The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jun 1, 2023 12:42:00 GMT
Overall, just going to reiterate---with the full context, the situation was understandable, but they did not communicate and I felt awkward about the whole thing because again, without the context, it appeared like they just replaced the mailbox because we weren't on their timeline....remember they didn't tell us what actually happened for WEEKS.
The two alternatives I would have preferred were: 1. Prop up the mailbox and wait until we were home and offer to replace at that time/have a conversation 2. Replace it but write a note or stop by in the first couple of days to explain the situation.
If the situation was reversed, we probably would have done #1 because I would want to take into consideration what they might want for a mailbox. If there was no way to prop it back up, I may have chosen #2 and left a note and sent my DH over to explain on a different day.
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momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,153
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
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Post by momto4kiddos on Jun 1, 2023 12:42:07 GMT
The only thing that would have bugged me would be that I didn’t choose the mailbox myself, especially if I was planning to get something different from what I had before. If someone knocked our mailbox down, I would expect whoever did it to leave me a note letting me know what happened before just replacing it on their own. I wasn't really upset, but they have a nice big mailbox and they put up a regular/small one for us. Again, I was planning on probably getting the same one they put up--after checking price difference. Oh well. If the mailbox can be unattached from the post, then buy yourself the big mailbox and swap them out. Return the smaller mailbox to the neighbor and tell them you just put up a bigger one.
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Post by hop2 on Jun 1, 2023 12:49:03 GMT
Well, yea it’s weird, but if their kid hit it with a bike & you weren’t home then repairing or replacing it would be the right thing to do.
I wouldn’t hold it against them if that were really the case.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 1, 2023 13:44:02 GMT
I think the neighbor should have told you before he replaced your mailbox. However, when you had the initial conversation about the mailbox I think it was reasonable for him to assume that you would be replacing the old rickety mailbox within a couple of weeks, especially since the pole and mailbox would look really wonky after the neighbor removed his mailbox from it.
From the neighbor’s perspective, he’s probably thinking “I just moved into this new house that I am really proud of and I talked to the neighbor and we both agreed that we would replace our mailboxes. It’s been weeks and they haven’t done anything. It’s driving me crazy to look at that wonky mailbox in front of my house everyday. I guess I’ll just quietly do it myself and if they offer to pay for it, fine. If they don’t offer to pay for it at least I won’t have to look at that eyesore any more.”
Honestly, I’m more like you than your neighbor. My husband and I are pretty chill about most things and we get around to home improvement projects when we have time to do them. I think life is so much easier though, when you get along with the neighbors. i’d just chalk the whole experience up to a different outlook on life.
It sounds like you’ve already decided to let it go, but you were just curious what the Peas think about the situation. Thanks for posting this. I just love a thread where I can step up on my soap box and tell you how my perfect self would have handled the situation. 😂😂😂
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Post by candleangie on Jun 1, 2023 14:10:26 GMT
We share a post with two other boxes. We recently changed ours to a locking box. DH replaced the post and the cross beam that they sit on. He just made it wide enough for the neighbors to upgrade down the road if they want to. The guy across the street had a really bad box. It had been hit with a bat, so it was crumpled over and had no door. So we put our old one (in very good shape) in his spot and swapped the house number over. 🤷♀️
Your neighbor did something nice for you.
