Help ! Neighbours demanding money!

well update:

On sat night Phil had a check on the net and yep it's a communal drain and even if it's on private land we are all responsible for the maintance. It was their responsibility to consult beforehand but they didn't ...so Phil went over asking about the drains.Phil paid and made it clear that they needed to consult beforehand...I still think we shouldn't have because they took it upon themselves but hey we'll see what happens the next time around. Apparently the last time they had a problem was 7 years ago and they quietly paid ..when Phil asked why did they not ask the previous owners the neigbour's response was "I didn't think it was neighbourly"   

Gosh, sorry to hear about that. Maybe it would be a good idea for you guys to send a registered letter (keep a copy) to him recapping that you paid this time but the next time you would like to see an assessment before any work takes place (in fact anything communal), that way maybe he will go out and get a few estimates that everyone can agree on. It probably won't happen again anytime soon...but you never know.

As for "I didn't think it was neighborly"...ha, agree with you! 

grr...Phil just gave him cash I told him to keep a receipt or pay via cheque  he just told me

"that's not neighbourly!!"

"Neither is coming over waving a bill at our face! When we cut that tree down it cost us more and it benefited their garden than ours we didn't go over asking for cash! "

"true ,I'll tell him that and make it quite clear that he needs to consult"

 

You should do the negotiating    tell Phil to stay home...

I had a similar situation.  The toilets in the house, two doors down from me kept over flowing.  When they consulted a plumber, it was deemed that the cause of the problem was the tree in the front garden of the property I am renting.  So after notifying the rental agency (Foxton's), the neighbor went ahead and had work done to remove the tree roots that were causing the problem.  All four house that were connected which shared the drain, ended up paying 40 pounds each.  It seemed like the reasonable thing to do.  And thankfully, this neighborhood did check before going ahead with the work. 

I had a similar situation.  The toilets in the house, two doors down from me kept over flowing.  When they consulted a plumber, it was deemed that the cause of the problem was the tree in the front garden of the property I am renting.  So after notifying the rental agency (Foxton's), the neighbor went ahead and had work done to remove the tree roots that were causing the problem.  All four house that were connected which shared the drain, ended up paying 40 pounds each.  It seemed like the reasonable thing to do.  And thankfully, this neighborhood did check before going ahead with the work. 

Since you are renting...you shouldn't have paid the £40, the landlord should have without a doubt...after all its his/her property and tree!  I would try to reclaim the money.