Sweet Revenge
He walked out onto his porch and couldn’t believe his eyes. Even after his warnings, the pavers were still there. He began to feel anger surge inside him, but then he stopped himself. Like a pro chessplayer, he calculated every possible outcome, playing them out in his mind. Suddenly, his stern mouth relaxed and a slow grin began to spread across his face. He knew what he was going to do about his audacious neighbor. Satisfied, he sat back and waited. “Karma will take care of it,” he whispered, chuckling to himself. And oh boy, was he right.
New Neighbor
Miles was an unassuming man. He’d worked hard for all he had in his life. He had been a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Now, in his golden years, he was content to sit on his porch and look out onto the magnificent nature reserve that bordered his new property, situated in a quiet retirement village in the country. But whenever he peeked into his neighbor’s yard, he grew increasingly annoyed.
Something Odd
Miles looked from his tiny backyard to his neighbor’s again. His neighbor’s yard extended a good 8 feet beyond his — it was, by far, the largest property on the estate. How was that possible? At first, he assumed that the man had just been lucky or he had been able to afford a larger piece of land. But it wasn’t long before he knew what his neighbor was really up to.
A Twinge Of Envy
Miles was a friendly man and he quickly befriended all his new neighbors and exchanged phone numbers — including the man with the largest back yard. He felt a mixture of envy and admiration when he saw that the man also owned a cherry red sports car — something he had never been able to afford. Nevertheless, he was content in his little slice of paradise. Until one fateful day.
Strange Behavior
On the day in question, Miles happened to look over and spotted his neighbor doing something strange. The man deliberately paced back and forth, walking the length of his property with a dissatisfied look on his face. He disappeared for a few minutes, and then returned with a wheelbarrow full of expensive pavers. He began to lay them one by one, but then he did something that had Miles doing a double-take.
Laying Paving
The man began laying his paving from his front door. After a few hours and a lot of huffing and puffing, he had paved his entire backyard — all the way up to the old fenceposts that designated the boundary between his property and the reserve. Then, he made a move that made Miles’ jaw drop.
A Bold Move
Miles watched his neighbor brazenly stomp up to the rickety boundary fenceposts and rip them out one by one. Then, he moved them back by two feet — back into the reserve — and began to pound them in again. Miles couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Now, he knew why the man had such an enormous backyard! He knew he had to do something.
Shattering The Peace
The man was beginning to clear the land to make space for his pavers when Miles approached him. He walked up and gently asked the man to stop what he was doing. Having worked for the National Park Services, Miles thought that perhaps his neighbor wasn’t fully aware of the repercussions for what he was doing. But then, all hell broke loose.
Confrontation
Miles had barely gotten a word out when his neighbor rudely interrupted him. Turning aggressively to face him, he began to yell. “You’re new here. I’ve been here ten years,” he spat. “Mind your own damn business!” Miles didn’t have to be told twice. He left without another word, deciding that pressing the issue with the defensive man wasn’t going to get him anywhere. But, maybe there was another way to make him understand.
What Could He Do?
Miles clenched his fists helplessly and watched the man complete his paving — effectively extending his yard by an additional two feet. Could he stand idly by and watch the reserve he loved get destroyed slowly by the audacious man? He must have been doing this for years… where would it end? Then, it suddenly dawned on him that he didn’t have to do anything. All he had to do was watch it all play out.
Waiting And Watching
For a full year, Miles watched and waited. It was summer again and the reserve was eerily quiet. Many of the park’s residents had traveled North for their Summer holiday — including his rude neighbor. He wasn’t plotting revenge. He had a strong feeling in his gut that karma would come knocking soon. And, sure enough, it did.
Expenses
One bright morning, Miles was sitting on his porch enjoying the sunshine when the county came to check on the reserve. And when they saw Miles’ neighbor’s backyard, they were not impressed. Miles watched them pacing back and forth, then they began to pull out maps, take photographs, and make phone calls. Then, more people showed up.
A Notice
It turns out that Miles’ neighbor had been doing this for years… pulling out the boundary fenceposts and grabbing land however and whenever he saw fit. He had put the new pavers down so that he could park his golf cart and cherry-red sportscar out back while he was away for the summer. The county would have to move them before they did anything else, so they taped a notice to the man’s door and left.
Fines
Miles, curious, walks up to read the notice. It states that the man is in violation of encroachment onto protected lands and that he has 30 days to move his car, tear up the pavers, and pay a fine of $11,000. The fine is for damage to protected species that inhabit the protected land and for trespassing. But that wasn’t all.
A Decision
Failure to comply within 30 days would result in the golf cart and sports car being towed away and impounded, and the pavers would be dug up and carted off at the man’s expense. Additionally, the fine will be increased for every day past the deadline. Miles smiled to himself. Should he call his neighbor?
