Bad Neighbours and bullying actions of Gardai?

Hannaho

Hi! We had a dreadful incident on Monday last with a neighbour who has given us a lot of trouble for years. Our driveway are at right angles and he frequently parks beyond is drive so that I can't get my car in or out. When I ask him to move it, he says 'You're not driving a ****ing bus,' or '**** off' - Once I had to call the GArdai to get him to move his car - and the other times when he has refused to do so initially, I have said I am going to have to contact the Gardai and he has just issued a verbal onslaught of expletives before he moves his car in front of my kids.

Last Monday, I got a loud knock on my door at teatime and my neighbour and his girlfriend started shouting and screaming in the middle of my driveway that I had damaged their car - there was 3/4 inch very narrow line of red paint on the back bumper of their BMW - my Ford Fiesta is Red. They were demanding money there and then to pay for it. They said there was a mark of white paint on the back of my car - but when I touched it - it came off in my hand - and was just dust/chalky substance. They then said there was a dinge on the back of my car - it was something I noticed as I was going to get my car in the car park at work a couple of weeks ago - the car park is so small and people double park - that small dents are a frequent occurrence - so it likely happened there. That morning my daughter who is 14 was in the car with me as I was going out to work and we didn't hit anything, and my son aged 12 was in my car coming home and we didn't hit anything. In fact, I am always really careful going out of my drive in case I do hit their cars which are always slightly over the line of their drive anyway. The guy then said he had seen me nearly hit their car several times - to get out of my drive I have to come near their car, but I certainly never hit it. But he had not witnessed me hit his car, or had any video footage of it. He then said if I didn't pay up there and then, he would call the Gardai, and I said to go ahead.

Two female Gardai came to my house as my daughter was getting ready to go to her first disco in Wesley. They said that if I didn't admit to hitting their car and causing the damage - a 3/4 inch very thin line of red paint - that they would have to escalate the incident and it would waste their resources, that if they did escalate the incident that they would have to come and take paint samples from my care, and that if the paint samples proved the same as the ones on my neighbours car, they would charge me with 'hit and run' and leaving the scene of an accident - this all happened in our Cul de Sac. I said I wasn't admitting to anything as I didn't damage my neighbours car, and they couldn't prove that I did ; that my 14 year old daughter and 12 year old son had been with me when I was driving the car that day and we had certainly not hit anyone's least of all my neighbours car - they said they couldn't talk to my children as they were under age - yet they said all this in front of my children as my daughter was coming in and out of our sitting room getting ready for the Disco and my son was in the back room listening to it all! As they left, they said they asked me what time I would be back and I said I would drop my daughter and be back at 8 p.m. They said they would be back then and would take paint samples of my car and that I mustn't interfere with the evidence and wash my car etc - there was no evidence - white paint on my car. They said if I 'tampered' with the 'evidence', they would seize my car. At this point my children were crying, and thought I was going to be taken away. The father of friends of my daughter were arriving to drop of their daughters as I was the taxi driver for the night - all really embarrassing. After they had left I telephoned a ex Detective friend of mine and he couldn't believe what happened - he told me to ring the station and say that I wanted to make a complaint to the Superintendent and was going to contact GSOC and to get the names of the Gardai and their nose - I did this and about an hour later I got a call from one of the Gardai to say they were not coming up that night - I told her I was going to make a complaint about her and her colleague - this is Wednesday and I haven't heard from them since - I have written a letter of complaint. The GArdai had it on record that my neighbour had harassed us before, but yet they carried on this way. So, two questions:

What do I do if Gardai don't come back to me - will this accusation of hit and run be floating around for years?

What can I do to sort out my neighbour - would a solicitor's letter work that he is not allowed to come into our driveway or knock on our door or park so as to obstruct our entrance/exit and that if he does so Court will be the next step?

I only know my neighbours first name - and I think it's his dad who owns the house - how do I find out who owns the house as I don't want to involve/ask my other neighbours, so that I can have my solicitor, if that is the best route, contact them.

CaraMay

You can't get legal advice on this forum

ted1

Call the superintendent and ask for a follow up, where the girls in uniform? Sounds like they may have been friends of the neighbour and doing him a favour

Merkin

As per previous requests and warnings Hannaho we would ask you to not start multiple threads in PI/RI and it's disappointing to see you up to old tricks again. Banned for a week. Please do not start threads in this fashion.