Electricity being misappropriated
 

I hesitated whether to post this, because I don't like dwelling on negatives; but I think that others could unknowingly be having this occur and should be aware that this can happen, even here in The Villages, where I would never have expected it would.

My husband (who was indoors) today noticed a neighbor who lives a fair distance away from us (and who we haven't met) staring at our house. Moments later, the man disappeared from view and when my husband walked to a different part of our house, he saw that the man was next to our house, leaning over; and then walked away. When my husband walked outside to see what was going on, he was shocked to see that the man had plugged his long electrical cord to a hedge trimmer into our outdoor electrical outlet, and had returned to his home, where he was busily trimming his bushes. A brief conversation ensued.

I feel sure that this would be an extremely rare occurrence, but since there are so many owners who are away for months at a time, or for those who in this economy are having to watch their expenses closely, I just thought people should be made aware of this potential, since it would never in a million years have crossed either of our minds that someone might do this (here in TV, or for that matter, anywhere else). I don't know if there is any way owners can protect themselves; does anyone know of one?

We wondered later, trying to figure out what would cause someone to do this, if maybe not all houses here have outdoor electrical outlets (although I would assume that they do), as a reason he would have done this; although when he and my husband were talking, he never offered this as a reason for what he had done. (He didn't offer any excuse; no apology; just took his cord and left). But even if that had been the reason, we would have thought someone would at least ask in advance. (And, if we had been asked, and if the reason had been that the man didn't have an outdoor outlet, or something else that was reasonable, we would have said 'fine' - it's just the boldness of using someone else's utilities without asking, rather than the actual cost, that bothered us).

Wow! I really can't believe someone would so that without asking. I will admit that I have plugged into my neighbor's outlet to trim one bush because it was easier than dragging my cord to the back and plugging it in there, but not without my neighbor knowing. I've also used a neighbor's house when the outlet would constantly trip the GFI but, again, not without permission.

I think what amazes me even more is that when confronted he didn't even apologize or make an excuse.

I have said and truly believe there is a strange sense of, I guess, entitlement in TV. People do park in driveways without permission, borrow a tool without thinking twice or even asking if handy. I guess plugging in to your neighbor's house would probably be considered okay, too. They don't consider it stealing, just part of being neighbors.

WOW. Now that takes Ba**s...!

That makes my blood boil.

That would make me question his overall ethics on anything.

I've seen contractors use the electric outlet or hose from the house next to a home they're working on because it's more "convenient" (actually happened to us and they didn't ask permission first, just grabbed our hose and started using our water) but having the actual neighbor do it takes it to a new level.

As Redwitch stated, there is definitely a sense of entitlement here in The Villages.

I dunno Red, parking in a driveway doesn't run up the electric bill. Taking lemons off the tree if a neighbor wasn't there....not so bad, they would be going to waste...but I couldn't do that without asking first.

You can do anything with permission, but a lot of nice people would be surprised and caught off guard and wouldn't really know how to get out of it gracefully.... if asked for permission to use their electricity routinely.

If that happened to me I just might consider quietly flipping the breaker off while they were using their tool (or whatever) and leave them scratching their head (or whatever) wondering why their tool (or whatever) suddenly stopped working. It would be funny if they were dumb enough to start taking their tool (or whatever) apart to check it out before testing the tool (or whatever) on another outlet! BTW, I am talking about an electric tool... or electric whatever! :1rotfl:

Gracie, I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it seems to be the TV mentality. There really does seem to be a way of thinking that says if you're not using it and if I don't break it, it's okay for me to use it without even asking.

Personally, I think you should ask before parking in someone's driveway or at least leave a note but people just park and walk away. I suppose I could give my neighbor $0.05 for the electricity I use in trimming my bush since it takes me about 5 minutes to cut it down to size and shape and maybe a dollar for the house where the circuit breakers constantly trip. For the circuitbreaker house, I also trim the neighbor's trees, so I think they're getting the better deal.

