Asking a neighbour to store their stuff is cheeky and even worse considering they've only just moved in. After that they should have just accepted the answer instead of trying to argue like the OP was in the wrong.
As for the stuff which was being asked to be stored. The dining table is clearly just going to sit there for evermore as a back up to the new one. They might come and retrieve the wedding presents but that's about it. Also if it's on someone else's property there's no incentive to clear it out because it's out of their way.
To the OP, you did the right thing.
Don't worry about it and them not talking to you is likely to be a good thing in the long run if this is what they're like!
Who knows what might be in their boxes - just 'cos they say it's wedding presents - how do you know for sure.
This is the most important consideration (if someone was even thinking about storing their neighbour's belongings).
Arms, drugs, porn, computer media with dubious contents, chopped up body parts, dangerous chemicals, or even just stolen goods or an illegal hoard of currency.
Having read the OP in more detail, I'm even more in agreement with what others have said. Your neighbour has amassed so much junk that they've run out of storage space, and they seem to expect other people to let them fill their property with crap?
It really is the perfect example of a "sense of entitlement".
Also, yesterday my wife was talking to the woman 2 doors up (the new couple's other neighbour on the other side) and she told my wife that the woman had said to her that I went "ballistic" when her husband asked if they could keep some things in our garage. Apparently me saying "No that's too much stuff" equates to going ballistic
Hope your wife was wise enough to do the eyebrows raised and say "well, I'm sure it's not the kind of thing you'd want stored in your garage either Ethel. I'm open minded as the next woman, but some things should be kept to the bedroom..."
I agree with everybody else - the neighbours have got a damn cheek.
And I'm also thinking that this is one of the very few threads where EVERYBODY has agreed that the OP is in the right and there has been no disagreement at all
This is the most important consideration (if someone was even thinking about storing their neighbour's belongings).
Arms, drugs, porn, computer media with dubious contents, chopped up body parts, dangerous chemicals, or even just stolen goods or an illegal hoard of currency.
D'you know, the thought that they might be wanting me to store anything 'dodgy' for them never even crossed my mind until you posted that.
They certainly don't seem the sort but I suppose that counts for nothing these days.
I'm sure the stuff they wanted us to store is what they say it is but you do raise a good point.
I agree with everybody else - the neighbours have got a damn cheek.
And I'm also thinking that this is one of the very few threads where EVERYBODY has agreed that the OP is in the right and there has been no disagreement at all
...hope I haven't spoken too soon
It's not often I get everyone agreeing with me on here. I shall enjoy it while it lasts
Your neighbours sound like right twa*s to be honest. Just don't rise to it and be comfortable in the knowledge you're better than them.
Although I suspect their attitude may be laced with an undercurrent of jealousy/resentment of some kind. Jealous of your bigger garage and resenting the fact they couldn't afford a bigger place with more space for storage.
There's usually something going on under the surface when seemingly okay neighbours act like flat-out unreasonable idiots over a particular issue. Give them a wide berth and they may soften over time.
Hope your wife was wise enough to do the eyebrows raised and say "well, I'm sure it's not the kind of thing you'd want stored in your garage either Ethel. I'm open minded as the next woman, but some things should be kept to the bedroom..."
You have nothing to feel bad about. They have got a blooming cheek asking. The fact that they are willing to pay you rather than a commercial storage supplier would seem to suggest they want it near, so they would be regularly trooping in. And as others have said, you don't know what is in the boxes. They sound dodgy. I would blank them.
I would have said no straight off, no discussion.
What would happen if the garage got broken in to and stuff stolen?
You have made the right decision, they need to get over it.
Don't go beating yourself up over it
They sound awful and I'd suggest you've had a lucky escape by saying no. Had you said yes, just imagine the fallout if they couldn't get access at whatever time they wanted, or if the garage was flooded, or they 'found' some damage that wasn't there before - world war three!
OP, you saved yourself a world of trouble by saying no to this. They sound like a couple of manipulative leeches and I would have fully expected their list of demands to be ever-increasing, if this was their opening gambit.
One situation where you and your wife can pat yourselves on the back for dodging a bullet!
If it was me I wouldn't even consider it for a split second and would have told him so. If they haven't got enough storage space let them move to another, bigger, house or chuck some stuff out. I get the feeling from your post that if you stored their stuff for them there'd be trouble - they could say their stuff had gone missing or was damaged. If they've stopped speaking to you I would consider that as a bonus!
Bloody hell, I think you've been more than reasonable - my husband kicked off with our new neighbours for putting stuff in our BIN without asking... (which I personally think was OTT, but he wouldn't have it )
I have to agree with almost everyone on here, you were wise to say no.
My niece does a boot sale once or twice per year, and when her father-in-law relocated, he gave her a bunch of stuff that he didn't need anymore, golf clubs, books, ornaments, coffee tables, stools, chairs, etc. etc.
She couldn't get it all in her garden shed, and asked us if she could put it in our garage until she did another boot sale.
We've now been unable to put my wife's car in our garage for 15 months.
I've gently asked her when she'll take the stuff, but she says that the weather is too inclement to do a boot sale.
I told her last week that she is my brother-in-law's daughter, and I love her as if she were mine, but she has until the last day of April to take the stuff, or it goes in the garbage bin.
I honestly don't think that she'll take the stuff, but I won't back down, it will go.
Be prepared for a prolonged silence from your neighbours.
Around 20 years ago, the young sons of the neighbour opposite us were politely asked to desist from kicking a football against another neighbour's garage door.
