Neighbor Kid's Paintballed Our Car

LeGaCyGiAnT124
LeGaCyGiAnT124 Posts: 158 Member
in Chit-Chat
My girlfriend was getting mail out of the mailbox today and when she got out of the car to grab the mail the neighbor kids paintballed the car in two places.

What would you guys do? She didn't see them directly do it, but it's the only house that would be capable of doing it out of there window. It was a perfect angle.
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Replies

  • darkon
    darkon Posts: 5,342 MFP Moderator
    Go at the parents and make em pay to have it fixed, ofc.
  • tyrsnbdr
    tyrsnbdr Posts: 234 Member
    Go at the parents and make em pay to have it fixed, ofc.

    And if that doesn't work. police report.
  • LeGaCyGiAnT124
    LeGaCyGiAnT124 Posts: 158 Member
    Go at the parents and make em pay to have it fixed, ofc.

    What is ofc? Yeah I am at work right now. I will have to stop and give them a visit when I get home...
  • monietrojan
    monietrojan Posts: 45 Member
    Get a police report first, then talk to the parents and go from there. Take pictures with with the date stamp and from different angles.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    And the chances of it being a passer by? Surely paintball paint is water-soluble? I'd ignore it - make an issue and it could get worse
  • DJMIKEY1
    DJMIKEY1 Posts: 523 Member
    Let me know if you need back up.
  • WontShareChocolate
    WontShareChocolate Posts: 107
    Set their house on fire, that's equal right?
  • LeGaCyGiAnT124
    LeGaCyGiAnT124 Posts: 158 Member
    Our neighbors have sucked ever since we move. Our old neighbors were like family. We could trust eachother, talk to eachother, use eachothers tools in the garage, etc. These people now are the kind you say hey to and they don't respond and act like didn't hear you. Their kids are little ****s too. You can tell just by the way you act.

    Then this happens...

    I am not sure if it dented the rear driver's side door or not. That's what I am concerned with.
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
    1. Ask them to pay for the damage + file police report

    2. Sue in small claims court if #1 does not work

    wapner_5.jpg
  • tyrsnbdr
    tyrsnbdr Posts: 234 Member
    And the chances of it being a passer by? Surely paintball paint is water-soluble? I'd ignore it - make an issue and it could get worse

    problem is paintballs are hard and will dent the car and/or chip the paint.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I would file a police report and have them interview the neighbors.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    I'd skip the parent talk and go straight to the police.
  • LeGaCyGiAnT124
    LeGaCyGiAnT124 Posts: 158 Member
    I would file a police report and have them interview the neighbors.

    That seems to be the most reasonable thing to do at this point. I can see talking to the neighbor's parents now.

    A) They won't answer the door

    B) They will defend their children and say they don't even own a paintball gun or some crappy excuse like that


    Will be calling them shortly.
  • darkon
    darkon Posts: 5,342 MFP Moderator
    I *totally* feel you when it come sto neighbors problems :°(
  • Brianna716
    Brianna716 Posts: 303 Member
    I would definitely get a police report ASAP, maybe even before calling the parents.
  • DJMIKEY1
    DJMIKEY1 Posts: 523 Member
    Our neighbors have sucked ever since we move. Our old neighbors were like family. We could trust eachother, talk to eachother, use eachothers tools in the garage, etc. These people now are the kind you say hey to and they don't respond and act like didn't hear you. Their kids are little ****s too. You can tell just by the way you act.

    My worst fear, one of my neighbors just put their house up for sale, and I am not a nice guy when people do stupid *kitten*.
  • Capt_Inzane
    Capt_Inzane Posts: 733 Member
    I agree with cops. That way you're just reporting it happening and the cops took it upon themselves to talk to nearby neighbors to see what happened.

    Also if it happens again you have a report already filed.

