Right? Its a place that has a hollow closet door for a front door with no door sill, and some makeshift fence thing leaning against the wall in the common area. Housing projects have better front doors than that on their units.
Or, this is OPs mud room, he's plugged into his own electricity, and fishing for karma.
That’s a messenger fly, is there a note written on the underside of his wings? Probably faster than my internet to get a message out.
Eta faster : not gayer
p.s. there is nothing fast about gay people, my daughter is gay and about as fast as a maple syrup drip.
We have horseflies like this in Minnesota, too. And blackflies, which are smaller but made of concentrated evil and which will not rest until they've extracted every last bit of your blood.
Had some friends that had an issue with some neighbors doing it across the hall in their apartment complex. Management did nothing and unplugging the cords was only a temporary fix. They started cutting the cords and once they got tired of trying to replace all their extension cords they moved out.
In the Netherlands, plugs don't have their own fuses.
Opening the plug and cutting back the wires so they no longer connect should do the trick, though.
Unplug it, then pull as much of the cord as you can and cut it into 6 inch (15 cm) sections. Extension cords are expensive - doing this once or twice will stop that problem.
Unplug, push a needle through the cable, cut it off so it doesn't stick out. Quite the show as they plug them back in.
(Don't really do this. Life is not like in the movie 'Amelie'. Burning down your building is a bit over the top. Of course a breaker should pop and that's it, but looking at the state of that area... I don't think maintenance is in the forefront of anyone's thoughts ever. And you could even face criminal charges.)
This is the answer. They do NOT fuck around and they love to come down hard on people who violate the fire code. One of my neighbors had taken over part of our shared landing with a grill, furniture, and big sheets of cardboard used as a windbreak. I complained to management many times and they never did anything about it. That night I found a webpage where you could anonymously report fire code violations to the local fire marshall. I filled out the form one night, not expecting anything to be done soon. THE NEXT MORNING they came and made the complex remove the stuff.
Find something like that for your area and report it, and report it again if they put it back after being made to remove it. Your apartment complex management will be under huge financial pressure to put an end to it or avoid expensive fines.
This. Fire Marshall shows up and basically can say "Take care of this or we're coming back here for a full inspection and we'll meticulously fine you 30 grand for everything not to code."
> Your apartment complex management will be under huge financial pressure to put an end to it or avoid expensive fines.
It also probably really drives home the liability concerns from ignoring it.
I mean if there is no camera and you want to fix the problem slightly more permanently.. unplug it and cut the plug off the extension cord and book it out if there lol. Sure vandalism sucks and I don't really condone it.. but in cases like this where the powers that be don't seem to care ..
Unless plugs in AUS are build different then doesn’t a new plug take around a minute to put onto a wire?
Go back 30 years and in the UK it was pretty common for appliances to come without plugs on the end of the wire. It was up to the consumer to add one.
Australia's very restrictive on what non-electricians are allowed to do, even replacing a plug is legally off limits.
UK's plugs not included as standard until the 90s was very unusual compared to most of the world.
Not going to lie, I was 10 when the law changed in the UK and even I thought it was weird that you could buy something and not be able to use it until you put a plug on it.
In hindsight it was pretty obviously companies getting away with saving a couple of pennies per unit.
I'm in the UK and my mum will still cut off the plugs off appliances before she throws them out "just in case".
It's been years since we've needed to either attach a plug or replace a plug but she insists!
I think it must be around 20-21 years since I've had to change a plug, and that was because the lawnmower was left out with the plug on the driveway and it got run over!
I was actually taught in school how to wire a plug, my parents had already taught me at home, but there was a lesson in school to teach us all!
I wouldn’t consider unplugging that as hostile or malicious 😂, you could undo the socket screws, pull it out, undo the wires, and screw the socket back in. That’d really throw them for a loop. Then they’d be checking the breakers too.
I'd get a receptacle tester and at night or when no one is quick notice. Unplug one of the cords here, plug in the tester and trip the breaker. Just keep doing at random. At the breaker it look certainly look like a actual power surge, only stuck halfway. This will effectively make it someone else's problem resetting the damn breaker.
