Old landlord is charging £75 for a snapped off washing machine handle?

Mallotum_X

*Kat* wrote: »

Taken more care? I opened the handle and it snapped off!! Should I have worn gloves and gently opened it. I have no qualms with repairing it, I just dont think £75 is acceptable.

Why is £75 too much? If the part is about a tenner, then the call out charge including VAT is £65, which leaves about £55 for the repair man to drive over fix it and get on to the next job. £55 really isnt very much for his/her time....

*Kat*

Planner wrote: »

Cough up sweet cheeks. You cheapen all tenants questions with such disreagrd to your responsibilities.

I dont think I have a disregard for my responsibilities at all. I'm just asking if there's an alternative way. For example, my uncle is a plumber, can he go and fix it? Is that allowed? You aren't really being particularly helpful 'Planner' if anything, it seems like you are attempting to cause some kind of online argument. Which is pointless.

Planner

*Kat* wrote: »

I dont think I have a disregard for my responsibilities at all. I'm just asking if there's an alternative way. For example, my uncle is a plumber, can he go and fix it? Is that allowed? You aren't really being particularly helpful 'Planner' if anything, it seems like you are attempting to cause some kind of online argument. Which is pointless.

You had the oppurtunity to get your unlce, the plumber, in to resolve the issue why you lived there:

I just totally forgot to repair it when I was leaving.

Now you must pay the going rate to have it repaired. IF you would rather spend your time on a forum trying to avoid your responsibilites, than trying to find out what the going rate is, then you cant expect that much sympathy.

You accept it broken and needs replacing, you accept you broke it and you accept that you didnt repair it when you had the oppotunity. Suck it up. £75 quid isnt a lot for such a job.

sooz

£65-£75 is exactly how much I've paid for a washing machine engineer to replace a broken handle. Whilst the part may be cheap, like most things it requires someone with the knowledge of how to replace them. They don't come cheap, & will have a minimum call out.

You could have bought the part yourself for £8 (+ delivery) and downloaded a guide for how to replace it, & have attempted to do it yourself before you moved out. I'm guessing, as usually happens in such cases, that you attempted to open the machine before the door was unlocked.

Regardless of age, if the washing machine is working it is not deemed worthless. You are not being asked to replace the entire machine, just the handle, so betterment doesn't come into it.

sooz

*Kat* wrote: »

I dont think I have a disregard for my responsibilities at all. I'm just asking if there's an alternative way. For example, my uncle is a plumber, can he go and fix it? Is that allowed?

Have you moved out now?

Then it is unlikely the landlord now wishes for you to send someone he doesn't know, who is not a washing machine engineer, to replace the part for him.

You had the opportunity to fix it whilst you lived there. Or you could have called your uncle, a handyman, or a washing machine engineer in.

Mallotum_X

*Kat* wrote: »

For example, my uncle is a plumber, can he go and fix it? Is that allowed?

Ask the Landlord, he may be happy with that, it might save you a few quid, but he might prefer to use a tradesman he knows.

Orpheo

Planner wrote: »

Cough up sweet cheeks. You cheapen all tenants questions with such disreagrd to your responsibilities.

Posters are ganging up on the OP. I will eschew the herd and come out on your side Kat. If the washing machine is 10 years old and the handle snapped off merely as you tried to open it then it had obviously become unfit for purpose and the breakage was clearly a result of natural wear and tear. It may have served you better to have been thoroughly detailed in your original post.

*Kat*

It's an agency Your Move who took over and are now selling it, if it's £75 then that's how much it is. They're taking it out of the original deposit anyway

BaldPlumber

If the handle broke under normal usage conditions then why should you be expected to pay?

*Kat*

Orpheo wrote: »

Posters are ganging up on the OP. I will come out on your side Kat. If the washing machine is 10 years old and the handle snapped off merely as you tried to open it then it had obviously become unfit for purpose and the breakage was clearly a result of natural wear and tear.

Well that's what I thought, it wasn't like I opened it any differently to the other times I had lol. The guy who came to look at the flat said that general wear and tear didn't count and wont be you know taken out of the deposit. We cleaned it pretty well, the walls and everything which I guess they've seen as we didn't get a cleaning charge or anything.

The fridge and cooker were also replaced while we were there so I guess it was all part of the package. If it's got to be paid then I guess it does, I just don't really think that the washing machine is even worth that. Probably 'better' to just put money towards a new one rather than pay that much for a handle lol