I live on a private lane (ie, potholed muddy mess) along with several other homeowners.

I recently decided that it needed repairing so I went round all the neighbours, told them of my plans and asked if they would be happy contributing towards the cost of materials (which I estimated to cost around £50 per resident)

Everyone said they were happy to pay and thanked me for doing it. So I sent a flyer around everyone outlining what I would be doing and asking them to pay promptly as I had paid for the materials/equipment hire etc.

Everyone paid within a couple of days/popped round to personally say thank you/ply me with wine etc.

Apart from one resident – so I popped around to her house at the weekend and she said she hadn’t seen the leaflet but said she would write me a cheque out that evening. Which I still haven’t received.

Now I am really pissed off – I did this as a huge favour to everyone as no-one has done a thing about it in the 8 years I have been there, I took three days off work that I could have spent with my family, instead getting cold and wet and knackered and this woman hasn’t had the common decency to stump up the £27 it eventually cost her – so that means the repairs have cost me £54 + all the effort of planning and doing the work.

So – do I put this down to experience and wait for Karma to catch up with her or do I go back round a second time and ask again for the money – it isn’t as if I *need* the money but right now it is the principle of the fact she seems to be thinking she can get away with bullshitting me.

you’ve already won. Why make yourself grumpy griping about someone elses lack of thought?

Chill, it’s £27. You spend more than that on brake pads 😉 Life’s too short to spend it with high-blood pressure.

+1. Then let Christmas / New Year happen without you giving it a second thought.

Then, if you bump into her in the new year, mention it again and see where that gets you.

Also (less sure this wise, TBH), if anyone else from the group who have paid tells you how great the road is, perhaps try to slip into the conversation that you’re still waiting on some money?

set fire to her hair.

Chill out, enjoy Christmas and your newly surfaced road.

If you ever get the chance, make sure you let everyone else on the road know she didn’t bother paying.

Although she might just be busy, it is Christmas and all..

Chill, it’s £27.

Yeah but it isn’t the £27 as much as the 3 days hard graft shifting 3 tons of type 1, whackering down, cutting other high spots off etc.

Even if she had come round and apologised, saying she really couldn’t afford it because it was Christmas and given me something of no monetary value (a homemade Christmas card for example) I would have been happy.

I would look at it as a major result that all but one person paid up – I would have expected a few more non-payers!

you’re determined to be upset arent you? 😉

Tell all the neighbours about the one that hasn’t paid and start a hate campaign to hound them out your estate 😉

If you ever get the chance, make sure you let everyone else on the road know she didn’t bother paying.

I was talking to her immediate neighbour last week and it turns out she also owes her money for some turf they had put down on their shared lawn too…

👿

you’re determined to be upset arent you?

Sort of – at the moment it IS eating at me and I feel like she has shafted me. I posted here to get some reasoned arguments as to why I SHOULDN’T set fire to her hair….

Well, there you go, you can light a brazier outside her house and be grumpy together. 🙂

Maybe she can’t spare it at the moment, but was too embarrassed/doesn’t know you enough to say anything.

set fire to her hair, pubic of course.

You could ask for payment in kind.

Make a pubic disgrace of her.

Stick afew pot holes outside her house 🙂

Does she keep her shoes in her porch?

set fire to her hair.

Nice. And cause her severe injury not to mention untold mental trauma, over twenty seven pounds?

This happened to a good friend. Private lane, needed repairs, everyone paid up except one woman.

There is still time for your neighbour to appear with the money.

I would pop round after Christmas and just politely ask again.

agreed – she may well not be able to spare the cash but didn’t want to say so as suggested above. leave it til into Jan and then make a note to go and ask again. in the meantime, forget about it.

Bury her!

maybe she doesnt like the quality of the work so far and is waiting for you to finish? 😉

agreed – she may well not be able to spare the cash but didn’t want to say so as suggested above. leave it til into Jan and then make a note to go and ask again. in the meantime, forget about it.

When I first asked she jumped on it saying she was more than happy to pay. When I said it was only going to be £50-ish she was even more up for it saying that she thought it would be hundreds. She did have ample opportunity to tell me she couldn’t afford it when I first asked and before I had confirmed costs to everyone – at least that way I could have simply asked for a little bit more from everyone else – this way it is just me that loses out.

Write her a letter threatening small claims court, stick it in an xmas card and drop it through early Sunday morning.

(to MF’s post two above this)

understood, but it’s almost xmas so try to put it out of your mind or you’ll work yourself up into a right old tizzypop.

as also pointed out above, you took a risk by not taking the money up front so i’m actually amazed you’ve managed to get all but one contributions back!

as also pointed out above, you took a risk by not taking the money up front so i’m actually amazed you’ve managed to get all but one contributions back!

Perhaps I gave my neighbours more credit than deserving or perhaps I am simply naive. 😕

i’m available for lolcatting her house?

go round and ask her again but film the conversation and upload it to you tube if you dont get any cash, let the whole world know how tight she is

Wee in her wellies . Simples

I wouldn’t worry about the money, it’s Christmas and you’ve received enough gratitude from everyone. I would, however, give her the look everytime I saw her.

Does “more than happy” mean orgasmic?

You have twins, right? Wait until they’re old enough to conspire with you then use their identical appearance superpowers to start sneaking small doses of arsenic into the old ladys tea. As the dementia starts to set in, gradually persuade her to start signing her entire estate over to your daughters. It might take a while, but you will have your revenge 😈

If asked a month ago, would you have been happy for the end result of no potholes to have cost you only £54?

I suspect so, and I suspect you enjoyed doing the work. On that basis have a happy Christmas.

MTFU imo

Dig a hole in the drive and bury her in it

It’s all right saying ‘forget it, it’s Xmas’ etc, but if she’s done it before (the turf episode) she’ll do it again.
Saying that I probly wouldn’t pursue it for £27 but I’d make a point of mentioning ‘how nice the road is since EVERYONE ELSE chipped in to have it done’
I hate being ripped off myself.

i would hound her mercilessly for the money and never miss an opportunity to publicly shame her /abuse her

**** like this deserve the contempt of their peers – what a tight arse and that is not at all publicly spirited and at christmas

I would not get angry about this but I would never ever let it go and then puncture her tyres once a year to teach her about good turns and karma.

OK some of this may be internet hardman but I would be very very unhappy and make sure she knew this and after giving her ample time to pay and making sure she could afford it etc I would be unkind at every opportunity…you reap what you show and she has shat on her own doorstep.

GRRRRR

idave e-mail in profile for £27 ta you generous so and so. First you make us less flabby now you gift us all £27 is there no end to your kindness?

Wish her a merry christmas. Then “first foot” her on newyears and drink £40 of her booze bringing noting but a can of diet lidl own brand cola.

Chill and put it down to experience, at least you have gained a lot of kudos with the rest of your neighbors so don’t let the actions of one spoil it, she may be very embarrassed about in anyway.