What would you do if a neighbor stole dirt from your backyard?

That might sound weird. You might be wondering why anyone would do that, but stick with me.

Imagine hiring a construction crew for a project that required them to dig up some of the dirt in your backyard. You have a huge pile of dirt, but you’re going to need some of it before the project is over.

What would you do if a neighbor wanted to pay you for some of the dirt?

In this story, one homeowner is in this situation, and he’s pretty upset at the neighbor. I think he should be upset at the construction crew.

Keep reading for all the details.

WIBTA for trying to get my neighbor kicked off the neighborhood committee?

First some details. I have construction going on at my home which requires some excavation.

It has been delayed twice due to neighbors calling the county and running into contractor delays.

Finally after a month long delay, my contractors were onsite yesterday and began digging to put in a retaining wall.

Because of that I have a large pile of dirt in my yard. Most of it will need to be hauled away, but I don’t know how much because I need some for backfill.

Oh no! This is not good at all!

We were happy there were starting, but we were returning from vacation late yesterday evening so we were not around for what happened.

Well, my retired neighbor who is part of a neighborhood committee noticed the growing pile of dirt the contractors were making. He felt that this was his opportunity to snag some dirt for cheap.

So while we were not home he paid the contractors $40 to haul dirt over to his yard! Didn’t ask us, contractors didn’t ask us! They just took the money and hauled the dirt.

Well as soon as we got home we noticed the tracks but they were done for the day and not around to ask.

Time to confront the neighbor.

This morning I find out what happened and confronted our neighbor. (This same guy sent a copy of the town ordinance for what we were doing and highlighted/underlined a section he felt could impact his lot)

I clearly stated he stole from us and he had no right to anything off of my lot. I stated many more things, but told him I would be taking my dirt back.

About an hour later he came back and apologized and wanted to “make it right.”

I respectfully stated I was too upset to agree to any terms and I would approach him when ready.

OP set a price for the dirt.

This afternoon, I took time to research how much dirt he took and what it would cost to have it hauled to him.

I approached him and said $300, to which he agreed.

No more than an hour later he knocked on my door with a check for $225. He said he called his contractor and he said he could get the dirt for $225.

OP does not want to lower the price.

I angrily said, “if that’s the case why didn’t you just do that in the first place instead of stealing from me!” I stood firm.

And he said if I wouldn’t lower the price than to take MY dirt back!

So my question is WIBTA if I wrote a letter to the committee, our township, and the lawyer who approves the committee to have him kicked off for what he did?

See, the problem here isn’t the neighbor. The contractors are the problem. They sold the neighbor dirt while the homeowners were out of town. They probably just pocketed the money. The contractors stole the dirt, not the neighbor. The neighbor paid for the dirt.

I’d be mad at the contractors.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person doesn’t think OP is doing anything wrong.

Another person would call the police.

This person has questions.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who wants peace and quiet by the pool, but finds guests and loud music instead.

Another person would let it go.

The real problem here is that the contractors agreed to haul over the dirt. They should’ve said no. After all, it’s not their dirt. They were hired to do a job for the homeowner not to sell his dirt on the side when he’s out of town.

Sure, the neighbor isn’t innocent, but he is willing to pay what he thinks is fair. If OP doesn’t need all the dirt, then just take the money and let it go.

I would be more upset with the contractors then the neighbor.