Letting agency refusing to pay for the locksmith

CommitedToChange

Afternoon all

I live in property that has 2 flats that enter through a communal front door. Last night (10pm) my neighbor broke his key off in the lock outside trapping himself outside and myself inside the building.

I called the emergency repairs number but the phone number listed for the emergency contractor was not recognised. As I was trapped in the 1st floor flat with no means of escape should a fire break out I had no option but to call a locksmith out to open the door and replace the lock - something that I had to pay for myself as my neighbor did not have the £130 to pay for it (no cash and no credit cards).

I assumed that the letting agency would refund my money and then chase the neighbor up for the money as he would have been responsible for the bill should they have sent someone out.

I have just come off the phone to the property manager and they are refusing to pay the money as they claim that I shouldn't have paid - he should have, which was true in an ideal world but as he couldn't what could I do?

My argument is this -

1) They failed in their duty of care to provide a contact number for out of hours emergency repairs, forcing me to hire a private contractor.

2) As the exit is the only exit in the even of a fire they had a legal obligation to get the door open and replace the lock - even if the tenant who cause the problem could not pay immediately - as it posed a health and safety risk to the other tenant (me). They should have safeguards in place to ensure that other tenants who are not at fault, do not end up in danger.

3) So it follows that surely they have an agreement in place with the emergency contractor that even if the tenant cannot pay instantly for the repair - as it posed a genuine risk of danger to the tenants - they would carry out the repairs and seek payment either through the agency (who would charge the tenant) or arrange to pay later.

4) If the other tenant had broken the key in the lock and then left - would they still have charged me - or left me locked inside the property until they contacted him, I don't believe they would have. They had a duty of care to get the door open - even if it meant paying the contractor then billing the tenant.

5) The locksmith would only come out if I gave my credit card details over the phone and that was the card that was charged - I had no choice but to pay as it was my safety at stake.

6) I am chasing them for the payment as it was their door that I have had the lock replaced in and and therefore they should shoulder the costs and chase up the person who was responsible for the damage.

I feel that it is their responsibility to refund my money and chase my neighbor for payment.

I apologise for the long post but I just want to clearly explain the problem so I could get some helpful responses.

Many thanks

Julie

N79

JulieK1313 wrote: »

I feel that it is their responsibility to refund my money and chase my neighbor for payment.

That may or may not be correct, depending on the details of your contract with your LL etc. However, surely the simple solution is for you to just ask the other T to reimburse your costs - they are clearly liable for them. Is there a reason why you do not do this?

CommitedToChange

N79 wrote: »

However, surely the simple solution is for you to just ask the other T to reimburse your costs - they are clearly liable for them. Is there a reason why you do not do this?

Honestly - I doubt he can pay me the £130 straight away, and I cannot afford it in installments.

clutton_2

if he is going to pay you in installments its better than the agency not paying you at all.....

had there been a fire in the hall or first floor, you would not have been able to get out of the building by the front door anyway... the fire brigade would have rescued you through the window

CommitedToChange

[QUOTE=clutton;31334937
had there been a fire in the hall or first floor, you would not have been able to get out of the building by the front door anyway... the fire brigade would have rescued you through the window[/QUOTE]

That doesn't stop the landlord/agency having a duty of care to make sure I can open the front door.

N79

JulieK1313 wrote: »

That doesn't stop the landlord/agency having a duty of care to make sure I can open the front door.

True, but they could just as easily argue that the repair was not life threatening and requiring immediate attention like, for example, a gas leak. Further, you failed to notify them of the fault (everyone can argue about the phone line / number problem), failed to give them adequate time to solve the problem and failed to gain their approval before instructing your own contractors. Only a court can give the final say on what was, or was not, reasonable.

Which is why it would be easiest, if possible, to claim the amount from your fellow T. If you can not afford it in installments then I am afraid that if you have to go to court (probably against your fellow T, rather than the LL, although you will need to consider this carefully) and then you will be without your money, assuming you win, for many months.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

What on earth would the guy have done if you'd been away on holiday?

£130 for an emergency locksmith is a bargain compared to what I paid a couple of months back (a mistake you only make once....).

moromir

JulieK1313 wrote: »

1) They failed in their duty of care to provide a contact number for out of hours emergency repairs, forcing me to hire a private contractor.

As a serious question, what is 'duty of care' exactly? I know I don't have an 'out of hours' emergency number for my LA and I've never been given the feeling that I should have been necesscerily.

What is the situation when a number is given and it doesn't work/isn't answered?

Fire_Fox

You have no contract with the letting agency so they have no duty of care towards you. The letting agency have no responsibility to pay for repairs or renewals to a property they do not own. They only facilitate maintenance, but always have to seek the approval of the landlord first. The person you need to communicate with on this matter is your landlord, and you should do so in writing by recorded delivery. If you do not have a contact address for the landlord you can ask the letting agency to supply this, again you must do so in writing.

If there was a fault with the lock then your landlord will be liable to pay for a replacement, providing he can establish there was indeed a fault with the lock (do you have the old one or a report from the locksmith?). If the fault was with your neighbour's manhandling of the lock then he will need to reimburse you for the repair. It is the end of the month so chances are your neighbour gets paid any day, I'd be popping over on a daily basis! He can them try to claim the money back from the landlord.

poppysarah

You have established that you don't have an emergency out of hours contact number for anyone regarding your property.
Ask in writing for one.


You could get the locksmith back to put the broken lock back - and then contact them to fix it. But of course that would be slightly insane.

CommitedToChange

They do not have to seek approval in an emergency - as part of my agreement the letting agency provides a 24hr emergency contractor who I couldn't contact due to their phone system having the incorrect number on it. This is not the landlords fault but theirs. So in this case they do have duty of care as they deal with the emergency repairs.

Moromir - duty of care in this case means that the letting agency have a responsibility to ensure that the property is safe for the tenant. In this case I was trapped in the house and would be in real danger if a fire broke out as I could not exit the building.

I have always had an emergency contact number for every place I've rented - and the agency were concerned that the phone number was wrong

As for "Further, you failed to notify them of the fault (everyone can argue about the phone line / number problem), failed to give them adequate time to solve the problem and failed to gain their approval before instructing your own contractors."

No, everyone can't argue the phone number issue - they gave an incorrect number on their answerphone - how do you gain approval for instructing your own contractor in an emergency if their number is incorrect? and since I couldn't contact them due to their errors how on earth could I give them adequate time to resolve the matter. It states in my agreement I have a 24hr emergency line which they failed to provide that night. Therefore they are negligent not the landlord.