The odd thing is I'm willing to bet the people who feel free to just use/"borrow" wouldn't have dreamed of doing the same thing in their last hometown.

Freeda - Was this the next door neighbor or farther away (two or more houses away)?

It must have been a mighty long extension cord that he was using. It really does boggle the mind that someone would do that when he knew there was someone was in the home he was poaching electricity from.

I do not think it is a sense of entitlement that does this. It is just very strange. I would guess the person (poacher) is probably mentally ill. Normal people (even in The Villages) would not do that without asking. Most would not even consider it - unless you were very good neighbors and it was a mutual benefit kind of thing - like Redwitch has done.

He had to pass a closer house to get to ours; yes, it was a very long extention cord. Until a few months ago, when we moved to this house, the owners had been leasing it on short-term leases, and I would imagine there were times when it was vacant, which may have lead to this happening. That's why I felt others should know that this can happen. In a down economy, I think that some people bend the rules.

Well, what my funny husband did, which was also comical if you can picture this in your mind, was he unplugged the cord and started slowly gathering it up in a coil. That is how he got the man's attention.

Hi

I don't think it's the economy with this guy. He just wanted to use your dollar and not his. This guy probably did the same thing back home and he's doing the deal here.

I'm really sorry for your experience. Maybe they sell Adult safety outlets, can't access the outlet unless you get permission from the owner.

It takes all sorts of humans to make a village.

A similar thing happened to me about a year ago. The house next to us is pretty much unoccupied most of the year. There were landscapers over there working on the shrubs etc. I noticed that they had connected their hose to my water faucet. When I discovered this I went and spoke to them. They said they would be finished soon and in "payment" they would trim my shrubs. In any case they didn't finish that soon so I had them disconnect the hose. They did come the next day and trim my shrubs. I can't believe that the owners of the house next door had turned off their outside water but maybe they did. However, this contractor never asked permission to use my water. In checking my water bill the following month it was not that abnormal.

John

I think they just found the "Village Idiot"!! As Gracie said, "that takes ba**s", or as we say in Dixie, "big kahunas" (and I'm not talking about anything Hawaiian)! :icon_wink:

What you should have done was unplug the cord, take a very sharp knife and cut the plug off the end. Drop the cord and the plug on the ground and walked away. I think that would deliver the message, quietly.....

The word is "cojones". It is Spanish for stones.

Had another thought on this...yes it isn't something the guy should have done! BUT...maybe there is some dementia beginning there. SOME people do strange things and their personalities change too. Just a thought.

I'd say...if it happens again then you'll have to do other measures if this "talk" with him apparently hadn't 'sunk in'!!!

Freeda,

I think this guy was one of those who had the mentality that if he was stealing from an unknown, and unlikely to get caught, that it is OK. These are the same people who complain about something insignificant in a restaurant to get some freebies, that try to sue for any minor infraction (after all, an insurance company can afford it...), that suggest splitting the bill, when their dinner makes up more than 50% of the total and that stiff the waitstaff of a fair tip.

I think your husband did the right thing. If this man tries this again, I would tell him that you are calling the police. This is stealing, plain and simple.

I guess I would take my cutting pliers, unplug his cord, coil it up until I reached him, cut it off and say thanks I needed a new extension cord.

Surely not. Surely people in TV know the difference between borrowing and stealing! This was stealing, plain and simple. I'm appalled.

I think I would have video taped the cord from my house back to the guy using the equipment to use for evidence. If he didn't apologize and have a heck of a good excuse, I would have sworn out a warrant for his arrest.

We are all responsible for making TV safe, fun and livable. Stealing obviously is not the way to do that. But knowingly letting TVers steal from each other-- and blowing it off as "an entitlement mentality" that equates theft with borrowing-- is not the way to do it either. If I see a crime committed, I'll report it.

Did I mention I was appalled?

