Vendor's taking listed fixtures and fittings.

UnderOffer

Does seem petty that the vendor took the bedroom carpets etc., I was wondering if there had been some last minute price negotiations before exchange or did the survey reveal some issues which meant price reduced slightly and vendors then took as much as they could when leaving as felt upset. They may have filled in the fixtures form before all this happened. 

AdrianC

Pepod said:

I'll ask another question for the OP's potential benefit.

Could they also be asking for a sum for inconvenience/put out that this breach of contract has caused?

No.

Let me rephrase that answer...
Yes, they can ask.
No, they almost certainly won't get anywhere.
By the time they've launched a court claim and come up with a wet-finger figure for "inconvenience", the chances that a court will order it to be paid are minimal.

Whilst I agree that they can only charge for second hand goods, that won't obviously match the cost to replace them, and I'm thinking things like replacing the cooker which is pretty essential for normal living and won't have been budgeted/planned for to replace straight away.

They are owed the like-for-like value.
Not a penny more.

Most towns will have somewhere that sells second-hand cookers cheap, or gumtree/fb marketplace will usually turn up something perfectly serviceable being removed from a kitchen being refurbished.

Even a new one can be bought for less than £200. https://ao.com/product/ks530w-beko-electric-cooker-white-50398-11.aspx

GDB2222

On the carpets, your claim is for new carpets of comparable quality, including fitting. That’s then reduced by the number of years that the carpets were down for before, compared to their lifetime.

 The old carpets must have been pretty new and of good quality, or the sellers would not have taken them. So, just estimate that they were a year old. Take the lifetime as 15 years. That means you are claiming 14/15ths of the cost of brand new, good quality carpets of your own choosing. 

Likewise, with the cooker, the curtains.... In each case, estimate a generous lifetime and a short time in use. 

Of course, the sellers will squeal like crazy, and you’ll probably need to settle for half or two thirds of that. I doubt it would go to court, but if it does you can expect that the judge will be sympathetic. You have definitely been wronged, so it’s just a matter of the quantum of damages, and the judge would require the sellers to provide all their old receipts if they want to challenge your figures.  You will, of course, need to keep all your records for the replacements.

GDB2222

Court fees:-

If the claim is between £1500 and £3000, the issue fee via MCOL is £105.

If it goes to a hearing, the trial fee is £170.

You would normally get those back if you win your claim. 

Even if you total up your loss and it comes to more than £3000, it’s worth considering limiting your claim to £3000, as there’s a jump in court fees above that level. 

Good luck.

GDB2222

By the way, in case it helps, our bedroom carpet was well used when we moved in 22 years ago, and we have not changed it yet. So maybe 15 years is an understatement of life for a bedroom carpet? They don’t get the same traffic as the stairs or living room.

House13

What use do people have with taking carpets?

AdrianC

House13 said:

What use do people have with taking carpets?

Perhaps they want them for a room smaller than the original.

pinkteapot

AdrianC said:

House13 said:

What use do people have with taking carpets?

Perhaps they want them for a room smaller than the original.

Yep, my mum recently changed her lounge carpet and the one taken out was still in good condition, so the fitter fitted it in a spare bedroom she'd been meaning to re-carpet at some point. Fitter suggested it - she hadn't thought of it - saved her hundreds on a new one for that room!

pinkteapot

UnderOffer said:

Does seem petty that the vendor took the bedroom carpets etc., I was wondering if there had been some last minute price negotiations before exchange or did the survey reveal some issues which meant price reduced slightly and vendors then took as much as they could when leaving as felt upset. They may have filled in the fixtures form before all this happened. 

Even if any of that happened, it's irrelevant. The F&F form is part of the contract. Legally, you can't breach a contract just because you're upset. 

House13

AdrianC said:

House13 said:

What use do people have with taking carpets?

Perhaps they want them for a room smaller than the original.

I mean ive seen it done but it never looks right due to the difference in wear areas.