When it gets this bad, all you can do is daydream on "revenge candy."
A Redditor in Canada posted about their nightmare neighbors, though that moniker may be underselling the people who displayed such unimaginable animosity that homeowners of 13 years put their house on the market.
Surely they would have gladly traded the four-year renters for a neighbor who merely revved a loud motorcycle for 10 to 20 minutes at a time.
The nuisances started with idling a "stinky" truck for 1-2 hours, though that is hardly harmless. Idling is not only bad for a vehicle's engine — causing wear and tear and stripping oil from vital components — but it also costs money and pollutes the air, producing about 30 million tons of carbon pollution per year worldwide.
It can activate respiratory issues such as asthma and bronchitis, especially in children and others with a history of the illnesses.
Instead of idling, it's better to just get moving. A car can churn through up to a half-gallon of fuel in one hour of idling, and drivers will use more gas by idling longer than 10 seconds than restarting their engines.
These homeowners may have wished their neighbors would've taken that route and never looked back.
Among their other misdeeds before things escalated further: parking an RV so the homeowners couldn't use their back gate; posting false Kijiji ads with their name, address, and phone number; blowing dirt, grass, and leaves onto their lawn and creating a mud pit by parking on it.
The homeowners took the right steps by trying to have a conversation and then documenting the problems. But since the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "weren't interested or able to help, simply telling us to be good neighbors," the homeowners built a fence and installed a surveillance camera.
This is when the neighbors got even more aggressive. They ran into the fence (presumably with their truck), put heavy items against it, and pulled and pushed it enough for it to lean.
One day, the man threw garbage over the fence. The homeowners had a dog and were worried it would eat the trash, so they tried talking to the neighbors — not for the first time. They had proposed compromising on the idling truck and offered cookies, which were returned.
The man's spouse said he wouldn't do such a thing and "demanded" their camera be removed, and then the neighbors called the RCMP to report the homeowners had threatened them.
"We explained our version, offered them the surveillance footage of both the garbage being tossed over the fence and the conversation that took place after," the poster wrote. "They reviewed it and decided to read the neighbors the riot act and to stop untoward behaviors against us."
Of course, the next thing the man did — caught on camera! — was pour antifreeze into the homeowners' diesel fuel tank. They called the police again.
"They knew he did it. They wanted to act on it. The crown prosecutor said no, because their case load was too busy," the poster wrote.
Shortly thereafter, the neighbors tossed food from their backyard into the homeowners' yard, which made them think the hostiles were trying to poison their dog.
"We were legit scared for our safety at this point, because we have had authorities involved frequently … but they can't do anything about it," the poster wrote. "The landlords think we should have them over for coffee to see that they'd never do these things and that we are imagining it all. Seriously, what the actual f***."
A lawyer said going to court might not be worth the cost. The homeowners decided to sell their house and filed a restraining order, which ended up being a mutual restraining order. "Things quieted down," but they had to wait for a full resolution because the coronavirus pandemic slowed the real estate market.
Despite the apparent easing of tensions, the man swerved toward them on the road.
"We are DONE. We just want to move," the poster wrote.
"We have taken the higher ground the entire time. We've taken measures to protect ourselves and our property. But it's never enough."
They wanted to retaliate but decided against it because it would only escalate the problem rather than solve it, and because the offenders and other neighbors had cameras.
"Instead, I'd love to hear what you'd do in this situation. … So please," they wrote, finishing the post. "Give me some imaginative revenge candy to dream on."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
