You are here

OT.. Personal Accountability

ESMOD's picture

So.. not steptalk related.. but I'm pretty pissed off at my neighbors across the street.

They have a field across from our driveway.. and apparently.. they cut the grass Sunday evening.. and monday morning.. my front windshield is seriously busted.. as in over 600 dollars to replace (or over 1000 at safelight) because it has to be calibrated with my new car's safety system.

I heard the story from my MIL that their girls were cutting it.. and some neighbor's complained about grass going in the road.. so cops came.. and then later that night the mom apparently went out and finished cutting right by the road.. and then later.. she and her husband were out there with brooms sweeping grass off the road.

Now. I'm betting that they broke the windshield.. realized it and were trying to remove the evidence.. which sucks... because again.. this is a super expensive windshield thing for me.. my DH isn't working much right now.. and it would have been really nice if they would have owned up to this and done the right thing.

guess it's not just stepkids that have no personal accountability.

 

Comments

AgedOut's picture

I'm older. Closer to 60 than 50. I''ve noticed this trend for a while. No personal responsiblity at all because no one's teaching it. Schools can't, parents won't. 

ESMOD's picture

I'm around your age as well.. I would have fessed up if asked about it.  I know that they don't want a 600-1000 bill either.. but how unfair is that to make your neighbor pay for your mistake. 

And.. I know it isn't necessarily intentional.. but instead of trying to lie and tell me that they had "nothing to do with it".. they could have at least offered to pay half or something...

but.. it looks like not only are they not telling me the truth.. it kind of sounds like they already knew that they had broken it and did everything they could to make it look like they had nothing to do with it.  11pm street cleaning and all  .. grrr.

ESMOD's picture

Oh.. sorry.. meant to add.. I asked if they had cut the grass.. "yeah.. but done by 4 pm".. maybe it was the heat.. etc.. etc.. " 

Yeah.. well.. I know your story is not accurate since I already knew some of it and what I just heard from you doesn't match what I already heard from others.

But.. since they are neighbors.. and who needs to feud.. I'm just going to suck it up.. and pay for it.. and hope it doesn't happen again.

But.. my Ring Camera is likely to be put up where we can see if they cut the grass again and another windshield breaks!

Winterglow's picture

MAybe let it be known locally that you're going to the cops about it because it's a hit-and-run ...

ESMOD's picture

My MIL knows.. and she is the biggest gossip on "the point"  (our neighborhood).. lol.  I'm sure that she will mention it.. haha.  

Merry's picture

Ugh, that sucks. I would have volunteered the information, because making my neighbors pay for my mistake would keep me up nights.

My car is in the shop right now for a $2500 (at least) repair due to a parking lot accident. I have good insurance, but I'm still out the deductible. Another time, my car was hit while I was waiting at a red light. Lady came around the corner and just plowed into me. She was driving a brand new car. With no insurance. I was out that deductible too.

On the other hand ... we had some work done in our backyard recently. One of the workers got paint all over a chair. We told the supervisor, who wanted the young worker to pay to replace it. Not what we wanted. We just wanted an acknowledgement, an apology, and attempt to clean up the mistake.

Am I an extra nice person? No, I'm not. I truly am not. I'm just a decent human being.

ESMOD's picture

Yeah.. me too.. lol.  not perfect.. but try to be decent.

I could file with my insurance.. but my deductible is 500.. and the cost we have gotten is about 150 over that.. so I might as well just pay the whole thing to not end up with a claim on my record to make my rates go up.

 

simifan's picture

I feel your pain. I had a neighbor's tree branch fall onto my car (at least 15 feet long - i tried to move it off the car but couldn't without help). I took pictures of the tree, and all the damage. No one answered when I knocked on their door. The next morning all the evidence of it was gone - no idea where they hid that branch it was huge. The husband played dumb - What happened to your car? Fortunately, my car insurance covered the damage. 

ESMOD's picture

the irony in that case is I don't think they would have been liable anyway.  I think when something like a tree falls.. it's your homeowners that covers it if it happens in your yard.  unless they were cutting it down recklessly..   but this case.. cutting grass with the guard raised or pointed towards people's cars.. along the edge of a road.. yeah.. that's likely their fault. and something that could have been well avoided.

Shieldmaiden's picture

The ring camera is a good idea, if only to show you who the culprit is....so you can exact your own revenge.

I have a neighbor who keeps moving our trash cans off the curb so he can park in front of our house on trash day. Then our trash doesn't get picked up because he parks in front of our cans. I think we finally caught him doing it enough times that he stopped. The next time I was going to get up to no good, showing him it was bad for his car to park there on trash day.  

thinkthrice's picture

I won't even mow the rental property unless the tenants' cars are safely out of the way.