i’m dealing with a strange situation with my upstairs neighbour and I’m curious how others would see this.
We share a garden behind our building. When I moved in about 3 years ago, there was an old Vespa scooter sitting there that belonged to him. It was very rusty and looked like a complete wreck. It had clearly been sitting there for years and he rarely uses the garden.
Recently I wanted to clean up the garden and asked him via WhatsApp if it was okay if I had the scooter removed by a scrap collector. In that same conversation I also sent him a photo of the scooter.
He replied to the photo with something like “yeah, nice thing huh” (in Dutch: “ja mooi ding hè”). Because he reacted in that chat I assumed he had seen the message where I asked if I could remove it.
Later he showed me a screenshot of his phone where the permission message apparently never arrived. Only the photo showed up on his side. So he genuinely never saw the message asking if I could have it removed.
Because I thought he had agreed, I arranged for a scrap collector to come pick it up. The guy even drove from another city with a trailer.
After the scooter was gone, my neighbour came to my door saying:
-the scooter is still registered in his name
-it is insured
-there are valuable parts on it
I immediately tried to fix the situation. I called the scrap collector and asked if the scooter could be returned. I even offered to drive there myself to pick it up.
The scrap collector said he would contact my neighbour directly to possibly make a deal with him. However, he told my neighbor the scooter has already been partially dismantled for parts.
Now my neighbour is messaging me things like:
“It looks like you have a challenge. I expected that thing back yesterday or today.”
Which sounds quite hostile and makes it sound like the entire problem is now mine.
So to summarize:
-Scooter sat in the shared garden for years
-I asked permission and sent a photo
-Due to some WhatsApp issue the permission message never reached him (he showed proof)
-I assumed he agreed because he replied to the photo
– I arranged a scrap collector
-When he complained I immediately tried to fix it
-Scrap collector says the scooter is now partially dismantled
Now I’m wondering:
Am I responsible for fixing this completely?
Is this just an unfortunate misunderstanding?
What would you do in this situation?
It feels like a genuine miscommunication, but now it’s turning into a bigger conflict.
I would definitely apologize. YTA for just assuming and not following up. I would say soft YTA but it’s not like you accidentally took someone’s slice of pizza is it.
YTA. How much did you get paid?
Given theres Dutch, I assume you aren’t in the States so no clue where your liability falls. My judgement is cause all you had to do was knock on t he guys door and have a conversation.
I think the scrap dealer might be screwing you.
YTA nothing about his reply says “go ahead and get rid of my stuff”
You need to make it right with him.
Gonna go with a light YTA here
He never gave permission for you to junk it. You should’ve sent a follow up message asking to clarify.
YTA, you didn’t own it so you shouldn’t have sold it.
YTA
You should have talked to him in person before you scrapped a vehicle that isn’t yours.
YTA. How on earth did you interpret “yeah, nice thing, huh?” as him being OK with you removing it? To me, that message implies he still very much appreciates it, even if he’s not using it.
Why didn’t you just move it to his property?
It’s a shared garden. Should OP have moved it upstairs?
YTA
you stole his scooter, and he has proof. Replace it, so he does not have to sue you to recover his losses. As a bonus, this is more likely to help you avoid a police report for your theft.
YTA but honestly if it was all rusted garbage and not driveable i wouldn’t even respond to his text, because it sounds like he’s just trying to get a payoff for some garbage. and if he takes it to court i’d get a lawyer and get them to subpoena the cell records (show the judge your texts). he obviously deleted what he got from you, but cell carrier records will show the truth. you shouldn’t have removed the bike and that was on you but i wouldn’t acknowledge that you even removed it, especially via text as it would maybe acknowledge some degree of guilt. if it was truly junk you can see how much he’ll care. if he takes it to court you may have to give him what you got paid (if anything) for the scrap value, or the judge may assign some value to it. do not take any of what i said as any kind of real advice because i’m no lawyer nor do i know dutch law but that’s what i’d do. maybe consult a law sub or dutch law sub if there is such a thing
It kinda sounds like you heard what you wanted to hear from his response, which was far from an unambiguous “sure go ahead and trash it.” I can understand misinterpreting if he didn’t get your message, but you should have clarified. Light YTA.
No. “So to summarize” actually: – Your neighbor was storing a vehicle in a location they 100% had a right to store it. – You chose to remove it without his permission. – You willfully misinterpreted a message that clearly did NOT give permission. – You now owe him either a replacement vehicle or financial compensation. – If he decided to report you to the police for theft, I would 100% support him. YTA