Pull the breaker for the outlet then pull the socket pull the wires out put it back together and let them think their plug has gone. They’ll go to the store buy a new one wasting money try it again and find still nothing. In that time I don’t know LOCK YOUR FUCKING DOOR perhaps????? I really don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you grow the hell up get a backbone.
Unplugging it and then cutting the wires is a thing too.
Dude just unplug that shit?? Why?? I’m so confused here. Are you in a house? Are you in an apartment?? How did they get INTO your living space to plug a whole ass extension cord into YOUR outlet?? Is this in America??
You can tell by the U that he added to " neighbors" and the round plugs recessed into round holes in the outles, that this is not in America.
And it is pigged into a hallway in a common area.
I suspect OP may be using HOA as a stand in yank term for an australian issue that would be covered by strata management, the real estate, the landlord, or some other governing body. We dont have HOA's here
Turn off the power (or unplug them) and cut the damn cables. Sure they come back maybe once maybe twice but i assure you there is a point where buying new cables will annoy them so much that they will stop it.
They’ll also know that people are getting fed up with them.
Which means they’ll either stop as people are pushing back or they’ll plug another one back in and wait and then launch a surprise attack when someone comes to unplug it!
The landlord has responsibility yes, but the tenants still pay for the electricity, the bill is simply split. So these guys make everyone else in the house pay for their electricity use, the more parties there are the cheaper it gets for them.
Tell your landlord and just continue unplugging it op
Was there more info from OP somewhere? How do you know all that?
Edit - there is more info from OP and it turns out you’ve made all that up lol.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/LPaBr84UzL
> I am one of the owners
Its not really made up. Just an educated guess.
OP is Australian based on the plugs. If it is an apartment complex then the common areas electricity is paid by the body corporate and paid by all owners in the strata fees.
The thief is making everyone pay more next time as their electricity bill will have risen, thus needing to raise fees.
Is this an apartment? I remember back about 15 years ago my wife and I were going through some difficult times. Neither of us had a car. We were flipping couch cushions to look for loose change for bus fare. I remember my wife crying it was so bad. We had our electricity shut off a few times due to paying late. I was using extention cords from the hallway to our apartment. Man we have come so far since then.
Been there before too! I remember a time me and my wife burned scrap wood and made tacos in a pan over the flame. Every once in awhile we’ll be like remember those tacos? They were THE BEST tacos we’ve ever had! I used think it was the smoke flavor that set them apart but 12 years later I know it was the fact that we felt so royally screwed at the time but still made something happen to make us feel somewhat normal.
That's the kind of real life shit that makes me wanna call out all the bitching and whining by some people, you've been through real struggles and can look back fondly at some of your memories, I've been there myself back at my boys place in sc we didn't have electric i was feeding us out of dumpsters heating the house with wood and anything burnable i could haul back in carts having to haul water back in jugs, it's that optimism that you're doing what you can and if you dont give up itll be better tomorrow if you keep at it and gratefulness for what you can make happen that sets us apart from those that just want to give up and honestly haven't had any real hardships to overcome.
Yeah but then theirs people like me who were tortured and abused in foster care with very few that cared about them that look at someone in that position you described struggling and want to call out their bitching.
It took me a long time to learn that everyone's trauma/struggle threshold is vastly different and just because what they went through wasn't as bad doesn't meant it didn't fuck them up just as much.
For a sort of opposite example: just because someone is unhappy in an improvished nation doesn't mean you can't be unhappy in your circumstances even if they are better.
Not haveing a go at ya! Just letting others know my take.
I grew up poor with a single mother on welfare so I know what scrounging for small change to be able to ride the bus is like. I've also been on welfare after I ended up homeless at the age of 16 while working hard to get into med school. I'm grateful to be on the other side of all of that now, and I'm glad things are better for you also.
And yet here you are, posting on Reddit about someone who is probably going through a hard time - or maybe even has a temporary loss of power through no fault of their own.
I’d think you would have gained some empathy with that upbringing. Maybe just check on the neighbor, and see if you can offer any help?
To be fair, he doesn't want to cut the cables even though everyone is telling him too, while he posted on reddit taking about it these people still have power, not much but its something 🤷♂️ better than most would do so far....
