Things left in loft after completion

Ditzy_Mitzy

The buyer cannot simply pick a sum from thin air and sue the OP for it.  There are issues. 
Firstly: there is no evidence thus far that the goods in the loft were left there by the OP.  The buyer has had custody of the house for a significant period of time, so could have put whatever it is there herself.  
Secondly: assuming the buyer can provide evidence of the goods having been left behind by the OP, there are no monetary losses.  A condition of the sale contract has been breached, however the OP has offered to put the buyer back into the circumstances she would have been in had the breach not occurred.  
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will expand, but as far as I'm aware the buyer has no case at all.  The contract breach, if it exists, causes the potential for loss to occur.  The loss would be the cost of paying someone to remove the goods from the property, or some notional amount based on the buyer doing it herself.  The OP has made a perfectly reasonable offer to take action to prevent the loss occurring; the action being to remove the offending goods from the buyer's property.  The buyer has denied the OP the opportunity to put things right in a seemingly deliberate attempt to create a loss where none exists.  I simply can't see a judge entertaining that.  

Skiddaw1

It's just ridiculous. What a horrible person she must be! Blimey- at our last house the garden shed was full of accumulated rubbish going back years (including 55 concrete pantiles, several broken sinks and the remains of what had clearly been the outside bog) but we didn't try to take action against our sellers. We just took it all gradually to the local tip. I should call her bluff and ignore her from here onwards. As Ditzy says I don't think she has a case at all.

Octothorpe

Dear me!!! She sounds like fun!

Our vendor left 2 massive wardrobes, a million plant pots, a kids play house, a fitted storage unit, mini green house thingy, a stone bird bath... tbf, we made good use out of all of that 😂

However, I'd never have sued them over it!!

My parents did get some money out of their vendor - on completion day the vendor was told incorrectly the funds hadn't cleared. They left the 3rd bedroom FULL of tatt!!! On purpose. So that was completely wrong.

pinkshoes

To be honest, now you have seen the photo of what is up there, I would revoke the £300 offer and say you will remove them yourself or offer £100 for her to pay someone else to remove them.

Tell her that given her costs are beyond reasonable and disproportionate to the small amount of stuff in the loft, then if she refuses either of your already generous offers, then you are happy for it to go to court. 

I cannot see a judge agreeing to make you pay £600 when you have already offered more than enough, and I doubt the judge would make you pay a court fee given her claim is ridiculous.

warwick2001

I wouldn't worry.

I had a similar situation with my parents, albeit on the other side of the coin (they moved into a house with items left over). When we spoke to our solicitor (not specifically about this issue, but it came up in the conversation), he stated that we (i.e. the new house owners) MUST give the previous owners opportunity to clean out the items. It would be entirely unreasonable for you not to have that opportunity, and I'm pretty sure the judge, if it went that far, would agree. I know lockdown has made this abit more difficult, but even with that taken into account, there is no reasonable reason why a small amount of items must be removed now, and not when lockdown lifts. I'm pretty sure claiming 'cause I want it out my house' is not a reason that would stand up in court, given the circumstances we all find ourselves in.

doingitanyway

Hmmm, due to complete next week and just cleared my loft thoroughly so I don't end up the topic of a thread...

Nik85

Using the images of the loft the new owner provided me with i have obtained a quote from a registered business with correct licences and insurance for removal and disposal. They are quoting in the region of £75 based on what they can see in pics so could be more if they find additional stuff to move.... I've struggled to get any other quotes as the loft is unboarded. Know a few 'man with a van' businesses who would also quote in the region of £100. It seems they also don't deem a skip necessary and seems her quoting £600 is to include a "loft clean"? Surely I am not liable for cleaning an unboarded loft i never used in a 70 yr old house?! I feel like she is tring to extort money from me now rather than mitigate her loss. Any advice before I write my final response to her? I desperately want this resolved without going to court but she won't let me clear it myself.

T.T.D

Dear X,
         I am sorry for the small amount of belongings in the roof space, I don’t dispute my obligations they should have been removed this was an oversight, my sincere apologies.

I do however dispute your demanded costs in which would be incurred to yourself to clear this space, having been given the photographic evidence by your good self, there seems to be a small amount of belongings left over, your demand for £600 to me seems extortionately high.

Quotes I have sought from licensed waste handlers with correct insurance have been around £75.00, good news no skip is needed to limit disruption. Quotes based on your photographic evidence.

As a good will gesture:
I will arrange to have it cleared at my expense. You previously refused this but the offer still stands

I pay you £120 to dispose of the belongings in the loft space. 

I sincerely hope you reconsider your position and this regrettable matter can be resolved swiftly and amicably.

If you choose to stay on the path of litigation through the small claim track and in the event of your loss, your liable to any losses incurred to myself in my defence including: solicitor fees. Travel, food etc.

I look forward to hearing from you, this is my full and final response to this matter. 

NIK85

There is no debt yet! She has not spent 1p on this therefore you owe nothing, so there is no losses, therefore no debt, what there is is a breach of contract by you leaving the items there, she would have to go down the rout of enforcing the contract upon you through the court, again in acting and remaining in honour in the courts minds, your actions would be deemed reasonable and fair by way of offering removal of by yourself or by your costs. 

She would have prove her losses, at the moment she has a best guess guesstimate! 

Scotbot

Why don't you want it to go to court? The worst that could happen is you are ordered to pay her the full £600.  But that is highly unlikely, more likely the court would award her a miminimal sum.You then pay it within 30 days and that is that. It won't affect your credit rating and you wouldn't get a criminal record. You are legally entitled to dispute a payment, it is only an issue if you refuse to comply with the court judgement.

If she takes it to court she will have to pay a £60 fee, my guess is she won't . 

Send her the quote for £75 and tell her you are prepared to pay up to £100. Don't justify it, just a 2 line written response. Less is more. After that just ignore her and if necessary let her try and take it to court. She won't get very far. She is basically a bully and bullies give up when their victim ignores them

Ditzy_Mitzy

I'd be tempted to send her a 'without prejudice' letter explaining that you offer £100 (say, amend as appropriate) in full and final settlement of the claim.  State that further correspondence from the buyer will not be replied to and enclose a cheque for your chosen amount.  
Make a copy and send it Recorded Delivery
If she cashes the cheque, the matter is closed.  She can still start proceedings, but cannot do so having accepted the money.