Anti-social Neighbours Drive a Million Householders out of Home

YORK, England, July 28, 2011 -

Nearly a million(1) Britons have been forced to move house as a result of a neighbour feud, according to new research.

Findings from life assistance company CPP reveal that escalating tensions have led one in twenty (5%) feuding neighbours to sell up or move out as a result of next door’s ‘bad neighbour etiquette’.

Home and garden maintenance issues top the list of disputes between neighbours, with more than a quarter (27%) of feuds due to people leaving their homes, gardens and streets in a state of disrepair. Other common causes of disputes include excessive noise (15%), arguments over boundaries (7%), stolen parking spaces (7%) and trespassing children (6%).

The research shows nearly a fifth (18%) of Britons have been in a dispute with their neighbours in the past year alone, with the findings suggesting that our difficult relationship with our street mates is the result of a communication breakdown between people.

Although there are many people who do enjoy good relationships with their neighbours, the research reveals nearly a third of Britons (27%) rarely speak to them. One in seven (14%) of us don’t know the names of the people living in our immediate vicinity.

Consequently people are finding it increasingly difficult to settle disputes amicably. According to the research, one in seven people (16%) have had a verbal argument with a neighbour in the past, and a small number of disputes (2%) have even ended in violence. Feuding neighbours are instead turning to the authorities to solve the problems for them - close to a fifth of people (18%) have reported their neighbours to the police or local council.

Without a quick resolution arguments can easily escalate, with Britons paying out a collective £100 million(2) in the last year alone in an attempt to rectify a neighbour dispute.

To help solve the problems between Britain’s feuding neighbours, CPP is calling on consumers to make sure they are gaining the correct legal advice. More than one in ten (12%) believe that having easy access to legal advice could help them solve a neighbourhood dispute.

Alasdair MacSporran, Head of Your Law at CPP, said: “Our research tells us that getting on with the neighbours shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s always worth speaking to your neighbours about any concerns you have before issues escalate and get out of hand. Knowing your legal rights and responsibilities, and being on the right side of the law, is always useful, however, as it could influence - and temper - what you say at the beginning.

“The deregulation of the legal services sector from 6 October 2011 will see many more companies offering simple, lower cost legal services directly to consumers - both online and on the high-street, which should benefit many people who have previously shied away from using traditional law firms to settle day-to-day and often easily reconcilable, disputes.”

CPP‘s tips to avoid neighbour disputes:

Play your part -keep your garden and surrounding areas tidy and free of rubbish. This way people in your neighbourhood will respect you for showing them and their community consideration. In addition the police and the courts are more likely to take you seriously if you behave reasonably yourself.

Keep them updated -Make sure you keep your neighbour informed of anything that may disturb them - for instance building work or a house party. This will help maintain good relations between you and will encourage them to let you know of anything they’ve planned that you may find a nuisance. This will then often also avoid legal disputes particularly where there are legal duties and obligations to consider.

Lend a hand - Offer to pick up your neighbour’s papers and keep an eye on their place when they are away, letting them know that you’ll contact them if you see anything awry or suspicious near their house. This will let your neighbour know they can trust and rely on you, and they may also return the favour

Be a good neighbour yourself -If your neighbour is behaving erratically it might be because of something you’re doing - for example poor insulation in a flat ceiling may make quite ordinary behaviour appear unreasonably loud to the flat below. Try talking to them about their issues and you may find out what’s wrong

Invite them in - If there is a particular issue with your neighbour and you’re on speaking terms, try inviting them into your home so they can experience the issues you’re having and understand how it’s affecting you (how loud their music sounds in your house for example).

Purchase legal assistance - Products such as Your Law from CPP offer support, advice and guidance on a whole range of legal matters including employment issues, personal injury, parking fines, cowboy builders and how to return faulty goods. This will then allow you to understand the law and to take a robust position if things do unfortunately go wrong.

Notes to Editor

CPP’s law assistance product - Your Law - is designed to give consumers support, advice and guidance on a whole range of legal matters. Your Law covers both large and small issues from updating wills or disputing a parking ticket to the bigger worries of employment law, professional negligence and neighbourhood issues, such as boundary disputes.

