I've spent the past 3 years complaining to the tenant, not the letting agency and after the Nth Monday of being woken up at just past 6am and numerous other problems I only get a break from on Sundays when the cafe below my flat isn't open, I finally did something about it and popped this letter through the door of my letting agency this afternoon. I've changed some of the names and locations to remain anonymous and amuse myself:-
20th April 2009
* address details *
F.A.O. * letting agency *
RE: On going issues with the Cafe below * my flat *
Last time I complained to ginger-menace about her noise just after 6am, it was 2 months since I'd paid any electric after changing from monthly to weekly pay, she spat her dummy out and I got a letter about the electric money being due AFTER I'd paid it! ginger-menace has always used the electric meter, no matter how recently it was paid as a universal get out clause for every inconsiderate thing she’s ever being responsible for or being so arrogant, said, “You don’t HAVE to live here”. I’m sure if I pointed out I was BORN in the village and she didn’t have to MOVE here from wherever her obnoxious accent came from to start with, she couldn’t handle the same attitude from me.
COMPLAINT 1 - I complained to ginger-menace about all the noise just after 6am within a week of moving in.
COMPLAINT 2 - Even after that, I've being woken up just after 6am by ginger-menace gabbing on to the pie man like it's the middle of the day at least once a week, EVERY WEEK as long I've lived here or until a visit from the TV Licence people (Which I had nothing to do with but wish I'd thought of it) last year, by the cafe listening to * The worst commercial radio station in the world * with constant noisy adverts every 10 minutes and occasional tone deaf singing over it too. Until I started temping in autumn, I worked shifts till 8pm every Monday and Tuesday plus various Friday late shifts and Saturdays. Being woken up early made me feel run down a lot of the time and when I changed to 8am shifts on Wednesdays, I often didn’t recover till weekend.
COMPLAINT 3 - Last year, a girl who works in the cafe woke me up just after 6am on a Saturday when I had work later in the day. When I went down to complain after 20 solid minutes of * The worst commercial radio station in the world *, she was very cocky about it but did turn it down. ginger-menace made the excuse of "she's only 19" instead of apologising and...
COMPLAINT 4 - ...the next time the girl opened up on a Saturday, she deliberately played it full blast from 6am onwards, completely ignoring my complaints, even when I was banging on the cafe door and the girl could see me through the window! It was only turned down when ginger-menace got there who again, didn't apologise and it was too late by then to make any difference.
COMPLAINT 5 - Even after ginger-menace stopped playing the radio every day till gone 3pm, I continue to be woken up by the pie man's fog horn voice so I complained in November and ginger-menace accused me of hearing things!
I asked where else the noise was coming from downstairs at the just after 6am and she changed the subject to the electric money then some gobby girl who works for her suggesting I do more hours at work to cover it, even saying to ginger-menace within earshot when I went back up to the flat that she was close to smacking me for the way I spoke to her. At the time I'd lost £100s in bank charges after finishing at a company at short notice then going to weekly pay and working 13 hour days by public transport made the whole idea of overtime a joke.
COMPLAINT 6 - ginger-menace's husband started using power tools right below the bedroom just after 10am one Sunday in December then turned the electric off without even warning me first. It was freezing cold at the time and he was so arrogant (which seems like a family trait) that he laughed at me when I complained!
The café keep being neurotic and petty about me listening to music or the sound of the shower being on. It doesn't happen too often but they SHOULDN’T be banging on my door to start with. I always play music at the same level whether it’s ambient, rock, dance music etc… because I’ve usually not being awake long at the time. I left it playing once when I collected my mail from the café just to see how loud it actually was for them and wasn’t surprised when I couldn’t hear it. ginger-menace’s definition of "noise" is well after 7.30am, very short lived and made up of this: -
a) Listening to music through tiny 1 inch iPod speakers that can't even be heard in the next room with the doors closed but CAN be heard over the noise of her extractor in my bedroom because I play it just loud enough to hear over it when she turns it on because the constant drone is brain numbing!
b) The Extractor Fan in the bathroom. (which has always being on a timer circuit after the light is turned off)
c) The sound of the Shower itself.
