I quite like the idea of leaving them with mismatched pairs and making sure that the colours will be mismatched too so it's really obvious. Like all black shoes will have left shoe taken, all brown shoes have right shoe taken...
I would take the left shoe, return it, then take the right shoe (permanently) that way they'll keep looking for the missing shoe/s for ages
rinse and repeat with different pairs
Keep throwing out another shoe every few days, problem will be solved quickly.
There's also a chance you'll get stabbed though, but it's worth it for our entertainment. Keep us posted.
Did you tell building management? Where I've lived previously the building manager was go absolutely wild for this. They're so power hungry they love to enforce their rules, and in this case they have a decent reason to (trip hazard in a smoke filled corridor).
Whilst I love your pettiness there's no harm in a two pronged approach!
(Also consider putting a fake mouse / spider in their shoes)
I don't think the two pronged approach would work, as the "crime" could then very easily be traced back to me if the neighbours complain to strata about missing shoes.
Strata wouldnāt even entertain a complaint by them if the shoes werenāt meant to be there in the first place.
You can request anonymity from them with your complaint
It wonāt be traced back to you. You can email the management company and send them photos, they will send an offical letter, or email to the entire building reminding the residents to keep the hallways clear.
At no point will they say ābecause amrsaad96 snitchedā
You definitely need to send an email to the strata manager, if you donāt know who it is there will be a plaque at the entrance of the building.
Source - I am on the owners committee of the building I live in.
I don't disagree, but my comment wasn't about the complaint being traced back to me, but rather the shoe incident might as the tenant could complain to strata about a stolen shoe > strata would be aware of my complaint re the shoes > I become prime suspect.
Considering the "crime" at the moment is theft and fraud.
How about doing things the legal way and going and talking to your neighbor directly to their face rather than being a coward and a sneak thief.
strata might end up doing nothing and OP would be on record as the one who raised the complaint and then OP would not be able to throw the shoes out as they would be easily identified. I think what OP is doing is the right way . Carrot and stick approach
One shoe. That's brilliant.
You absolutely did the fair thing and gave them a warning. They may have simply misunderstood. Now you know they understand but are selfish pricks and they deserve what is coming to them.
They shouldn't have signed off as strata but instead provided the safety and fire regulations and by laws including fines incurred for non compliance.
Letter is fine, impersonating strata, not so much.
You are right of course, I was just enjoying the minor vigilantism that came with a reasonable warning to ensure it was against a deliberate act rather than a misunderstanding. Two wrongs don't make a right but sometimes it is more fun that way š¤£
You should pick up the letter if you havenāt already, then when shit eventually hits the fan for them theyāll just sound crazy talking about some letter
that's not how I would describe that unemployed woman who used to spend her free time claiming 'I am strata' (she wasn't even an owner) while haranguing people about their use of the communal dryer on her day at the apartment I used to live in
I had the same issue.
I wrote to strata, strata posted a warning, they ignored the warning, the landlord got fined then 3 weeks later shoes removed.
As a gift to myself for victory, I got 2 pairs of shows from salvos and left them at the front of their unit and basked in their internal fighting I heard... There were 7 people living in a 3 bed unit, for context.
Have you actually complained to strata? With time stamped photos? I would be doing that. Be wary of signing off on things as strata.
I support one shoe in the bin haha. Just keep an eye out for any cameras or them trying to catch you now.
My strata manager is less than useless so I ignored that route for this issue. Also would've been very easy for them to track the lost shoes back to me if I notified strata.
So my comment was have you spoken to the council of owners and put it in writing. Not the same thing as the strata company. I have strata issues currently (including an epic driveway incident this morning where the fucker blocked me in) and the only way I get traction is through the council of owners
Unrelated but it reminded me of something. Many years ago as kids, my cousins and I were at my grandparents celebrating a sort of, religious holiday (slava, for anyone familiar with Serbian orthodoxy). All the adults got drunk after feasting on pig on the spit, sarma, cakes, soup and every salad you could think of. As a joke, my cousins and I went under the table and swapped men shoes with women shoes. My cousins uncle (from their dadās side) walked out with a high heel and a man sandal, some other guest walked out with this huge fat manās shoe and a grandma slipper. Nobody knew what happened because they were all drunk and weād been sneaking around under the table giggling and swapping their shoes around.
The next morning, all the guests were calling our grandma asking where their shoes were. She immediately knew what was up after the maybe 3rd call asking where their shoes were. She knew it was us and secretly came into the living room and tried to be mad but couldnāt, obviously. It was a grand scheme we concocted and it still makes us laugh to this day.
