Dealing with a false rumor

dbnavan

Need some advise, last weekend myself and the wife where getting ready for bed when we saw blue lights outside, neighbours house was on fire, to make a long story short it was an arson attack on a friends house. She got out with her son, and firebirgade came, lower house lots of smoke damage etc etc....

Anyway few days later we started getting dirty looks from a neighbour who we get on pretty well with, we talk accross the wall in the morning, wife sells avon to his missus, never had problems. the second morning i got an obious dirty look I said fcuk this i want to know what its about so I asked him.... he starts going on at me that my wife is saying that his son started the fire, and I am like WTF!!!! We were in bed, we have no idea who started it, and if we did we would be telling the gardai not gossiping it! Infact his kids are the best behaved in the estate! The last I would suspect. There is a few idiots but they arent any of them.

He said something about sending me a solicters letter, I said feel free, you will get one back. Then I asked him who said it about us? He says they want to remain anonymous. Fairly big claim remain anonymous on, I explained that we had been in bed, etc etc, as above, and he shook my hand and said right well lets leave it at that. But still refuses to tell me who said it, and seems to be being friendly now from a distance, if that makes sense, like he still isnt sure.

But what is annoying me is he wont say who my wife supposedly said it to, there is obviously someone trying to stir sh1t. And I want to know who.

Any advice?

AlmightyCushion

If you were in bed and didn't see it, then why is your wife telling everyone his son did it? That's not on.



:pac:

Winters

Torch their house to teach them a lesson about false rumours.

Sherifu

Any hot firemen?

ejmaztec

Sherifu wrote: »

Any hot firemen?

Roasting:eek:

LadyTBolt

Sounds to me like a big misunderstanding but your neighbour would rather let on somebody did say something than own up to it.

Firstly he shook your hand after your wife supposedly said a very nasty thing about his innocent son? If I was in his shoes I'd find that very hard to forgive.

And then he won't say who said it? Hmmm, if somebody did say it why not mention their name if it is true? I'm sure he'd want to get to the bottom of it too, rather than cover up for somebody who he believed told a truth?

Sounds to me like you and your family are the victims here and have been very wrongly accused. I'd keep my distance from them and maybe one day he might own up to the fact he accused you in the wrong or tell you the name of the gossip spreader (which I personally thing does not exist).

Don't get too hung up on it. If they were real friends they wouldn't have believed your wife would have said such a thing!

dbnavan

Almost a year away from AH now I remember why I gave up posting :rollseyes:

1 constructive reply from 5 thanks LadyTBolt

Abi

DBN, this is why I avoided talking to neighbours (when I had them).
They were all falling out with one another for bugger all reason than shit-stirring.

You may never find out who said what. I understand you are angry about it, but what can be done?


You've said all you can.

ejmaztec

You'll have to resign yourself to the fact that you'll probably never find out who the ar5ehole is. Years ago, a few months after we moved here, a mysterious envelope containing £50 and a card, was shoved through our letter-box. On the card it said "conscience money". To this day, we don't know where the hell it came from or what someone would have had a conscience about. We assumed that it got pushed through the wrong letter-box. We donated it to charity, or rather my wife did:( (Neighbours move in mysterious ways.)

Jesus Wept

Free moneys's ftw.

sure sure

can't beat a good feud ! you're not from Limerick by any chance?:D

I think I would go with the missus and chat to the neighbours about this, I've had run ins with neighbours before and it does get to you! Chances are you'll be living beside each other for years to come better off clearing the air now.

ejmaztec

All neighbours are weird (and mine would probably agree with me). One old boy from across the road only spoke to me once and that was to ask how much I paid for the house. The old sod never spoke to me again (probably because his interrogation technique wasn't up to scratch).

hermit

put 100 cow's tongues thru your neighbours letter box - then tell them u heard a rumour that it was another neighbour --- that'll take the heat off.

longshanks

100 cows tongues would be pointlessly extravagant. 41 would be enough

Slidey

Brown paper bag, some nice soft stools and more fire,

Add in a door mat and a rang bell for good measure







As the flutt is banned for a week I'll endeavor to keep the poo stories flowing;)

Sam Vimes

set fire to their son

Abi

slideways wrote: »

Brown paper bag, some nice soft stools and more fire, Add in a door mat and a rang bell for good measure
As the flutt is banned for a week I'll endeavor to keep the poo stories flowing;)

I've a feeling he will come back and tell you off / fix that post for you..



Sam, loving the irony :pac:

Karoma

dbnavan wrote: »

Almost a year away from AH now I remember why I gave up posting :rollseyes:

1 constructive reply from 5 thanks LadyTBolt

Actually, you posted back in April... we digress. (*whispers aside: dbnavan has no idea of months and cannot count.)

The reality is: you may never know who started it. You will be able to do nothing about it. Your best bet was/is to assure your neighbour that you honestly did not start the rumour, and press the neighbour to go back to his source. If he's so cheesed off about the whole thing, let him play detective and find out who is doing it and straighten it out. It may or may not be a malicious thing on the part of the source - you were the first witness, and first there so the Chinese whisper attributes someone elses misunderstanding or ****-stirring to you.
You should just move on.