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Rights after cleaner scratched floor
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spiralz
Posts: 1 Newbie
I'm after any thoughts on this situation - all comments appreciated.
We used to employ a cleaner through an agency to clean our house every fortnight. Mainly basic tasks like hoovering, dusting etc - no washing or ironing.
One day we came home to find a scratch on our wooden flooring that must have been made by the cleaner, as nobody else had been in the house that day. It's not in the kind of place that we could put a mat over it.
I complained to the agency and asked how they intended to rectify the damage. At that point they got very defensive and denied all knowledge of having made the scratch and said we had made it.
I withheld some of the final bill to cover our costs in repairing the floor given that they were clearly not offering to rectify the damage.
They're now aggressively chasing me for the shortfall (£40) and sending increasingly rude letters and emails. it's upsetting my partner who's pregnant, and me, as since this all started I've been made redundant, so things are pretty tough.
I understood that the Sales of Goods and Services Act required a service supplier to make good damage made, but frankly I'm starting to think we should pay the shortfall and get the agency off our case.
Does anyone have any experience of this kind of this that could help us work out how to proceed? I don't want this to affect our credit rating, but I also don't want to pay this rude company any more money when we have other financial priorities.
certainly wish we'd never used a cleaner, we should have fone the cleaning ourselves. Lesson learned there.
We used to employ a cleaner through an agency to clean our house every fortnight. Mainly basic tasks like hoovering, dusting etc - no washing or ironing.
One day we came home to find a scratch on our wooden flooring that must have been made by the cleaner, as nobody else had been in the house that day. It's not in the kind of place that we could put a mat over it.
I complained to the agency and asked how they intended to rectify the damage. At that point they got very defensive and denied all knowledge of having made the scratch and said we had made it.
I withheld some of the final bill to cover our costs in repairing the floor given that they were clearly not offering to rectify the damage.
They're now aggressively chasing me for the shortfall (£40) and sending increasingly rude letters and emails. it's upsetting my partner who's pregnant, and me, as since this all started I've been made redundant, so things are pretty tough.
I understood that the Sales of Goods and Services Act required a service supplier to make good damage made, but frankly I'm starting to think we should pay the shortfall and get the agency off our case.
Does anyone have any experience of this kind of this that could help us work out how to proceed? I don't want this to affect our credit rating, but I also don't want to pay this rude company any more money when we have other financial priorities.
certainly wish we'd never used a cleaner, we should have fone the cleaning ourselves. Lesson learned there.
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Comments
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It's your word against them on who did the damage.
Unless you can prove that the damage was done by them I cant see any option but to pay what you owe.I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.0 -
If it upsetting your OH I would just pay the £40 and move on to be honest. Its over and done with then.
It really is one word against another, they may just send it off to debt collectors and it will affect your credit rating.make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
and we will never, ever return.0 -
Sending it off to DCs doesn't immediately (or even necessarily) affect credit rating, does it?0
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£40 - just let it go.0
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Sending it off to DCs doesn't immediately (or even necessarily) affect credit rating, does it?
I assume it then gives the debt collectors the right to start requesting your credit history, depending how many times they query it I suppose it could affect your rating.
But OP, you still have to pay them, until you do you are legally in the wrong and leave yourself open to CCJ against you.
My advice in these situations is always the same.
Pay under duress, it removes any threat from the collector but you don't loose any rights to chase them for unresolved issues.0 -
Wooden floors get scratched!
Just let it go. Life is too short!Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
Could you not claim through their insurance?We used to employ a cleaner through an agency to clean our house every fortnight.Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY"I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
Janice 1964-2016
Thank you Honey Bear0 -
Could you not claim through their insurance?
You missed my point. The cleaning company should be insured. So the excess etc will not impact on the OP.Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY"I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily DickinsonJanice 1964-2016
Thank you Honey Bear0
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