The mother of the 2 boys asked my wife's opinion on it, my wife said said she could understand the annoyance felt by the neighbour whose garage door was being kicked against.
The parents of the 2 boys haven't spoken to us since.
There really are some nasty selfish people about these days. You did absolutely the right thing in saying no. It is hard to believe that someone who has just moved in next door to you and you hardly know would be so rude as to ask you to keep lots of their stuff in your garage indefinately.
I am beginning to despair of people these days. The Christmas before last, my husband and myself realised that we would have to cut down on the presents we were sending out as there were more and more children coming along in the family. I wrote politely explain the position (bearing in mind that I am disabled and not able to work and my husband has now retired) and everyone understood and was quite alright about it.
All except for one cousin who thought it was an insult that I wasn't going to buy a present for her grandson anymore. I had the boy's mother (my cousin's daughter-in-law) ring me up and shout at me over the phone so much so that my son could hear what was going on in the next room. I wouldn't dream of shouting at someone for not buying a present. Then my cousin wrote and told me that she would not be in contact with me ever again. None of her other cousins had ever sent presents to her grandson, yet I have done so for nine years and get moaned at for giving up doing so, whilst she is still friends with the others who have never sent. Two months after this, at an Uncle's funeral, she completely blanked me while making a big point of coming over to everyone else and talking in a loud voice to them all. Sorry I have gone on for so long about this, but I just wanted to say how horrible people can be these days. So many people think only of themselves and if they don't get their own way, they act like little children having a paddy.
Comments
As for the stuff which was being asked to be stored. The dining table is clearly just going to sit there for evermore as a back up to the new one. They might come and retrieve the wedding presents but that's about it. Also if it's on someone else's property there's no incentive to clear it out because it's out of their way.
To the OP, you did the right thing.
Don't worry about it and them not talking to you is likely to be a good thing in the long run if this is what they're like!
I thought dorydaryl's comments were pertinent.
This is the most important consideration (if someone was even thinking about storing their neighbour's belongings).
Arms, drugs, porn, computer media with dubious contents, chopped up body parts, dangerous chemicals, or even just stolen goods or an illegal hoard of currency.
It really is the perfect example of a "sense of entitlement".
Hope your wife was wise enough to do the eyebrows raised and say "well, I'm sure it's not the kind of thing you'd want stored in your garage either Ethel. I'm open minded as the next woman, but some things should be kept to the bedroom..."
And I'm also thinking that this is one of the very few threads where EVERYBODY has agreed that the OP is in the right and there has been no disagreement at all
...hope I haven't spoken too soon
They certainly don't seem the sort but I suppose that counts for nothing these days.
I'm sure the stuff they wanted us to store is what they say it is but you do raise a good point.
Yeah. Garage envy.
lol - good one!
Oh, and I agree with everyone else too!
You'd be surprised. A neighbour told me that another neighbour was envious of my front lawn!
What would happen if the garage got broken in to and stuff stolen?
You have made the right decision, they need to get over it.
Don't go beating yourself up over it
One situation where you and your wife can pat yourselves on the back for dodging a bullet!
Look at the joint savings you could have achieved.
More seriously, I can see this is likely to make you feel awkward generally, so I hope your other neighbours see and take your side.
If they don't, maybe they can offer their own garages!
Grow up
My niece does a boot sale once or twice per year, and when her father-in-law relocated, he gave her a bunch of stuff that he didn't need anymore, golf clubs, books, ornaments, coffee tables, stools, chairs, etc. etc.
She couldn't get it all in her garden shed, and asked us if she could put it in our garage until she did another boot sale.
We've now been unable to put my wife's car in our garage for 15 months.
I've gently asked her when she'll take the stuff, but she says that the weather is too inclement to do a boot sale.
I told her last week that she is my brother-in-law's daughter, and I love her as if she were mine, but she has until the last day of April to take the stuff, or it goes in the garbage bin.
I honestly don't think that she'll take the stuff, but I won't back down, it will go.
Be prepared for a prolonged silence from your neighbours.
Around 20 years ago, the young sons of the neighbour opposite us were politely asked to desist from kicking a football against another neighbour's garage door.
The mother of the 2 boys asked my wife's opinion on it, my wife said said she could understand the annoyance felt by the neighbour whose garage door was being kicked against.
The parents of the 2 boys haven't spoken to us since.
I am beginning to despair of people these days. The Christmas before last, my husband and myself realised that we would have to cut down on the presents we were sending out as there were more and more children coming along in the family. I wrote politely explain the position (bearing in mind that I am disabled and not able to work and my husband has now retired) and everyone understood and was quite alright about it.
All except for one cousin who thought it was an insult that I wasn't going to buy a present for her grandson anymore. I had the boy's mother (my cousin's daughter-in-law) ring me up and shout at me over the phone so much so that my son could hear what was going on in the next room. I wouldn't dream of shouting at someone for not buying a present. Then my cousin wrote and told me that she would not be in contact with me ever again. None of her other cousins had ever sent presents to her grandson, yet I have done so for nine years and get moaned at for giving up doing so, whilst she is still friends with the others who have never sent. Two months after this, at an Uncle's funeral, she completely blanked me while making a big point of coming over to everyone else and talking in a loud voice to them all. Sorry I have gone on for so long about this, but I just wanted to say how horrible people can be these days. So many people think only of themselves and if they don't get their own way, they act like little children having a paddy.