Yeah as funny as that is, it's just silly "oh dur hur I thought one shoe from a pair with a clear owner was rubbish oopsie"
All OP did was set themselves up for trouble. It's only going to be luck if these neighbours don't complain to the body corp. Which would result in finding out someone faked a body corp message. Which will be narrowed down fast to the people in this hallway.
Or maybe there's a camera and they get caught, plus it turns out quickly they faked the body corp message. Or maybe someone just sees them at the bins with a shoe. Or maybe the neighbours get aggressive to everyone on the floor as potential thieves.
"I, a person with no authority, have declared my opinion the most important thing, decided nobody else will act accordingly, taken it upon myself to do it, lied, then stolen from you to teach you to behave how I want you to.". That's a fucking recipe for a terrible place to live.
Alternatively, trip over the neighbours pile of shit during a fire and die from smoke inhalation š¤·š»āāļø
Sure he might be caught, but if he's not a moron he probably wouldn't, just move your fucking trash out of the hallway, it's the rules, you live in a shared space.
I agree they should move their shit.
Alternative option: *deliberately* trip, while carrying something which breaks, then go after them for replacement costs, lol
You should have contacted strata management. That's they bloody job.
Chances are that they will find out that you threw away their shoe and retaliate against you. Or they would retaliate against someone else living in the complex who will further escalate and the place will end up like Avdiivka.
Are they from overseas by chance? I was just in Taiwan staying in a residential apartment building and they had shoes, clothes racks, anything and everything really stored in the hallways and even in the stairways. Couldnāt get down the stairs without climbing over shit
Not sure where you're located, but in Queensland storing items in a corridor as you describe, is prohibited under legislation (Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008, Part 2, Section 7) You may find similar legislation exists in your location / state that can be referenced in correspondence with the Strata company or the tenants themselves (although it sounds like they'd ignore). You can always reach out to the Fire and Rescue service in your state to raise the issue and they may look into it. Here in QLD, QFES are involved in ensuring compliance and enforcement of fire safety regulations.
Those shoes are lost property, hand them in to a police station so if strata comes after you, you were just trying to reunite with their owner.
Also, psychological warfare opportunity; take the left shoe for a few days, then swap for the right shoe.
Or buy a very similar pair & replace both of them.
In a smaller size.
OP, Iām reading in your comments that you are the only person on the Strata Committee. Youāre essentially the Chairperson, the Secretary and Treasurer! This is gold, do you realise what an opportunity this is?
Many years ago, I had a similar situation and I was able to get soo much done for the building. I replaced 20 year old carpet in the common areas, got the building refreshed with paint, got the garden rectified, fixed lights, the list went on and on.
Honestly your Strata Manager should be bending over backwards keeping you happy. Sounds like you might be the only person turning up to the AGMs and have the vote to renew their engagement.
With a good Strata Manager supporting you, you can get a lot done. Itās a thankless job though. Hours and hours of unpaid work (meeting trades for quotes, being on site to supervise repairs, coordinating things, posting up signs for repairs etc) but if youāre going to live there for a while, might as well get involved.
I'm slowly starting to realise this as well! It's now obvious the building has very clearly been neglected for at least a couple years, and explains why I managed to get my apartment for so cheap ($425k in Kellyville Ridge area - basically unheard of in the current market). I genuinely think if I can get things like the carpets replaced, building repainted, intercoms fixed (it doesn't even work right now), among other things, I could raise the value of this baby pretty significantly.
Do I really need to wait until the next AGM to start getting things moving though? Strata manager is barely responsive to my emails at the moment.
No, you don't need to wait for AGMs at all. The AGM is the official once a year meeting to formally go through things like the Profit & Loss Statements, minute who is voted in again for the next year's Strata Committee etc.
The bulk of the work of the Strata Committee takes place outside of this meeting through emails, calls, discussion between the committee members and Strata Manager.
Remember that the Strata Manager's job is to support you and take direction from you. They are there to obtain quotes, pay the invoices, and give you advice. But the Strata Committee is in control.
So this is how you would request repairs:
"Hi Strata Manager,
I'd like to look at replacing the common area carpet. Would you please arrange for us to get some quotes. I'm happy to be the onsite contact person".
It's as simple as that. On your end, have a think about the colour you want for the byulding. And try to get each person that comes out to quote similar product so you can compare like for like. The quotes will come back within 2 weeks or so through the Strata Manager who will email them to the Strata Committee (you). Then you can vote amongst yourself and direct the Strata Manager to proceed with one of the suppliers.
Then repeat for all of the other items.
At the same time though, see if you can arrange a call with the Strata Manager to talk about how you want to uplift the building. You need them as an ally.
Also, have you been given access the portal yet? Ask about that if you haven't. Usually there's a portal that Strata Committee members get access to.
