Noisy neighbours
I'm sorry that this will not be anyway amusing but I'm sure others have experienced this.

I live in a mid terrace house - I won't go into too much detail as to the noise; except to say that one neighbour has a giant home cinema system that makes our lounge shake, it's that loud. Often they return drunk and have kareoke parties that start at 1am and go on till about 4am. The other side the girl who bought the house pre resession has started renting it out to her mates to pay the mortgage. Currently the chav couple who live there love their dubstep music as it drowns out her crying baby. Her 21st birthday party raged from 2pm until 6 in the morning. We can her her shrieking down the phone every night.

We've tried everything from moving our bed to a different room in the house, going to bed wearing mp3 players in bed. When either side are drilling our heads with their music it's bad, but it's the silence that worse - silence that provides a glimmer of hope, and lets our heart rate lower when we think that they've finally stopped, but suddenly it starts again; the whoops and cheers from the partygoers drowning out any attempt at knocking on the wall.

It's the effects that it has had on my wife and I that is the most unsettling. My chest constantly hurts, my wife cries, we argue. I bought headphones, I've looked into having the walls soundproofed (far too expensive). I spent a fortune on Lottery scratchcards in the vein hope of winning enough to have the house soundproofed or for a deposit on a detatched house (yeah yeah - I'm am idiot - but a desperate person will do desperate things) Nothing helps. It's a nightmare.

I bet you're wondering "why don't you go round and complain?" - we tried that at start. When they answer the door, beer can in hand, you know that you're not going to get a polite response. I've given up complaining as they don't care. I'm afraid that making it official will cause them to be worse.

The police? Forget it - "it's not a police issue anymore as it's within their property" the helpful woman on the police switchboard informed me back in may at 4.45am when the music blasted through my walls. My wife crying upstairs, my hands shaking so hard I could hardly dial the number. "You need to phone the council" - fine, but they aren't in the office until 9am on Monday. They didn't want to know either. I have to talk to them but I am too scared confront 30 pissed up kids (I've had a brain haemorrage - a blow to my head could kill me)

I realise that noise is the thin end of the wedge; I've not experienced physical abuse or had my windows broken like some of the stories on here. But unwanted noise is awful. It infests your life, it burrows into your brain, making you lose sleep, fall ill, argue with loved ones. With the Police refusing to help and the council unwilling to help without me possibly making the problem worse I don't know what the best thing to do is :o/

Sorry again for lack of funny :(
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:02, 15 replies)

i was initially going to make some shit comment about how to spell karaoke properly
but having read your tale i have to say i really feel for you.

i know what it feels like to have the heart ripped put of your family and your privacy destroyed.

surely you can go through some noise abatement or antisocial behavior process.

have you tried talking to them in the daytime when they are sober

do you not have some HUGE mates that could go round and threaten them.

why not tell the plods they're dealing and the gear is hidden in the hifi - anonymous call would do
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:07, closed)

i would deffo
go with the plod thing....anonymous and they probably will have a load of puff or something even stronger kicking about.

Either that or buy a meaty hifi of your own and as soon as theirs goes off, eg, they are away to bed, get the fucking tunes on!! Fight fire with fire...or just light a fire, in their letterbox.
(Cancer Joy was short lived, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:23, closed)

I had similar problems
but not on this scale.

It is definitely anti social behaviour. Speak to your environmental health officer at your local council. They are likely to give you diary sheets to fill in times and dates. Do this and return them, it's the only way to get to the next stages which are either sound recording equipment or out of hours attendance to witness the noise.

You can take out a private prosecution/injunction but it is risky.

I had trouble getting them to take me seriously at first. I saw my local councillor and he helped but the help died off quite quickly. I then went to see my MP who at the time was a Cabinet Minister. One letter later we had noise engineers in both homes testing for leakage, sound insulation and all sorts. The tenant was given a severe rousting about breaking his agreement and told he was in last chance saloon- one more breach and sound equipment confiscated and out on his arse.

So far, 14 months on, he's behaved.

Please try these methods. I know they seem pointless but please trust me, I have been through it and you have to toe the line- no environmental officer will stand in front of a magistrate to ask for a possession order without this being carried out to the letter.

Tip 1: If you are given diary sheets, add loads ( and I mean loads) of detail. Not only does it give them more evidence, such as times, dates, how long it went on for, even what song it was- it also quickly fills a file. A thick file looks bad.
Tip 2: Councillors are always up for re-election, usually every year or 2, there is almost certainly a local election coming up and they want your vote. Of course, you always vote for this councillor and his party if you catch my drift....
Tip 3: Don't give up, it will get better, have faith in the stupid long winded system and you will win. It will take time but stick at it. Make a nuisance of yourself. Find the out of hours council number and complain, complain, complain more.

Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you need any advice.