I've being listening to music while showering or doing housework as long as I've lived here without the slightest response from down stairs till recent months and I could have put something in writing previously about the cafe but chose to deal with ginger-menace directly and complain to her personally every time instead. Only this morning I was woken up at just gone 6am yet again when I have no reason to be up at that time of the day but I AM putting it in writing now because I’m just plain sick of it after over 3 years!
I rarely answer the door unless I'm expecting someone anyway because there's enough banging and clattering around in the kitchen downstairs that I can't really tell the difference half the time and end up answering the door when there's no one actually there.
There's plenty of room for everyone's rubbish after I spent 3 days clearing all the weeds and sorting the shared area at very back out in 2007 at the expense of both myself and D****. ginger-menace's huge industrial bin is usually so close to the gate it leaves no room for me to put my own rubbish out. She even complains about me leaving bin bags out a few days before collection sometimes but the council say it's a black bag collection area. (even though they provided wheelie bins to the flat next door within 3 weeks of them moving in)
RE: The Flat itself.
Even though ginger-menace puts the extractor in her kitchen on every day, it doesn't work because the whole bedroom and bathroom area of the flat smells of burned toast and bacon every day they're open and the smell gets into my clothes etc...
I don't see any reason to pay ginger-menace more often than every 3 months because that's the frequency of the bills. When I've given anything between those times to reduce it, it's just to make it more manageable if a large bill comes, not a reason to be asking for it any sooner.
Unless I have my OWN meter like the flat next door (not a sub meter or card meter), I won't be changing how often it's paid simply because getting £100+ together in 1 go is impossible without being monthly paid unless I don't pay something else.
It's needed replacing since I moved in January 2006, I re-decorated the bathroom because it was a mess. It looks a LOT better now but I still need the window fitting and the weather is milder now so it's the perfect time of year to do it safely.
Yours truly,
* my name **
It's a pretty blunt letter but at least I left out an idea I had about how a 19 year old student nurse working weekends could have apologised if she chose to and didn't swear
20th April 2009
* address details *
F.A.O. * letting agency *
RE: On going issues with the Cafe below * my flat *
Last time I complained to ginger-menace about her noise just after 6am, it was 2 months since I'd paid any electric after changing from monthly to weekly pay, she spat her dummy out and I got a letter about the electric money being due AFTER I'd paid it! ginger-menace has always used the electric meter, no matter how recently it was paid as a universal get out clause for every inconsiderate thing she’s ever being responsible for or being so arrogant, said, “You don’t HAVE to live here”. I’m sure if I pointed out I was BORN in the village and she didn’t have to MOVE here from wherever her obnoxious accent came from to start with, she couldn’t handle the same attitude from me.
Noise & Arrogance
COMPLAINT 1 - I complained to ginger-menace about all the noise just after 6am within a week of moving in.
COMPLAINT 2 - Even after that, I've being woken up just after 6am by ginger-menace gabbing on to the pie man like it's the middle of the day at least once a week, EVERY WEEK as long I've lived here or until a visit from the TV Licence people (Which I had nothing to do with but wish I'd thought of it) last year, by the cafe listening to * The worst commercial radio station in the world * with constant noisy adverts every 10 minutes and occasional tone deaf singing over it too. Until I started temping in autumn, I worked shifts till 8pm every Monday and Tuesday plus various Friday late shifts and Saturdays. Being woken up early made me feel run down a lot of the time and when I changed to 8am shifts on Wednesdays, I often didn’t recover till weekend.
COMPLAINT 3 - Last year, a girl who works in the cafe woke me up just after 6am on a Saturday when I had work later in the day. When I went down to complain after 20 solid minutes of * The worst commercial radio station in the world *, she was very cocky about it but did turn it down. ginger-menace made the excuse of "she's only 19" instead of apologising and...
COMPLAINT 4 - ...the next time the girl opened up on a Saturday, she deliberately played it full blast from 6am onwards, completely ignoring my complaints, even when I was banging on the cafe door and the girl could see me through the window! It was only turned down when ginger-menace got there who again, didn't apologise and it was too late by then to make any difference.
