next doors builders have damaged my shed, best way to handle it.

stolt

thanks to the advice on here i wrote and sent the letter off. I also managed to catch the neighbours lookng round the house and mentioned the trouble ive had and then the husband mentioned that the builders are his brother in laws.

I got a letter dropped through the letter box...

they sorted the render out today and wan the details of the landlord so they can contact him regarding the repair of the wall. With regards to the shed they have wrote...''the dent in the garden shed was observed to be on the roof. we feel if permission was granted from you that the dent could be straightend out. following a inspection last night from the rear of next doors property the shed had been dismantled. shoul it be your intention to remove the shed for continued re-use the request for full replacement would be unfair. we propose that should you not be satisfied with our repair we compensate the full replacement cost of the shed with a new identical replacement , however we will retain the old shed as this is fair and reasonable.''


the builder popped round and tried to straighten it but the truth is i had it on ebay and the best offer i got was £50.00 so i'll be happy to take the money, do you think its ok to ask for the money rather than another shed ?

olias

personally, I would say that you had intended to sell it as you were moving, and suggest a compromise somewhere between the new cost and what you would have got for an (undamaged) shed on ebay. That way you both win. He pays less than the cost of a new shed, and you get more than you would have, had the damage not occurred and you sold it as planned on ebay. I think to expect the full cash amount of a new shed may be pushing it.

Olias

stolt

olias wrote: »

personally, I would say that you had intended to sell it as you were moving, and suggest a compromise somewhere between the new cost and what you would have got for an (undamaged) shed on ebay. That way you both win. He pays less than the cost of a new shed, and you get more than you would have, had the damage not occurred and you sold it as planned on ebay. I think to expect the full cash amount of a new shed may be pushing it.

Olias

Hi, yes i had it on ebay but someone only offered £50.00 as they said that mastic would have to be used on the roof joint to ensure it was weatherproof. the price of £249.00 was the price of the same shed from a dealer on ebay so i chose ebay as knew that it probably would be the chepest place. Mine was obviously brand new but i spent time putting it up in the event that it would be strong and not damaged when i took it down to sell.

olias

In that case I would just get several print outs from the internet showing the average price, and show these to him. Explain that you require a cash offer to settle the matter as due to moving, it may be some time before you need to buy another shed. Assuming he offers enough cash (near enough the cost new), then I think it fair to leave him the old shed.

Olias

stolt

sorry just need to bump this thread as me and the builder have been writing letters to each other, they originally replied acknowledging the render splashes and dent to the shed and that it was always there intention of rectifying these. They even went on to say that ''if i was not happy with the repair to the shed then we would compensate the full replacement cost of the shed with a new identical replacement, however we would retain the old shed wefeel this is fair an reasonable'' so my reply was that ok the shed cost nearly £300.00 but i have found indentical shed on ebay selling for £249.00 + delivery costs and printed them out and sent them to them. i enver did receive a reply back. So last week i sent another letter advising that i hadn't had a reply and that in 10 days i will proceed with a small claims action to recover my costs.
On that letter i left my phone number an demail address and today i receieved a email stating the following.


''I write in response to your letter dated the 2nd of July 2009.

As it is impossible to establish the condition of the shed prior to yourselves dis-assembling it, and bearing in mind how long you have had this shed, we feel it is fair to reimburse you to the value of £125.00, this is half the value of a brand new identical shed.

The condition of this payment is that we will receive receipt of the old shed upon payment.

Please can you confirm back to myself at the earliest convenience in order to close this matter as soon as we can''


Now my shed was perfect until they damaged it, £125.00 to me is not enough money btu do you think i'm asking too much requesting for the full value of a new shed if mine was second hand? or do you think hes playing games and hoping i'll drop a little and we can agree a deal, if i said £200.00. What do you think? or do you think they are wasting time and i should just proceed with the small claims or will the court say i didnt try hard enough to resolve it outside court.

thanks

Alan_M_2

They are suggesting betterment to the tune of 50%.

I'd still be pushing for a replacement, I'd be asking them to provide it and erect it also, not just giving you the cash.

Stick to your guns, be polite and ask to be put back into the position you were in before they accidentally damaged your property.

There is no dispute or denial of them actually doing this which gives you a very strong case indeed, they are just trying to save a few bob in the same way an insurance company would.

stolt

thanks for replying, yes i see it that way aswell. trouble is the hosue we moved to i dont need a new shed as we have a garage to store stuff in now. I suppose i can reduce to £200.00 as having a new shed and then trying to sell it on would be time consuming i'd rather just have the money, which is what i was going to do when i was moving. But I had it on ebay and had a couple of questions and then the damage happened and when i updated the auction i only got offered £50.00 for it.

missile

I think the builder should not have damaged your shed, but he is being reasonable and I would accept his offer. You may be able to get some additional money by advertising the old shed in local paper or on eBay.

You are being greedy.

stolt

missile wrote: »

I think the builder should not have damaged your shed, but he is being reasonable and I would accept his offer. You may be able to get some additional money by advertising the old shed in local paper or on eBay.

You are being greedy.

but they want the shed thats a condition of his offer.

stolt

sorry well thats my msitake, on ebay listed. Damaged happened and took it off.

the shed is 8ft x 4ft as i say the exact same shed is £249 on ebay at the moment and i paid near on £300.00. It was mint as its galvanised no rust etc so I still could ahve got a good price for it.:rolleyes: