landlord's chosen contractors. my rights?

Guest101

Dont know why you are gettign so many negative responses, I wouldn't let anyone dodgy into my house, whether my agent had arranged them or not. It's my home, with my belongings and family inside.

If i have my suspicions, then I will take the necessary steps to prevent any loss or harm. If that means they arent coming in, then they arent coming in. The agent is free to take me to court. - At which point the lack of notice for intended work would come up!

Guest101

00ec25 wrote: »

Blimey, I thought your inital response was ironic and amusing, seems you were serious?
in that case insist on seeing their passports to check they are not illegal immigrants working in the (to be PC) grey economy

That has nothing to do with anything. If the OP isnt satisfied as to the identity and authenticity of these people, then he/she is perfectly entitled to tell them to leave.

DRP

Guest101 wrote: »

Dont know why you are gettign so many negative responses, I wouldn't let anyone dodgy into my house, whether my agent had arranged them or not. It's my home, with my belongings and family inside.

If i have my suspicions, then I will take the necessary steps to prevent any loss or harm. If that means they arent coming in, then they arent coming in. The agent is free to take me to court. - At which point the lack of notice for intended work would come up!

^^totally agree.

Let's not get all overly PC-sensitive about this...

Ellie007

OP - I agree with you in so far as I wouldn't let in work-people who turned up unannounced, or on the wrong day.

I also would not let in anyone if they did not have any ID showing who they work for. This is not a big or tricky request. If they are plumbers they more than likely will hold a CSCS card which will be trade-specific - they should be able to show you this.

I wouldn't however expect them to be DBS cleared, unless they were coming to do major works and you were having to leave them unattended with keys. We had extensive works done to our house which was rendered unliveable following a flood and I checked with our insurance company that the company employed had DBS-cleared operatives, which I think is fair enough. If you are not leaving them alone for a period of time though, then this would be overkill in my opinion.

Ethnicity and choice of car - irrelevant, although a Mercedes car seems impractical for someone who is likely to be transporting tools, pipes, and other materials.

artbaron

beecher2 wrote: »

Your first point is utter nonsense - workmen often dress in tracksuits while working, and them driving a mercedes is irrelevant.

Don't talk soft. I've dealt with workmen for 30 years and never once have I seen one in a tracksuit and baseball cap driving a Mercedes whilst working.

beecher2 wrote: »

Workmen do not have CRB (or DBS as it is now called in England) checks, and it is ludicrous to suggest that they should.

Are you really this dull? No, workmen don't generally carry CRB checks. These are clearly not workmen. At best they are mates of the landlord's, or probably one mate who brought a pal of his along for the ride.

beecher2 wrote: »

If I was told to expect workmen, and workmen turned up at the door then I would let them in. If I was paranoid (or perhaps prejudiced as the OP does appear to be) then I'd phone the letting agency. Panic over, drama averted.

There is no panic or drama other than the one you're making. But you clearly illustrate the crux of the problem. The OP made the mistake of saying the men were Asian. If he'd described two fat chavs with tattoos driving a Subaru he wouldn't have got the negative responses. Unfortunately for him he reported that these people were Asian and driving a Mercedes, so clearly he's a racist and the problem lies with him. How sad that people such as you are so small-minded that you prefer to insult someone rather than seriously address their problem.

00ec25 wrote: »

Blimey, I thought your inital response was ironic and amusing, seems you were serious?
in that case insist on seeing their passports to check they are not illegal immigrants working in the (to be PC) grey economy

Heaven forfend that someone should make checks on two men who turn up and try to enter the house when their GF is alone. What madness is this? Clearly you should just let anybody in the house. What a mug.

19lottie82

OK, simple answer to the OP.



Can you refuse to let them in to your property? Yes, you can.



Can you insist your LL uses a certain contractor? No, you can’t.

rockabilly_spike

apologies if my description of the men as 'asian' is offensive. i made this point as it backs up the other point about them barely being able to speak english and stating so when my gf told them she had to go to work.

having spent 13 years studing Chinese martial arts and indeed working for many asians (my line manager at work is Persian-his description of his ethnicity), i would hope that I am not classed as racist by anyone.
but i can see how I would be judged for referring to this, but it was merely to back up the point of them not speaking english enough to understand.

My dad is a retired electrician, my brother in law is a self employed electrician, my father law (RIP) was a plumber/gas fitter. none of them every went to work in a track suit and baseball cap and certainly not driving a posh car.
if they are going to be working on the boiler, i want to make sure they are gas safe registered.
i don't care what nationality, race, colour, religion or sexual preferences they hold.
what I want is my family home that i am paying rent on, to be safe.
if they are just there to see what work needs doing, make notes and report it back to their firm, the agency should be telling me this.
as yet i've not had a reply to my email and haven't had a chance to ring them. may have to do it from work tomorrow.

like i said, apologies if anyone thinks i have some sort of beef with them being asian, i certainly do not.
what i have a beef with is 2 strange men in tracksuits and baseball caps banging on my door, frightening my gf and being unable to communicate with them.
i accept the apology that i had for the mix up with the agency not having notified me at least 24 hrs in advance, but then they turn up today too. they were supposed to come on thursday.

a genuine tradesman will not mind being asked for ID before entering someones premises.

Errata

No ID = No entry!

fart

So many idiots on here sometimes.

OP was clearly using the Asian description to point out that they don't speak English. I know there's loads of self-righteousness and people love to try and pretend they're immensely anti-racism and whatnot, but give it a rest, we all know why he mentioned that. If they were Spanish looking he would have said 'Hispanic-looking guys who didn't speak English'.

He mentioned their clothing and their car because it screams unprofessionalism. If someone from British Gas turned up in trackie bottoms and jumped out of an old Focus or something what would you think?

Also, i've had work done in my current flat by someone who turned up and didn't look the part, didn't seem to know what he was doing, didn't respond well to instruction or descriptions and was all round a nightmare. I didn't want the guy in my flat so i've put up with a blocked bath for the last month. Until it's happened to you, you don't know so don't judge the OP.

OP you're perfectly within your rights to ask them to provide their credentials before you let them in your home, and if they can't, demand different tradesmen from the agents.