marmande6 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 A neighbour got a gardener to cut down a tree on our property. The garden is fenced in so they had to climb over the fence.I have informed the Mayor. What can I do to ensure this does not happen again; can I get them to pay for a new tree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 [quote user="marmande6"]A neighbour got a gardener to cut down a tree on our property. The garden is fenced in so they had to climb over the fence.I have informed the Mayor. What can I do to ensure this does not happen again; can I get them to pay for a new tree[/quote]You should also report it to the gendarmerie either with a formal complaint (une plainte / translation) or with a simple report (une déclaration en main courante / basic translation).If you seek compensation, you will need to make a formal complaint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmande6 Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Claire: thank you very much. We suggested contacting the Gendarmerie, but the Mayor dismissed the suggestion saying it was none of the Gendarmerie's business. He recommended instead that we contact a Huissier which would cost us €300. Your suggestion seems more sensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 A huissier is usually the first port of call and might be able to help. Going to the gendarmerie does not mean you cannot use one.See HERE and HERE (in French). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Marmande6 ............Is there any 'background' to all this? Whilst I'm not suggesting for a moment that anybody is entitled to just enter your property and cut down one of your trees (either legally or morally), there's often a bit of history involved.It would be easier to advise in any contact you may have with either the Gendarmerie or the Mairie if you were to say whether this came completely out of the blue, or whether it's a bit of a long-running dispute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmande6 Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 There is history. The neighbour is an irascible old lady who has done this before. She chopped down a small apple tree and also stacked some timber beside our house. That was some years ago. We fenced in the garden. Latterly she complained about the smell of the elderflowers and that the birds ate the elderberries and shat on her terrance. We usually ignore her. Now we have decided to put down a marker. We have asked the Mayor to act as a peacemaker (seek an assurance and a new tree) before lodging a complaint with the Gendarmerie should that not be forthcoming. Hey ho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 It's often said on here "It's France and a different culture and you just have to live with it".From what you say, this is a problem that could have arisen in any country in the world.You're wise to press hard with it through the Mairie rather than get the Gendarmerie involved. The problem is that people like this rarely take notice: the Mairie needs to get to whoever (he'll be known) chopped down your tree and give him a slap. I fear though, as I suspect you do, that this may not be the last of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I had the same problem with an 85year old at the time,next door neighbour who used to walk down the lane beside our property to her orchard but would always stop and attack our bank.One day she was there hacking down our elderflower tree which we loved because we used the flowers and berries for our wine, OH went mental about it but she thought as she had lived there for so long she had a right to do what she wanted and she was so two faced - always giving us stuff and the kids sweets and xmas presents and then next thing moaning like hell about us to our other neighbour whom we are good friends with. Its the culture shock thing that these old biddies can't accept and that new people will keep coming and not always french either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Surely this is a classic matter for the service de Médiation ?" Ces actions visent à éviter les passages à l'acte et les situations conflictuelles.Les conflits de voisinage liés aux comportements incivils "This is a typical example, but you must have something like this:http://www.ville-beziers.fr/beziers_pratique/08.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmande6 Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Thank you; an excellent suggestion. Didn't know the service de méediation existed. I shall keep you all posted, should our experience prove useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 [quote user="marmande6"]I shall keep you all posted, should our experience prove useful[/quote]Yes please. Do let us know how you get on... [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Is the common link the elder tree? I read somewhere that people believed witches could transform themselves into elder trees, and other myths included never making a cradle from elder wood. Having said that, I also read that planting an elder tree at the entrance of your property protected against witches, so who knows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 After living here several years, I just accept now that some neighbours are just barking lol (read my neighbour prob earlier) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Dogism is not allowed on this forum is it? Please Georgina, have respect for our furry companions and their natural noises! And remember you lot that trees are essential for a happy dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 http://goo.gl/Dw1U6 Maybe you should put one of these signs up. I sympathise, it was bad enough a neighbour cutting some bushes and a very small tree on our land. We then put a wall up.They left and we ended up with a great neighbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmande6 Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 The Mayor was very reluctant to get involved; though it is one of his duties to settle disputes of this kind. After two letters from us he has spoken to one of the two parties. She agrees to an amicable settlement. However, he does not mention the handyman who chopped down the tree at her request. We are pushing for both to agree not to interfere with our property. We shan't be there until July; we shall continue to harry the Mayor in the meantime. Ooh...this one might run and run. We shall keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Thanks for keeping us posted. As your home insurers if you have legal cover, you may well have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Sounds good. So much better if the Maire can act as a conciliator (which is his / her job) rather than you having to resort to legal action which is (a) expensive and (b) rarely satisfactory.Best to keep on top of it though, as you're obviously planning to do. It just demonstrates that you're not prepared to be trampled on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Brown Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Looking to the future when you might want to plant a new tree here's a link spelling out the rules about where in your garden you can plant a hedge or treeshttp://www.gerbeaud.com/jardin/fiches/distance-plantation-arbre-haie-taille.php3Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Heehee, yeah you could be barking up the wrong tree with some neighbours, as some neighours, obviously fell out of theirs haha.Seriously sympathy for the OP, some people just are totally obnoxious and don't even try reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmande6 Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I promised to keep you up to date about the felled dtree Our experience might be useful. The Mayor finally proved tractable and set up a meeting in the Mairie. The old lady expressed profound regret and agreed to pay for a new tree. We walked her home and invited her to tea. The handyman did not show up but the old lady accepted her responsibility for his behaviour as she commissioned the felling. Our lesson from this is that the Mayor had to be pressured into acting as conciliator; although in a small villages this is one of his primary roles. We allowed everyone to preserve face while laying down a clear marker. So I suppose perseverance pays. Thank you all for your advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Well we would have been right in the caca if we had had to depend on our maire doing anything for us.Still I know that there are many ways to sort things in France, so we'd probably have managed one way or another with such a situation. Pleased you got sorted marmande6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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