I came home today to about 20 yards of mulch in my driveway. I did not order it. Somebody obviously dumped it at the wrong house. I do not know where it came from. If they called me today, I would allow them to come load it back into their truck and take it away. The problem is that I need it out NOW. I cannot park my car. What should I do? I imagine that legally it is not mine. What happens if I spread it and then they come and want it back? Will they even want it back or is the work/money require to reload it even worth it? Any help?
Do you have close neighbours? (As opposed to say, an acreage) Would a next door neighbour have at least have seen the truck that left it?
I hate to say this, but I am not very close with my neighbors. I assume that whoever left it will realize their mistake in time and contact me. My problem is that I am going away on a trip Monday. I need it out of my driveway so I get my car off the street. Sunday is Mother’s Day so that leaves tomorrow. That is part of my dilemma. I’m not looking for a freebee but I’ll take it. Like I said, if they contact me and want to take it tomorrow, I’m ok with that. I’m also thinking that I would be willing to pay, say half price for them to not have to bother hand loading or sending out equipment.
Here is the weird part. My house number is clearly marked. I think they delivered it to a completely wrong street. This is a new development and it is not on a lot of maps. Last summer, I came home to a bunch of plants, shrubs, trees all being unloaded in my driveway. Since we had been talking about planting, I assumed my wife bought them and almost planted them. I called her first before the landscaper left and found out that she had not bought them. They were supposed to go to a house a mile or so away.
If they don’t come get it right away, could you use enough of it tomorrow to be able to get your car off the street? Consider it your fee for you inconvenience.
I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know the legal ins and outs, but I can’t see how you’re morally obligated to do more than due diligence. Can you figure out who it belongs to without going to extraordinary lengths? If so, return it. If not (and not seems likely here), take the mulch. It is the mulchdeliveryperson’s error, and the company should and probably will eat the cost of doing business. The purchaser might be annoyed with you, but what else could you do?
ETA: On re-reading this, I don’t think I know what “due diligence” means. Replace with “some effort, but not a heck of a lot.”
Maybe you have a bad neighbor that didn’t want it on their property, so they told them to dump it on your drive way. There are neighbors like that.
I also have to say that if it’s stained mulch for landscaping that the dye will come off and stain you concrete or other materials like paint on siding or wood if it’s in contact with it. Goo luck on getting anything done quickly.
They are responsible for it’s removal and damage if it occurs. I don’t know if can legally use it or get rid of it tomorrow, if you haven’t found out the responsible party and contacted them.
The fact is that it is currently an inconvenience and you do not know when or if (but likely) someone will be back to claim this property…
I’d say make a police report to further prevent yourself from any legal disputes later on, and should anything arise, you won’t be in the neg.
Call 911. They will say “Please state your emergency” or something along those lines. Say “Non-Emergency”… You will then be transferred. Once the other operator answers state your case. They’ll then send an officer to assess the situation.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck, and I hope you enjoy your trip!
NO! Or at least NO in most juristictions, where they have various non-emergency Police numbers.
There’s probably not that many local companies that deliver mulch. You could try phoning them to find the culprit.
I think I would ask my immediate neighbors and then if it is not theirs, use it.
- I would say use it. I used to work for a landscaper and when this happened the labor involved to take it back was so expensive we would tell the homeowner they could use it or tell all their neighbors to get whatever they want. If it’s dyed and the stain does get in your concrete it usually eventually disappears.
If you decide to call and see who left it they’ll probably hope that you’ll keep it. It costs more to have it removed than to pay for another whole load of mulch delivered *
Mulch ado about nothing.
I think the obvious place to start is the house where the plants were supposed to go last year…it’s possible they made the same mistake again, so if you remember who they were,drive over and ask them! And I also vote for informing the police, using the listed non-emergency number.
“Free Mulch” post on craigslist should get rid of it.
The newish national standard number for non-emergency police services is 311, so try calling that first.
So… I was outside working in the yard today. I was edging the flower beds just in case no came to claim the mulch. Then I would be prepared to use it myself. I really don’t mind the fact that someone made the mistake. It’s just inconvenient. I’d also like to do the right thing. If someone parked their car in my driveway, it would not automatically become “mine”.
A man in a nice car…not a landscaping truck came by and rolled down the window. He asked if that was my mulch or his. Jokingly, I replied that it depended whether he was the one who bought it or the one who dumped it. He was the buyer, so I told him it was his. He told me that pretty much what I expected happened. He call the landscaper and asked where his mulch was. The landscaper said that it was in the homeowners driveway. The homeowner (who I now know is Marty) said that he was standing in the driveway and there is no mulch…maybe they misdelivered it. BTW, I live at 16 Winston Ct, Marty a couple of streets over at 16 Westover Ct. The landscaper said that he would redeliver it and Marty shouldn’t worry about it. Marty didn’t know what that meant to me. He suggested, and I was already mulling over the deal I would make with the landscaper to buy the mulch at a discount…thereby solving both of our problems. Marty told me that he paid $300. As you can see, it is not a small sum. I told Marty to tell the landscaper that I would wait but he needed to get over and talk with me right after he unloaded the new load. I really needed the mulch out today. If he waited, I was going to start spreading it.
An hour later, I landscaping bulk truck drove slowly by. The driver looked but never stopped. I waited another hour or so and started spreading.
So… I got free mulch, I met a nice neighbor, and now have the nicest yard in the 'hood.
End of story…It WAS Marty’s house that was supposed to get the plants last year. This is the second time that someone misdelivered his stuff to my house. I ran out of mulch and could use some more. I’m going to ask Marty to order another load.
Ha! That’s a great deal for you!
BTW…are you sure it was 20 yards? 20 yards is a LOT of mulch. I get 5 and it’s more than enough for 3 trees and 2 large flower beds. And it costs me about $200.
I am trying to imagine a yard where 20 yards is needed and able to be spread in one afternoon.
Glad it worked out for you, tho. Definitely not a small sum 
Divine order. Got you to meet your neighbors by just another case of ‘drive by mulching’. Amazing how these things bring us all together. BTW, where did you end up parking your car? 
If you ever see Marty again, find out the name of the landscaping company, this way you can A) call them and have them check Marty’s address in their system/put a note in his file for the driver about the mixups and B)know who to call next time this happens.