I hate having neighbors

[okeydokey]

The OP didn't ask advice on what to do with her kids, that is none or your business. She asked about replacing the windows and how that was handled.

And the majority think the neighbor handled it just fine by getting them replaced by whmo they wanted and handing the OP a bill.

 

[ilovemk76]

The OP's boys are 18, 13 and 11.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=46264051#post46264051

 

[PizzieDuster]

The OP's boys are 18, 13 and 11.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=46264051#post46264051

Maybe it's a good thing her husband can fix windows. Hope there is an attorney in family too. JK... Lucky it was just windows and no one was injured.

Hope you paid your neighbor and the adult son and kids learned a lesson.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, this. Was she supposed to spend her time visiting two or three or more stores, talking to two or three or more installers? Wasting her time and stretching out the amount of time she has to live with a broken window? The heck with that. Pay it and be grateful she didn't call the police.

There was a six week span between the neighbor's two interactions with the OP (during which the OP repeatedly but futilely tried to contact the neighbor who was never home when she tried and who never responded to notes). Not saying the neighbor had to get estimates - but surely somewhere in that month and a half, she had time? If not in person, via phone?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think you could have been more proactive by having conversations with your neighbor rather than leaving notes in the mailbox. I don't blame her from taking matters into her own hands. Hopefully this is a lesson for your boys in responsibility with those guns.

She tried. She left notes because whenever she went to the house, the neighbor wasn't home. And the OP didn't/doesn't even know the other woman's name. So notes in the mailbox (or taped to the door - which would likely be considered vandalism here) or staking out the house were her only options - and y'alls would have blasted her for stalking if she chose the latter route.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Lol to the title of this thread. I am guessing the OP's neighbors also hate having neighbors. OP please tell us what kind of punishment the boys received, and how old they are so we can all feel a little better about the broken windows. And I agree the guilty party should apologize to the neighbor.

Better suggestion: OP, please start a new thread about the ages and the punishment so DISers can further criticize you for your handling of a situation for which you've accepted responsibility but for which there isn't any actual evidence was created by any member of your household.

 

[msjprincess]

She tried. She left notes because whenever she went to the house, the neighbor wasn't home. And the OP didn't/doesn't even know the other woman's name. So notes in the mailbox (or taped to the door - which would likely be considered vandalism here) or staking out the house were her only options - and y'alls would have blasted her for stalking if she chose the latter route.

The only reason she left a not was get information so the window company of her choice could come measure the windows. Which the neighbor obviously didn't want.

I started leaving notes in her mailbox since she's never home that I need her name, phone # & address so the window company can come over to measure her windows.

ETA
Maybe if she left a note asking the neighbor to contact her so they could discuss things she would have gotten a different response.

 

[kaytieeldr]

So, you are allowed to make assumptions but others aren't? I don't understand that method of thinking.

Also, what does is matter if it is a nick, a scratch or the whole window cracked. The neighbors property was damaged due to the OP's kids. It doesn't matter how bad it was damaged, it was damaged. If someone dented your car "a little", would you let it go? No, it would need to be fixed. The extent of the damage is really insignificant.

So, YOUR assumptions are okay, but everyone else isn't. Interesting.

It's AS allowed/okay for the very few people in this thread automatically jumping to positive conclusions as it is for the dozens of posters making negative assumptions.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The OP skipped something in her narrative. The incident happened, then the OP went on a cruise and a trip to WDW, and when she got back the neighbor presented the bill. The OP doesn't know how many times the neighbor tried to contact her while she was gone. And I don't think the neighbor was obligated to wait around with her property damaged for the OP to return. I agree with the previous poster who said OP is lucky the police weren't called. If my neighbor shot at my windows and then skipped town I'd file a police report.

Amazing. The OP took a(n apparently) long-planned vacation one week out of the six week period in question, amid repeated attempts to contact the neighbor. She didn't move out, she didn't put her house up for sale, she didn't slip away in the dark of night... You call that skipping town? Please tell us you don't work in ANY branch of the legal system.

And based on the OP timeline, the incident occurred mid-August. The trip was three weeks later, and the OP has been back for two weeks. The neighbor just showed up yesterday.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ahhhh, well that certainly puts a different spin on her story, doesn't it?

Inappropriate assumption. The poster you quoted provided only information that would cast a negative light on the OP - rather than all the information available.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Let me make sure I understand... do these two statements mean the same thing:

1) It's possible the kids didn't know they hit the windows.
2) The kids didn't know they hit the windows.

If you think they mean the same thing, I apologize for any offense I caused.

I'm sorry, to me, they are different. #1 is presented as a possibility, #2 is presented as a fact.

Okay, nothing to do with hypothesis vs assumption (excep that sam's right - they're not the same; a hypothesis is a theory based on information/facts, while an assumption, well, isn't - which is apparent in the thread based on what a lot of posters are saying despite the absence of supporting information).

Anyway, there are three possible explanations:
1) The kids knew they hit the windows.
2) The kids didn't know they hit the windows.
3) Somebody not of the OP's household hit the windows.

I realize the OP took responsibility - but there's a 1/3 chance she's actually not, and a 2/3 chance her kids didn't say anything because they didn't know - either because they weren't aware the BBs hit the windows, or because somebody else was shooting.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I would hate to have neighbors too if their kids ran amok and shot out my windows. Fortunately for me, I have nice neighbors.

Honestly, the op is lucky that the neighbor didn't file a claim with their homeowners insurance and/or call the police. And I certainly wouldn't let the person do the replacing of the windows themselves. Unless, they had a window replacing business.

You spelled amok correctly! !!!!

