Am I being unreasonable?

RobertoMoir

societys_child wrote: »

I take it the op was wearing the statutory safety equipment (a helmet at least). If not, I don't think he has a leg to stand on . . .

Well actually this would contribute to it being negligence on the builder's part. It is down to them to enforce the requirement for PPE on their site.

societys_child wrote: »

On a more serious note, was the builder expecting the general public to be traipsing around?

Now I'm not suggesting that a jobbing builder renovating a house should be forced to fence the place off and have a controlled entry and exit point with all visitors being required to produce a CSCS card and attend a formal health and safety lecture and dress up in safety gear from head to toe before being allowed in, but they still should be in control of the site and should ensure the safety of people on the site, yes.

Actually, as you mention helmets, the builder should insist on PPE being worn if needed and I'd certainly expect them to warn people that the floor was up in places and to refuse entry to people not wearing sensible clothing/footwear for the environment (not claiming this applied to the OP, just giving an example of what I think is reasonable), just to protect themselves from liability if things go wrong.

sonastin

If we are going full health&safety assessment on this, it doesn't actually matter that the OP only suffered a bit of pain in the ankle. If the OP's foot went through the floor, the builder and the agent are lucky - could easily have been the whole of the OP crashing through the ceiling. And if that had been what happened, its far more likely that the builder/agent would be paying compensation than the OP paying for the damage caused.

If liability rested with the builder in the event of serious accident, its hard to see how the liabilty for a near miss transfers to the person who luckily escaped injury.

RobertoMoir

sonastin wrote: »

If we are going full health&safety assessment on this, it doesn't actually matter that the OP only suffered a bit of pain in the ankle. If the OP's foot went through the floor, the builder and the agent are lucky - could easily have been the whole of the OP crashing through the ceiling. And if that had been what happened, its far more likely that the builder/agent would be paying compensation than the OP paying for the damage caused.

If liability rested with the builder in the event of serious accident, its hard to see how the liabilty for a near miss transfers to the person who luckily escaped injury.

Indeed. It's all to the credit of the OP that they want to take a common sense "I wasn't hurt so I don't want to 'go legal'" approach to things in this compensation culture world, but the gall of the builder and/or agent in trying to claim that the victim of their negligence is the responsible party is breathtaking.

pararct

Could it be the builder never actually invoiced for the work but the Letting Agent (and we all know how unscrupulous they can be with their charges) has produced a phantom invoice as he was aware the damage had occurred? I would be tempted to 'flush him out'.
Logically the builder would have been aware of his responsibilities within H&S on his own site, would he really try and open a can of worms by invoicing for a couple of hours patch repair?

The fact the letting agent has moved so quickly to threats and the like means they are keen to get this settled without recourse to legal avenues.

[Deleted User]

As others have stated, I am against the 'claim for anything' culture.., but same rules apply when the builder/LA are suggesting that the OP should pay for damage caused on an escorted visit to the property, with advance notice being given by the OP. Both the builder and LA have a duty of care not adhered to. Saying that notices would not have prevented the accident is quite ridiculous! Why are they ever erected if they don't work? Why should they have been erected legally if they don't work lol?

I'd refuse to pay and tell them again that both LA and builder were negligent, and to consider themselves lucky u aren't taking them to court. Or suggest they take you to court.., because u'll have a very interesting time telling the court about their negligence that led to the accident taking place. I'm pretty sure this will shut both parties up.

roboticpink

Frankly, the quality of the work that's been done, I wouldn't be surprised at anything the builders think they can get away with - they are more of a maintenance company really and I am not sure why they have been given the contract in the first place. Apparently they have keys to our house, and as we found out yesterday, they have been letting themselves into our home for three days to use our electricity while building a garage... we found out because they left the keys in the door when they went home!!

The invoice came direct from the builders and is addressed to the letting agent. The invoice contains something else we have already agreed to pay for...

We think it is the builders rather than the letting agent who are having a laugh but the letting agent don't seem to recognise their responsibility in the matter and it is very frustrating!

We are on the edge of just paying it to keep the peace, but I have heard that if we pay the bill, no matter what we say about paying the bill, it is an acceptance of our responsibility in the eyes of the law - is this true?

[Deleted User]

I'd still refuse to pay and tell them to expect an interesting time when they take u to court to be honest. Why pay money out when u shouldn't to keep them quiet? Change the locks on the door BTW.

pararct

Replace the cylinders in your locks (keeping the originals for when you eventually leave) plenty of vids on you tube will who you how, is very simple.
As you already have the builders name and address (on the invoice) call him and see what he has to say on the matter. Ask him why the LA is billing you as you injured yourself in the incident.

The bill is not addressed to you therefore you have absolutely no justification in paying it. The LA is trying it on with what it looks like bully boy tactics. There is no legal recourse regarding, in terms of the builder going after you. If it was a legitimate cost the LA would have raised his own invoice to pass on to you.

TBH the more you tell us the more it looks like your LA is a right shark!!

sonastin

roboticpink wrote: »

We are on the edge of just paying it to keep the peace, but I have heard that if we pay the bill, no matter what we say about paying the bill, it is an acceptance of our responsibility in the eyes of the law - is this true?

If you just go ahead and pay it, it would be hard to argue that you didn't accept responsibility. But there are ways in which you can pay it without admitting it was your fault. If you send a covering letter with phrases like "I do not accept liability" "I reserve my rights to pursue a claim against you" "This is a goodwill gesture" etc, it would be much harder for them to use the fact of your payment against you.

roboticpink

Thanks for the advice all - we pushed a bit harder, asked for their complaints procedure and contacted our landlord directly. Very suddenly the letting agent agreed to settle the bill between them and the builders, without involving us or our landlord... strange!