Karen refuses to clean backyard and pay for breaking neighbor's fence, neighbor retaliates and pays the price: 'She threatened me with small claims court'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 27, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Messing with a Karen is the kind of bold choice that is bound to have unforeseen consequences. These audacious folks are not the kinds of people to give up, admit wrongdoing, or go down without a fight. 

Here, we have a resident who never really had a problem with his neighbor until the fence surrounding his backyard suddenly collapsed. Following the incident, the resident could now see into his next-door neighbor's backyard and saw the piles and piles of heavy garbage that were at one point lined up against his fence. It was clear that the trash caused the damage to the fence. 

Of course, the Karen next door denied this logical conclusion and refused to pay the resident for repairs to the fence. The repairs were not even very expensive, but it quickly became about the principle of the matter. When the resident tried to at least get the Karen to clean up after herself, all he received for weeks on end was radio silence. So, he took matters into his own hands and wound up almost getting taken to court for it. 

Keep scrolling below for the full saga. For more, check out this collection of workplace pranks.

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  • 01
    1205 "I took matters into my own hands. I loaded up THEIR garbage into my car and took it to the dump."
    via Zac Gudakov
  • 02
    AITA for calling my neighbor a Karen when she threatened me with small claims court?
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 03
    I don't know if ages matter but I (F30) live with my wife and our two sons. We are homeowners and have had some trouble with our next door neighbors. They're a young nuclear family, two parents in their 30's with a little baby.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 04
    We aren't the type of neighbors to spy into yards or monitor what everyone is doing so we hadn't really noticed that their backyard is a pigsty, at least not until our fence panels had been broken. These neighbors
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 05
    had been piling trash and leaning it up against OUR fence, and eventually the sheer weight of it had just broken it, causing it all to spill into our yard. There were old pieces of wood, metal, garbage bags, pieces of furniture and just general clutter and C
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 06
    I confronted the neighbors and informed them of what happened. I asked politely that they clear up the garbage and contribute some money towards a new fence. The husband said he'd sort it out, but after 2 weeks of no change, I knocked on their door
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 07
    again. The wife gave some excuse about how the baby has been crazy but that they would get rid of the garbage asap. Another 3 weeks and nothing. I knocked on their door at two different times, left messages on their ring
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 08
    doorbell and messaged them both on Facebook and it has been radio silence. They've also not given us any money for the fence but to be honest I don't even care.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 09
    After no response for another week, I took matters into my own hands. I loaded up THEIR garbage into my car and took it to the dump. They're now angry and said that we have no right to get rid of their stuff and it's still their property. When the wife turned up at our door we got into a small argument
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 10
    as she threatened me with small claims court, saying that we owe her and her husband money. I called her a Karen and told her if the stuff was so important she shouldn't have left it littered
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 11
    around in my yard where my kids play for over a month. She says that they would've gotten rid of it if they were given a chance, the nearest dump is over an hours drive away and they dont have all the time in the world. AITA?
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 12
    meeksworth. NTA they damaged your property and then they abandoned their items on your side of the fence. That's property damage abs littering that they're guilty off, and it's unlikely that any court would grant damages for property they abandoned on someone else's land. YOU should be taking them to small claims court about the damage to your fence.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 13
    I archetyping101. NTA. You gave them five weeks since you first talked to the husband and they did nothing. They're fortunate you aren't charging them for the dump fee (my city charges to dump stuff at the city facility). You could have thrown it back to their home and you didn't. What exactly would they take you to court over? Cleaning their garbage? Saving them time and money? Or are they saying their garbage wasn't garbage?
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 14
    Space JesusIsHere You should take them to small claims court. But before you do, reach out with a certified letter asking for them to either fix the fence or give you $X, by a set date (usually want to give a month at least.) Also, you may want to ask them for money for having to remove the junk they dumped in your yard for weeks. And for any damage to the yard and costs to fix it.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 15
    Keep notes in a journal about any other interactions with them. And, if they don't respond by your date, take them to court. Judges look very favorably on plaintiffs who try to solve their own problems before filing a suit.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 16
    Keep notes. Be calm and polite. Don't argue or interput if they start lying, just wait your turn. Also, get an estimate from the most expensive contractor you can find (thats the amount you ask for in your letter) and bring that written estimate to court. You may also want to sue for missing work and hiring child care to go to court. Not likely to get it, but if they're to the judge you may get lucky.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 17
    Above all: don't threaten to sue them. Ever. Don't ever list consequences in your letter or conversations with them. Just ask for the money you're owed and give them a date you'd like it by. If they ask or else what?, don't day you'll sue them. Just say nothing.
    via u/Equal-Year5768
  • 18
    No threats. Just get an estimate, send the certified letter with delivery receipt proof, then sue them if they don't pay. Do not have any conversations with them about this in person. Only where you can have a record. ΝΤΑ
    via u/Equal-Year5768

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karens aita neighbors neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories karens in the wild entitled reddit thread Reddit karen entitled people
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