Karma Comes Knocking
The month flew by and the man still hasn’t returned from his summer home. Just a week after the deadline, Miles was in for quite a show. He sat back and watched as they unceremoniously moved the golf cart. Then, they came back for the cherry-red sports car. After they had towed both vehicles away, they began to tear out the fencepoles one by one. He had tried to warn him but it was too late for that now. All he could do was sit back and observe karma doing its work.
Getting To Work
Then, the pavers were ripped out and hauled away, and the old rickety fenceposts and ropes were replaced with new ones. This time, they were replaced with metal posts with steel cables that were deeply embedded in the ground with concrete. There was no way they would ever be moved now. The process took weeks, and Miles’ rude neighbor was none the wiser.
Finishing Up
When the contractors finished their work, the reserve was secured behind steel. Solar-powered cameras were even installed to monitor the wildlife remotely. And the notices on the neighbor’s door grew with each week. Miles waited with a mixture of glee and anxiety for his neighbor to arrive back home. He was definitely in for a surprise.
He Arrives
It was November when the man finally came back. Miles was in for another show. He watched him pull into the drive and walk up to the front door, which was now festooned with notices. The man read them one by one with a look of incredulity before digging out the first notice. Then, he ran out to his backyard and began to scream.
Fury
The man rushed back to his car to fetch his cell phone and then proceeded to call the county to find out where his sports car and golf cart were, unleashing a torrent of curses in his blind rage. Miles watched quietly from the window, smiling to himself. But the poetic justice of it all was still to come.
Poetic Justice
Three days later, the man confronted Miles, demanding to know if he was there when the county “stole his car and destroyed his backyard.” Miles replied that yes, he saw it all. “Well, why didn’t you call me when you saw them putting notices on my door?! You had my number up North!” Miles paused before replying. He said that he had thought about calling, but figured that it would be best if he “minded his own damn business.” But Miles’ revenge paled in comparison to the sweet justice that a farmer named Joe dished out when he found out that some rude neighbors were illegally dumping their trash on his land…
A Farmer’s Plight
He woke up at the crack of dawn to tend to his farm and what he saw next made him see red. He would have the last say, he would make sure of that. Looking closer at what he now held in his hands would make it all that much easier.
Insult to Injury
Joe had worked his farm since he was barely out of diapers. He came from a long line of farmers and his father had taught him everything he knew, but the farm life everyone has so glamorized is far from the truth of raising your own animals and crops to survive, and sadly that’s not where the hardship stops.
Rubbish
Joe lives in the UK and has recently become a target of what is called ‘fly-tipping’. Basically, jerks come in the middle of the night to dump their unwanted rubbish on any open piece of land, be it a field or the middle of the road, without the farmer’s knowledge or consent. So what could he do?
On His Own Dime
The part that Joe found hard to swallow is the fact that he is legally accountable for cleaning up the mess even though he didn’t create it. All he wanted was to not have an extra burden laid upon him on top of supplying amazing crops for everyone to eat. Farming is a thankless job, but not this thankless.
A Promise
Waking up early on the farm as he was accustomed to doing, Joe came across a new truck full of filth, squarely dumped next to of one of is most productive fields. How had someone gotten so close to being able to dump a lot of rubbish without him knowing? Joe vowed to somehow find the culprit, come hell or high water.
The Cheek of Some People
While driving along the dirt track next to his best field Joe came to a dead stop. Lying right in the middle of the road was a huge pile of rubbish. Not just any old junk though, all along the road, lay piles upon piles of scattered garbage. Joe had just about had all he could take. He dismounted the tractor and went looking for details.
A Clue
Sifting through the debris, Joe stumbled across some incriminating evidence. Amongst the rubble and broken odds and ends, Joe found exactly what he was searching for. Post! He couldn’t have received a better break. Upon the envelopes, clear as day, was written the name of the jerk that dumped all the building and household rubbish on Joe’s farm for him to sort out.
A Plan is Formed
He had just about had enough of this nonsense, it was costing him an arm and a leg to remove the rubbish that he was legally inclined to and he wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. Hitching a trailer to his car and plotting a map, Joe had a way forward at last.
Getting Even
In an average part of town, not very far away was the address that was on all the letters Joe had found. He had plotted his GPS course to take him right outside the dumping culprit’s house. Revenge glistened in his eyes as he began the journey to getting even.
Guilty
In the middle of the night, just as the dumper had done to him, Joe threw every single last piece of trash collected from his farm onto the pavement of the oblivious dumper. He smiled as he thought about the owner of the junk waking up to a filthy curb, but that’s not to say that he didn’t feel a twinge of guilt doing the deed. What happened days later would leave him in shock.
A Strange Reaction
The dumper was not happy at all at the sight of his curb being polluted by his own rubbish and he immediately set about confronting Joe. After all, he knew exactly where his junk had returned from. The audacity of this man was unbelievable. Joe could hardly believe what he was hearing as the angry citizen lambasted him for his retaliation. Joe, however, was not to be deterred.