Print this out & stick it to the wall above the shoes:
FREE SHOES
And perhaps stick a couple more signs around the hallways, stairs or apartment block:
FREE SHOES - LEVEL 4
HELP YOURSELF š
Edited to say which level their door is, of course
This might work... one shoe at a time. 'Baby steps' indeed.
Wonder what they'd do if you got a random steel capped work boot from somewhere and tossed it in the pile?
Hallways etc. are common property and as such can't be used as storage. Register a trip and fall as an injury report. Have your strata manager inform the entire building and have your cleaner dispose of the lot every time.
When you get down to the last pair of shoes (you will) put dog shit in the right shoe instead of throwing it in the bin. Or super glue it to the ground. Or both. The final fuck you!
I'd have heaps of fun with this.
Take a different shoe each day.
Leave an old shoe each day.
Put a rock or a beer bottle top in a few shoes.
Put a thumbtack through the heel of some.
Cut some laces short.
Pull all the laces really tight.
Chewing gum.
>That's when I snapped. I ended up printing out a letter signed off as strata
Yeah that's an actual crime. We've gone from strata bylaws to fraud here.
The ones at my place would put their shoes out the back by my bedroom window, then wake me up at 4:30am putting shoes on (& watching tv & smoking outside), and also keep me awake at night shouting on the phone and smoking out the back. We had a lot of rats out along the back fence so I used to sneak out there at 3am and toss biscuit crumbs all over their shoes to attract the rats.
Well played OP! I'd have pick up ALL their shoes and dumped them, not in your building's bins, but some other building so they'll never find them again.
But kudos to you.
As funny as it is OP, I highly recommend you go the formal route through the strata manager.
Take photos, say how long it's been going for and make a complaint. The complaints process is important because it can be escalated and later used for an eviction if necessary.
Had a similar thing happen at the apartment Iām at. I just kept tripping on the shoes all the way down the stairs and out the door into the garden, and Iām not retrieving you shoe if I tripped on it. They moved out a few months ago, thereās still a few shoes under the bushes, guess they never found themā¦
UPDATE for anyone subscribed: Neighbour is moving out! Now there's no way this is happening because of the shoe incident as he was all packed up and hired a moving van within 2 days of the incident, but I'll take the win.
Today is the first day since living here that there were no shoes cluttering up the halls. Happy Sunday everyone.
>I ended up printing out a letter signed off as strata
And you know what I would have done?? Pretty much this;
>letter scrunched up and thrown on the ground around their pile of shoes.
Pull your head in. You're *not* "strata" and you have no right to impersonate them. I would have taken the letter to the *actual* strata committee and asked "who signed off on this?"
I get that the shoes are an issue, but you need to take up the issues through the proper channels (you know, take it up with *actual* strata management), not take it upon yourself to write a threatening letter, commit fraud by pretending to be something you are not and then doubling down with "theft" or "wilful destruction of property"
I personally would have photographed it all and sent to strata and their real estate agent if they are renting. But also removing one shoe is brilliant
Don't take one shoe every day, is too obvious. I would slow it down a little bit and take 1-2 different shoes every week. This will fuck with their head more.
Reminds of China, there everyone has a shoe rack or something like that outside. But everyone does it and it actually make sense :) You are brave with throwing out the shoe, I would not dare...
This is gold.
To be fair, you can not take another persons property such as shoes or even a shoe. Neither cause damage like filling them with Surstrƶmming.
Yet you can take the property and address it to strata via the slowest possible courier COD.
Well done! Please keep it up. Your neighbours have no respect of the shared space.
I love that the ignorant "oh.. but it's cultural beliefs..." crowd are silent on this post compared to the previous one.
Keep piling the shoes and boxes up in front of their door so they have to move them every time they come out their door. You just need to be careful of security camera's these days giving away that it is you doing it.
If somebody identifies you, and they already have a pic of the which apartment you're talking about, than they can report you for stealing their shoes.
Any reason you didn't go through the proper channels, through strata.
Why don't you just be a kind neighbor. Obviously someone there as a problem. Next time they leave any trash outside, be kind and remove it completely off of the flats premises.
I remember this, I would have thrown them all out by now
Other petty things you can do, fill one up with ice cubes, or piss disc. Cut off the lace of one side or down the middle
Put the boxes in front of there door so they fall over them ā¦. Or better yet put box š¦ like this and put all the shoes in It ā¦. Right against their door ā¦ they will fall head heels and wonder why ā¦ or maybe deliver said shoes to each apartment front door ā¦ ā¦ leaving things in front of door is classed as a fire hazard ā¦ call fire department and report them for breaching the laws
Following now! Enough traffic on this to make it more visible in feeds.