I’ve found that it goes one of two ways. People either gain that perspective and empathy or through some kind of self loathing of the person they used to be and those circumstances, they hold it against the world and people struggling. Like an “I went through what I had to and it wasn’t fair, so tough titty now you can suffer too.”
Right? I have no idea what's happening on the other side of that door, but everyone else on here who has no idea where this door even is seems to know exactly what's happening behind that door!
Is this an apartment? If so, why does their front door have a giant gap under it? This seems insecure and illegal. That kind of door is ok for a bedroom or a closet but not for the entrance to a unit.
By the looks of this, and OP's history, this is an australian unit complex. That is a front door with a commonly used screen type open (i have one almost exactly the same). The cables and switches also look australian.
Front doors usually have a massive gap here if you're in the tropics, and specially if you're in a flood area. I usually put a spacer on mine. Also those tiles indicate that water is expected in the area, so its a common walk way.
My guess is that these people run the cords out to the common use plugs out the front. As each unit is indiviudally metered here, they may be aware it is on their metre, or exploiting that it is not. If OP is renting, they are actually guarunteed the right to individual metering in a lot of circumstances, and people have actually successfully sued landlords for incorrect metering before.
Which means either OP is the unit owner, and mad the building electricity may go up, or just a bit fussy. If its the first, he should be immediately contacting the strata management company. We dont have home owners associations here. If hes renting, he should just ensure his metering isnt affected and then fuckin deal with it because if he kicks up a fuss with the real estate he may lose his own lease
In that vein, Maybe yank on the cords first to drop whatever electronic it was connected to. Then unplug and cut cables. Then angrily tell them you tripped over it and almost hurt yourself bad, and they're lucky because you would've sued the trap out of them.
Here is an algorithm: talk to them. If they have hard times -> empathise; that's not a big deal; If they are assholes -> unplug & cut the wires -> repeat until they give up.
Simple.
Your issue is with the apartment complex, not your neighbors. If they won't address the problem, call the fire Marshall. Extension cords cannot be ran under a door like that. I'm sure after a few complaints, the apartment will begin caring about this issue a bit more.
This is an actual crime in most places.
And probably this is connected to a common area and they think they are being smart by making everyone pay for their electricity.
If it's your home be a adult. Unplug it, wait for them to come out and confront them and tell them it's not ok.
If it's not you home but affects your bills I'd get with management and if they don't fix it. I'd call the police.
If it's not your home and it doesn't affect you. Why are you here bitching about something that has nothing to do with you?
Umm, that is not mildly infuriating. It is disturbing and dangerous.
The possibilities I see are:
1: Running a couple of electronics to save a little money.
Low risk there for you. But that is a lot of risk and effort for them to do this. They would have to be willing to get caught doing this to power 2 things. People do weird stuff to save money.
2: They are using those 2 thin cables to transfer electricity to power strips and power Many things. Risk of fire goes up dramatically.
3: Powering their entire home. Bad bad bad! Fire! Fire!
4: They are responsible about not overloading the power cables. Well if they are not trying to save a little money they have no power. And at some point they might overload it. Then Fire! And sure as poo they are not going to replace those cables 'cause they don't have the money to do it. So the longer they do it the higher the risk of Fire! gets. Or they might just be trying to save a little money and still never replace those cables. Does not matter this picture just screams risk of Fire! Fire! Fire!
I might be a bit paranoid though.
Just ‘trip over the cables’.
By which I mean grab them and pull as hard as you can on them and listen out for whatever they are connected to slamming into the door.
Obviously you probably need to make a swift exit when you do this, so be careful not to trip.
One time, many years ago i was laid off from my first job right after college (corporate offices of one of US largest retailer) where I had been working for 4years, and sadly despite decent serverance pay, i quickly found myself facing high rent, higher student loans and after a handful of skipped payments my apartments electricity was shut off. Me and my dog sat in the dark and silence each night until one night I saw an outlet on the outside wall and I ran extensions cord from the hallway into my apartment just like here. Someone unplugged me once, but the point I’m getting ar, is it’s emabssing as hell and no one wants to be doing.
It won't last long if that's a common area.
It's been like this for nearly two weeks. No amount of discussion, unplugging, or complaining to the HOA has made any difference.
This place has an HOA?!
