Advice Needed: Parents being abused and charged for leaving behind furniture in a move.

dazron

Hello. Hope someone here can help us. My elderly mum and dad just sold their 3 bedroom house to downsize to a bungalow. They are mid 70's. During the move they had conversations with the buyer about what to leave. They agreed that they would leave behind wardrobes and some other bits, but they buyers said they didnt want the beds so they took those away.

On the day of the move, the buyers turned up at midday, where they found the removal people moving my mum and dad still at work. My parents hadn't received the email from the solicitor until 12:30 that the money had been exchanged - they were still loading and cleaning. When the buyers turned up the mother of the buyer started shouting and swearing at them saying that there was too much !!!!!! in the house and it wasn't clean. She made my Mum cry. They also shouted that they should have been gone, but as far as my mum and dad were concerned they were waiting for the go-ahead from the solicitors. They were both very upset and shaken up by the experience but I encouraged them to put it behind them and move on. 

This morning they got an email from their solicitor charging them £192 to hire a skip to remove the rubbish left in the house. As far as I can tell there were a couple of black bin bags that they didnt get to take away because they were hassled out of the property. Because they still have friends who are neighbours watched what they put it in and it was mostly things from the garden that they dismantled like an archway and concrete garden ornaments.

Can anyone advise me as to the legality of the situation. I want to go round there and tell them to sling their hook, but I would like to know where we actually stand!

Many thanks in advance...
Here is the copy from the email:

"Good afternoon,

 

Our clients have forwarded us the attached invoice for a skip which they required upon completion due to the amount of rubbish left behind at the property by your clients. They have asked if out of good will, the Sellers will agree to reimburse them for the costs of the skip totalling at £192.00.

 

We look forward to hearing from you once you have liaised with your client.

 

Many thanks and kind regards"

davidmcn

Just ignore. Given the mention of "out of good will", they know there's no legal liability.

xylophone

They have asked if out of good will, the Sellers will agree to reimburse them for the costs of the skip totalling at £192.00.

They don't have to comply - and given the abuse, why would they?

pramsay13

Yes, even the solicitor is embarrassed asking which is why they have written out of good will. 
You can safely ignore it. I wouldn't even bother replying.

Chilli6

No you should not pay and don't have to. They sound like horrible people who had no idea of the process (many people can't move in until the end of the day as obviously the original owner spends the day removing their belongings.)
If they initially wanted certain items then changed their minds, its their own fault and its their own cost for the skip

dazron

Thank you for your initial replies. Your replies are entirely aligned with how I feel about it. Just have no real idea of the legality of it all. The money didn't exchange until 14:00 so I don't know why it all went down the way it did. The mother of the buyer swore that there were two 'active' mugs with tea in it in the kitchen which my mum and dad were using as they cleaned and hoovered. I am livid, to be honest. I was encouraging them to let it go until the email and now I want to go round there myself - which I am sure is a bad idea.

Wanderingpomm

Just block their numbers from your phones and ignore it. They have burnt any kind of goodwill. 

prowla

I think the abuse evaporated any "goodwill".

GraceD_17

Out of interest, how old were this mother and the buyer? You say your parents are in their 70's, anyone with an ounce of human respect wouldn't treat an elderly person in such a way, if they're going to try and claim the money in 'goodwill' i'd be sure to make them and their solicitor aware of the distress they've caused your elderly parents, goodwill would be an apology on their behalf, not yours. 

Comms69

No need to reply at all. But out of courtesy i might reply to the solicitor instructing them to have no further communication regarding this matter

dazron

GraceD_17 said:

Out of interest, how old were this mother and the buyer? You say your parents are in their 70's, anyone with an ounce of human respect wouldn't treat an elderly person in such a way, if they're going to try and claim the money in 'goodwill' i'd be sure to make them and their solicitor aware of the distress they've caused your elderly parents, goodwill would be an apology on their behalf, not yours. 

I think the buyer is a man in his early 40's, his mum - according to my dad (I was working on the day of the move) the mother was around 60. My Dad is 78 and my mum is 75.