Unfair quote?

NGB92

Hi i'm just looking for a bit of advice please.


I have recently moved out of an apartment that I rented for 6 months. After the 4th month I moved in with my partner but continued to pay the rent and utilities until my contract ran out.


When I moved out the apartment was in perfect condition. A few days before I was due to hand my keys in I went to the apartment to give it one last clean and dust prior to starting work. I bought a bleach that was on offer at the supermarket and ran it around the bath and taps with some water. I left it over night to soak (to try make it squeaky clean for my inspection). When I returned from work to finish off the last bits I noticed that the bleach had tinged a part of the bottom of the bath blue leaving a visible but faint mark on a small section of the bottom of the tub. The coating on the bottom of the taps was also affected.


On inspection my landlord was happy with the apartment apart from the bathroom and stated that he was going to ask someone to come and look at it and will be in touch. Since then he has been difficult to get in touch with despite me asking what is happening with my bond. I received a message from him last night stating that someone had been out to look at the taps and that they needed replacing. He said it would cost me £345 + VAT for the taps changing. He also stated that as the blue mark couldn't be removed from the bath that I would also have to pay for a new bath and the installation which he had not been quoted for yet but would be more expensive than the taps.


I'm really upset by this as I believe he is trying to rip me off. I'm a young woman and I feel like he thinks that he can take advantage of that. The function of the bath/taps is not affected and none of it was cause by neglect or intentionally. It is purely aesthetic and not as bad as he is trying to make out. I was expecting some of my bond to be knocked off (it was £550 in total) but now it looks like he is expecting me to not only not get anything back but also to pay him extra. I have also asked to see the quotes he was given and he hasn't responded.


Does this sound right?
Is there anything I can do to challenge him?
Any advice would be very much appreciated

jrrowleyws

What did the instructions say on the cleaning product? Your actions likely damaged the fittings beyond wear and tear... Doesn't usually matter if it was an accident or not.

However, the landlord cannot gain from your actions. Therefore the age of the current taps and bath must be taken into account. If they are old then they are likely near the end of their working life (what the working life of a bath and set of taps is, I have no idea) so you should only get charged proportionally. If they were new when you moved in... That's a different story.

Furts

I have not looked at the warnings/instructions on the back of a bottle of bleach, but my understanding has always been bleach must not be used on chrome plating which means countless taps, plus sink and basin wastes. What you did was probably wrong, and the fact that damage is now visible means it was wrong.

It would then come down to the extent of the damage. But it also comes down to the age and quality of the taps and bath. Cheap taps at B&Q are made as cheap as possible in the Far East and will not cope with what you appear to have done. Quality taps and wastes are still in good shape after thirty years of what you have done.

Cannot comment on the bath unless the metal damage has worked into the bath. If so, my intuition is this is a poor quality bath. Ordinary baths of acceptable quality will last say 30 years with ordinary cleaning and use.

martinsurrey

and you are looking at the price he is quoting and thinking that is the price of the taps, while a large proportion of it will be the labour element of getting the things changed over.

everything people have said above is valid though.