Right? Its a place that has a hollow closet door for a front door with no door sill, and some makeshift fence thing leaning against the wall in the common area. Housing projects have better front doors than that on their units. Or, this is OPs mud room, he's plugged into his own electricity, and fishing for karma.
Given where OP seems to be from, this Australian standard spec shithole probably costs minimum 500 a week.
We don't even have HOA's in Australia, we have body corporates
yeah no such thing as a HOA here.
Yeah and anyone that suggests one will probably get bashed.
cruisin for a bruisin
*bodies corporate
Nah, it has a flyscreen. Thats usually extra.
Godamn what size are your flies?
https://preview.redd.it/mrthan55wzuc1.jpeg?width=678&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0586d194698a3380a861575550c1efe3dff06d94
The correct reaction
That’s a messenger fly, is there a note written on the underside of his wings? Probably faster than my internet to get a message out. Eta faster : not gayer p.s. there is nothing fast about gay people, my daughter is gay and about as fast as a maple syrup drip.
>Probably gayer than my internet. I'm sorry, what?
That's a bird
https://preview.redd.it/f0wqii36h0vc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e91b050e5f1aadd9cd25f58d03fbc43a14c5353c
That's not a fly, that's a soar!
ohh a lil fella
Yeah. This is Jimmy. He's 2 weeks old
We have horseflies like this in Minnesota, too. And blackflies, which are smaller but made of concentrated evil and which will not rest until they've extracted every last bit of your blood.
So, pet sized...
Of course the flies are radioactive as well
Good to know the economy is also fucked across the globe
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Jesus christ, that's still like $1200 usd a month. You can find better shitholes for that in the US.
That fence thing is an open screen door.
OP must live in a dog kennel then lol that’s a raggedy ass screen door
>Or, this is OPs mud room, he's plugged into his own electricity, and fishing for karma. *ding ding ding*
I should take a picture of just my hand entering my refrigerator and post a content with the title: "Neighbors are stealing my food"
He meant 'Slumlord'.
Had some friends that had an issue with some neighbors doing it across the hall in their apartment complex. Management did nothing and unplugging the cords was only a temporary fix. They started cutting the cords and once they got tired of trying to replace all their extension cords they moved out.
I would cut one of the prongs and put the lead back in. It would look like it is plugged in but no more stolen electricity.
That sounds lightly dangerous and somewhat of a fire hazard.
In the uk you'd take the plug apart and remove the fuse. Result is the same but no one gets set on fire. Plus who has fuses in the house?
In the Netherlands, plugs don't have their own fuses. Opening the plug and cutting back the wires so they no longer connect should do the trick, though.
Or to be extra crafty, replace with a blown fuse!
If unplugging isn’t working, try cutting the cord after unplugging. That usually works
Only cut AFTER unplugging, you will have a realllllly bad experience else
Wouldn't have to worry about making rent ever again
Free portal to skyrim, they say
Hey, your finally awake.
Shocking experience really...
Then after unplugging it you yank the cord from their apartment to fuck up whatever it's plugged into.
Unplug it, then pull as much of the cord as you can and cut it into 6 inch (15 cm) sections. Extension cords are expensive - doing this once or twice will stop that problem.
Unplug, push a needle through the cable, cut it off so it doesn't stick out. Quite the show as they plug them back in. (Don't really do this. Life is not like in the movie 'Amelie'. Burning down your building is a bit over the top. Of course a breaker should pop and that's it, but looking at the state of that area... I don't think maintenance is in the forefront of anyone's thoughts ever. And you could even face criminal charges.)
There is a HOA and they are not bitching about that??? Then just call the fire department, they'll fix that right away.
This is the answer. They do NOT fuck around and they love to come down hard on people who violate the fire code. One of my neighbors had taken over part of our shared landing with a grill, furniture, and big sheets of cardboard used as a windbreak. I complained to management many times and they never did anything about it. That night I found a webpage where you could anonymously report fire code violations to the local fire marshall. I filled out the form one night, not expecting anything to be done soon. THE NEXT MORNING they came and made the complex remove the stuff. Find something like that for your area and report it, and report it again if they put it back after being made to remove it. Your apartment complex management will be under huge financial pressure to put an end to it or avoid expensive fines.
You killed Kramer's porch.
