Last week, I noticed something strange happening outside my house. An orange extension cable was running from my neighbor’s garage straight into the outdoor socket on the back of my home.
At first, I unplugged it and assumed it was an honest mistake. Maybe he’d confused the sockets or simply wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
But the next time, I caught him using it.
“Mate, you’re taking electricity from my house,” I told him calmly. “I’m the one paying for it.”
Instead of apologizing, he laughed.
“Come on! It’s only costing you pennies!”
I let it go that time, hoping he’d understand the message. But a couple of days later, he did it again while I was out. He was treating my electricity as though it belonged to him.
That was enough. I bought a lockable cover and secured my outdoor socket. I wasn’t trying to start an argument; I simply wanted to protect my property.
Then, this morning, I received a handwritten note through my letterbox.
What it said left me completely stunned.
My neighbor complained that I had blocked the “community socket”—apparently, he believed my private electricity supply was available for everyone to use. He then announced that he would need to charge his e-bike inside my house whenever it rained.
And as if that wasn’t outrageous enough, he asked me to leave my back gate unlocked this Saturday so he could let himself in!
I stood in the hallway, reading the note over and over, wondering whether I was actually dealing with a real person.
I have no interest in turning a simple disagreement into a neighborhood feud. In fact, I even offered a reasonable compromise: I’d split the cost of hiring an electrician to install an outdoor socket on his own property.
He refused outright.
Now, he’s apparently telling other neighbors that I’m being selfish and making a fuss over “a bit of electricity.”
But the money isn’t really the issue. It’s the complete lack of respect—and the shocking assumption that he can use my property whenever he feels like it.
So tell me honestly: Am I wrong for locking my own outdoor socket, or is my neighbor taking entitlement to a whole new level?