I'm shocked and amazed. I read it laughing like it was a made up tale Freeda. Unreal. He was stealing. Plain and simple. What absolute nerve.

My husband said if you are leaving your house for an extended period and want to prevent someone from using your outdoor outlets, just throw (or trip, ever how you say it) the breaker to the outdoor receptacles.

Be careful
 

My first thoughts would be to cut the cord to make a point. But, as a cooler head should prevail I would just unplug it and wait for him to return as you did.
My reason being is that you never know who or what kind of person you are dealing with. The last thing you want to do is create a problem that could escalate like the Hatfields and McCoys. I lot more damage could be done to you and your residence than just some lost electricity. Some people can do crazy things like killing shrubs, grass, oil stains on driveways, holes in screens etc. You can call the police and get a report but until you put up surveillance cameras or get concrete proof you become the loser. Do not be a loser to a loser. You did the right thing and I doubt it will happen again.

I'd just give the cord a huge yank and scare the dude straight. Then cut the cord....... OR hit the breaker switch on-off on -off just to aggrevate the guy

Oh I would have some fun with this but our neighbors are too far away so no fun for me....

:1rotfl:

Now that is a post by a person with good common sense.:clap2::BigApplause:

Freeda:
We wondered later, trying to figure out what would cause someone to do this, if maybe not all houses here have outdoor electrical outlets (although I would assume that they do), as a reason he would have done this; although when he and my husband were talking, he never offered this as a reason for what he had done. (He didn't offer any excuse; no apology; just took his cord and left). But even if that had been the reason, we would have thought someone would at least ask in advance. (And, if we had been asked, and if the reason had been that the man didn't have an outdoor outlet, or something else that was reasonable, we would have said 'fine' - it's just the boldness of using someone else's utilities without asking, rather than the actual cost, that bothered us).[/QUOTE]

I would be extremely annoyed that someone would do something like this without getting permission. It is so inappropriate. It would not be the money but the principle for me.

My take on this person is since he didn't offer an apology for his behavior leads me to think that this person has some emotional issues within themselves.

I like the idea of turning the breaker off several imes. I would turn the breaker off when he starting trimming, wait for him to walk back to the outlet and turning the breaker back on. After doing this several times, he might feel it would serve him well to use his own electricity.

I personally would not confront him as he seems to be in his own world and could lead to a potential incident.

As Murphy Brown said, "I don't know what he calls it in his world but in my world I call it BS.

I can't believe the number of posters on here who said they would cut the cord (I assume AFTER they had unplugged it :1rotfl:). I think that by cutting the cord you take a minor problem (someone stealing your electricity) and possibly turn it into a MAJOR WAR. This person is your neighbor. Someone you might be living next to for many years. Do you really want to start an ongoing war with a close neighbor over a few cents worth of electricity?

My personal opinion is, anyone bold enough to steal someone else's electricity can probably figure out a way to get even with you several times over for cutting his cord. Just look at Scroll's post for a few ideas on how this person will get even with you.

Ditto.

Bill :)

I think I might try this approach.....(but then that's just me)

"Hi neighbor. I noticed that you plugged your trimmers into my outlet. I certainly don't mind you using my electricity for this small job.....after all, that's what neighbors are for....to help each other. I'm wondering if you are having some problems with your exterior outlets. We should all help each other whenever we can, and I would ask that you give me a heads up when you are going to plug into our outlet. We don't want to use the same circuit for some other appliance and blow the breaker. Hey, have a great day, and anything that we can do to help, let us know."

JLK

Perfect! That'll avoid the 'war' potential that Niels mentioned.

Bill

I wouldn't cut the cord either. I agree it could escalate to a major war, but there's an even more important reason. Two wrongs don't make a right. Think about it. Wouldn't cutting the cord be fighting theft with criminal damage to property? If I run across someone whose standards of conduct I find contemptible, the last thing I hope I would do is lower my standards to his.