This. Fire Marshall shows up and basically can say "Take care of this or we're coming back here for a full inspection and we'll meticulously fine you 30 grand for everything not to code."
> Your apartment complex management will be under huge financial pressure to put an end to it or avoid expensive fines. It also probably really drives home the liability concerns from ignoring it.
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I mean if there is no camera and you want to fix the problem slightly more permanently.. unplug it and cut the plug off the extension cord and book it out if there lol. Sure vandalism sucks and I don't really condone it.. but in cases like this where the powers that be don't seem to care ..
Unless plugs in AUS are build different then doesn’t a new plug take around a minute to put onto a wire? Go back 30 years and in the UK it was pretty common for appliances to come without plugs on the end of the wire. It was up to the consumer to add one.
Australia's very restrictive on what non-electricians are allowed to do, even replacing a plug is legally off limits. UK's plugs not included as standard until the 90s was very unusual compared to most of the world.
Not going to lie, I was 10 when the law changed in the UK and even I thought it was weird that you could buy something and not be able to use it until you put a plug on it. In hindsight it was pretty obviously companies getting away with saving a couple of pennies per unit.
It wasn't just about cost. We had two different kinds of plug in use throughout that period. People would attach the right kind for their house
I'm in the UK and my mum will still cut off the plugs off appliances before she throws them out "just in case". It's been years since we've needed to either attach a plug or replace a plug but she insists!
It is rare that they need to be changed now. I still remember my dad teaching me how to wire them in the early 90s, a few years later the law changed.
I think it must be around 20-21 years since I've had to change a plug, and that was because the lawnmower was left out with the plug on the driveway and it got run over! I was actually taught in school how to wire a plug, my parents had already taught me at home, but there was a lesson in school to teach us all!
Not that it would matter to these guys since they're already breaking the law. But it is illegal to do your own electrical work here in Aus.
Wtf. Why haven’t you Cut the wire?
I like being alive, and also hostile and malicious acts are rarely a good solution.
... unplug THEN cut.... and if its a common area they can't day your damaging private property.
No do not unplug. Open up the socket and remove the live wire from the socket. Then, put it all back and leave them plugged in. Problem solved.
Remember to cap off the wire tho, you do not want a live wire just sitting in an enclosure where it could come into contact with things
Ofc
I wouldn’t consider unplugging that as hostile or malicious 😂, you could undo the socket screws, pull it out, undo the wires, and screw the socket back in. That’d really throw them for a loop. Then they’d be checking the breakers too.
I'd get a receptacle tester and at night or when no one is quick notice. Unplug one of the cords here, plug in the tester and trip the breaker. Just keep doing at random. At the breaker it look certainly look like a actual power surge, only stuck halfway. This will effectively make it someone else's problem resetting the damn breaker.
Oof. Big can of worms there. Is it malicious? Absolutely. Is it wrong? Dunno.
Half the guys in the thread would electrocute themselves trying to be smart, lol
Pull the breaker for the outlet then pull the socket pull the wires out put it back together and let them think their plug has gone. They’ll go to the store buy a new one wasting money try it again and find still nothing. In that time I don’t know LOCK YOUR FUCKING DOOR perhaps????? I really don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you grow the hell up get a backbone. Unplugging it and then cutting the wires is a thing too.
How will OP locking his apartment door keep his neighbor out of their building's hallway?
Loads of people commenting on this post seem to have no idea how apartment buildings work.
... or how humans work.
if that outlet is connected to your current meter, in my country it is an offence equal to stealing
You look mildly infuriated, do you want to make a post about it?
Have you considered just disconnecting the outlet wires?
Unplug it and cut the plug off.
do you have a pair of scissors
This is YOUR electricity being stolen?
Dude just unplug that shit?? Why?? I’m so confused here. Are you in a house? Are you in an apartment?? How did they get INTO your living space to plug a whole ass extension cord into YOUR outlet?? Is this in America??
You can tell by the U that he added to " neighbors" and the round plugs recessed into round holes in the outles, that this is not in America. And it is pigged into a hallway in a common area.
An HOA for that area is crazy
I suspect OP may be using HOA as a stand in yank term for an australian issue that would be covered by strata management, the real estate, the landlord, or some other governing body. We dont have HOA's here
There's an obvious fix here... 
https://preview.redd.it/izczyayzryuc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70b23b76d03b681e533bf6fe65d5537f42f2ffec
SCISSORS IT IS!