    I'd assume that the kids thought it was funny and will either hit other vehicles or think they got away with it and potentially escalate to throwing rocks or something dumb.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
    Talk to their parents and see if they can pay for it. My neighbor is weirdo, they don't talk much except an occasional hi. Few times a year, he mows my lawn with out asking, not like I know him or friends with him.
  • kristen49233
    kristen49233 Posts: 385 Member
    I'd also invest in a cheap video recorder and put it in your window (hidden). Catch the little sh*ts on camera next time!!
  • Citrislazer
    Citrislazer Posts: 312 Member
    Paintballs dent and can ruin paint on a car. I'd skip talking to them and file a police report. Vandalism is a crime. Tell the office who you suspect did it. Let the police officer handle interviewing the kids and parents. If you speak with the parent first, they might ditch the evidence.

    Ditto to a camera. We have four security cameras on our property and we only spend $300 on the system. They have definitely been handy. Even sent a wanted criminal to jail because we had cameras.

    Don't touch the evidence until an officer can look at it and don't forget to take lots of pictures!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I gotta take the other side of this argument. Go talk with the parents. You don't know that they will deny their children's responsibility. You don't know that they won't be willing to make it right.
    If they aren't, then you can go to the police. You do not lose your ability to file a police report by talking with them first.
    Here's why I think that.
    My own, highly-intelligent, normally-well-meaning boys got up on our rear balcony with their paint-ball gun once and fired round after round at the telephone pole on the other side of the yard. NOT realizing that directly behind the telephone pole was the four-story senior-living facility.
    Did I mention that they are highly-intelligent?
    Well, this old folks home had recently been repainted.
    The administrators were not happy. They came over and knocked on my door. I had no idea it had happened until they were standing on the door stoop.
    It was mortifying. But I did not try to get out of it. We resolved the situation amicably, and, actually, most of it just washed right off (with the first rain. We could not get high enough to wash the upper stories).
    My boys did not mean anything by it. They were just thoughtless, like young kids often are. They thought, paint balls don't hurt anything; they wash right off.
    Give that family a chance before you run off angry.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
    I would find the toughest little kids in the neighborhood and pay them to beat up those kids and tell them after not to mess with you!
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    I have an *kitten* neighbour to :( we had to call cops last night.

    Anywho, I would definitely not take the advice of the person who said to ignore someone paintballing your car! Take pics and file a report with the cops for start
  • PHS7
    PHS7 Posts: 213 Member
    Gotta talk to the cops. I agree that there is no way the parents won't back up their kids if you talk to them first. You'll probably get the old "not my little angels" response from them. Going to the police gives you takes the confrontation factor away and remember, you have to live next to them for who knows how long. This way, if the cops come to the door, its not you initiating the confrontation. It's just the police doing their job.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    I gotta take the other side of this argument. Go talk with the parents. You don't know that they will deny their children's responsibility. You don't know that they won't be willing to make it right.
    If they aren't, then you can go to the police. You do not lose your ability to file a police report by talking with them first.
    Here's why I think that.
    My own, highly-intelligent, normally-well-meaning boys got up on our rear balcony with their paint-ball gun once and fired round after round at the telephone pole on the other side of the yard. NOT realizing that directly behind the telephone pole was the four-story senior-living facility.
    Did I mention that they are highly-intelligent?
    Well, this old folks home had recently been repainted.
    The administrators were not happy. They came over and knocked on my door. I had no idea it had happened until they were standing on the door stoop.
    It was mortifying. But I did not try to get out of it. We resolved the situation amicably, and, actually, most of it just washed right off (with the first rain. We could not get high enough to wash the upper stories).
    My boys did not mean anything by it. They were just thoughtless, like young kids often are. They thought, paint balls don't hurt anything; they wash right off.
    Give that family a chance before you run off angry.

