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Valid complaint or am I just too noise-sensitive? (basically SOLVED)
Grizzled
Registered User
Registered User
Hi folks, I am hoping H/A can give me some perspective on a problem I am having.
So, I am living in an apartment building for the first time and it is pretty noisy. I understand that this is just a part of living in apartments, especially little old crappy buildings like this one. I have gotten used to being able to hear my neighbors argue, babies crying, people playing music, etc. Also I am usually pretty okay with noise; I can fall asleep with loud music on, study on the bus, etc.
Recently a car started being parked in the building carport right underneath my window. The alarm on this car makes a "chirp" noise, I guess to show that it is activated. It makes this noise roughly every 60-90 seconds; I can hear it clearly in my apartment with all the windows closed and the blinds drawn. This noise is loud enough to keep me from falling asleep and sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night.
This is driving me nuts. Am I crazy, or is this worth complaining about; if so, to who? The owner of the car (I think I know who it is)? My landlord? I have never had any problems with any other tenants, pay my rent on time, etc. etc. so I am good on that front. Am I just oddly sensitive to this one thing or am I justified in being annoyed by it?
Also, I am out of here in less than four months; given that, do you folks think it is worth making an issue out of it?
So, I am living in an apartment building for the first time and it is pretty noisy. I understand that this is just a part of living in apartments, especially little old crappy buildings like this one. I have gotten used to being able to hear my neighbors argue, babies crying, people playing music, etc. Also I am usually pretty okay with noise; I can fall asleep with loud music on, study on the bus, etc.
Recently a car started being parked in the building carport right underneath my window. The alarm on this car makes a "chirp" noise, I guess to show that it is activated. It makes this noise roughly every 60-90 seconds; I can hear it clearly in my apartment with all the windows closed and the blinds drawn. This noise is loud enough to keep me from falling asleep and sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night.
This is driving me nuts. Am I crazy, or is this worth complaining about; if so, to who? The owner of the car (I think I know who it is)? My landlord? I have never had any problems with any other tenants, pay my rent on time, etc. etc. so I am good on that front. Am I just oddly sensitive to this one thing or am I justified in being annoyed by it?
Also, I am out of here in less than four months; given that, do you folks think it is worth making an issue out of it?
Grizzled on
Spin isn't in academia? You're in for a real disappointment when you go to your first conference and see two old men with mighty beards politely implying that the other person is more capable of fucking a dog then writing a scientific paper.
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You are absolutely justified in being annoyed by this. If you think you know who the car belongs to, talk to him first and ask him whether that "feature" can be deactivated. If it's impossible, see if he's willing to park under someone else's window instead. If he tells you to fuck off, then you go to the landlord and complain about it.
If nobody will do anything for you, and it's a new-ish car, try hanging a couple bird feeders out your window. If you actually get some birds around, nobody will want to park under your window.
A constantly chirping car alarm means one of two things. If it's irregular it means the bump sensor sensitivity is cranked up way too high. If it's steady it means there's a problem with the alarm system. Either way the owner needs to take it in for service.
And yes the OP is absolutely justified in feeling upset about this. A car alarm noise outside your window, even if it's just a warning chirp, at all hours is fucking intolerable. I'd leave a note on the guy's windshield, telling him that his car alarm is chirping and if it continues to do so you'll notify the landlord. You don't need to leave a name or unit number or anything, that should be enough. If that doesn't resolve it, call the landlord.
That's why they should talk to the person first - it's the real world where people solve problems like adults.
My first thought was the battery or something is screwed up. I'd just catch them and let them know their car is keeping you up.
Yeah but as Sir Carcass stated, taking the high road can also lead to escalation.
Damned if you do, damned if you dont.
... only if they knew who did it?
Talk to the guy first, because it's quite probably a problem he isn't aware of.
No but seriously, tell your landlord. I bet you're not the only window near it that can hear it.
Or put up with it for 4 or so months.
You or I might not have a problem with such a conversation, but then again, you or I probably wouldn't have an annoying twitchy car alarm that was beeping every minute and a half either.
It would be one thing if you dudes were neighbors or buddies or something, but you don't know the dude from Adam. Hell you probably haven't even seen them before. I would just leave the landlord a note or a voicemail explaining what is going on.
my unofficial autobio will be accompanied with tips on how to smile
cause I've found that when they don't see you frown, they never know that you're a threat
and they don't sweat you when you came around
While in theory that sounds great, it's unfortunately been my experience that most people wouldn't qualify as "adults". Just driving to work everyday reminds me that most people are selfish assholes.
But hey, he might get lucky.
So you were the jerk going 55 in the passing lane this morning!
