have a change of heart, and they try to accept us. And we accept them.

HAT

48
on a more serious note, why not respond like a swiss person would: call the police to complain ! As far as I know for small things like this (noisy neighbours, wrongly parked cars etc etc) the local swiss people call the police who then visits the offending party. Me (being Dutch) I find calling the police childish but it is the way things are done here so why not do the same ?

49
HAT, you like my stupid selfish idiots , he?

50
As summer goes on, Coop garden center will put thujas on sale for better than half price. IIRC, 80 cm thujas were going for a whopping CHF 9.99 last summer.

Buy a few, replace the burned ones. It's simply not worth starting a neighborhood feud.

Thuja are delicate - you'll likely have to replace several more in the next few years before they get fully established.

And, as others have suggested, consider building a privacy fence along that area. Maybe do something in granite to match the area where he grills. Then plant your hedges along your fence.

In the words of the very wise Mr Frost:

"Good fences* make good neighbors."

* Being careful, of course, to adhere to any local height restrictions re: fencing...

51
This sounds like negligence on their part. Get a quote for the replacement of the damaged plants from a reputable garden centre and present it to them. Don't forget labour costs

Do it properly, no cussing and swearing involved, and they shouldn't have a leg to stand on.

52
ARGH!!!@#!!@#!@

Sorry, this is even worse than burning their plants secretly.

They will accuse me of being bureacratic and unfriendly.

Involving the police, means no going back.

Thing is this: these people will say "come talk to me".

And when I do/did, they simply change the topic or fend off any FACTs or comments.

Sorry, I have experienced many such instances here.

It only works, if a SWISS person (maybe a friend) can talk to them via swiss-german.

I may do just that.

Now to find a swiss friend who is willing to be the spokesman.

HAT

53

Yes, I am ethically, professionally and personnally very aware of this trap.

Therefore I am careful.

Thanks.

HAT

54

THANKS.

My Thujas....is 42chf per stuck. Gardener price.

He will come around later in summer to trim them.

They are under "warranty".

As a more than honest honest person, I prefer not to lie and let him replace the "dying" Thujas.

Anyway it is easy to see the Thujas were burnt by fire and not dried up.

Cheapest price for 80-100cm is about 14,95chf last fall.

I know it is totally our disadvantage to "start a war"...

I jsut watched BBC Crimewatch last night.

A 25-year old mother (3 children) was shot pointblank in her living room, and her house doused with kerosene and set on fire. Husband was upstairs.

The 4 murderers drove away in a SUV and then got out and burnt the car too.

I said to wife, see what people do, when they are really angry?

There is a crime, but something this woman must have done to get this "punishment".

To be clear: I don't know these 4 thugs..wish I did though.

55
Don't we have a split personality thread?

I hear there's Free Beer over there

56
A BIG THANKS to all.

I feel better now.

I feel rejuvenated to "go on the long march" with this neighbour now.

Please do not criticise me too much.

I really think I did not do wrong, except to think bad thoughts for a while.

I really pray the neighbour saw my "hint" when I watered the Thujas.

Unless they are blind...

57
Not always .

58
Didn't HAT already do it in a way:

"I met the man in the garage one day, and I went over and apologised (although I dunno what I did wrong) and suggested that we try again to be good "friends". I also asked him why his wife seemed to dislike our son."

So he didn't offer a free beer, but would that make a difference? Maybe(?)

But as far as my experience goes being friendly helpful and diplomatic

doesn't have the same deescalating effect here as I was used to back

"home". But maybe I just have had bad luck and should gather some more

experience before judging.

59
Hmmm...tricky.

Perhaps one solution would be to sneak over to his garden one night and plant a few dummy anti-personnel mines (but make one or two shallow enough to be seen). Your troublesome neighbours will be so paranoid that they won`t be able to venture into their garden without mine-detecting equipment. (Princess Diana will be spinning in her grave )

Why not drop some marijuana seeds in their garden and then call 5-0 (how illegal is it to grow dope in Switzerland?).

If all else fails chuck a load of giant hogweed or Japanese knotweed seeds in their garden? These babies are notoriously difficult to control and are favoured for their `concrete-busting` capabilities by direct action envrionmentalists!

Whatever you do, don`t confront - be friendly and approachable, but use sneaky underhand tactics to mash them up! Remember: revenge is a dish best served ice ice cold!

Love n hugs

Southsea13

60
I think you should contact Canadian Dude for some sane advice.