Troublesome landlord has damaged my property and refuses to pay for repairs

Davy_Jones_II

AdrianC wrote: »

Oops.
Mental note for the future, eh?
Whether it's "easy to source" or not is irrelevant. If he owes anything, he owes its value immediately before the water hit it. Not a penny more.
Which would have made little to no difference to value.
RAM and disk are both cheap and easy to upgrade. So we've got a ballpark for the damage - £600 max, not £1,500.

It’s an Apple laptop, you have no idea if it’s one of the models where RAM can be easily upgraded after purchase. In some it’s soldered in to reduce the size, so what you get when new is what you are stuck with.

Given that you don’t understand the subject, your dismissive tone to the OP is a bit off.

Marvel1

AdrianC wrote: »

Yet a glass of water got knocked onto your laptop bag.

Having a glass of water on a table is mess? Talk about being over the top, oh no I left the TV remote on the sofa when I left for work, the shock, the horror, the mess.

Marvel1

need_an_answer wrote: »

A cautionary tale to all tenants who think its not important to have some form of contents insurance with accidental damage

Its something basic and cheap and it protects your property when you live in shared or rented accommodation.

A laptop is expensive to replace if something untoward should happen to it

Why wouldn't you?

Home owner here and I haven't bothered with accidental cover for contents, only building.

need_an_answer

Marvel1 wrote: »

Home owner here and I haven't bothered with accidental cover for contents, only building.

absolutely your choice what cover you take ...but I assume as a home owner you don't live with other sharers who potentially could damage your property or indeed a LL who has clearly entered your space as requested to rectify an issue and subsequently caused further issue.

But its good to see that potentially you do suggest you have some contents cover....the OP has none.

Lokolo

Marvel1 wrote: »

Having a glass of water on a table is mess? Talk about being over the top, oh no I left the TV remote on the sofa when I left for work, the shock, the horror, the mess.

I would say its a hazard more than a mess. Just as shown by my wife many times (which is why her side of the sofa has many stains over it, from where she leaves food/drinks on the arm rest before knocking it off), and by the OP.

I also read the OP and to be it indicates that the glass fell on a bag, which presumably the laptop was in. I cannot see a laptop losing all life from water getting on a bag (which if its a laptop bag, it more than likely waterproof) which it was in. Having (again my wife) had liquids spilling on to my laptops, and chargers, I've never had them completely fail. Not to say that it doesn't happen, I'm sure it does. I just don't believe the story (either the LL or the OP).

Personally I would refuse to pay for it as well, but then again I wouldn't have been in that position in the first place. Bad landlord, should have done a better job at sorting the mattress at a time when OP was around.

macman

OP can afford £1,500 for a Macbook, but not a fraction of that for contents insurance? Makes no sense to me.
Water and computers are not a good combination, so leaving them next to one another on a bedside table is inevitably going to end badly.
LL had readily agreed to change the mattress: so if the OP was in such discomfort that they had to be signed off work, then what I would have done is agreed a maximum price with the LL and then ordered the mattress I wanted, asking him to refund the purchase price. Mattress delivered by retailer, they dispose of the old one: job done.

sal_III

AdrianC wrote: »

RAM and disk are both cheap and easy to upgrade. So we've got a ballpark for the damage - £600 max, not £1,500.

Not on Macbooks they aren't, at least not on the models from the last 4-5 years (which seems to be the case at that price point).

Get it to Apple and get a quote for the repair, might as well ask them if they sell that model/spec refurbished while you are there. Then use the number for your claim to the LL.

In nay case find a new place to live, even if the LL doesn't serve notice, he will make your life miserable.

In the future get a content insurance, and if you have such dramatic health issues related to bad mattress, consider buying your own.

AdrianC

sal_III wrote: »

Not on Macbooks they aren't, at least not on the models from the last 4-5 years (which seems to be the case at that price point).

I sit corrected.

How utterly ridiculous - but, then, Apple don't seem to give the first toss about their customers anyway.

sal_III

AdrianC wrote: »

I sit corrected.

How utterly ridiculous - but, then, Apple don't seem to give the first toss about their customers anyway.

Yeah, even though i'm a bit of a "fan boy" when it comes to mobiles and tablets, on the PC side they are going steadily downhill. This is why when I was on a market for a new high end laptop this summer I opted for a Dell with 5 years next business day warranty over a Macbook with 1 year warranty and still £500+ cheaper for the same spec. OSX is generally better than Windows 10, but not at that price.

AdrianC

sal_III wrote: »

Yeah, even though i'm a bit of a "fan boy" when it comes to mobiles and tablets...

A friend passed me an old iPhone a while back, when my Android phone died.

I couldn't set it up to use _at all_ without giving Apple my credit card number. No, sorry, not doing that. It's still sat in a cupboard unused. I bought another cheap Android instead.