Nightmare Neighbour From Hell!

The story:

Hi all I have not posted here for a while maybe it is a good thing I don’t know? But anyway from September 2015-2017 my neighbour called Mary who is 55 years old (who acts like a 5 year old child), who lives just below me in a purposely built concreate flat to limit any kind of noise. Has been harassing me every second, minute, hour, day, week, month and of course years, by slamming her doors (every hour) as if a bomb has exploded next to me or outside, kitchen cupboard doors (breakfast, lunch and dinner time) and breakfast bar doors (every 5-10 minutes!) as if fireworks were being placed, lit and exploding very loudly).

Every breakfast, lunch and dinner time she crashes and bangs her cutlery, crockery and pans in her washing up bowl tremendously loudly for 50 minutes maximum. Mary even knocks tremendously loudly on her windowsill and even on the hollow wall (every 10 minutes), as both flats still have a purposely built chimney which has been boarded over. Every chance she can get she shouts tremendously loudly for example “Oli is silly, Oli is evil, he is evil, I would love to kill him!” twice in two years in a school child like voice, then makes strange tremendously loud noises for example purring.

Squeaking like a mouse and once she barked like a dog just because a dog barked outside our flats! It has even gotten to the stage where I know when she goes to the toilet, as she slams her toilet seat down and back up again. As if a bomb had dropped either next to me or outside! on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night from: 10:30pm-3:30am she believes that she is singing but really she is caterwauling like a banshee! Tremendously loudly keeping me awake.

As you can hear her throughout my flat in any room even when the doors are closed! and you can probably hear her outside too! During the night to the early hours of the morning she slams her headboard against the wall 5-10 times every hour. When she does not do that she slams her tea cup on her bedside table 2-4 times every hour so she must have some kind of insomnia. Sometimes I can hear Mary and her partner what I class as ‘shout talking’ as this is when I can hear them talk in general and hear what they are saying word for word!

When it comes to mentioning what both Mary and her partner have been doing above I can hear them in any room of my flat with the doors either closed or open!! All of this was not an issue from the time I moved into my new flat from September 2014-Sept 2015, as both of them accepted my normal everyday acceptable noise, as I did with them. As I could not hear them at all and if a neighbour was going to try to slander them then I would have torn them to shreds as Mary and her partner were very quiet!

Mentioning that made me remember that on the third day I had moved into my flat there was a couple who lived in the flat opposite to them and they asked me how I was getting on with Mary and her partner? Because before I moved in both of them were slamming doors tremendously loudly, talking tremendously loudly and Mary singing tremendously loudly from: 10:30pm to sometimes: 2:30am in the early hours of the morning! As they could hear them both in there flat. I just said to the couple that “I could not hear any of that at all as they are both being very respectful”.

The couple went as far as to say to me that “when we saw you viewing your flat that you live in now, we wanted to warn you what your potential neighbours were like when it comes to their noise. But we did not in the end and we cannot remember why we did not? but we will warn you now.” At that time I thought okay? just do not judge a book by its cover and let nature take its course, as you will soon find out either way! And boy didn’t I just! because of mentioning about what has been happening above.

It was quite funny really as in March 2016, 6 months into Mary and her partner’s harassment towards me they had the nerve to accuse me of slamming my doors during the night time! When really Mary had been and still does slam her doors every hour throughout the day, to the Council. As they visited me even with two Police Officers, we all had an adult discussion about what was really going on and neither the Council person or the Police seemed very surprised so what had been going on with the previous residents?

I mentioned to them that I still receive post from two couples who lived in my flat before me and just last week (12/12/2017) I received a Christmas card addressed to another surname! so it looks like I am Mary’s and her partners 4th resident victim! Especially as both British Gas and South West Water were not expecting me to newly register with them as the previous residents had not transferred their accounts to their current address. Both Companies even said “by the looks of things the previous residents were in a hurry to leave!”

Since November 2016 the Council have placed me back onto Devon Home Choice because of the harassment and know I suffer from Anxiety and Depression, even the Council could not understand why Mary was harassing me, but mentioned “maybe she just does not like your acceptable noises and it took her 1 year to dislike them”. I just hope they have realized now that if they want my flat occupied when I leave, they will put someone above her who has very strong Aspergers and some kind of schizophrenia which she has got.

I can just imagine what that type of person or people who move into my flat would do, as no doubt Mary and her new neighbours will have some kind of war with each other until one of them is kicked out by the Council! As I cannot see them just sitting down and taking it, like I am having to do to remain in the Councils good books! The Council did a review with me on Friday (15th December) as they came to my flat and after nearly 1 year they said once again Mary has reported you again for slamming your doors have you been?

Of course I said “no I have not” firmly but respectively and then they both said “we do not believe you had been, as it has been almost a year since she last reported you and we know you are not that kind of person to do that anyway!”, I just said to them “thank you for entrusting me especially as you know I am looking for another Council property”. You could tell that they were a bit on edge whether they were being pushed or not by their bosses or having a bad day I do not know, but one of them grumbled and said to me “you do not like normal ordinary everyday noises do you?”

At that point I got defensive and said “excuse me? that is not true as I do not mind normal ordinary everyday noises at all and I have at least three Character witnesses to prove it!”. Then they just said “there is nothing to get defensive about, it was just an observation that is all”, I was going to ask them what do you base that observation on? But they just changed the conversation, were they trying to see if I was genuine at all, I do not know? At the end of the review they offered to go and see Mary again as I reported her after she had first falsely reported me in March 2016.

Then I just said to them “well to be honest with you, Mary still continues to do the same things as I mentioned to you and as you know I am still searching for a Council property on Devon Home Choice, so there is no point really is there? They just said “well we will keep this offer open to you, but yeah it could make things worse. Especially as they sent you a Christmas card saying have a barking Christmas, with a picture of a dog barking on the front of the card. As if to say we know that you have been reporting us to the Council as that is how childish they both are”.

The question:

To be honest with you I do feel like Mary’s prisoner in the Council flat I am in, as I am trying to limit my acceptable noises, which is almost impossible to do! Both mum and I have bent over backwards for Mary even to limit my everyday acceptable door closures as the acceptable noise affects her strong Aspergers. I can see why the three lots of resident’s left in a hurry!

I am trying my best to ignore her but her harassment does make me feel very depressed and anxious, even to the extent of avoiding her, her partner and my other neighbours e.g. waiting until they have gone out so I can go out and not picking up my parcels from them. But luckily they do eventually just leave them on my door step, they must know what is going on? My mum wants me to just ignore Mary’s harassment towards me, but she does not have to live above her! Do you have any suggestions on how I can just ignore her practically to the point of trying to live an ordinary everyday life?

I look forward to your replies.

All the very best,

Oliver

P.S Merry Christmas…..