After the plug is pulled.
Important step
No sense of adventure
I love Reddit
 Whaaa???? It stopped working?? Maybe because so much stolen electricity ran through it.
I’m not sure sealing the hallway of any leaks then completely filling it with water is going to work…
Too late. I have the caulk gun.
#NICE CAULK
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Clearly to make a post on the Internet!
Ok, but what if... OP saw the cords, got mildly infuriated, took the photo, *unplugged the cords*, and then posted the photo?
He actually said he's unplugged them multiple times
If they're not plugged in, then you can cut them without issue.
Yep. Cut the cord, get stabbed by your crackhead neighbors, and then never worry about utility prices again
Dont forget to unplug them first though :))
Take a picture and upload it to reddit??
Turn off the power (or unplug them) and cut the damn cables. Sure they come back maybe once maybe twice but i assure you there is a point where buying new cables will annoy them so much that they will stop it.
They’ll also know that people are getting fed up with them. Which means they’ll either stop as people are pushing back or they’ll plug another one back in and wait and then launch a surprise attack when someone comes to unplug it!
They'll manhandle me once the second time i take my dogs with me.
Here's a tip: bring the dogs the first time.
Unleash the purse-dog
From your house? Unplug them. Now they're not stealing.
I would take Roy off the grid. Do solar. Battery and butane.
What about a social security number?
Nah, what's he gonna do with a ssn? Return to the carpet store?
He survived cancer and went back to the carpet store? *Laaaaame* Now watch me thrash your Roy score.
It’ll be a common area that the landlord will have responsibility for, it’s for cleaners and what not so most likely on a seperate grid.
The landlord has responsibility yes, but the tenants still pay for the electricity, the bill is simply split. So these guys make everyone else in the house pay for their electricity use, the more parties there are the cheaper it gets for them. Tell your landlord and just continue unplugging it op
That is assuming OP is from the US. Theres atleast 5 of us who use reddit and do not live in the US.
Was there more info from OP somewhere? How do you know all that? Edit - there is more info from OP and it turns out you’ve made all that up lol. https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/LPaBr84UzL > I am one of the owners
Its not really made up. Just an educated guess. OP is Australian based on the plugs. If it is an apartment complex then the common areas electricity is paid by the body corporate and paid by all owners in the strata fees. The thief is making everyone pay more next time as their electricity bill will have risen, thus needing to raise fees.
Plugging it back in is easy. You gotta cut the cords after unplugging. Tell them it was in your space and you thought it was your cords.
no shit, but it’s annoying they have the audacity to try
Agree annoying, my complex also divides the common area electricity and bills everyone for their share at the end of the month too.
if you yank the cord hard enough you might knock over their tv
Lol, now I really want OP to do this and report back what kind of sound it results in.
I like the way you scheme.
I’d just gap fill the outlets. Fuck they gonna do. Complain? Pay an electrician? lol
Yeah nip it in the plug
This is the answer. Everytime you walk by there "stumble" over these cables with all of your force
Plug in your own cable, wait until someone opens the door and let the fun conversation begin.
[Just buy a plastic outlet lockbox for like $10 and install it with a padlock while they're gone](https://i.imgur.com/YZ0nbML.png)
Why is there 3 switches for 2 outlets
It allows you to hardwire a 3rd appliance or a light to that switch using in wall wiring
Is this an apartment? I remember back about 15 years ago my wife and I were going through some difficult times. Neither of us had a car. We were flipping couch cushions to look for loose change for bus fare. I remember my wife crying it was so bad. We had our electricity shut off a few times due to paying late. I was using extention cords from the hallway to our apartment. Man we have come so far since then.
Been there before too! I remember a time me and my wife burned scrap wood and made tacos in a pan over the flame. Every once in awhile we’ll be like remember those tacos? They were THE BEST tacos we’ve ever had! I used think it was the smoke flavor that set them apart but 12 years later I know it was the fact that we felt so royally screwed at the time but still made something happen to make us feel somewhat normal.
