Royal Mail have lost rented house keys!

Carptackle89

need_an_answer wrote: »

I find it quite hard to believe that you have had the only set of keys to that lock.

In my experience as a LL ive always either held a set of keys or when I used a managed service of a letting agent they held a set to be used for things like gas safety inspections that the tenant was unable to attend.

I would dispute the deduction if it is ever actually deducted from your deposit rather than it just being a threat at present.
Advise the agency that should the cost be passed on to you for any more than the cost of a replacement key cutting service then you will challenge the deduction.


The cost of replacement keys should then be covered by the RM insurance on the letter.


I don't believe in this case that you have done anything that should support the charging of a new lock to you or a locksmith to fit it.
You have followed the instruction of the agency to return the keys and were not responsible for the replacement of the lock should they not have been prudent enough to keep a spare key between them an d the LL

But as most things I'm not your LL and that's what the deposit protection is there to arbitrate for when a dispute is raised.
Things get interpreted different ways by different people I'm afraid

Should this situation happen again you may wish to consider guaranteed next day delivery for a more safer way of sending the keys...something like £7 but it does need a signature and perhaps the monetary value for compensation as a result of loss would have covered the locksmith if needed.


Something to always consider with hindsight of it happening to you once.

Hi There,

Thank you for your response it really helps massively. I was always a very good tenant never missed rent etc and the condition of the house was so poor it was unreal. In December 2015 we had sewerage leaking into the kitchen a part of the ceiling was removed and my family and i blitzed the kitchen area even to the date we moved out October this year there is still said hole in the ceiling and the kitchen well it was just awful. The house itself was very old and you could tell alot of overpainting had been done as it was peeling away from skirting boards doors etc also the house was severely subsiding but as i knew it wasn't ever going to be my permanent home i decided to put up and shut up i suppose. i took pictures of everything and sent it all over to them etc.
So for them to have the cheek to say i need to pay for the locks has rattled my cage a little as i could of cost them alot more

lisyloo

Carptackle89 wrote: »

haha this made me smile although its not £50 i will lose unfortunately more into the £100's. Its Royal Mail that only cover up £50. I have said to the EA that i am going to see where i legally stand and if it ends up that i am responsible for paying for the lock to be changed then i am entitled to have atleast 3 quotes for a locksmith and no just willingly accept what they offer.

ok, but I wouldn't get into negotiating costs.
The postal service was THEIR choice not yours.
If they'd insisted you sent it special delivery and you didn't then it would be your fault but you did exactly what they specified.

Carptackle89

lisyloo wrote: »

ok, but I wouldn't get into negotiating costs.
The postal service was THEIR choice not yours.
If they'd insisted you sent it special delivery and you didn't then it would be your fault but you did exactly what they specified.

Hiya, yes this is exactly the reason ive gone back to them advising that im not happy about footing the bill. His exact words were "The landlord has arranged to have the locks changed and this will have to come out of your deposit"
I dont see why it "has to" come out of my deposit considering i did exactly what they asked me to do!.

I do however need to seek some formal advice maybe from CAB? Just to go back to them with a definitive answer as who is responsible for paying.

Thanks for all the responses they have been a massive help

HampshireH

Just out of interest have they ever been round or sent a boiler man round etc without you being home. Therefore evidencing the fact they have a spare set of keys?

If so you could use this info to your advantage. I.e. what happened to the set you hold in the office for maintenance and emergencies.

Worth asking the question. Even if you have never had this happen if it is alluded to in the contract or at any other time make use of it.

You could even go down the lines of "when i moved in i thought that the LA held a spare set of keys in case of emergencies or the LL ever needed access. Do you not have a spare set?"

That way you arent saying they told you they do but that you had assumed. Therefore asking a legitimate question.

lisyloo

when i emailed them a few days before my tenancy ended to ask what the process was and this was when he asked me to post the keys via recorded post.

We have a 139 page (I kid you not) itinerary.
We went through it and listed damage at the start so we wouldn't be liable at the end.


Yours sounds very amateurish.

societys_child

How did you receive the keys at the start of the tenancy, I presume they weren't posted to you?

AdrianC

lisyloo wrote: »

We have a 139 page (I kid you not) itinerary.
We went through it and listed damage at the start so we wouldn't be liable at the end.


Yours sounds very amateurish.

Perhaps, but I bet they can spell "inventory"...

takman

Carptackle89 wrote: »

The estate agents have emailed me today stating that they are arranging a locksmith to change the front door locks only and they will be deducted this amount from my deposit. Surely they cannot do this as i did all i was suppose to do?
they are saying that i can claim it back through royal mail but the royal mail only covers up to £50!
I really am at a loss of what to do now.

Everyone is assuming they are changing the locks because they don't have another set of keys.

But to me it sounds like they have another set but are changing the locks for security reasons due to the keys being lost in the post.

Can you confirm which is the case?

parkrunner

Carptackle89 wrote: »

Hiya, yes this is exactly the reason ive gone back to them advising that im not happy about footing the bill. His exact words were "The landlord has arranged to have the locks changed and this will have to come out of your deposit"
I dont see why it "has to" come out of my deposit considering i did exactly what they asked me to do!.

I do however need to seek some formal advice maybe from CAB? Just to go back to them with a definitive answer as who is responsible for paying.

Thanks for all the responses they have been a massive help

No you don't. Just claim through the deposit service stating you did exactly as the agency told you and hopefully you have written proof of this.

lisyloo

takman wrote: »

Everyone is assuming they are changing the locks because they don't have another set of keys.

But to me it sounds like they have another set but are changing the locks for security reasons due to the keys being lost in the post.

Can you confirm which is the case?

What difference does that make?
It was still their choice not to use a properly insured service .