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Neighbour's Alarm

(23 Posts)
Oldwoman70 Mon 14-Mar-22 09:28:29

I have recently moved and one of my new neighbours leaves for work early (around 7 am) and 9 times out of 10 one of her alarms goes off!

It isn't a car alarm and another neighbour has suggested she has an alarm attached to the security lights on her garage. I haven't actually met her or spoken to her as she is obviously out all day and never seems to be around a weekends. (I did drop a Christmas card through her door but had no response).

Apparently my other neighbours have spoken to her and she always promises to do something about it but after a few days it starts again.

I don't really know what I should do about it, if anything. As the other neighbours have spoken to her she is obviously aware of the problem. Any thoughts?

ShazzaKanazza Mon 14-Mar-22 09:39:43

If it was me I would just leave it to the other neighbours. They’ve already spoken to her and if it carries on they will speak to her again.
Don’t bring added stress on yourself.

rafichagran Mon 14-Mar-22 10:40:10

Years ago, we had a car alarm going off all night. The local authority was called, when the official came, he asked the mechanic mechanic next door to disengage it and the owner got a large fine.
If the neighbour continues to ignore this problem I think that should be your next course of action. Alarms going off day and night cause distress for alot of people.

eazybee Mon 14-Mar-22 11:21:56

Can you call round in the evening?
She may be 'doing something about it' and think it is fixed, and unless someone tells her she may be unaware it is still happening.
The point is, the alarm serves no useful purpose as no-one arrives to deal with a potential burglary, so she may as well disable it before an irate neighbour does.

Oldwoman70 Mon 14-Mar-22 12:08:26

eazybee - she is obviously aware it is happening because it happens as she is preparing to leave for work and she switches it off after a couple of minutes, but by that time I have been disturbed and unable to go back to sleep.

I am reluctant to approach her as I don't want our first contact to be my complaining!

glammanana Mon 14-Mar-22 12:12:01

I would do my utmost to speak to her again taking a recording of the alarm with you to show her the time of the nuisance if you have a phone which records.

Yammy Mon 14-Mar-22 12:21:46

Don't approach them yourself just phone the council it's noise pollution.
We had a neighbour whose burglar alarm went off with strong winds and as we lived near an east coast city that is known for its winds it could be up to 5 times a week. It did not stop after 30 mins as a lot do and then restart.
No one ever saw the family to complain. Then a young couple with a baby moved in next door and they complained to the local council. Someone came round and told them to switch it off until it was mended or get one that worked. They were told they would be fined.They pleaded they did not know, of course they didn't they had set it when they went out.

DiscoDancer1975 Mon 14-Mar-22 17:10:41

I would speak to her personally. It wouldn’t be your first contact, because you gave her a Christmas card.

She may be dealing with it....but she may not. At least she should be able to tell you.

How annoying for you, when you’ve just moved. Did the previous owners mention this at all? They perhaps should have done.

Might be worth finding out.

Hope it all settles down for you.

Oldbat1 Mon 14-Mar-22 20:29:53

I had that last year. I put a very politely worded note through their door as it wasn’t first time it had happened. Not heard the alarm since so a successful outcome.

Tanjamaltija Tue 15-Mar-22 10:59:32

An alarm could be an indication that someone is trying to break in so your solution is to call the Police, and tell them you are worried. They will probably hear the alarm over the phone.

polnan Tue 15-Mar-22 10:59:41

neighbours at the back of us.. and small back gardens, have huge, ie too bright lights on at night.. not sure if they are security or just..... good job I don`t sleep in the backbedroom

Bluedaisy Tue 15-Mar-22 11:06:45

Drop a note through her door about it (from an annoyed neighbour) or get in touch with your local Environmental Health office who will do something about it. We had this problem in a previous house and our son worked nights and said alarm often woke him during the day plus it was extremely annoying and stressful to listen to constantly. Write a diary for the Environmental Health people and they will definitely give her a visit.

jaylucy Tue 15-Mar-22 11:17:07

I would try and contact her yourself and just ask her if she realises that it is going off at that time and disturbs you. Can't believe that she doesn't hear it herself, but no doubt in the rush in the mornings, she either treats it as normal or just ignores it!
She may think that only having had a couple of complaints, that it doesn't matter and hasn't bothered to do anything.
If you contact Environmental Health at your council, they will ask you to make a diary of the number of times that you have been disturbed by the alarm . Get your neighbours to do the same to give your complaint extra weight and then hopefully she will be compelled to get it fixed!