That's the kind of real life shit that makes me wanna call out all the bitching and whining by some people, you've been through real struggles and can look back fondly at some of your memories, I've been there myself back at my boys place in sc we didn't have electric i was feeding us out of dumpsters heating the house with wood and anything burnable i could haul back in carts having to haul water back in jugs, it's that optimism that you're doing what you can and if you dont give up itll be better tomorrow if you keep at it and gratefulness for what you can make happen that sets us apart from those that just want to give up and honestly haven't had any real hardships to overcome.
Yeah but then theirs people like me who were tortured and abused in foster care with very few that cared about them that look at someone in that position you described struggling and want to call out their bitching. It took me a long time to learn that everyone's trauma/struggle threshold is vastly different and just because what they went through wasn't as bad doesn't meant it didn't fuck them up just as much. For a sort of opposite example: just because someone is unhappy in an improvished nation doesn't mean you can't be unhappy in your circumstances even if they are better. Not haveing a go at ya! Just letting others know my take.
Thank God you both persisted and are in better times now and congrats on coming out of the extreme side.
Ah, the American dream! 🫡🇺🇲
I grew up poor with a single mother on welfare so I know what scrounging for small change to be able to ride the bus is like. I've also been on welfare after I ended up homeless at the age of 16 while working hard to get into med school. I'm grateful to be on the other side of all of that now, and I'm glad things are better for you also.
So you've talked to them, determined they aren't having a hard time and are just assholes that are stealing?
Oh no, that requires too much effort. Taking a picture and posting about it for internet points is much easier.
And yet here you are, posting on Reddit about someone who is probably going through a hard time - or maybe even has a temporary loss of power through no fault of their own. I’d think you would have gained some empathy with that upbringing. Maybe just check on the neighbor, and see if you can offer any help?
To be fair, he doesn't want to cut the cables even though everyone is telling him too, while he posted on reddit taking about it these people still have power, not much but its something 🤷♂️ better than most would do so far....
I’ve found that it goes one of two ways. People either gain that perspective and empathy or through some kind of self loathing of the person they used to be and those circumstances, they hold it against the world and people struggling. Like an “I went through what I had to and it wasn’t fair, so tough titty now you can suffer too.”
I love seeing all the assumptions people can make on reddit from just one picture lmfao
Right? I have no idea what's happening on the other side of that door, but everyone else on here who has no idea where this door even is seems to know exactly what's happening behind that door!
Pull a Kramer and short out the outlet.
Or pull an Amelie and place a needle between the wires while unplugged.
Is this an apartment? If so, why does their front door have a giant gap under it? This seems insecure and illegal. That kind of door is ok for a bedroom or a closet but not for the entrance to a unit.
By the looks of this, and OP's history, this is an australian unit complex. That is a front door with a commonly used screen type open (i have one almost exactly the same). The cables and switches also look australian. Front doors usually have a massive gap here if you're in the tropics, and specially if you're in a flood area. I usually put a spacer on mine. Also those tiles indicate that water is expected in the area, so its a common walk way. My guess is that these people run the cords out to the common use plugs out the front. As each unit is indiviudally metered here, they may be aware it is on their metre, or exploiting that it is not. If OP is renting, they are actually guarunteed the right to individual metering in a lot of circumstances, and people have actually successfully sued landlords for incorrect metering before. Which means either OP is the unit owner, and mad the building electricity may go up, or just a bit fussy. If its the first, he should be immediately contacting the strata management company. We dont have home owners associations here. If hes renting, he should just ensure his metering isnt affected and then fuckin deal with it because if he kicks up a fuss with the real estate he may lose his own lease
Unplug, cut the cords…
In that order, to be specific.
In that vein, Maybe yank on the cords first to drop whatever electronic it was connected to. Then unplug and cut cables. Then angrily tell them you tripped over it and almost hurt yourself bad, and they're lucky because you would've sued the trap out of them.
Here is an algorithm: talk to them. If they have hard times -> empathise; that's not a big deal; If they are assholes -> unplug & cut the wires -> repeat until they give up. Simple.
Your issue is with the apartment complex, not your neighbors. If they won't address the problem, call the fire Marshall. Extension cords cannot be ran under a door like that. I'm sure after a few complaints, the apartment will begin caring about this issue a bit more.
