Cleaning Company hanging on to keys

Hedgehog99

A locksmith can take a mortice lock apart, rearrange or change the levers & cut you a new set of keys. Peace of mind if the house is empty while cleaners still have keys.

hollydays

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Its only theft if the cleaning company of have the intention of permanently depriving them of the keys. If they are keeping hold of the keys until the matter is resolved, then it wouldn't be theft.

The cleaning company have whats called a "lien" over the keys.

Its like a garage keeping hold of your vehicle until you pay.

This is the danger of asking for legal advice on the Internet.

You could look at the situation in this way, for example -
" a lone female finds herself in the same situation. Is it reasonable that the alleged creditor could harass her and put her in fear by refusing to hand the keys back, the inference also being that he may enter her property and seize goods to the value. The alleged creditor has made no effort to resolve the issue and the amount is in dispute, while the female has made all reasonable efforts to bring their breach of contract to his attention"
Clearly anyone could see this would not be reasonable and the op should get advice from the police .
It's nothing like holding your car until you pay.

powerful_Rogue

hollydays wrote: »

This is the danger of asking for legal advice on the Internet.

You could turn the argument in its head and give this example-" a lone female finds herself in the same situation. Is it reasonable that the alleged creditor could harass her and put her in fear by refusing to hand the keys back, the inference also being that he may enter her property and seize goods to the value. The alleged creditor has made no effort to resolve the issue and the amount is in dispute, while the female has made all reasonable efforts to bring their breach of contract to his attention"
Clearly anyone could see this would not be reasonable and the op should get advice from the police .
It's nothing like holding your car until you pay.

Oh dear, here we go again. Back to your crazy analogies. Im sure you like to argue just for the sake of it!

Its exactly the same situation as the one I posted, just with a different item of property held in lien until the debt has been paid.

As highlighted in the link by the Citizens Advice, one option is to pay the amount in full, but on the invoice write "Paid under protest" and then seek a remedy afterwards.

hollydays

Retaining keys is likely to cause alarm or distress, it could be viewed as intimidating.
That's because holding them allows the holder to gain access to your private property.
It's not the same in any way.

powerful_Rogue

hollydays wrote: »

Retaining keys is likely to cause alarm or distress, it could be viewed as intimidating.
That's because holding them allows the holder to gain access to your private property.
It's not the same in any way.

I suggest you look up the term lien. Its a common law. Heres a few references for you:

When it comes to the work carried out, the act doesn't, in fact, give you any more rights than you have in common law, but it does lay them out clearly. It states that a tradesman or professional has a 'duty of care' towards you and your property; that any price or standard you agree must be honoured, and that, if not agreed in advance, the work must be done to a reasonable standard, at a reasonable cost.


This means that when you haven't agreed a price, you don't have to accept a ridiculously large bill. All you have to do is pay what you consider is 'reasonable' and invite them to sue you for the rest.


Sometimes it's better to pay the disputed bill, especially if they have some property of yours on which they can exercise a 'lien' (the right to hold another's property until a debt is paid). If they threaten this, let them know that you're 'paying under protest', and will be taking action against them
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1fdlwC9xzyxjCpWMlsCGG3j/supply-of-services

If you have a problem, put your complaint in writing to the trader as soon as possible, listing the problems that need to be sorted. You could pay some of the cash and withhold the rest until the problems are sorted.


Withholding pay altogether is a serious step – the trader could take you to court to enforce payment and when the dispute concerns work on goods the trader has a legal lien on the goods until agreement is reached about payment, so you may have to reluctantly pay to get your goods back, then take legal action.
If the case goes to court, you will need to prove your case "on the balance of probabilities". Take photos, keep copies of all letters and documents and get an expert’s report if necessary.
http://www.lawyerlocator.co.uk/lawyer/legal_issues/get_article/id/240/problems-with-goods-and-services/

As suggested by the articles online, the way to solve the situation is to pay the amount outstanding, but make sure its written on the invoice "Paid under protest" - You can then seek to resolve the situation afterwards.

hollydays

You really can't bear to be wrong can you.

powerful_Rogue

hollydays wrote: »

You really can't bear to be wrong can you.

Well show me where im wrong with evidence, like I have your posts and we can take it from there.

cavework

Do you have a contract with the cleaning company?
The owner , as far as I can gather has suspended, not ceased the service until the outstanding amount has been paid.
Important
Have you actually asked for the keys to be returned until this situation has been resolved?
Is it one key or all keys for your property?