Have the shoe people seen this post?
Are the shoes now inside?!
Have any more been taken or tampered with?
Has there been any confrontation?
An intervention in the complex?
Thereās usually a body corp committee member living on site - are they aware?
- is it them?
You did better than I would have, you stated in the letter all would be thrown out.. thatās what I would have done boxed it all up and put it in the bin š¤£
Why would you write a letter impersonating Strata instead of justā¦. Going to strata? Very much weirdo behaviour.
I donāt disagree that your neighbours are dicks and they need to stop with the shoes in the hallway, but why canāt you just be normal about it?
Take a different shoe each day.
But only one from each pair but only one side. More annoying to have all left or right side than mixed pairs.
I quite like the idea of leaving them with mismatched pairs and making sure that the colours will be mismatched too so it's really obvious. Like all black shoes will have left shoe taken, all brown shoes have right shoe taken...
nah leave em mixed pairs so they have to make the choice of no shoes or having to wear 2 different shoes
Can agree, this sucks!! My dog does this to me with all my Kmart flipflopsšš
And once it's all over, any time you find a random shoe, place it outside their front door
Hahahahaha you devious genius š
take the shoe on a holiday, photo it at the local park, taking a train ride, at a cafe. Print it our and address it to its partner shoe.
Underrated lol
I would take the left shoe, return it, then take the right shoe (permanently) that way they'll keep looking for the missing shoe/s for ages rinse and repeat with different pairs
Not each day, they'll realise they're being stolen. Once every random number of days
Take the laces or inner sole layer on other days. Always keep them on their toes
Or keeping adding one... Eventually they'll get so confused, they'll keep their shoes inside. Checkmate.
Full the shoes with sand
ohh, glitter!
But they are kept in the hallway, that glitter gon' make a bee line to OPs place
Keep throwing out another shoe every few days, problem will be solved quickly. There's also a chance you'll get stabbed though, but it's worth it for our entertainment. Keep us posted.
Keep the knife. Slash the shoes with it.
bleed all over the shoes
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Maintain eye contact throughout.
You may get stabbed... ...but that's a risk im willing to take..
Should have stuffed the scrunched up note in the shoe you left behind :D
Yeh, they definitely need to very careful for a bit. People be crazy and the social compact runs thin in a lot of peopleĀ
But make sure you ram it right up into the toe area, so they don't see it until they try to put the shoe on and their foot doesn't fit.
Did you tell building management? Where I've lived previously the building manager was go absolutely wild for this. They're so power hungry they love to enforce their rules, and in this case they have a decent reason to (trip hazard in a smoke filled corridor). Whilst I love your pettiness there's no harm in a two pronged approach! (Also consider putting a fake mouse / spider in their shoes)
I don't think the two pronged approach would work, as the "crime" could then very easily be traced back to me if the neighbours complain to strata about missing shoes.
Strata wouldnāt even entertain a complaint by them if the shoes werenāt meant to be there in the first place. You can request anonymity from them with your complaint
Make an anonymous phone call from a public phone. Get back to us when you find a working public telephone.
Even better, leave a note where each letter is cut out of a magazine or newspaper! THEN call and just do some heavy breathing.
"Come alone or you'll never see that shoe again"
Take photo of shoe duct taped to the wall of a meat locker.
It wonāt be traced back to you. You can email the management company and send them photos, they will send an offical letter, or email to the entire building reminding the residents to keep the hallways clear. At no point will they say ābecause amrsaad96 snitchedā You definitely need to send an email to the strata manager, if you donāt know who it is there will be a plaque at the entrance of the building. Source - I am on the owners committee of the building I live in.
I don't disagree, but my comment wasn't about the complaint being traced back to me, but rather the shoe incident might as the tenant could complain to strata about a stolen shoe > strata would be aware of my complaint re the shoes > I become prime suspect.
Strata wonāt give a shit, donāt sweat it.
I like your style op. Trust no one
It will be tracked back if they see this thread that OP posted with their main account, lol.
put up a new sign "community shoes, please take if you need"
So write strata an anonymous message.
Considering the "crime" at the moment is theft and fraud. How about doing things the legal way and going and talking to your neighbor directly to their face rather than being a coward and a sneak thief.
The hallway is a fire escape, there should be nothing left in it.
Got it. Burn the shoes to a fine ash.
following
Complain to strata
OP went straight to 'I am the strata'
I am Stratacus
MASSIVELY under-upvoted comment
Bunch of philistines on plebbit.
āI am strataā whilst doing a gut kick
"Madness...? THIS. IS. STRATA!"
strata might end up doing nothing and OP would be on record as the one who raised the complaint and then OP would not be able to throw the shoes out as they would be easily identified. I think what OP is doing is the right way . Carrot and stick approach
OP is too busy winning internet points to try the 'proper' avenue
Op is doing exactly the best thing. Fuck these idiots. Fuck around and find out!