Edit: it definitely isn't a police matter, it's environmental health. The responsibility for this was handed to councils many years ago. The only time is becomes a police matter is if, for instance, they were drinking in the street whilst the party was going on, thus creating a potential public nuisance.
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:24, closed)

thank you thank you
I will certainly try the MP route if the council continue to be reluctant - my MP is in fact Jaqui "Husbands porn on expenses" Smith!

I'm just scared that if I complain and the council reject my complaint as not being serious enough, the problem will get worse as I get known as "the moany twat next door" and they'll just make even more noise :o/
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:43, closed)

PM'd you
Same MP, same town hall I guess.... sent you a name and phone number.

B3tans, working together to rid the world of noisy little feckers!
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 22:00, closed)

If you have the knowledge of someone who has been there and done it
it will all be easier. It won't be swift but at least you'll know what to expect and where to go next.

We'll nail the little shites!
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 22:53, closed)

thank you, your help has been invaluable and I will definately follow the plans you gaz'd me
thank you for taking the time to type them all out.

One question remains - what bright spark decided that it isn't a police matter anymore? If it's illegal to make noise that disturbs others after 11pm why can the police not enforce it anymore? Why must residents have to jump through hoops with the council just to get things done?

Gaah!
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Thu 1 Oct 2009, 23:19, closed)

not sure who decided
but it was a national government decision so we can safely say it was not the LibDems!

As others and I have said it is a case of plugging away. It can be tempting to go round and kick some ass or to have someone do it for you, (and I know a couple of providers of such services) but the only real way to get the result you need is to toe the line with written logs, phone calls, sound recordings and so on.

When I had my problem it ended up with a professional sound engineer being contracted to carry out a full noise leakage and soundproofing test. When he rocked up with a monster speaker that chucked 120 decibels of white noise and blasted it around, the little scrote next door realised they meant business- this was last stop before court order and eviction.

One other thing I did was to call the out of hours office on my mobile using a hands free kit, and get them to wait on the line whilst I went and hammered on the door, so they could hear (1) the noise and (2) the verbal abuse I got. Questions like "gosh I'm not at the door yet and can you hear it, isn't it loud?" are good because they will almost always say something like "oh yes", this gives you extra evidence as all calls are logged and/or recorded.

You will get there. It will be slow. It will be frustrating. You will curse a lot. You will bay for blood. One day you will win, and then you'll look back and smile.
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Fri 2 Oct 2009, 15:47, closed)

Thank you
Just knowing that someone who lives nearby has taken on the noisy cunts and one fills me with confidence. cheers for all your assistance :D
( h3donist tryin' to play me out as if my name is Sega.., Fri 2 Oct 2009, 17:18, closed)

you have my deepest sympathies
i've been through this myself and, as has already been said, the only way you can stop it without torching their house is to go the environmental health route. it takes time, but it's worth it in the end. just remember, if you don't complain, it won't stop.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:38, closed)

Sounds like hell
I have to say that someone making my wife cry would push me over the edge.

Get a bunch of the biggest mates you have and go round there and smash the fuck out of them. And I do mean, damage the fuckers. Violence does sometimes work wonders.
( Snollock Biffer I don't really sniff Bollocks, Thu 1 Oct 2009, 21:54, closed)

My mate James, a very nice bloke
is a complete arse when he's drunk. I recently showed him Spotify, and he's been showing it to his neighbours. Through the walls.

Took the council three letters, one every couple of weeks, to get to the point of installing monitoring equipment. James now has a noise abatement notice, and will go to court next time he infringes, which I'm sure won't be very long.

So, in conclusion - go the formal route, and nag the council - they're shit, but if you kick up enough fuss, they'll get the job done. If the pikey neighbours hassle you about it, go to the police about that. Demand that any threats are logged, and investigated.

However faux-hard they are on a day to day basis, being met with official after official is bound to sap their nerve.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Fri 2 Oct 2009, 2:16, closed)

Have a little read:
www.environmental-protection.org.uk/noise/environmental-noise/noise-pollution/

www.environmental-protection.org.uk/noise/environmental-noise/noise-pollution/#wa479

is quite useful to see all the steps you can take.

As stated above: When you record the problems, take details. Getting doctors reports to prove your health has diminished will help, full on notes (and recordings) of problems help too.
( Crap Little Monkey Deathstar, so good they built it twice, Fri 2 Oct 2009, 12:03, closed)

Sorry to hear your woes,
but I think I know where the next B3ta bash should be...
( Blind Meach Cautiously optimistic, Fri 2 Oct 2009, 16:15, closed)

And if it's students....
...then you should also contact the University's Community Liason officer and get that ball rolling, as the uni should have the power to fine/kick them off their course. We've also got campus security to come round to our previous "lovely" neighbours and have a word with them, even though it's off campus. Every bit helps.

Might also be worth seeing if the neighbours on the over side of your neighbours are suffering too, and get them to also contact council etc. as well. HTH, been there and know what you're going through!
(Tinium, Fri 2 Oct 2009, 17:13, closed)