Oh, they're blasting music until 8am? Too bad!

[rant]

Ugh. I just had one of the worst nights of my entire life because the ever-so-thoughtful neighbors thought it was appropriate to blast (not "play loudly", not "kind of loud", more like LOUDER THAN MY STEREO CAN CRANK IT IN MY OWN LIVING ROOM LOUD) music from 9pm to 8am. What was that? 8am? Yes. EIGHT &%*$@! IN THE MORNING. I COULD NOT SLEEP. My husband, who is practically deaf, COULD NOT SLEEP. My daughter, who can snooze through elephants rampaging through her room, COULD NOT SLEEP. UNTIL EIGHT AM.

Each time various neighbors and even dumbfounded clubbers on their way home shouted obscenities at these KIND, KIND people, the music was cranked EVEN LOUDER. The volume did not relent until after I made my daughter breakfast in the morning, when suddenly these apparently deaf people thought perhaps they should get some sleep.

I can't tell you how tempted I am to blast my own music all day to subject them to the same sort of infuriating, helpless agony that the entire street suffered all night.

Why helpless, you ask? Because I called the noise patrol at 3:06am. What time do they close, you ask? 3am. They won't do ANYTHING after THREE AM. I called the police at 3:15, at 4:30, and at 6. Can they do anything? Nope. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO. THERE IS NO RECOURSE. THESE PEOPLE CANNOT BE PUNISHED, AND THEIR EXPENSIVE SPEAKERS CANNOT BE KICKED IN, MELTED DOWN, OR TAKEN AWAY.

I just can't believe it. In Portland, the police would have been all over this like flies on honey. I can't believe there's just nothing that anyone can do if the music goes on past three am. It's totally counter-intuitive! I'm upset and feel like I have no control over whether there's a reasonable amount of peace and quiet in the neighborhood. People shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.

I'm thinking about filing some sort of complaint, if I can. Alternately, my dear, normally pacifist husband has considered buying a slingshot so we can lob rocks at their windows.

[/rant]

That sucks!!! I guess next time you have to call before 3am? I would call after 10 or 11pm, if it were me. Is there some council or something you could contact? Our neighbours were blasting techno late at night, and my husband just went over and knocked and told them the baby was sleeping, and they turned it down. Didn't stop them from turning it up again the next night, though. 

Sorry to hear about the situation Jen!  That really sucks.  I would've been inclined to go put a sizable dent in/through their door.

I would have played ring and run all day, every 20 min or so, just pop over and ring their bell.  Anyone up till 8am, is def sleeping it off the next day! 

We had a similar noise complaint a while back when we rented and we had a similar response from the council.  Since it was a tues or wed there was no one to call, as the Noise Pollution team only work Thurs-Sat.  The police told me there was nothing they could do.  Grrr.

I would have played ring and run all day, every 20 min or so, just pop over and ring their bell.  Anyone up till 8am, is def sleeping it off the next day! 

I doubt they'd have heard the buzzer.

If I would have known that they stopped policing noise at 3am, I would have been all over that phone. But I thought I was being reasonable - they want to play music, it's Friday, fine. I thought, you know, that they would stop eventually. Never ever in my life have I heard a house party stretch on so obnoxiously until 8am.

If they start up again tonight - I can see their speakers still standing - I'm calling the council at ten o'clock sharp. And again and again until they take their sweet music elsewhere.

Mostly, though, I just don't get how people can be so anti-social.

I don't understand...why couldn't the police do anything?

That sucks!!! I guess next time you have to call before 3am? I would call after 10 or 11pm, if it were me. Is there some council or something you could contact? Our neighbours were blasting techno late at night, and my husband just went over and knocked and told them the baby was sleeping, and they turned it down. Didn't stop them from turning it up again the next night, though. 

If they were jerks and if you called before 3 am, what could you do if they started back up after 3? 

What reason did the police give for not doing anything? It's a breach of the peace if nothing else.  Or someone could have died in there with the stereo on - how long would they let it go on before doing something?

If they were jerks and if you called before 3 am, what could you do if they started back up after 3? 

My point exactly.

Why CAN'T the police do anything?! I don't know! The council is in charge of noise pollution, and they only operate Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm-3am. The police said they couldn't do a thing unless it was spilling out into the street.

Not to repeat myself, but I can't believe there's just nothing to be done in these situations... it sucks. Hopefully they have a hangover from hell, and won't be doing it again anytime soon.

Have you spoken to them about it? Not that it would do any good, but that's probably the first thing I'd do - march over there and let them know how antisocial they've been and definitely let them know that you'll be filing a complaint (they may not know the police won't do anything).

Do you happen to know if the neighbours own the house or are they renting? If they are renting and you can find out who their landlord or letting agent is, I would complain to them - they maye be in breach of their lease.

Ah, I forgot to add some crucial information. They live on the top floor of a four-story building across the street (they had the height necessary to project their lovely music over the entire neighborhood. I have no idea which flat they're in, number-wise. My best bet is to wait outside their building and ambush them.

But complaining to the landlord... now that's a good idea.

Oh, and get this: the next-door building's alarm went off for like an hour last night, and who was in the street complaining? Yes! You guessed it.  That cracks me up.

The police said they couldn't do a thing unless it was spilling out into the street.

They live on the top floor of a four-story building across the street (they had the height necessary to project their lovely music over the entire neighborhood.

So surely their noise must have been spilling out into the street anyway?    

So surely their noise must have been spilling out into the street anyway?    

I was thinking the same thing! 

The noise was, for sure. The police meant that people had to be spilling out into the street, causing general mayhem before they would come by. Noise "alone" wasn't good enough.