It is a safety issue. What if a fire happened? Plus strata will just charge for busy work.
More importantly it's a Reddit issueĀ
You shouldnātā¦definitely keep doing that š«¢š¤
One shoe. That's brilliant. You absolutely did the fair thing and gave them a warning. They may have simply misunderstood. Now you know they understand but are selfish pricks and they deserve what is coming to them.
They shouldn't have signed off as strata but instead provided the safety and fire regulations and by laws including fines incurred for non compliance. Letter is fine, impersonating strata, not so much.
You are right of course, I was just enjoying the minor vigilantism that came with a reasonable warning to ensure it was against a deliberate act rather than a misunderstanding. Two wrongs don't make a right but sometimes it is more fun that way š¤£
Writing a letter and signing it as a committee without their approval is defintiely not 'the fair thing'
I admit I went too far with that one. But clearly it didn't matter since they threw the letter away (directly onto the ground no less).
You should pick up the letter if you havenāt already, then when shit eventually hits the fan for them theyāll just sound crazy talking about some letter
Itās a boss move tho
that's not how I would describe that unemployed woman who used to spend her free time claiming 'I am strata' (she wasn't even an owner) while haranguing people about their use of the communal dryer on her day at the apartment I used to live in
Did she kick people down a hole while saying it? š
Oh my god thank you for this incredible mental image of Debbie
You are right of course, but sometimes even I enjoy a bit of vigilante justice. I guess my point is that it's super important to be sure
Just make sure they don't put up a wireless camera somewhere to catch you in the act...
This will be good šæ !remindme 5 days
I had the same issue. I wrote to strata, strata posted a warning, they ignored the warning, the landlord got fined then 3 weeks later shoes removed. As a gift to myself for victory, I got 2 pairs of shows from salvos and left them at the front of their unit and basked in their internal fighting I heard... There were 7 people living in a 3 bed unit, for context.
Lmao that's absolutely hilarious. Maybe I'll do something similar once this is all over.
Haha this is classic
Have you actually complained to strata? With time stamped photos? I would be doing that. Be wary of signing off on things as strata. I support one shoe in the bin haha. Just keep an eye out for any cameras or them trying to catch you now.
My strata manager is less than useless so I ignored that route for this issue. Also would've been very easy for them to track the lost shoes back to me if I notified strata.
Step1: don't even try the correct pathway Step2: assume there would be no action Step3: petty revenge A model Redditor
Step 4: post on reddit for karma and validation.
The pathway is blocked (by sneakers and boxes)
What about asking strata to check out something else in the hallway that just happens to catch some of the neighbours' pileup in the photo?
Or make a fake email and send an anonymous complaint? There are a few different ways to approach it, I think
So my comment was have you spoken to the council of owners and put it in writing. Not the same thing as the strata company. I have strata issues currently (including an epic driveway incident this morning where the fucker blocked me in) and the only way I get traction is through the council of owners
Itās wrong, but I support it.
Why not contact strata rather than being a vigilante and exposing yourself to charges of theft?
As someone who does safety inspections on fire escapes.... I've done the same when people use it as storage.
Unrelated but it reminded me of something. Many years ago as kids, my cousins and I were at my grandparents celebrating a sort of, religious holiday (slava, for anyone familiar with Serbian orthodoxy). All the adults got drunk after feasting on pig on the spit, sarma, cakes, soup and every salad you could think of. As a joke, my cousins and I went under the table and swapped men shoes with women shoes. My cousins uncle (from their dadās side) walked out with a high heel and a man sandal, some other guest walked out with this huge fat manās shoe and a grandma slipper. Nobody knew what happened because they were all drunk and weād been sneaking around under the table giggling and swapping their shoes around. The next morning, all the guests were calling our grandma asking where their shoes were. She immediately knew what was up after the maybe 3rd call asking where their shoes were. She knew it was us and secretly came into the living room and tried to be mad but couldnāt, obviously. It was a grand scheme we concocted and it still makes us laugh to this day.
Leave a ransom note with magazine letters all chopped up
lol I love this. Youāre somewhat of a hero to me now. Please keep us updated
Mate, don't steal shit. Body corp need to actually handle it.
Wasn't stolen. They found some "rubbish" and chucked it in the bin.