Further information about the Your Law product is available at www.cpp.co.uk/your-law/

Research Methodology

ICM interviewed a random sample of 2028 adults aged 18+ online between 15^th - 16^th June 2011. Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.  ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.  Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk

1.  According to research conducted for CPP by ICM, 5% of people who have had a dispute with a neighbour have moved house as a result. This equates to 914,000 people.

2. According to the ICM research, the average cost to rectify a situation with a neighbour is £60.41. In the last 12 months, 3.550296% (4%) of people have had a dispute with a neighbour which cost them money - the total adult (18+) population in Great Britain is 47,400,000. 3.550296% (4%) of these equates to 1,682,840. 1,682,840 * £60.41 = £101,660,364

Corporate Background Information

The CPPGroup Plc

The CPPGroup Plc (CPP) is an international marketing services business offering bespoke customer management solutions to multi-sector business partners designed to enhance their customer revenue, engagement and loyalty, whilst at the same time reducing cost to deliver improved profitability.  

This is underpinned by the delivery of a portfolio of complementary Life Assistance products, designed to help our mutual customers cope with the anxieties associated with the challenges and opportunities of everyday life.

Whether our customers have lost their wallets, been a victim of identity fraud or looking for lifestyle perks, CPP can help remove the hassle from their lives leaving them free to enjoy life. Globally, our Life Assistance products and services are designed to simplify the complexities of everyday living whether these affect personal finances, home, travel, personal data or future plans. When it really matters, Life Assistance enables people to live life and worry less.

Established in 1980, CPP has 11 million customers and more than 200 business partners across Europe, North America and Asia and employs 2,300 employees who handle millions of sales and service conversations each year.

In 2010, Group revenue was £325.8 million, an increase of more than 12 per cent over the previous year.

In March 2010, CPP debuted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

What We Do:

CPP provides a range of assistance products and services that allow our business partners to forge closer relationships with their customers.

We have a solution for many eventualities, including:

• Insuring our customers’ mobile phones against loss, theft and damage
• Providing assistance to cancel and reorder customer’s payment cards should these be lost or stolen
• Providing assistance and protection if a customer’s keys are lost or stolen
• Providing advice, and assistance to help customers in the event their identity is fraudulently used
• Assisting customers with their travel needs be it an emergency (for example lost passport), or basic translation service
• Monitoring the credit status of our customers
• Provision of packaged services to business partners’ customers

CPP is an award winning organisation:

• Finalist in the Plc Awards, New Company of the Year, 2011
• Winner in the European Contact Centre Awards, Large Team of the Year category, 2010
• Finalist in the European Contact Centre Awards, Best Centre for Customer Service, Large Contact Centre of the Year categories, 2010
• Finalist in the National Sales Awards, Contact Centre Sales Team of the Year category, 2010
• Finalist in the National Insurance Fraud Awards, Counter Fraud Initiative of the Year category, 2009
• Finalist in the European Contact Centre Awards, Large Team and Advisor of the Year categories, 2009
• Named in the Sunday Times 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100
• Finalists in the National Business Awards, 3i Growth Strategy category, 2008
• Finalist in the National Business Awards, Business of the Year category, 2007, 2009 and Highly Commended in 2008
• Named in the Sunday Times 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 HSBC Top Track 250 companies
• Regional winner of the National Training Awards, 2007
• Winner of the BITC Health, Work and Well-Being Award, 2007
• Highly Commended in the UK National Customer Service Awards, 2006
• Winner of the Tamworth Community Involvement Award, 2006. Finalist in 2008
• Highly Commended in The Press Best Link Between Business and Education, 2005 and 2006. Winner in 2007
• Finalist in the National Business Awards, Innovation category, 2005

For more information on CPP click on www.cppgroupplc.com

For more information or to arrange a time for interview with CPP’s Alasdair MacSporran please contact: Bryony Partridge - +44(0)203-451-9406 / +44(0)7846-004-416, Laura Buchan - +44(0)203-451-9428 / +44(0)7738-443-404