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PSNI broke door down and now won't pay
nadnad
Posts: 1,593 Forumite
in N. Ireland
Background to the story is: My mum owns a flat in Cookstown that she rents out. Back in February her tenant gave her notice and moved out. 2 weeks later she went to the flat to tidy up and the door had been put in with a note from the police to contact them.
To make a long story short it turned out that the tenants workplace had reported him missing as he hadnt turned into work on the monday and tuesday and they had reported him missing on the wednesday. on the wednesday the police had then battered the flat door in to see if he was there.
within 1 hr of putting the door in they were able to contact him by phone. and he was fine. he had in fact previously told my mum that he was going on holiday.
she put a claim form into the police and today heard back that they would not be paying as it was "to save life".
i rang the police solicitor dealing with the case and she said they rarely pay in cases such as these and it was basically the responsibility of the landlord.
my mum had to replace the door - like for like it was £590 which was a lot of money.
anyone any experience of this?
To make a long story short it turned out that the tenants workplace had reported him missing as he hadnt turned into work on the monday and tuesday and they had reported him missing on the wednesday. on the wednesday the police had then battered the flat door in to see if he was there.
within 1 hr of putting the door in they were able to contact him by phone. and he was fine. he had in fact previously told my mum that he was going on holiday.
she put a claim form into the police and today heard back that they would not be paying as it was "to save life".
i rang the police solicitor dealing with the case and she said they rarely pay in cases such as these and it was basically the responsibility of the landlord.
my mum had to replace the door - like for like it was £590 which was a lot of money.
anyone any experience of this?
DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY 
norn iron club member no.1
norn iron club member no.1
0
Comments
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I guess better than the alternative...Sometimes you get what you deserve... :cool2:0
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Is there any hope of chasing the tenant for this? After all it was his life, and his not showing up at work, and assumably his not telling his employers that he had moved house that led to the door being bashed in - was his deposit given back to him?
Your mum's solicitor sounds like a fat lot of good as well. S/he is supposed to be working on your mum's behalf, not rolling over at the first hurdle.
I don't see why your mum would have to pay either!0 -
Try breaking into a police car to drive someone to hospital to save their life... we all know that the police wouldnt ever consider press charges on such a reasonable ground....Always overestimating...0
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Is there any hope of chasing the tenant for this? After all it was his life, and his not showing up at work, and assumably his not telling his employers that he had moved house that led to the door being bashed in - was his deposit given back to him?
Your mum's solicitor sounds like a fat lot of good as well. S/he is supposed to be working on your mum's behalf, not rolling over at the first hurdle.
I don't see why your mum would have to pay either!
no its not my mum's solicitor - its the police solicitor - the police have a legal department who deal with this. they have also told my mum that she can take it to small claims court but they do not pay any legal costs even if we were to win - my mum doesnt have the sort of money to start going to solicitors.
and the tenent is a foreign national who has gone back to Lithuania so no chance of getting the money from him. Deposit was given back to him as he had left 2 weeks before this even happened.DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY
norn iron club member no.10 -
no its not my mum's solicitor - its the police solicitor - the police have a legal department who deal with this. they have also told my mum that she can take it to small claims court but they do not pay any legal costs even if we were to win - my mum doesnt have the sort of money to start going to solicitors.
and the tenent is a foreign national who has gone back to Lithuania so no chance of getting the money from him. Deposit was given back to him as he had left 2 weeks before this even happened.
You could try 'billing' them. They wont pay. You could then, when it comes to rates payment, pay the rates minus what is owed to you. This may get you nowhere but it may well bring in more attention than they are willing to suffer.Always overestimating...0 -
Get Sunday Life etc involved, the bad press might help your case...What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about !!!0
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nadnad you and your Mum need to take this further. IMO (which may be wrong) if the guy had been still in the flat "breathing his last" then OK clear case..BUT that was not the case and I don't think they had done their homework first. The Police solicitor is obviously being paid to stop as many claims as possible. Maybe talk to CAB? or your own solicitor?Dave0
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Can't offer any advice I'm afraid, but good luck with this OPI'm not bad at golf, I just get better value for money when I take more shots!0
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small claims court ."Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many"0
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