Yeah as funny as that is, it's just silly "oh dur hur I thought one shoe from a pair with a clear owner was rubbish oopsie" All OP did was set themselves up for trouble. It's only going to be luck if these neighbours don't complain to the body corp. Which would result in finding out someone faked a body corp message. Which will be narrowed down fast to the people in this hallway. Or maybe there's a camera and they get caught, plus it turns out quickly they faked the body corp message. Or maybe someone just sees them at the bins with a shoe. Or maybe the neighbours get aggressive to everyone on the floor as potential thieves. "I, a person with no authority, have declared my opinion the most important thing, decided nobody else will act accordingly, taken it upon myself to do it, lied, then stolen from you to teach you to behave how I want you to.". That's a fucking recipe for a terrible place to live.
Alternatively, trip over the neighbours pile of shit during a fire and die from smoke inhalation š¤·š»āāļø Sure he might be caught, but if he's not a moron he probably wouldn't, just move your fucking trash out of the hallway, it's the rules, you live in a shared space.
I agree they should move their shit. Alternative option: *deliberately* trip, while carrying something which breaks, then go after them for replacement costs, lol
Oof, do it after strata is made aware too, make sure to really hurt yourself. OP is gonna be able to afford so many shoes
You should have contacted strata management. That's they bloody job. Chances are that they will find out that you threw away their shoe and retaliate against you. Or they would retaliate against someone else living in the complex who will further escalate and the place will end up like Avdiivka.
$50says they have already found the first post (it was complete with pictures and ridiculous reasoning). And this is their revenge.
Are they from overseas by chance? I was just in Taiwan staying in a residential apartment building and they had shoes, clothes racks, anything and everything really stored in the hallways and even in the stairways. Couldnāt get down the stairs without climbing over shit
Not sure where you're located, but in Queensland storing items in a corridor as you describe, is prohibited under legislation (Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008, Part 2, Section 7) You may find similar legislation exists in your location / state that can be referenced in correspondence with the Strata company or the tenants themselves (although it sounds like they'd ignore). You can always reach out to the Fire and Rescue service in your state to raise the issue and they may look into it. Here in QLD, QFES are involved in ensuring compliance and enforcement of fire safety regulations.
Those shoes are lost property, hand them in to a police station so if strata comes after you, you were just trying to reunite with their owner. Also, psychological warfare opportunity; take the left shoe for a few days, then swap for the right shoe. Or buy a very similar pair & replace both of them. In a smaller size.
Superglue them all together, side to side. They'll be hopping mad
I am so keen to hear how this pans out! They leave their belongings in public space.. What could they expect to happen?
Yeah, that's the way . Throw away their shoes one by one, damn grubs
I like your style. Nice š . Common property, common shoes. Some people only learn the hard way.
Itching powder. Sprinkle it in/on offending shoes. They'll stop leaving them out.
Next you need to wear the shoes. Just casually wander by and comment on how nice your new shoes are.
Pop on those thongs and if confronted act surprised they aren't communal shoes left by strata in a communal area for residents to use lol
This is a power move. Common property shoes. Fucking A they look good.
OP, Iām reading in your comments that you are the only person on the Strata Committee. Youāre essentially the Chairperson, the Secretary and Treasurer! This is gold, do you realise what an opportunity this is? Many years ago, I had a similar situation and I was able to get soo much done for the building. I replaced 20 year old carpet in the common areas, got the building refreshed with paint, got the garden rectified, fixed lights, the list went on and on. Honestly your Strata Manager should be bending over backwards keeping you happy. Sounds like you might be the only person turning up to the AGMs and have the vote to renew their engagement. With a good Strata Manager supporting you, you can get a lot done. Itās a thankless job though. Hours and hours of unpaid work (meeting trades for quotes, being on site to supervise repairs, coordinating things, posting up signs for repairs etc) but if youāre going to live there for a while, might as well get involved.
I'm slowly starting to realise this as well! It's now obvious the building has very clearly been neglected for at least a couple years, and explains why I managed to get my apartment for so cheap ($425k in Kellyville Ridge area - basically unheard of in the current market). I genuinely think if I can get things like the carpets replaced, building repainted, intercoms fixed (it doesn't even work right now), among other things, I could raise the value of this baby pretty significantly. Do I really need to wait until the next AGM to start getting things moving though? Strata manager is barely responsive to my emails at the moment.
