Damage to item by tradesman

agrinnall

As she's a chef, was the knife used in a professional capacity, and was the servicing being carried out on a business to business basis? If so then it's the terms of the service agreement that will govern what compensation is due for damage caused.

As a matter of interest, how did he totally ruin a knife? I have a couple of Japanese kitchen knives myself (expensive but nowhere near the £300 level) and short of snapping the blade I'm not sure how they could be ruined.

Flying_Lemon

DoaM wrote: »

What is the price of the alternative new knife your OH has offered?

£300, which is also what she's asking for.

unholyangel wrote: »

Is there a 2nd hand market which indicates how much they would have been worth had damage not occurred?

If someone crashes into your car and writes it off, you don't get a brand new car. You get the value of what was destroyed.

However if there is no 2nd hand market for goods of that type (doesnt need to be for that specific model), then you may well be looking at brand new replacement. Usually brand new would be considered betterment when there is a 2nd hand market and would go beyond what is necessary to compensate for damage into penalising the party in breach. However if there is no 2nd hand market, the betterment is an unavoidable consequence of the breach and therefore not classed as a betterment.

Yes, I've seen second hand knives of the same make and style for sale online, and they are going for around a quarter to a third of the price you'd pay new.

Thanks very much for your help everyone, I really appreciate it.

macman

She has no entitlement to claim on a 'new for old' basis whatsoever. She's trying it on.

Fosterdog

Flying_Lemon wrote: »

£300, which is also what she's asking for.



Yes, I've seen second hand knives of the same make and style for sale online, and they are going for around a quarter to a third of the price you'd pay new.

Thanks very much for your help everyone, I really appreciate it.

If he has offered one knife that is £300 and she wants a direct replacement which is £300 then what is the problem?

I'd only be offering half of it's worth based on its lifespan.

JimmyTheWig

Flying_Lemon wrote: »

£300, which is also what she's asking for.

So, regardless of who should do what, why doesn't he offer her the £300 rather than spending £300 on a knife that she doesn't want?

Flying_Lemon

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

So, regardless of who should do what, why doesn't he offer her the £300 rather than spending £300 on a knife that she doesn't want?

He's a distributor for a different brand of knives. He hasn't paid £300 for the one she was given as he gets it at a wholesale price.

JimmyTheWig

Don't see why she should have to accept that brand just because he gets it cheap, I'm afraid.

Why won't his PLI cover it?

martinsurrey

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Don't see why she should have to accept that brand just because he gets it cheap, I'm afraid.

Why won't his PLI cover it?

that's fine, but the OP could get a second hand knife of the same type and brand for under £100 (see their post #13), so asking for new for old is trying it on.

Flying_Lemon

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Don't see why she should have to accept that brand just because he gets it cheap, I'm afraid.

Why won't his PLI cover it?

No, that's fair enough.

The PL won't cover the circumstances in which it broke. They'd have covered it if he'd broken it by dropping it, but the particular way it happened isn't covered apparently.

harrys_dad

I would suggest buying the same brand knife second hand for £100 and giving her that, a like for like replacement. If she wants more she will have to take action.