Who is liable for burglary damage causing a callout?

brit1234

If the vehicles have been picked up for forensics the victim is not liable for costs. In London when a vehicle is stolen the victim is asked if they are willing to pay for recovery if found at time of reporting. If they do not want it the vehicle is left in situe and owner called. Sometimes police can disable ie let down tyres on a moped.

As for property boarding up I thought police pay for it if no one is home. If someone is home the owner or tenant is responsible for boarding up costs and they can chose to go through the police locksmith or they can arrange their own. However the Landlord is responsible for costs but should be consulted by renter about decision to make.

abinanthanb

It looks pretty straight forward to me.

Building (Garage door) damaged and been fixed --> falls under Building Insurance --> LL should claim it. If excess is too high, thats LL's problem, she should have paid more premium to bring down the excess.

dacouch

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Harsh? For pointing out that we all have to be prepared to live with the consequences of our actions?

Yes, the charges would have been levied but the insurance company would reimburse the insured party once receipts were submitted.

A contents policy would not normally pay to secure a garage or even the house itself.

It might be covered by a building policy

missile

I would not pay for repairs to garage, I would write (not e mail) the locksmith suggesting they contact the landlord and keep a copy. It is very unlikely locksmith will take you or LL to court - it is simply not worth it.

As for cost to recover / store stolen vehicles that is your responsibility. It has nothing to do with the council.

In some neighbourhoods motorcycles and scooters are tempting targets. Police usually know who is responsible, proving it is more difficult and the penalties imposed in court are very lenient. The system sucks.

jenny74

As a pp has stated, in these circumstances the Police have powers to arrange for a property to be made secure. This is acting on YOUR behalf as you were not present. What you would have done (ie DIY) is irrelevent, the Police arranged these repairs because and only because you were not there. As they acted on YOUR behalf, YOU as the occupier are liable for these costs. (Whether you choose to persue your LL is a seperate issue)

As a tenant, had you got contents insurance, you would very likely have been able to claim as this cover almost alway extends to "Landlords fixtures and fittings that YOU are liable for".

Regarding the emergency repair charges, I think that is pretty reasonable, especially considering the poor man was hauled out of bed at 3am!

And finally it would cost the repair man very little to take you to the small claims court, which could result in you having a CCJ against you.

IMHO you should pay the tradesman and THEN fight it out with your LL. That would be the correct thing to do.

poppysarah

geri1965 wrote: »

I think you're all being a bit harsh on the OP. This charge would still have been levied even if there had been insurance!

I think the OP said it was the neighbours who got the police to board it up?

I'd say whoever made that decision to do that needs to pay for it.

And a lesson to us all to make sure our neighbours have our mobile numbers at all times.

amiehall

I can't believe no-one has pointed out that screwing a bit of wood onto a door isn't reasonable work to receive for £200! What a rip off! Too right you wouldn't have asked someone to do that, it's a ridiculous price for a 2 minute job. Am I right in saying that this now needs a proper repair on top of what's due to be paid for this bodge?

When_is_the_reset?

It seems obvious that the landlady in this case is a skinflint and wants to skip her obligation to repair the door. It also seems obvious that the landlady should pay the call-out charges. It has nothing to do with contents insurance.

If a storm damaged the roof would it be the tenant's responsibility to pay for temporary repairs? Of course not and it is stupid to think that it is.

I would plain refuse to pay and let the landlady sort it out. I would also insist the door was repaired immediately otherwise there would be some claims for reducing the rent.

The paying to get you bike back thing is all over the motorcycle press at the moment. Very unfair, but not much you can do.

olly300

OP you can refuse but as the locksmiths have your name it is you they would come after.

Pay it under protest and chase the landlady for the money. If the worse comes to the worse you can take her to court for it though I wouldn't advise it.

Also some contents insurance policies especially those targeted at tenants do pay for locks to be changed or a property to be made secure in the case of a break in. (I know because I've had them in the past.) Plus it's stupidity to keep valuables in a location which was already burgled without the property being made secure.

While I have sympathy that you have been burgled I have no sympathy on your stance.

ewan_steele

poppysarah wrote: »

I think the OP said it was the neighbours who got the police to board it up?

I'd say whoever made that decision to do that needs to pay for it.

And a lesson to us all to make sure our neighbours have our mobile numbers at all times.

Haha, the thought had crossed my mind, but I'm eternally grateful to my neighbours for looking out for us like that. They all called the police, got up at 3am and stayed up guarding the house until 5-6am on a Sunday morning calling the police insisting something was done about it and making sure they didn't come back. They risked their safety breaking up the burglary too, there were five young adults involved apparently (on scooters not even trying to be quiet - apparently they were joyriding around the front as a couple of them broke in!). I'd never point the finger at my neighbours, I count myself lucky to have ones that would look out for us like that. I'd sour the relationship with my LL over this, but never my neighbours. They did a top notch job. The mobile number thing is a good point though!