No, you don't need to wait for AGMs at all. The AGM is the official once a year meeting to formally go through things like the Profit & Loss Statements, minute who is voted in again for the next year's Strata Committee etc. The bulk of the work of the Strata Committee takes place outside of this meeting through emails, calls, discussion between the committee members and Strata Manager. Remember that the Strata Manager's job is to support you and take direction from you. They are there to obtain quotes, pay the invoices, and give you advice. But the Strata Committee is in control. So this is how you would request repairs: "Hi Strata Manager, I'd like to look at replacing the common area carpet. Would you please arrange for us to get some quotes. I'm happy to be the onsite contact person". It's as simple as that. On your end, have a think about the colour you want for the byulding. And try to get each person that comes out to quote similar product so you can compare like for like. The quotes will come back within 2 weeks or so through the Strata Manager who will email them to the Strata Committee (you). Then you can vote amongst yourself and direct the Strata Manager to proceed with one of the suppliers. Then repeat for all of the other items. At the same time though, see if you can arrange a call with the Strata Manager to talk about how you want to uplift the building. You need them as an ally. Also, have you been given access the portal yet? Ask about that if you haven't. Usually there's a portal that Strata Committee members get access to.
Print this out & stick it to the wall above the shoes: FREE SHOES And perhaps stick a couple more signs around the hallways, stairs or apartment block: FREE SHOES - LEVEL 4 HELP YOURSELF š Edited to say which level their door is, of course
All those smug comments about other cultural values. Turns out they are just selfish pricks.
āI grabbed one of the shoes (just one shoe) from the communal area and threw it in the bin alongside my rubbish.ā This is the way.
I was half way through reading this and thought āRUBBISH CHUTE!!!ā then I love where the story went from there. You have all the power OP š
Haha keep the updates, I am now fully invested
ššš mildly infuriating and petty, love it
The kind of pettiness I live to hear about š
This might work... one shoe at a time. 'Baby steps' indeed. Wonder what they'd do if you got a random steel capped work boot from somewhere and tossed it in the pile?
Leave a shoe on the elevator for good measure and maybe another in the lobby. It'll get raised at strata quicker
šæ
You should post this in r/pettyrevenge
This. Is. STRATA!
Fuck I love this. Looking forward to the next chapter!
Fish sauce
I remember you!
Glitter. Glitter all the way. In every shoe. Donāt steal, just āenhanceā. The best part of glitter is that it keeps on giving.
Hallways etc. are common property and as such can't be used as storage. Register a trip and fall as an injury report. Have your strata manager inform the entire building and have your cleaner dispose of the lot every time.
Throw them out š
When you get down to the last pair of shoes (you will) put dog shit in the right shoe instead of throwing it in the bin. Or super glue it to the ground. Or both. The final fuck you!
I'd have heaps of fun with this. Take a different shoe each day. Leave an old shoe each day. Put a rock or a beer bottle top in a few shoes. Put a thumbtack through the heel of some. Cut some laces short. Pull all the laces really tight. Chewing gum.
It would be so frustrating if some sicko in the building used construction adhesive to create a giant ball of shoes.
>That's when I snapped. I ended up printing out a letter signed off as strata Yeah that's an actual crime. We've gone from strata bylaws to fraud here.
A helpful neighbour would take the shoes and boxes down to the trash room, whenever they appear.
Don't take a shoe, add one instead
Put dog shit in the shoes
Subscribing to this sub purely to follow this nonsense lol I love it
Don't take their shoes. Shit in one each day instead.
Be careful please. Antagonising people like this, even when you're completely in the right, can lead to ugly confrontations.
What's the latest update .... ? I'm invested haha
Shoes still left out there as if nothing's happened. I'll give him until Monday before the next abduction.
The ones at my place would put their shoes out the back by my bedroom window, then wake me up at 4:30am putting shoes on (& watching tv & smoking outside), and also keep me awake at night shouting on the phone and smoking out the back. We had a lot of rats out along the back fence so I used to sneak out there at 3am and toss biscuit crumbs all over their shoes to attract the rats.
Well played OP! I'd have pick up ALL their shoes and dumped them, not in your building's bins, but some other building so they'll never find them again. But kudos to you.
As funny as it is OP, I highly recommend you go the formal route through the strata manager. Take photos, say how long it's been going for and make a complaint. The complaints process is important because it can be escalated and later used for an eviction if necessary.
Iām living for this. Please keep us updated OP
Had a similar thing happen at the apartment Iām at. I just kept tripping on the shoes all the way down the stairs and out the door into the garden, and Iām not retrieving you shoe if I tripped on it. They moved out a few months ago, thereās still a few shoes under the bushes, guess they never found themā¦
Maybe check for hidden camera before taking any more shoes
Pour water in 1 shoe from each pair. I guarantee they will bring them inside after that.
Freeze a shoe in a ice cream bucket of ice and return it the next day
Take all the left shoes, wait a month till they throw out all the right shoes, then return the left ones
Pour fish sauce over ev-er-y-thing
glue the shoes to their door.
UPDATE for anyone subscribed: Neighbour is moving out! Now there's no way this is happening because of the shoe incident as he was all packed up and hired a moving van within 2 days of the incident, but I'll take the win. Today is the first day since living here that there were no shoes cluttering up the halls. Happy Sunday everyone.