Dylant1234 Tue 15-Mar-22 12:49:31

I’d be livid! I’d rush out next time in my PJs yelling “FFS take the bl**dy thing off! It’s woken me every day this week”
She’s incredibly selfish. There could be parents with new babies, people with insomnia, people on shifts etc. all trying to catch up with sleep.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 15-Mar-22 13:57:04

If her alarm goes off as she is leaving, she cannot possibly be unaware of it, can she?

However, OP did not say when the alarm goes off, but the inference is that it goes off while the houseowner is actually present.

I would go over one evening, and ask straight out what the problem is with the alarm, as you find it intensely annoying that it goes off every morning, especially as you do not need to be up and about at seven any more.

If she is polite, apologetic and does something about it, the problem is solved. If she is either rude or uncaring, complain to the proper authority.

effalump Tue 15-Mar-22 14:56:38

Don't you think that (several) alarms are a good indicator of a home worth breaking into? Mine was broken into about 15 years ago, while I was asleep in bed. Since then, I don't do much tidying because I think if they break in and see a mess, they'll either know there's nothing of value, or they'll think it's already been 'done over'. grin

sandwichgeneration Tue 15-Mar-22 15:01:20

Make a diary of all the days and times the alarm is sounding. Then contact the council as this is noise pollution. They probably won't act without the number of times this is a problem. If all the neighbours contact them too, this will help your case.

Had to do something similar with another neighbour issue and the council did something when they saw the number of times the problems were occurring.

Mummer Tue 15-Mar-22 17:19:38

I'd put a very rude note through her letterbox! Stating that you know she knows about the dodgy alarm and if she fails to either fix or remove the fuse block until she gets it fixed, you'll have no alternative than to report to environmental health as a noise nuisance! .......but don't sign it and cut the letters out from a paper or magazine.......

Mummer Tue 15-Mar-22 17:24:15

effalump

Don't you think that (several) alarms are a good indicator of a home worth breaking into? Mine was broken into about 15 years ago, while I was asleep in bed. Since then, I don't do much tidying because I think if they break in and see a mess, they'll either know there's nothing of value, or they'll think it's already been 'done over'. grin

Hahaha! Nice try! Unfortunately most burglaries are carried out in poorest areas! Easy to get in. Usually cash in house, bad security and unlikely to be reported if area is really bad...... Other Ned of scale? Big burglary jobs planned and executed quickly and on basis of stealing either to order or specific item(s) so do tidy up!?

Quizzer Tue 15-Mar-22 17:41:16

Contact the council - it’s an offence to make this sort of noise nuisance.

FrankyStein Wed 29-Jun-22 09:38:47

That's why I don't think that it is a good idea to buy cheap alarm

Nannagarra Wed 29-Jun-22 10:04:23

One son bought a property and had to stop using the house alarm as it went off within minutes of him leaving for work. His neighbours were understandably irate: the previous owner, knowing there was a problem, had paid no heed and continued to set it, even during a long Christmas break.
It had been triggered by a leaking bathroom. You could use this as an in-road to a calm discussion. Concern for her house…long-term damage…

Beautful Wed 29-Jun-22 20:05:30

A neighbour across the road, his alarm kept going off , even early in the morning when he was at work ... I spoke to him & asked if possible if I could have his & his parents phone number (they live round the corner) although he thought something was wrong didn't know what till I told him ... I have texted him & phoned his parents a couple of times ... no problem at all ... as can't put something right if you don't know what is wrong ... I have told a few neighbours I have his phone number , so if they contact me, I will contact him or his parents ... so just ask if you could have her phone if there is a problem ... can give you one of 2 words yes or no ... as long as you speak to the lady in a friendly manner should be no problem