Stop the Blot
For a long time now, farms have been fighting the law because “The legal burden on farmers to deal with rubbish dumped illegally on their lands is grossly unfair.” Joe claimed. And he was not alone in the consensus. In Joe’s mind, something more needed to be done to protect farmers. But what?
Waste Offenses
A spokesperson for Rotherham Council said: “We are investigating fly-tipping and other waste offenses in this area and we are progressing potential legal proceedings. Therefore it would not be appropriate to comment further till this has concluded.”
Against the Law
Some advice that Joe received stuck in his mind, and he only hoped the original dumper didn’t know the law as he did. Keep full details of your clearance and disposal costs. Successful prosecution can mean that your costs incurred for the removal of the waste can also be recovered. There was a conundrum here.
We Will Catch You
If this man insisted on playing hardball he would have to admit to illegally dumping the original waste in the first place, leaving him open to a hefty fine as much as Joe was. If caught or proven to have been fly-tipping you could be held responsible and face an unlimited fine. This could get messy.
Lucky Joe
Luckily the dumper didn’t seem aware of this and Joe was able to take a firmer stand and with bolstered courage told the man in no uncertain terms that if one more load of garbage was left on his farm for him to clean up, he would be sure to know exactly where it belonged. “Tell your friends,” Joe threatened as he left the bewildered man outside his farm.
Taxpayers’ Money
Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. It’s a crime that damages the environment, risks public health and costs taxpayers to clean up. Items most commonly dumped are things such as furniture, ovens, fridges. It is illegal to fly-tip with a potential of up to £50,000 ($63170) in fines in addition to a maximum prison sentence of five years and more.
CCTV
Joe had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the end of his dumping plight and rigged CCTV cameras in areas where the dumping happened most often. Soon, his investment paid off. Now he had proof and the results were even more satisfying than returning the initial load of rubbish on his nemesis’ pavement.
Smile, You’re On Camera
With gleeful intent, he handed over all the footage to the local waste enforcement unit. A pat on the back and he went home to await justice. The angry dumper was about to get his just desserts, he just didn’t know it yet.
Out of Sight
Joe made sure to be there when the local waste enforcement unit arrived at the fly tippers residence, though he stayed out of sight. He just could resist watching justice being served on this person that felt entitled to lay waste to his farmland. After questioning and formalities, the show began.
Bye Bye, BMW
Pulling a lovely black BMW up onto the tow bed, the officers made it clear that the vehicle had been identified as the car doing the dumping. It would make it’s way to the impound lot and whoever came to claim it would have some explaining to do.
Local Authority
The Environment Agency generally deal with larger deposits (more than a single tipper load), or more hazardous deposits, or where there is evidence of organized criminality to the deposit. Where there is a greater harm to the environment or human health, the Environment Agency is more likely to get involved rather than the Local Authority. They will do so whether this takes place on public or private land, depending on whether they can be encouraged to investigate.
Extra Precautions
That in itself can prove difficult and is no guarantee that they will shoulder the clean-up costs. That said, a successful prosecution by the Environment Agency also allows an order to be sought to reimburse the landowner for their clean-up costs. In the future, Joe maintains that he will do more to safeguard his lands such as adding more gates and locking up areas to his farm as well as adding lights and cameras. With the fees becoming larger and larger to legally dump, Joe is sure this is not the last time he will encounter fly-tipping. But Joe is not the only one who has resorted to drastic measures when it comes to someone else’s trash. When this landlord saw what a state his nightmare tenants had left the apartment in, he knew just what to do.
Audacity
He woke and up checked his bank account, but still nothing. It had been over a year since these tenants had moved in, and he had not received a single rental payment. Promise after idle promise had been made, and this was the last straw. Little did he know, he was about to walk into a landlord’s worst nightmare. And he was going to make them pay.
Thomas Ravaux
Thomas Ravaux was an optimistic man, and when he met the couple with three well-mannered children who had inquired about renting an apartment from him, they had seemed nice enough. After filling out the requisite paperwork they had passed all the financial and security checks with flying colors. There were no red flags and Thomas was confident that he had made the right decision.
Immaculate Apartment
Thomas spent a week making sure the French apartment was ready for his new tenants. He repainted the home from top to bottom with a new coat of white paint, checked the fittings, cornices, door handles and plumbing to make sure all was in working order. He hired a wood polishing machine and buffed the hardwood floors until they gleamed.
Perfect Family
With everything in order, the seemingly-perfect family began to move in, bringing with them boxes of their belongings, which they stacked neatly in the hallway. Thomas presented them with the keys and went on his merry way. Two months flew by, and then four, but he had still not received his first rental payment. At first, he thought nothing of it and chalked it down to a banking error. Surely there had been some kind of mistake?
