I've just moved into a new place, and from our hallway you can hear the alarm from next door's house constantly bleeping. It sounds like instead of setting the alarm, the person has done something stupid like set it up to have the number changed, but then not changed it. So it bleeps. Constantly. 24 hours a day.
I've asked a person who used to live here and he said that they've mentioned the problem to them several times and they apologise, but don't fix it. And, since they're studends, they're now gone from the summer. So it goes on all the time. It's not excessively loud, but it is constant and I can hear it in my room if I'm trying to sleep.
Any ideas on what can be done? I'm mainly thinking of sensible advice, not "break into their house and smash the place up to teach them for not putting up their alarm correctly". Could I phone the council and claim that I've just moved in and I can hear the alarm coming from the property next door, which seems completely empty?
Lee, doesn't your wonderful wife know about legal stuff like this?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I assume you're living in an apartment situation. I would say you should definitely be able to phone the landlords and politely complain about it. I don't know if there's anything they can do about it, but in the States, I believe landlords have the right to enter an apartment under certain circumstances. If the noise can be heard at night and outside their apartment, it's likely a violation of their rental agreement.
If that doesn't work, I can recommend a great brand of earplugs.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I'm not completely clear what you're referring to. Is this a security alarm, an alarm clock, what? Failing all else, even if the landlord can't enger the apartment, given that they're gone you could maybe get their power shut off...
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
No, it's a terraced house, not an apartment. I have no idea who the landlord is next door.
It's not an alarm clock. It's the security (house) alarm. It's not going off as such, but if you've ever used one then you know that it tends to make a beeping noise just after you've entered the code, telling you that you've got about 10 seconds to leave the house before the alarm activates. Well, it's that bleeping noise, and it doesn't stop ever.
It's not hugely loud, but it is aggrivating.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Such thoughtless stupidity, unfortunately requires you to break into their home and trash it to teach them a lesson. Or at the very least, to rip the security panel off the wall.
I doubt the Police would do anything (about the noise that is, not the breaking and entering). They can't be going into people's homes because their neighbors ask them to. If there's a town council or something... maybe? It might violate a noise ordinance.
Or... how about this: Phone the Police and tell them you heard their alarm making noises last night that it sounded like it shouldn't be making. Perhaps they will investigate and turn it off. You wouldn't even be lying.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Call the power company, pretend to be them, cancel the account.
Enjoy the silence.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: Or... how about this: Phone the Police and tell them you heard their alarm making noises last night that it sounded like it shouldn't be making. Perhaps they will investigate and turn it off. You wouldn't even be lying.
That's what I was thinking. You can't really hear it all the time, just when you stand in the hallway, or in my room when there are no other sounds in the house. Which is, unfortunatly, when I'm trying to sleep. And I'm one of those people who cannot block out sounds at all. So I might phone the local police department and tell them that I've just moved in and there's an alarm coming from next door.
Either that or get a job working for the power company and arrange a city wide power cut for a couple of minutes.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I had a long post written then my cunting browser just shut down. Call the noise team (look for them on the council website, probably part of the environmental health dept), get them to come out tonight and hear what it's like. They can contact the landlord and get him to sort it out.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
You could try placing a London Underground sign on the doorway. It will eventually take care of the problem.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Another idea would be to obtain a small pack of squirrels, and then set them loose near the neighborhood's power transformer. Inevitably, one of them will try to get into the transformer, providing you with a brief power outage that'll reset the alarm. Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Or you could just form the circus troupe Liam And His Amazing Trained Squirrels, make a lot of money, and move.
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
You could try sueing them under the european Human Rights act. Of course, that could get a little expensive. Not to mention being a little excessive.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
What's the London Underground?
Here's my guess: It has something to do with homeless people and/or shady types who will se the sign, begin squatting at the home, and eventually detroy everything including the alarm panel.
(More important than assessing my guess... was my use of the term "squatting" correct? Because it would mean something far different in the States.)
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
It is an underground railroad for the paupers, proles, and slave-laborers otherwise trapped or lost in London.
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
What, have you not seen the news for the past four weeks?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
If the "Underground" refers to the London subway system, then yah, I get it. To me, anything that's underground means something that's on the down low, or something that's not supposed to be going on.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
In London it is called the Underground or the Tube. In Paris, the Metro. The US seems to call them all Subways. Not sure about Tokyo.
(So did they not call it the "London Underground" on the news stories? And you've never heard it called that but understand the differences between the English and American uses of the word "squatting", something I've never heard of before? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!)
Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
I believe they often referred to it as the "London Underground" or the "Tube". I was in London for two days while on a whirlwind tour of Europe and used the Tube extensively. I found it inexpensive, clean, and efficient and wished our public transportation systems in the States were more like it.
As for a squatter or squatting, is there a difference in the usage? Isn't a squatter someone who sets up residence on someone else's property?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Because of recent events, I've heard the term "The Tube" extensively, but not "The Underground" that I can remember.
"Taking a squat", or "popping a squat" in the US refers to deficating. I know the term "squatters", oddly enough, from the movie, Shrek.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
^ ??????!
What part of the country are YOU from? I've never heard those phrases, and I've known the "squatters" definition since grade school. (Of course it could be an age thing. I'm 31 now.) And I don't know when I first heard of the London Underground, but it had to be a long long time ago, and until now, I haven't heard it referred to as the Tube.
(And before you ask, I grew up in the Southeast, and am now living around St. Louis.)
B.J.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I've been aware of that use of the word "squat" for some time, though I've never considered it common. Tennessee, for what it's worth.