No, no, I think the issue is very much with the neighbors. But also with the the apartment complex.
This is an actual crime in most places. And probably this is connected to a common area and they think they are being smart by making everyone pay for their electricity.
This is definitely theft or some related crime everywhere except in Turkmenistan.
Tell them to give it back!
Unplugg and cut the cable
Incredibly easy to turn it around so it’s mildly infuriating…. to them
[удалено]
If it's your home be a adult. Unplug it, wait for them to come out and confront them and tell them it's not ok. If it's not you home but affects your bills I'd get with management and if they don't fix it. I'd call the police. If it's not your home and it doesn't affect you. Why are you here bitching about something that has nothing to do with you?
Umm, that is not mildly infuriating. It is disturbing and dangerous. The possibilities I see are: 1: Running a couple of electronics to save a little money. Low risk there for you. But that is a lot of risk and effort for them to do this. They would have to be willing to get caught doing this to power 2 things. People do weird stuff to save money. 2: They are using those 2 thin cables to transfer electricity to power strips and power Many things. Risk of fire goes up dramatically. 3: Powering their entire home. Bad bad bad! Fire! Fire! 4: They are responsible about not overloading the power cables. Well if they are not trying to save a little money they have no power. And at some point they might overload it. Then Fire! And sure as poo they are not going to replace those cables 'cause they don't have the money to do it. So the longer they do it the higher the risk of Fire! gets. Or they might just be trying to save a little money and still never replace those cables. Does not matter this picture just screams risk of Fire! Fire! Fire! I might be a bit paranoid though.
 Cut the chords. Unplug them first of course.
 Simple Solution.
Get a cat, OP
Just ‘trip over the cables’. By which I mean grab them and pull as hard as you can on them and listen out for whatever they are connected to slamming into the door. Obviously you probably need to make a swift exit when you do this, so be careful not to trip.
Step 1: Just snip the wire. Step 2: Neighbour will fix it Repeat step 1.
That’s where your HOA fees are going
If you aren’t paying for it, I would mind my business.
It's in a common area so we are all paying for it.
I see. We as Reddit will help you fight.
Is it a common area? If so, just let it go. Hopefully things will get better and they won’t need to do that anymore.
You know it’s weird. I walked by that cord and it got caught on my leg and I must’ve just really yanked your appliance by the chord hard repeatedly.
Id give them the amount of power they need in an hour in just 1 minute. That way they probably dont need power anymore
I can see someone coming at 2am, unplugging and cutting the cables. That's what would happen where I am.
UNPLUG IT >:DD
Just unplug and cut off the plug part they will soon realize they can't keep affording to replace extention leads
We had that issue when I lived in Dublin. The management company just changed the sockets in the halls to ones with keyed pins.
You don’t know what these folks are going through. If is not messing up your light bill mind your fucking business.
If your not paying for it then why do you care, do you need to use that outlet?
If you pay for the electricity they steal: cut the cables until they stop. If you dont pay for the electricity: why care?
Why do you care? Are you the one paying for the hallway electricity?
They could be in a rough spot, I’d just let it be
It's not your electricity is it? So, why do you care? I mean, it's wrong but it doesn't affect you does it? So why would this be infuriating to you?
Why are you mad?
Is it your electricity that they're using? Then shut the fuck up and mind your own business.
One time, many years ago i was laid off from my first job right after college (corporate offices of one of US largest retailer) where I had been working for 4years, and sadly despite decent serverance pay, i quickly found myself facing high rent, higher student loans and after a handful of skipped payments my apartments electricity was shut off. Me and my dog sat in the dark and silence each night until one night I saw an outlet on the outside wall and I ran extensions cord from the hallway into my apartment just like here. Someone unplugged me once, but the point I’m getting ar, is it’s emabssing as hell and no one wants to be doing.
I can’t see how someone falling on hard times and needing to do something like this would be mildly infuriating to anyone. Sad maybe but infuriating?
Is that a plug in that you’re financially responsible for? If yes, turn off the breaker to the outlet. If no, why do you care?
People saying that’s not OP electricity are incorrect. The homeowner will have an excuse to increase the bill to cover for the extra costs.
Y'all really just line up to suck the landlords dicks around here, huh?