DISclaimer: this is a genuine compliment, not the spelling police, and not a criticism of anyone else (I haven't seen it in this thread yet anyway); I'm just ecstatic to see it right!

 

[mdsoccermom]

Amazing. The OP took a(n apparently) long-planned vacation one week out of the six week period in question, amid repeated attempts to contact the neighbor. She didn't move out, she didn't put her house up for sale, she didn't slip away in the dark of night... You call that skipping town? Please tell us you don't work in ANY branch of the legal system.

And based on the OP timeline, the incident occurred mid-August. The trip was three weeks later, and the OP has been back for two weeks. The neighbor just showed up yesterday.

The correct time for the OP to discuss how resolution would be handled was the initial time they discussed the incident. There was face to face contact then. The OP could have asked the neighbor for pertinent information then. I mean really, the neighbor shows up to say the OPs kids broke her windows, and the OP didn't bother to get at a minimum, a name? WTH?

And I'm sorry, I find it very hard to believe that the OP could never, ever find the neighbor at home at ant time. I personally think leaving notes is a very poor way to handle communication. I have to wonder how hard the OP tried.

 

[dfchelbay]

My neighbor behind me came over about 6 wks ago saying one of my kids hit her back windows with bb's. She could never tell me which boy she saw but I figured it probably was one of mine since it obviously came from our back yard so I told her I would pay to have them fixed. About 4 wks ago I started leaving notes in her mailbox since she's never home that I need her name, phone # & address so the window company can come over to measure her windows. No response. Last night she comes over & gives me a bill for $450 for the windows. I asked her where the other estimates were, didn't get any. My husband installed all our windows so he could have put them in & saved us on installation. Then she stood on my porch waiting for me to hand her $450. Told her she was going to have to wait until I get to the bank and I'm pissed that she didn't get other estimates since I was paying for the windows. Now is when I wished we lived in the country vs suburbs.

I'd chalk this one up to lesson learned. Feel lucky she didn't report your kid to the cops, or sue you. Hopefully, this will be the last you hear from her.

 

[ilovemk76]

I'd chalk this one up to lesson learned. Feel lucky she didn't report your kid to the cops, or sue you. Hopefully, this will be the last you hear from her.

I fixed it:

Hopefully, this will be the last time your sons every shoot their BB guns at a neighbor's house and shoot their windows.

 

[Hrhpd]

The correct time for the OP to discuss how resolution would be handled was the initial time they discussed the incident. There was face to face contact then. The OP could have asked the neighbor for pertinent information then. I mean really, the neighbor shows up to say the OPs kids broke her windows, and the OP didn't bother to get at a minimum, a name? WTH?

And I'm sorry, I find it very hard to believe that the OP could never, ever find the neighbor at home at ant time. I personally think leaving notes is a very poor way to handle communication. I have to wonder how hard the OP tried.

absolutely!

 

[kimmar067]

.....I'm not 'for' OR 'against' the OP, but I can't help but think that the GLASS could have been replaced, not the ENTIRE window....just a thought...

 

[Hrhpd]

.....I'm not 'for' OR 'against' the OP, but I can't help but think that the GLASS could have been replaced, not the ENTIRE window....just a thought...

3 windows for only $450.00? I think that is exactly what the neighbor did. There are very few instances, in where you can get 3 windows with installation for a mere $450.00.

 

[kimmar067]

3 windows for only $450.00? I think that is exactly what the neighbor did. There are very few instances, in where you can get 3 windows with installation for a mere $450.00.

....I'm not sure why you are quoting me...I didn't question the price of the 'estimate' or 'bill', or whatever....just asking if there was another way to replace the broken glass.....

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Okay, nothing to do with hypothesis vs assumption (excep that sam's right - they're not the same; a hypothesis is a theory based on information/facts, while an assumption, well, isn't - which is apparent in the thread based on what a lot of posters are saying despite the absence of supporting information).

Anyway, there are three possible explanations:
1) The kids knew they hit the windows.
2) The kids didn't know they hit the windows.
3) Somebody not of the OP's household hit the windows.

I realize the OP took responsibility - but there's a 1/3 chance she's actually not, and a 2/3 chance her kids didn't say anything because they didn't know - either because they weren't aware the BBs hit the windows, or because somebody else was shooting.

That's not statistically correct, because the probability of those three possibilities is not equally distributed along the statistical curve. In other words, without evidence to the contrary, we know that OP's sons shoot guns in OP's backyard but we do not have any evidence that any other child has ever done so, so the fact that it could have happened does not allocate it a 33.3% share of the odds. For example, if I list "An alien shot out the window with a laser" that doesn't mean there are now four possibilities, each with a 25% probability.

Now we can also likely increase the probability that the OP's children were acting carelessly and not tracking their shots, and therefore were unaware of their actions, but that is further evidence, in my opinion, of why they shouldn't be shooting a gun in what, by OP's comments, appears to be at least a semi-densely populated area. Guns are NOT toys and the second amendment doesn't allow people to shoot guns off willy-nilly in unsafe environments!

While it may not have been intentional, it also would not be something I'd ever call accidental, as to me that implies that it was the result of uncontrolled and unforeseeable events. At best, OP's sons were exorbitantly careless and, IF OP knowingly allows such behavior, was irresponsible to the point of negligence for allowing them to shoot a gun in an environment that was unsafe. What if it had been a child, an adult or an pet that was hit? The fact that it was an easily fixable tangible piece of property is extremely fortunate, in my opinion.

Lastly, I'll agree with those who think $450 is very inexpensive to replace glass in three windows. We replaced a picture window a few months ago that cost over $1,500, due to its size and shape.