Flipping the breaker on and off could damage my own equipment/ appliances tied to the same breaker and would just encourage the guy to make sure I'm not home when he breaks in.

I think Freeda's husband did the right thing to talk to him first. However, unlike TH, I would not pretend that, like the thief, I also make no distinction between "neighbor helping neighbor" and theft. That would lead to a worse-case scenario, the one Red described in which TVers actually assume "entitlement" to taking from neighbors without permission (see also, theft).

Isn't acting like this is no big deal doing precisely that: granting TVers entitlement to take things belonging to others without asking? Isn't saying what TH suggests saying precisely that it's an acceptable norm?

Wouldn't kicking the can down the road-- or worse, calling it acceptable-- contribute to the problem in the long run, instead of helping to prevent an entitlement mentality from taking hold?

This is a person I would keep my eye on. Someone who is bold enough to do such a thing is bold enough to escalate to something damaging and illegal.

I would definitely say something to the neighbor and let him know to ask first. It may be that his outside outlets trip constantly. This is a common problem here. I wouldn't damage the electrical cord. Regardless of how we feel about it, TV has a mentality I've seen nowhere else. In many ways, it is a huge plus. You know that if you're in trouble, someone will help. It can, however, lead to things like this. Yes, it is stealing but, hopefully, this neighbor didn't see it as such (although I'm not convinced since he didn't just plug in to nearest house).

I have had neighbors literally "borrow" cleaning items off of my golf cart, such as my steamer. I wasn't happy about it, but didn't say anything, just thanked them for returning the item since I thought it had been stolen. When items were returned, they were returned with a treat of some sort attached. I've given up on worrying about it. It is the way of TV.

So, while it is not something I would do without permission, I do kind of understand someone just plugging into my outlet. I chalk it up to it being a TV thing and let it slide. There are bigger things to worry about (like how could I have missed that Trivia question last Sunday or why in heck did I play THAT card at bridge).

It takes all kinds. Good thing, 'cause we got 'em.
 

Anything abandoned on your property becomes YOUR property, so cut away!

I wouldn't waste my breath talking to someone who shows such contempt for others.

That's the word I was looking for! Thanks! :ho:

We aggree
 

Exactly what my husband said when I told him about this. Are the outside plugs on a separate breaker than the inside lines? If so when you leave for the summer you could trip the breaker. In some areas of the US the outside plugs are required to be on a GFI breaker but only one place I have lived had this requirement. In that house the breaker would trip all the time because every time the sprinkler ran there was enough mosture to trip the breaker. We intalled plug covers with a rubber gasket and tight seal to fix the problem.

Just being fair
 

:BigApplause::MOJE_whot:

You aren't a "sage" for nothing and not making a big deal out of it would certainly be the best course of action. If I didn't know him, I would probably introduce myself, as I was handing him back his extension cord, ask why he had to resolve to such a configuration to trim his hedges. If he just walked away without saying anything, as it appears he did, then that tells me he was not the neighbor I had hoped for and he would not be on my invite list to the next margarita party.

But we would love to be!

One week later TH sees the gent again......

Hey neighbor. I noticed you were siphoning gas from my car to fill your gas cart. I certainly do not mind..... BTW, while we are being neighborly could you ask you wife to at least wear a bathing suit when using our pool when we are not here :D?

PS. I cannot imagine plugging into someones elses electrical outlet without asking......

You're on the list. Hopefully in 15 months that can become a reality! I'm so pumped, I can't get off this forum long enough to finish my income tax!! Here I am thinking about a margarita party a year from now! Well, that ain't all bad is it??:highfive:

The same bug bit Mr. K9 and me. We were in Ohatchee, Alabama just obsessed about moving to TV and looked at every youtube video, post on TOTV, house for sale, or anything else we could find. Now we've been here one year May 1st and couldn't be happier. You'll get there . . . margarita party and all.:thumbup: