Boarding up burgled property - "agent of necessity"?

Chris2011

I was burgled a couple of years ago now. The police didn't manage to contact me immediately so instead called in a private security company to fit a useless padlock at greatly inflated costs (170 pounds). I only found out about this when I got home late that evening, and in no way did I ever agree to have the work done. I had no contents insurance at the time (yes, I know). I rang the firm when I got the invoice and said they should contact the police who commissioned them if they needed payment.

The private security firm are now suing me (County Court) for a few hundred quid, saying the firm acted as an "agent of necessity", citing a case from 1999 as precedent.

I can't afford to consult a solicitor but would like to fight it if I can as the charges are completely unreasonable, it's basically a racket. I'd be really grateful for any advice as to whether it's worth fighting it.
- Can they charge me (rather than the police) even though I never agreed to the work?
- How do I get to see the previous case they are citing as precedent (SQ9033696 of 10 October 1999 in Stoke County Court)?
- If I fight the claim and lose, are there any other costs I could get landed with?
- Should I complain or ask the police to help sort this out, seeing as they got in the cowboy security firm (and never caught the burglars, of course)?
- In general, how powerful are precedents in County Court judgements?

I'd be really grateful for any help with this, could really do without this...

Few other details:
- My flat shares an external door with one other flat. This external door was neither damaged nor repaired. It was only the internal door to my flat that they stuck a padlock on.
- The police could have contacted me at work if they'd spotted a big pile of my business cards on the windowsill opposite the front door (impossible to prove two years on though).
- The police did not tell me I would need to pay the firm they called in.
- The firm claims they regularly work for the police.

scooby75

The agent principle they speak of is a sound one - though the cost may not be. It basically states that where someone does something for you to save you from further harm, then you can be held liable for that cost. I do not know about a debt collection agency chasing you - that is a different matter.

It is essentially that someone did you a kindness, but not so kind as to do it for free.

Google the term "agent of necessity" and you will see where they are coming from.

rs65

Was the door damaged? Did you have buildings insurance?

Yorkie1

I don't know about the wider picture, but I was always taught that a county court case could not set a precedent such as to bind another court's decision.

honey10

A county court cannot set a precedent, it is not binding upon any court, however it can be persuasive upon itself.
Basically, there is nothing set in stone that says you have to pay, however, the judge could be persuaded by the prosecution that you should pay because someone did before.
The case should be judged on its own merits, and you don't need a solicitor, just argue the facts.

forgotmyname

I think dont argue about the fact they did it.

But that the costs were excessive.

Callout £80 + £10 for the lock?

sharjay99

what time were they called out? My son smashed his bedroom window a while ago and I had to call maintenance from my housing, They charged me an £80 callout charge just to hammer a piece of wood over it because it was out of hours...

CKhalvashi

I'd say £25 + VAT callout and £10 for the lock was more reasonable, although that may just be me.

CK

withabix

CKhalvashi wrote: »

I'd say £25 + VAT callout and £10 for the lock was more reasonable, although that may just be me.

CK

Are you offering to provide a 24/7/365 callout service for that price?

No? Thought not.

There is a reason why the charges are high.

To offer the service, a company needs to have someone on stand-by.

They might only get one call-out per week, or less!

That means the person on stand-by can't have a couple of beers whilst they watch telly, they might have to get up in the middle of the night and their time is not their own.

Who do you expect to pay for this?

If you are offering to do that for £25 per call-out, where do we all sign up?

CKhalvashi

withabix wrote: »

Are you offering to provide a 24/7/365 callout service for that price?

No? Thought not.

There is a reason why the charges are high.

To offer the service, a company needs to have someone on stand-by.

They might only get one call-out per week, or less!

That means the person on stand-by can't have a couple of beers whilst they watch telly, they might have to get up in the middle of the night and their time is not their own.

Who do you expect to pay for this?

If you are offering to do that for £25 per call-out, where do we all sign up?

I'm talking what I feel is reasonable cost for companies to charge, not what they do charge.

I do recall paying £80 at 7am one Sunday morning as I was an idiot and locked myself out the office, however I agreed to pay this, as I needed to get back in (this was before Sunday became a regular working day for us as a company).

I think what was 'reasonable' for the situation would be what security the first door had. We got burgled several years back, and the police managed to get some business cards in the hallway (which had the same phone number as the side of the car on the drive), phone the office, establish I was in Russia and get one of my staff with keys to come out.

Surely in OP's case, this should be the same?

CK

opinions4u

Van. Diesel. Insurance. Road tax. Servicing costs. Time, including travelling time. Cost of materials. The call centre costs. The staff member who answered the call. The time and cost of calling the man with the van. The national insurance costs, public liability insurance, business rates for premises. The inevitable profit mark up for the company offering the service, because nobody does anything for free. The cost of deferring (and possibly losing) another job because securing somebody's property is seen as more important.

£25? No chance.

OP, did you try to claim on your buildings insurance?