Hi [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]
Ok, I admit it, I use this forums for opinions from people from abroad alot. I lived abroad my self and now that I am back home I have a bit of a problem understanding why things are how they are so I was wondering if there are some opinions about this matter:
I live in a block of flats that is heavily altered by illegal unlicenced construction and its also got some technical problems. The ceilings leak for instance.
When I moved back here 3 years ago we were doing some repairs on the balcony when I was informed by the contractors that the neighbour next to me has illegally built half of his balcony and created a room there. That is not made from furniture, like wooden blinds, its actually constructed with bricks and mortar and on top of that he used an asbestos slab for roofing. Allthough I dont really mind the extra room, since the worst that can happen is the guys balcony collapsing I mind alot the asbestos slab, because not only is a hazardous material its also illegaly constructed so there is no planning or assesment for its safety. So I told him what the hell have you done and he replied to me "mind you own business". I asked him to remove the asbestos slab using a hazardous material contractor and he told me again to "mind my own business". Since I think that this Is my business I called the police and they told me that I need to go to the building regulations service and ask them. So I went there and they came over and made an inspection and they told me that the structure is indeed illegal and indeed made out of asbestos. Then they fined him and now he pays 100 euro per year for the illegal construction. I thought that I dont care if he pays the damn fine since I want the hazardous material removed and I went to enviromental protection and got a paper that clearly states that this material is hazardous. With that paper I went back to the building regulations service and I asked for the building to be demolished. I got a paper that says that building is indeed programmed for demolition but since the building regulations services do not! have a contractor they cannot do it and the only way to do that is me suing him, demolish the building and send him the bill. Thing that I havent done so far. Afterwards I was painting the roof of the building to stop some leaking that was happening and the guy sued! me. I had ofcourse all the relevant permits so I was cleared of the charges but I still ended up paying some money for a lawyer because if I went by my self in the preliminary examination of the court I would not know what to say because I dont know the legal mumbo jumbo very well.
Another problem is two dodgy shops on the ground floor of the appartment building. Apparently these are run by some very uneducated individuals who are using the shop to sell fruit. Allthough there are numerous rumours going around that this is actually a mob establishment and what they do there they do without receipts or checks or anything. This shops open at 5am and close at around midnight, Monday to Saturday, whilst in between there is constantly some people "working" there. I also know that some of the people there used to be in prison and I also know that one of the people there was involved in a fatal car accident for which he is paying fines. Now before alienator tells calls me a "hater", I do agree that if the law lets them to be around here then I cant really say much about that but I just dont want to see them personally or live in the same building with them. Its just my personal choice. So these shops fence the sidewalk every night because they are too lazy to carry the crates of the "merchandise" inside the shop and they also have removed all windows and doors from the shop making in essentialy a shed. It is ofcourse illegal to do that and it also produces quite alot of noise so I asked them to stop making noise and they ignored me. I called the police and they stopped making noise for 1 day and the next day the started again. I went to the police and they told me that all I can do is to be calling the police every time they make some noise which I did about 200 times. Then one day I was reaaaaally sleepy and they started banging some metal fences on the sidewalk so I snapped and started shouting at them because by the time the police comes over they stop doing what they are doing in front of them so they wont get arrested. I guess ex-cons are knowledgable on this subject. After shouting I was verbally attacked and after I shouted at them again I started getting harrassed. They started harrassing my relatives too talking to them whilst walking on the street and calling me "insane". I dont say that I am a psychiatrist but I have 2 degrees in engineering and I was in the army for some time and actually was never called insane. I was told that I ended up with high blood pressure once but that was cause by sleep deprivation. After I slept a bit I was back to normal. So yesterday because this thing had gone to far I went to the shop and I asked them to stop harrassing my relatives and I was asked to go away from the shop, which I did. Whilst on the sidewalk! I carried on telling them to leave me alone and one guy there pushed! me. So I called the police and the police again told me that I should sue them if I want them to be arrested, otherwise they cannot arrest them. I was too bored to spent the night in the police station so I did not sue them. Then later in the night I went to the super market to score some beer and on the way back I saw their ugly ex-con uneducated faces (yeah alienator I know) and as disgusted as I was I spat on the floor. Shiftly after, the ex-con, a few others which I do not know and the "oldest" of the group attacked me. I told them to leave me alone but they called me numerous names, tried to grab me and one tried to kick me. So I called the police again and I was told that I need to sue them if I want them to stay in prison or away from me otherwise the only thing they can do is to make them some "recomendations".
Now since this whole thing has gone too far, and I cannot "automate" the process of the police being automatically called every time there is noise above 50db which is considered unhealthy I was thinking of moving. I stayed in another city recently for about 5 months and I was very well. Its not that I have something holding me here either.
So what would you do? Go all the way with lawsuits etc or just move?
Thanks and sorry for the long post, I might as well keep it show to some therapist when I can actually afford one! [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]