    Finally, a voice of reason. Give the parents and the kids a chance to deal with the situation BEFORE you go to the police. Not all parents are dead-beats. I have a spirited child and I'm sure I will be facing stuff like this soon. Even the best parents can't foresee/prevent everything. Even good kids do stupid things sometimes.
  • Tuala42
    Tuala42 Posts: 274 Member
    It partly depends on the age of the kids. With young kids, I might suggest talking to the parents first, with teenagers who should know better, call the police, just to hopefully scare some sense into them. We had a similar incident with a bb gun hole in a kitchen window. Since it went through the screen and the window, we could see exactly what the trajectory was--the deck of our backyard neighbor. The cop just went over there and talked to the teenagers and their mom, and it gave them a good scare. The mom was great about it and I don't feel like there were any hard feelings over the incident.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    I gotta take the other side of this argument. Go talk with the parents. You don't know that they will deny their children's responsibility. You don't know that they won't be willing to make it right.
    If they aren't, then you can go to the police. You do not lose your ability to file a police report by talking with them first.
    Here's why I think that.
    My own, highly-intelligent, normally-well-meaning boys got up on our rear balcony with their paint-ball gun once and fired round after round at the telephone pole on the other side of the yard. NOT realizing that directly behind the telephone pole was the four-story senior-living facility.
    Did I mention that they are highly-intelligent?
    Well, this old folks home had recently been repainted.
    The administrators were not happy. They came over and knocked on my door. I had no idea it had happened until they were standing on the door stoop.
    It was mortifying. But I did not try to get out of it. We resolved the situation amicably, and, actually, most of it just washed right off (with the first rain. We could not get high enough to wash the upper stories).
    My boys did not mean anything by it. They were just thoughtless, like young kids often are. They thought, paint balls don't hurt anything; they wash right off.
    Give that family a chance before you run off angry.

    Finally, a voice of reason. Give the parents and the kids a chance to deal with the situation BEFORE you go to the police. Not all parents are dead-beats. I have a spirited child and I'm sure I will be facing stuff like this soon. Even the best parents can't foresee/prevent everything. Even good kids do stupid things sometimes.
    True, and the cops know that. They are hardly going to cart them off to jail, but worth talking to them before the parents get rid of any evidence if you talk to them first, so that the cops can deal with it.
  • PlanetVelma
    PlanetVelma Posts: 1,223 Member
    I gotta take the other side of this argument. Go talk with the parents. You don't know that they will deny their children's responsibility. You don't know that they won't be willing to make it right.
    If they aren't, then you can go to the police. You do not lose your ability to file a police report by talking with them first.
    Here's why I think that.
    My own, highly-intelligent, normally-well-meaning boys got up on our rear balcony with their paint-ball gun once and fired round after round at the telephone pole on the other side of the yard. NOT realizing that directly behind the telephone pole was the four-story senior-living facility.
    Did I mention that they are highly-intelligent?
    Well, this old folks home had recently been repainted.
    The administrators were not happy. They came over and knocked on my door. I had no idea it had happened until they were standing on the door stoop.
    It was mortifying. But I did not try to get out of it. We resolved the situation amicably, and, actually, most of it just washed right off (with the first rain. We could not get high enough to wash the upper stories).
    My boys did not mean anything by it. They were just thoughtless, like young kids often are. They thought, paint balls don't hurt anything; they wash right off.
    Give that family a chance before you run off angry.

    I didn't think the OP was "running off angry" LOL But I do agree, I would at least give the parents an opportunity to fix it. If they're idiots and get crazy - dial 9-1-1.
  • trojan_bb
    trojan_bb Posts: 699 Member
    Vigilante Justice.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    My girlfriend was getting mail out of the mailbox today and when she got out of the car to grab the mail the neighbor kids paintballed the car in two places.

    What would you guys do? She didn't see them directly do it, but it's the only house that would be capable of doing it out of there window. It was a perfect angle.

    Do you know how I know you probably have a boring and or unstable relationship?

    You get upset enough at children, for getting water-soluble paint on your economy car and are miserable/bored enough to contemplate filing a police report against said children because of it.

    Don't worry, one day when you're old and retired you'll be able to sit idle by your window and catch those little brats red handed.
    So you won't mind if I come paint your car then? Sweet.

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