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Post by worrywart on Jun 1, 2023 17:38:22 GMT
Does it look weird having a different mailbox than theirs? You definitely did nothing wrong and your neighbor should have said something but if you like the mailbox enough, I would just go with it. Replace it in a year if you really want the bigger one!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 1, 2023 17:57:10 GMT
The only thing that would have bugged me would be that I didn’t choose the mailbox myself, especially if I was planning to get something different from what I had before. If someone knocked our mailbox down, I would expect whoever did it to leave me a note letting me know what happened before just replacing it on their own. I wasn't really upset, but they have a nice big mailbox and they put up a regular/small one for us. Again, I was planning on probably getting the same one they put up--after checking price difference. Oh well. That’s just it though, they likely suspected that you wouldn’t replace it with what you already had because it was a weird setup, so you’d have to go with something else. There are hundreds of options and they just picked something for you that you ended up paying for. Now if you want the bigger, nicer one you’re going to have to pay again, ugh. That’s what my irritation would stem from. I can relate because last winter when the snowplow came through one of the first few times, they hit our $200 large locking mailbox with the plow. It was only bent up on one corner and not totally taken out, but it was damaged to the point that the mail drop door wouldn’t open. When we contacted the city to see what they planned to do about it, they said they would be happy to replace it with a standard sized $20 plastic one. 🙄 Um, NO. With all of the mail and package theft that happens here, we need a locking box and they don’t come cheap. DH went out there with a hammer and got the door to open and close but now it looks like hell on that one corner. 😫 I guess we shouldn’t complain because many of our neighbors all up and down the block had their mailboxes totally taken out in that same incident and they still have theirs jimmy rigged with bungee cords and other stuff because the city hasn’t replaced their mailboxes yet and it’s been months. I’m surprised the PO hasn’t complained to the neighbors about the sorry state of their mailboxes.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jun 1, 2023 18:01:53 GMT
I wasn't really upset, but they have a nice big mailbox and they put up a regular/small one for us. Again, I was planning on probably getting the same one they put up--after checking price difference. Oh well. If the mailbox can be unattached from the post, then buy yourself the big mailbox and swap them out. Return the smaller mailbox to the neighbor and tell them you just put up a bigger one. They are now separate mailboxes. Part of the reason why he had to talk to USPS to make sure that was OK. I am assuming he did.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jun 1, 2023 18:51:38 GMT
I think the neighbor should have told you before he replaced your mailbox. However, when you had the initial conversation about the mailbox I think it was reasonable for him to assume that you would be replacing the old rickety mailbox within a couple of weeks, especially since the pole and mailbox would look really wonky after the neighbor removed his mailbox from it. From the neighbor’s perspective, he’s probably thinking “I just moved into this new house that I am really proud of and I talked to the neighbor and we both agreed that we would replace our mailboxes. It’s been weeks and they haven’t done anything. It’s driving me crazy to look at that wonky mailbox in front of my house everyday. I guess I’ll just quietly do it myself and if they offer to pay for it, fine. If they don’t offer to pay for it at least I won’t have to look at that eyesore any more.” Honestly, I’m more like you than your neighbor. My husband and I are pretty chill about most things and we get around to home improvement projects when we have time to do them. I think life is so much easier though, when you get along with the neighbors. i’d just chalk the whole experience up to a different outlook on life. It sounds like you’ve already decided to let it go, but you were just curious what the Peas think about the situation. Thanks for posting this. I just love a thread where I can step up on my soap box and tell you how my perfect self would have handled the situation. 😂😂😂 I felt after the first conversation that we would talk again. I am pretty sure I mentioned I would talk to my DH and he was going to check into regulations. He did not replace the mailbox soon after the convo. It was a couple months later, but yes, the eyesore was out for at least a couple of weeks before he replaced it...which is why I felt a little judged. We live in a nice neighborhood but not a NICE neighborhood---if that makes sense. Nice people overall, tree-lined, decent upkeep....but it is a 40 year old neighborhood/no HOA/almost no one has "perfect" lawns/every house and property looks different--and he painted his front door purple, so we aren't talking a type A type LOL. (He is a tattoo artist) I do understand why someone would feel that way and obviously I felt a little guilt about not getting it done right away (but again, he just randomly did it a couple months after the original convo).
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,383
Location: New York, NY
Jun 26, 2014 18:02:19 GMT
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Post by christinec68 on Jun 1, 2023 19:31:16 GMT
I think it's weird and it would annoy me. If it were me, I'd rather he just leave a note on the door about what happened and work it out from there. Accidents happens - that's fine but I don't like people messing with my stuff. It's extra bizarre that he replaced your mailbox and didn't say anything for weeks.
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Post by cecilia on Jun 2, 2023 1:43:22 GMT
Disclaimer: I've not read the entire thread.lol If I'm reading the original post correctly, the neighbour's child hit the post/mailbox causing damage. The neighbour was unable to contact the original poster and then replaced the mailbox. Given the fact that the child damaged the property I'd expect them to replace it and at no cost to me. If I'm reading it wrong, then I'm in the eh-weird-but-one-less-thing-I-need-to-deal-with-camp. This.
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