COMPLAINT 5 - Even after ginger-menace stopped playing the radio every day till gone 3pm, I continue to be woken up by the pie man's fog horn voice so I complained in November and ginger-menace accused me of hearing things!
I asked where else the noise was coming from downstairs at the just after 6am and she changed the subject to the electric money then some gobby girl who works for her suggesting I do more hours at work to cover it, even saying to ginger-menace within earshot when I went back up to the flat that she was close to smacking me for the way I spoke to her. At the time I'd lost £100s in bank charges after finishing at a company at short notice then going to weekly pay and working 13 hour days by public transport made the whole idea of overtime a joke.
COMPLAINT 6 - ginger-menace's husband started using power tools right below the bedroom just after 10am one Sunday in December then turned the electric off without even warning me first. It was freezing cold at the time and he was so arrogant (which seems like a family trait) that he laughed at me when I complained!
Double Standards
The café keep being neurotic and petty about me listening to music or the sound of the shower being on. It doesn't happen too often but they SHOULDN’T be banging on my door to start with. I always play music at the same level whether it’s ambient, rock, dance music etc… because I’ve usually not being awake long at the time. I left it playing once when I collected my mail from the café just to see how loud it actually was for them and wasn’t surprised when I couldn’t hear it. ginger-menace’s definition of "noise" is well after 7.30am, very short lived and made up of this: -
a) Listening to music through tiny 1 inch iPod speakers that can't even be heard in the next room with the doors closed but CAN be heard over the noise of her extractor in my bedroom because I play it just loud enough to hear over it when she turns it on because the constant drone is brain numbing!
b) The Extractor Fan in the bathroom. (which has always being on a timer circuit after the light is turned off)
c) The sound of the Shower itself.
I've being listening to music while showering or doing housework as long as I've lived here without the slightest response from down stairs till recent months and I could have put something in writing previously about the cafe but chose to deal with ginger-menace directly and complain to her personally every time instead. Only this morning I was woken up at just gone 6am yet again when I have no reason to be up at that time of the day but I AM putting it in writing now because I’m just plain sick of it after over 3 years!
After everything I've had to put up with from downstairs over the years, ginger-menace has forfeit any right to start complaining now just to be petty.
I rarely answer the door unless I'm expecting someone anyway because there's enough banging and clattering around in the kitchen downstairs that I can't really tell the difference half the time and end up answering the door when there's no one actually there.
Mess & Clutter
There's plenty of room for everyone's rubbish after I spent 3 days clearing all the weeds and sorting the shared area at very back out in 2007 at the expense of both myself and D****. ginger-menace's huge industrial bin is usually so close to the gate it leaves no room for me to put my own rubbish out. She even complains about me leaving bin bags out a few days before collection sometimes but the council say it's a black bag collection area. (even though they provided wheelie bins to the flat next door within 3 weeks of them moving in)
RE: The Flat itself.
Cooking smells
Even though ginger-menace puts the extractor in her kitchen on every day, it doesn't work because the whole bedroom and bathroom area of the flat smells of burned toast and bacon every day they're open and the smell gets into my clothes etc...
No Dedicated Electric Meter / Bill
I don't see any reason to pay ginger-menace more often than every 3 months because that's the frequency of the bills. When I've given anything between those times to reduce it, it's just to make it more manageable if a large bill comes, not a reason to be asking for it any sooner.
Unless I have my OWN meter like the flat next door (not a sub meter or card meter), I won't be changing how often it's paid simply because getting £100+ together in 1 go is impossible without being monthly paid unless I don't pay something else.
Bathroom Window
It's needed replacing since I moved in January 2006, I re-decorated the bathroom because it was a mess. It looks a LOT better now but I still need the window fitting and the weather is milder now so it's the perfect time of year to do it safely.
Yours truly,
* my name **
It's a pretty blunt letter but at least I left out an idea I had about how a 19 year old student nurse working weekends could have apologised if she chose to and didn't swear