"Let me correct you on a few things. Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not "Every Man for Himself". And the London Underground is not a political movement."
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
quote:I was in London for two days while on a whirlwind tour of Europe and used the Tube extensively. I found it inexpensive, clean, and efficient and wished our public transportation systems in the States were more like it.
Funniest Flare post ever.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Well, I'm almost 30, so it's not an age thing. And I live in Michigan. Which is redneck country... and "popping a squat" isn't exactly proper language... so maybe it's not that widespread. My roommate used to use the term frequently, though.
Posted by Not Invented Here (Member # 1606) on :
quote: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was in London for two days while on a whirlwind tour of Europe and used the Tube extensively. I found it inexpensive, clean, and efficient and wished our public transportation systems in the States were more like it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funniest Flare post ever.
The really wierd thing is, he could have used just the Jubilee line and his post might have been believable.
On the other hand, some days on the Bakerloo line I can barely see one end of the platform from the other. If some of the money for the Olympics doesn't go into improving the tube I shall be a very grumpy person.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
I used the London tube a month ago. The noise level was ear-deafening during the straight passages and we were almost thrown out of our seats. Really irritating. Are there different train models in the London Tube? I must've gotten the 70's model. Stockholm has two kinds, old 70's cars and new ones from 2000.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Yeah, it varies from line to line.
I think the reason why most torists have a good impression of the underground and most residents have a bad impression is the time they get on it. Rush hour does turn it from a fairly well run transportation system into a wretched hive of extremely cramped scum and villany.
(If I believed American TV though, I would think it impossible to get on the New York subway without getting mugged on a grafitti covered train.)
Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
Well, we had been using the Tube to get from places like the Tower of London to the Imperial War Museum. I suppose they may maintain the tourist lines better. Either way, the London Tube was significantly better than the Paris Metro which, like many other places in Paris, seemed to smell like urine.
I myself lived in Southern California where the mass transit system is often used by some scary individuals. There just aren't enough normal people using it to balance out the weirdos.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
In Miami, we have the Metrorail (a monorail) - it's really clean, virtually noiseless, always on time and absolutely no one uses it.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
In Houston, we have the METRORail -- a light rail system. The inaugural and only line is 7.5 miles long and stretches from north downtown south to the Astrodome and football stadium. Since the line began testing in November 2003 (and opened in 2004), it's amassed 99 accidents with automotive and pedestrian traffic, earning it the nickname "The Danger Train". It's quiet, prone to breakdowns in the rain, suffers from problems in making sure riders pay for tickets, and has a taste for human blood.
Posted by Timo (Member # 245) on :
In Helsinki, we have the pub tram - a cheerfully red old 100-cm-track car that goes round and round the city's extensive tramline network, has four conveninently placed regular stops and the option for chartering, and offers a broad range of alcoholic drinks, loud music, and sanitary services (the law on beverages rights for restaurants specifies a minimum requirement of one toilet per pub).
We also have a subway system that offers a broad range of alcoholic drinks and loud music on certain nights, but it's up to the passengers to produce those. Sanitary services consist of easily washable plastic seats.
Timo Saloniemi
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: it's really clean, virtually noiseless, always on time and absolutely no one uses it.
Which would likely be why it's clean and noiseless. I think I would view such a city service as an little-known treasure and do my best to keep it under wraps.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Actually, it gets used a lot at morning and evening rush hours- it's just empty the rest of the time.
There were plans to radicly expand it all the way up to the Hollywood/Ft. lauderdale area (thus relieving much traffic congestion) but everything from hurricnes to corrupt city councilmen have killed that notion for years.
Looks cool though- the downtown section has multicolored neon running along the side of the track.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Politicians are the suck. Blarg to them, I say.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
One of the reasons Londoners adapted so quickly to the events of 7/7 is we are used to the London underground breaking down and not working for days at a time. Although having someone other than track repairs companies trying to kill us was a novelty. Best tube rounts in Summer during rush hour: Central line from Stratford to Holburn. Northern line between Highgate and Oval, either route hammersmith&City from bakerstreet to west ham District between West ham and Temple Picadilly though Kings Cross. Waterloo & City DLR (technically not the tube) though Canary wharf.
Going to the original issue, can you cut or get cut the power to the flat? The alarm's batteries I'm sure won't last that long..
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Not unless I climb up the local electricity pylon with a pair of scissors. It's not a flat. It's the house that we share a wall with.
I'm going to phone up the council. As soon as I remember to.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
If they've not set the alarm properly, doesn't that mean that their house insurance isn't valid?
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
PsyLiam: So, what happened? (If anything)
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing - but just make sure they don't have a cat with an automatic feeder! Or your heel is uneven or the guy across the hall has a lot of potatoes! Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Some old people who apparently owned the property turned up yesterday. I politely explained that their alarm was going off. They generously explained that it had to beap all the time when it was turned on. I firmly explained that I could hear it in my room when trying to sleep. They caringly shrugged their shoulders and stared at me. So I went inside and cursed their name.
I've also found out that, because one of the sensors is malfunctioning, our alarm constantly bleeps when it is turned on. And it's quite loud. I might be evil.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
quote:They generously explained that it had to beap all the time when it was turned on.
Tell them to put some black electrical tape over the annunciator, or have the alarm company programme it to not make the noise while it is on. Surely there is an option in the software for turning it off.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Or you could just get your own alarm (clock) and let it beep all night outside their room.
Just set it off on nights you go out.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Shrimp shells inside the curtain rods. Works for years.
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Or your heel is uneven or the guy across the hall has a lot of potatoes!