A Mistake?
Thomas made a call to his bank. Perhaps the payments were not reflecting in his bank account for some reason. With a family of his own, he was starting to feel the pinch without this steady stream of income. But what the woman on the customer care line said made him see red.
Suspicions Grow
There had been no rental payments from his new tenants at all. He angrily dialed their number, but there was no answer. He called again and again, reasoning that the father of three must be busy. Suddenly, his call was dropped and he began to suspect the worst. They were avoiding him. This continued for an entire fourteen months. Thomas was a patient man, but enough was enough.
Paying Them A Visit
Thomas pulled up to the pristine apartment block and walked down the drive. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Thomas had suspected as much, so he whipped out his spare key. He was going to give these tenants a piece of his mind. When he creaked the unoiled door open, the sight in the hallway left him reeling.
Trashed
The entire apartment was stacked from floor to ceiling with trash. Broken furniture lay in heaps of splintered wood, children’s toys littered the once immaculate hardwood floor. Dishes piled up high on every surface, and the stench was unbearable, and the smell of rotten food hung in the air like a thick fog.
Damage And Disarray
Thomas held his head in disbelief. How could anybody live in such filth? His eyes took it all in as he stood with his mouth turned up in disgust. There were holes punched in the drywall, and there was evidence that there had been dogs living here, too. He took a minute to calm himself, and then he started to hatch a plan.
Inconsiderate
There was such a wanton disregard for his property that Thomas almost cried. This apartment had belonged to his grandfather, and when he had passed Thomas had inherited it, making the tough decision to rent it out. He needed the money–and with a family of his own to feed it had been a Godsend. And now this. Ruined. Well, he would show them.
Seeing Red
Thomas pulled out his phone and called his lawyer, who gave him the go-ahead. Then, Thomas knocked on his neighbor’s door. He asked the neighbor if his tenants had been at the apartment recently, but he said it had been empty for weeks. Furious, Thomas made another call. These rude tenants were going to pay.
Plans For Revenge
Luckily, his tenants were listed. He quickly searched a directory and found their new address. He was incredulous as he walked from room to room, inspecting the damages. They had left a mountain of trash for him to clean up and had moved on without a word. His hands fisted into balls and sweat dripped from his forehead. Something inside mild-mannered Thomas had finally snapped.
Payback
The truck pulled up to the drive noisily, and men started to stream into the building. They too were aghast at what was inside and immediately got to work loading the entire foul mess onto the dump truck. When they heard Thomas’ plan, they applauded him. Everyone wanted to see these people get their comeuppance. They were going to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Loading It All Up
Broken furniture, garbage, paper, dog feces, rotten food, and dirty dishes, it was all piled onto the truck in a stinking heap. Thomas had never seen so much filth. Finally, the apartment was cleared of trash, and Thomas followed the truck to its destination–outside the tenants’ newly rented apartment, just a few blocks away.
Special Delivery
The truck backed up with a beep-beep and tipped the heap of trash right onto the rude tenants’ driveway. Onlookers gathered and couldn’t help but gawk at such a ghastly delivery, but Thomas smiled when he thought of the rude people’s reaction when they saw what surprise he had left for them.
Drastic Measures
Thomas uploaded the video of his revenge onto Facebook and Youtube, and it quickly gained traction around the world. Local news stations picked up the story, and the original video has garnered over a million views. Most commenters praised Thomas for teaching his nightmare tenants a lesson in common decency. One commenter wrote: “Love it!! This needs to be done in the United States! I’ve seen some disgusting tenants in my neighborhood!” But not all who saw Thomas’ revenge video have praised him.
Mixed Reactions
Some viewers have voiced their concerns: “Not a bad idea but if these tenants can’t pay rent moved to new place which is not their place you just made a big mess for a new landlord who now can sue you for jumping on his property. Think man. I know you’re upset but you put a new landlord in the middle and he did nothing to you.” But Thomas stands firmly by his decision.
The Law On His Side
“It was carnage inside. Everything was totally destroyed. The carpet is messed up, there are holes in the walls, all the paintwork needs re-doing, and we will need to disinfect it all. The smell is unbearable. I had a legal representative witness the damage before we emptied the place,” Thomas says in his defense. And he has a message for his tenants.
“Shame On You!”
“This is how this flat was returned to me. Living like that with three kids, bravo. Not to mention the food that has gone bad in the fridge. Food offered to you by restaurant owners from their heart! Shame on you. Good luck to your new landlord.” Thomas also had to pay for all the damages to his once immaculate property.
Learning The Hard Way
He added: “…I loaded everything into a dumpster and brought them back home…I met the authorities and we talked… For now, I’m not worried… The old tenants had to clear the sidewalk and bring everything to the dump Tuesday night. Everything is cleaned.” But do you think the unbelievably inconsiderate tenants learned their lesson?