Letting agency refusing to pay for the locksmith

CommitedToChange

poppysarah wrote: »

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.

I do have an emergency number in writing, its in my tenant hand book - but this number referred me to another number which was incorrect.

I'm annoyed but hopefully not that insane

N79

JulieK1313 wrote: »

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.

I think you have missed the point of some of the opinions in this thread - you have certainly missed the point of mine.

There are arguments on both sides here and only a court can determine and enforce who is responsible for what. Since you want a rapid conclusion and the letting agent has basically said, rightly or wrongly, that they will see you in court (a valid, if not exactly customer focussed stance for a LL to take!), the easiest way for you to quickly resolve this problem is to ask the other T (who ultimately will pay no matter what happens) to repay you the costs of the invoice. Incidentally, there is no requirement for LL's to provide any sort of contact telephone number - courts generally expect Ts to report repairs in writing. Also, this problem while clearly very urgent may not be classed as an emergency as no lives or property was at risk.

Unapproved locksmith callout charges are a frequent cause of disputes with Ts. There are few hard and fast rules other than the requirement for LL's to act reasonably in meeting their repairing obligations. In your case matters are far from clear since it is perfectly possible that misuse and not natural wear and tear is the cause of the damage. Resolving these matters formally will not be fast.

Hence the suggestions that you would do best to try to resolve this with the other T yourself.

CommitedToChange

I'm sorry if you think I have missed your point and thank you for comments.

"Incidentally, there is no requirement for LL's to provide any sort of contact telephone number "

My letting agency states that they do provide an emergency 24hr call number - therefore they should have had a working one when I called. So while there may be no requirement if they state they provide one it should be avaliable.

"Also, this problem while clearly very urgent may not be classed as an emergency as no lives or property was at risk."

I think that having no way to exit a building short of jumping from a second story window would be classed as an emergency imho.

"letting agent has basically said, rightly or wrongly, that they will see you in court"

They didn't say that and I can't see where you got that idea from - I have sent them a long e-mail explaining the suituation with a request that they resolve it within 7 days. Legal action would be the very last resort.

I do understand that there are arguments for and against however - my letting agency deals with the emergency repairs and failed to do so. Surly they have some responsibility to do what they agreed to do when I signed my contract.

N79

My last post I think but I thought one more attempt. I have added some personal feelings incase you feel that I am trying to defend the actions of other parties.

JulieK1313 wrote: »

I'm sorry if you think I have missed your point and thank you for comments.

"Incidentally, there is no requirement for LL's to provide any sort of contact telephone number "

My letting agency states that they do provide an emergency 24hr call number - therefore they should have had a working one when I called. So while there may be no requirement if they state they provide one it should be avaliable.

I agree that they should exercise reasonable care in providing such a facility and that having offered it it should be available. However, we do not know why it was unavailable.

JulieK1313 wrote: »

"Also, this problem while clearly very urgent may not be classed as an emergency as no lives or property was at risk."

I think that having no way to exit a building short of jumping from a second story window would be classed as an emergency imho.

For what its worth I would reimburse you this cost if you were my T and then claim from the other T so I fully agree with your indignation and with your sense of what is right so I am not going to repeat these arguments. However, they could be made by the LL and only a court can determine if they have a liability as the middle man.

"letting agent has basically said, rightly or wrongly, that they will see you in court"

They didn't say that and I can't see where you got that idea from - I have sent them a long e-mail explaining the suituation with a request that they resolve it within 7 days. Legal action would be the very last resort.

I got this idea from this line in your original post:

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

Which if the LL refuses to budge is basically saying we disagree and are not paying. Your only recourse would then be to the courts.

I do understand that there are arguments for and against however - my letting agency deals with the emergency repairs and failed to do so. Surly they have some responsibility to do what they agreed to do when I signed my contract.

I agree that they are completely responsible, even if ultimately the other T has to pay.

However, the posts here have been about our opinions on how best you can quickly recover this money.

You stated

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

and

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

and my posts were aimed at dealing with the fact that, if the LL will not pay voluntarily then it will take you time to get your money back. Installments from the other T may well be quicker.

CommitedToChange

N79 - thank you for your comments, I see where you were coming from and it does help to have opposite view/comments.

many thanks:beer:

clutton_2

i think you are taking this faaar too seriously

in your first post you say you live on the first floor and later on you talk about having a second floor window....

i think you over-reacted and you must now pay the price of having paid for the locksmith without permission...... had you waited till the morning the LA would have had to come out as it would have been an emergency...

had there been a fire, then windows could have been broken, or as i said before the fire brigade would have rescued you from your 1st/2nd floor flat...

calm down.....

CommitedToChange

I live on the second floor - the main door is on the first floor - so my windows are on the second floor.

Also the other tenant was trapped outside - was he suppose to sit on the stairs outside til the letting agency opened and answered their phone?

martindow

JulieK1313 wrote: »

Also the other tenant was trapped outside - was he suppose to sit on the stairs outside til the letting agency opened and answered their phone?

If he could not pay the locksmith, yes. Or he could have gone round to a friend for the night. The LA could have sorted it all out in the morning.

clutton_2

why could he not have got in by the back door or back window ?

neas

its all rather conluted for you to claim the cost of LA for them to claim off tenant...

Cant you agree with tenant to pay for it? i.e 20 quid a month?

I see your in debt.. and realise 130 quid would be handy... but im sure you can cope for a little while... all this is quite fruitless and longwinded (take long time to get cash) whe nits a simple man to man (or woman to man etc etc) conservation.... tenant was responsible.. he shoulda paid.... he didnt you paid nowhe owes you money.

Problem is you know in your heart its easier to try and get i from EA than from other tenant...