‘My neighbour is demanding I let her son mow my lawn – he’s charging £12 a week’

A man has been left baffled after his neighbour demanded he let her son mow his lawn – as he refuses to pay the kid £12 a week for a job he could ‘easily do’ himself

If you’ve got a garden with a patch of grass, you’ll know all about the importance of keeping on top of your mowing – whether you like to do it yourself or pay someone else to do it for you.

But one man on Reddit has been left confused after his neighbour demanded that he allow her son to mow his lawn for him, even after he told the family he was more than capable of doing it himself.

The man, from the US, explained that his neighbour’s son is charging $15 (£12) a week for the service, and the man isn’t interested in paying that when he doesn’t need to.

However, turning down the offer has seemingly angered the man’s neighbours, as he has now been accused of making the young boy’s “life more difficult” by not paying for his services.

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In his post, the man said: “I cut my own lawn, always have. A neighbour kid came to my door last week and asked if I wanted him to cut it for me once a week for $15 each time.

“I said no. My yard isn’t big and it takes me maybe 45 minutes, that’s if I’m really thorough. Otherwise, I can get it done in a half hour.

“Well, the neighbour kid left and life went on. Then, on Sunday, his mum came to my door and offered her son’s services again. I said thanks but no thanks.

“She went on to explain that he’s already doing her yard, my next door neighbour (the house between us) and my next door neighbour on the other side. She said it would be easier for him to just go straight across all four yards instead of having to do two, shut the lawnmower off and do the other house. I just kinda shrugged and said ‘sorry, but I’m good’.

“Today, my next door neighbour brought it up and said ‘he’s a kid trying to make some extra money, help him out and don’t make his life more difficult. It’s only 15 bucks a week’.

“The thing is, that’s 15 dollars I don’t want to spend when I can easily do it myself.”

Commenters on the Reddit post were equally baffled, with many people questioning why the man’s neighbours won’t just take no for an answer.

One person said: “You shouldn’t have to pay for something you don’t want. They need to respect other peoples lives and choices.”

While another wrote: “Admittedly I’m kind of a chump for neighbour kids looking for odd jobs and usually oblige them. But $15 a week isn’t nothing, especially for a chore you seem to enjoy handling by yourself.”

And a third added: “They are basically asking you to give $60 (£48) a month for a job you want to do yourself to a kid for pocket money. He can easily go to the next house over and ask, or put up flyer around the neighbourhood offering the mowing service.”

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