I'd rather give the car-owner the chance to not be a jerk first. To me, going to the landlord without at least trying to talk to the guy is esclating the situation, like the woman who launches in a tirade because the barrista forgot her whip cream.
I gues in this case, since it's quite possible they don't know about the beeping, it's different than someone blasting music at 1AM - as they already know it's annyoying.
Buh? What??
I don't think anybody but you is jumping to that conclusion.
Most (all?) of the suggestions other than talking to the guy directly seem to be in favour of leaving a note or talking to the landlord, who would then talk to the guy (presumably politely) and ask that something be done, as the car alarm is bothering people.
I sure don't expect an eviction or an arrest or Jack Bauer beating the guy until he changes the alarm settings with his kidneys as tools.
I'd expect that said landlord would politely inform the gentleman of the situation in a civil fashion, and as someone on site with a measure of authority/responsibility, be able to do something if the situation wasn't rectified in a timely fashion.
I'm not saying, "Don't talk to him!". I'm just saying talking to them first doesn't always turn out for the better. Just something to think about. Either way, it's the OP's decision, and either way is fine, in my opinion.
Everyone is different, but if a landlord came to me saying someone had complained about whatever, I'd be all, "Oh crap, I didn't realize. Sorry about that, it won't be a problem." I wouldn't hold it against the people for not talking to me first. Some people prefer to avoid confrontation (I do), if possible.
Um, check out Sir Red or Thanatos' posts. I thought it was pretty clear I agreed with your sentiments.
You definitely shouldn't smash his windows and cut his battery cables.... probably. Or at least think it over real good before you decide to do that.
Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions of my own. A misunderstanding then!
Steam ID: darklite_x Xbox Gamertag: Darklite 37
In any case, I'd suggest grabbing a pair of earplugs until this is resolved.
a fading melody - my indie platformer for the xbox 360
It's pretty clear that you and a lot of other people on this forum are well-adjusted, thinking individuals. It's also pretty clear that the vast majority of the people inhabiting the rest of the world are not.
I really think a windshield note is the best first course of action.
I am trying to figure out who the car belongs to exactly; there are two possible candidates, one of whom will get the landlord treatment (the jerks under me) and the other the polite note (the pretty nice guys next door to me that I never see or talk to). Oddly, either one of them should be able to hear it too, so clearly they don't care.
Just checking because fire alarms can be very tricky little buggers
They are cunning
However, I wouldn't voice it like a complaint, more along the lines of helpful neighbour. Something like "Hey mate, is that your car out there? Coz I think you're alarm is fucked - it's beeping all the time and it shouldn't be doing that. You might want to get it looked at?"
I'd decide whether or not to complain to landlord/them depending on how they respond to that.
Should the OP confront the car owner politely and tell him his car alarm is malfunctioning? On Sesame Street this would result in a fist bump and a good night's sleep, but in the real world there is a high certainty the guy knows his alarm is fucked and doesn't have the money to fix it. He's either going to tell the OP he's not going to get it fixed or he's going to be less polite about it.
Then, the OP is fucked. He can't really complain to the landlord without very possible reprocussions from the dipshit who knows his car is fucked and won't fix it.
The RIGHT thing to do in this situation is leave an anonymous note on the car like so:
That's all. Not all tea and biscuits, but the car owner now knows where he stands and has no clear path of retaliation if shit goes downhill.
I've had situations of my own with neighbours parking in my 2nd car spot (the one I pay an extra $40/mo for and they do not). Do I politely confront them and ask them not to park there? Fuck no. They know damn well those spots cost money because they live in the same condo complex and there are signs right in front of them. It's not a secret.
If I tell them not to park there, I've just identified myself as the one who owns the lot. They don't give a shit about me not wanting them there, because they know damn well it's a private (paid for) spot. They'll keep doing it and I'll keep having to park on the road (and get ticketed when my exemptions run out for the year).
Instead? Leave a note like so:
Over the course of 2 years I've left a similar note on 4 vehicles. They never parked there again. 2 of those vehicles belonged to the biggest fucking douchebags you can imagine: leaving garbage piled around their lawn, letting their kids run through the streets in the summer, smoking pot on their back porch while their kids hang around.
Confronting someone personally isn't always the best option, especially when it's a stranger. Stop living in a make believe world of lollypops and happy feelings. Leave a note. If it doesn't stop in a couple days go to the landlord.
This is really not how the world works, people aren't going to murder you for talking to them.
I agree with everybody else in this, either talk to them in person or if you can't figure out who it is just leave them a note and say who the hell you are, they'll appreciate it much more if you're not a sneaky little bastard who can't confront people when he has a problem. If nothing changes after this, THEN go to the landlord.
Tires being slashed, escalation of noise when you complain, yadda yadda.