Criminal damage to garden fence?

[leffeman101]

Hi,

Not sure if I have posted this in the correct area, but looking for a little bit of advice.

A few weeks ago, the neighbour and I had a disagreement which resulted in him making a hole in my wooden garden fence. Now I cannot say I witnessed him doing it, but I did hear a loud bang and went outside to see him walking back up the garden to his house. We have since tried to confront him to pay for the fence panel to be replaced, but he is having none of it and insisting that he didn't cause the damage on purpose and it must have been an accident when he was strimming the borders of the lawn.

Where do I stand, can I take it further and claim it was criminal damage? We didn't call the police at all, should I have?

Kind regards,

Leffeman101

[MissFM]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Hi Leffeman

So he admits to causing the damage but says it was accidental?

[leffeman101]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Pretty much yes, but I wonder if we pursued it whether he would just deny he did it?

[MissFM]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Pretty much yes, but I wonder if we pursued it whether he would just deny he did it?

Quite likely he would, if you were confrontational.

Is it at all possible for you to mend your disagreement with him?

Perhaps extend an olive branch and, if this works, say you know it was an accident but could he contribute towards the repairs?

Falling out with neighbors can make life a living hell and it doesn't sound as if you have enough evidence to even know for certain yourself that this wasn't an accident, let alone go to law.

These things can escalate really quickly into entrenched warfare; believe me, it's worth swallowing some pride at this early stage if at all possible.

:tinysmile_kiss_t4: x

[leffeman101]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Thanks for the replies MissFM, appreciate the advice. I'll explore those avenues and see what we can sort out.

Do you think it would be costly to pursue the issue via solicitor......I think I'll avoid going down that route anyway, I'm guessing it could cost a few £K if I even tried to?

[wales01man]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

How much is the fence panel?

[leffeman101]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Probably about £20, not much but more a point of principle.

[MissFM]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

You could get a free half hour with most solicitors to scout out the lie of the land. After that, most solicitors charge by the "unit" (6mins) so, if they charge, say (a very conservative) £100 per hour each six minutes would cost a tenner - it quite quickly mounts up!

It's my personal opinion that it would be more expensive in many ways, including money, than going down the route of attempting reconciliation - but others might think very differently, which is the big advantage of forums

[wales01man]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Point of Principle Must pay for a lot of Holidays for the Legal system.If the neighbour does not give a toss about the damage a letter is more likely to wind them up where do you go next?
While I too would at first be peeved at them when 20 quid looks a small price for peace I would sit and think.

[enquirer]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

Frankly, the solicitor route is not a viable option. Suing is little better - it's a small claim and will simply come down to your word against his - no better than the toss of a coin - unless you can secure some sort of admission from him that could be verified in court.

[des8]

Re: Criminal damage to garden fence?

An attempt to pursue a dispute of this size through the courts is most likely going to be struck out under rule 3.4 of the Civil Procedure Rules which recognizes a court's power to prevent misuse or abuse of its procedure in a way which would represent a disproportionate or unwarranted use of the court's resources and costs generally.
The action is not worth the candle!