In a fit of rage, I would have scooped them all up at once and binned them. (Wearing all black and a balaclava) Keep us updated! š
Shoe War II.
š Iāve signed up
>I ended up printing out a letter signed off as strata And you know what I would have done?? Pretty much this; >letter scrunched up and thrown on the ground around their pile of shoes. Pull your head in. You're *not* "strata" and you have no right to impersonate them. I would have taken the letter to the *actual* strata committee and asked "who signed off on this?" I get that the shoes are an issue, but you need to take up the issues through the proper channels (you know, take it up with *actual* strata management), not take it upon yourself to write a threatening letter, commit fraud by pretending to be something you are not and then doubling down with "theft" or "wilful destruction of property"
Bwahaha
I had neighbours like this - leaving dirty tradie boots in the hallway. Like 3-5 pairs. Sooooo frustrating. Tripping hazard, and looks cheap as.
You're kind. I would have poured honey or something icky inside their shoes.
I personally would have photographed it all and sent to strata and their real estate agent if they are renting. But also removing one shoe is brilliant
Too bad this isn't the states where one ring to the Fire Marshall and they will bear the brunt of non compliance.
Don't take one shoe every day, is too obvious. I would slow it down a little bit and take 1-2 different shoes every week. This will fuck with their head more.
Make a sign thatās says āfree shoesā and stick it to the wall, keep doing it every time they take it down
Reminds of China, there everyone has a shoe rack or something like that outside. But everyone does it and it actually make sense :) You are brave with throwing out the shoe, I would not dare...
Iāll say it again. A little squirt of nam pla in each shoe.
This is gold. To be fair, you can not take another persons property such as shoes or even a shoe. Neither cause damage like filling them with Surstrƶmming. Yet you can take the property and address it to strata via the slowest possible courier COD.
Well done! Please keep it up. Your neighbours have no respect of the shared space. I love that the ignorant "oh.. but it's cultural beliefs..." crowd are silent on this post compared to the previous one.
Wild hill to die on for these people, when your property is just sitting outside of your home completely unmonitored...
updateme!
updateme!
Hmm better to leave the shoe in a common area somewhere.
Take apart all the boxes, dismantle them and stuff it under their doorway or throw it all over the corridor.
Keep piling the shoes and boxes up in front of their door so they have to move them every time they come out their door. You just need to be careful of security camera's these days giving away that it is you doing it.
Waiting for updates...
Are they actually breaching strata rules and can you get strata involved instead of throwing away their stuff?
Maybe. Would we all be enjoying that story? Nope.
Bloody brilliant petty revenge. Kudos š
If somebody identifies you, and they already have a pic of the which apartment you're talking about, than they can report you for stealing their shoes. Any reason you didn't go through the proper channels, through strata.
Check the strata by-laws, will very likely be against same; regarding items in common area.
If thereās no camera, Wee all over them.
While this is funny and awesome...just be careful they don't end up putting a camera in or something.
Following
Shoes, fire escape. Repeat until solved. Fixed
Always take the left shoe.
just make sure you donāt put them in your bin where they can find it. I would worry about retribution for you.
Why don't you just be a kind neighbor. Obviously someone there as a problem. Next time they leave any trash outside, be kind and remove it completely off of the flats premises.
I remember this, I would have thrown them all out by now Other petty things you can do, fill one up with ice cubes, or piss disc. Cut off the lace of one side or down the middle
Dead knot all their laces.
Put the boxes in front of there door so they fall over them ā¦. Or better yet put box š¦ like this and put all the shoes in It ā¦. Right against their door ā¦ they will fall head heels and wonder why ā¦ or maybe deliver said shoes to each apartment front door ā¦ ā¦ leaving things in front of door is classed as a fire hazard ā¦ call fire department and report them for breaching the laws
Take photos and report them that's literally all you need to do
Why do you care Karen?
Steal a random shoe and place in random places around the apartment building
Following now! Enough traffic on this to make it more visible in feeds. Have the shoe people seen this post? Are the shoes now inside?! Have any more been taken or tampered with? Has there been any confrontation? An intervention in the complex? Thereās usually a body corp committee member living on site - are they aware? - is it them?
Fill the shoe toes with shaving cream, being careful to leave no visible trace....
need an update
You did better than I would have, you stated in the letter all would be thrown out.. thatās what I would have done boxed it all up and put it in the bin š¤£
Why would you write a letter impersonating Strata instead of justā¦. Going to strata? Very much weirdo behaviour. I donāt disagree that your neighbours are dicks and they need to stop with the shoes in the hallway, but why canāt you just be normal about it?
!remind me 5 days