I'd like to make a compensation claim against my letting agent - where do I stand? - Page 4

Goth_pixie · 24th January 2008, 12:07am

Addy, hon, any call regarding this would be a "real call". I'm sure your work would understand.

endless psych · 24th January 2008, 12:55am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Addy

Kier, that first one is exactly what I was looking for.

Who the fuck is kier?

Posh · 24th January 2008, 12:58am

Udo says 'Take ze worthless dog for everything ze has!'.

Syxx · 24th January 2008, 12:59am

Stop bullying the letting agent.

**LesMTS** · 24th January 2008, 1:20am

Quote:

Originally Posted by endless psych

Who the fuck is kier?

I before E except after K.

endless psych · 24th January 2008, 1:21am

Quote:

Originally Posted by LesMTS

I before E except after K.

EI EI O.

McLeary · 24th January 2008, 3:11am

Sometimes people like to rag on Addy just for being Addy. This is one such time.

Addy and Ali are holding up their end of their contract by paying their rent in due time, the landlord ain't holding up his end by keeping the flat in good living condition (specifics will be in the lease). To even claim that they don't deserve some kind of restitution for having to go through winter without heating is ridiculous, as is the general fact that no-one seems to be bothering their arse to actually sort it quick-sharp. Les is right about trying to contact the landlord to come to an agreement, but is that even possbile if the let's through an agency? And if not, and the agency aren't arsed, then Citizen's Advice is the way ahead. Admittedly, they might not get anything, but it's worth a try. Shouldn't have to tolerate getting treated like shit just because you're renting off someone.

**Ghostsuit** · 24th January 2008, 9:09am

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLeary

Sometimes people like to rag on Addy just for being Addy. This is one such time.

Addy and Ali are holding up their end of their contract by paying their rent in due time, the landlord ain't holding up his end by keeping the flat in good living condition (specifics will be in the lease). To even claim that they don't deserve some kind of restitution for having to go through winter without heating is ridiculous, as is the general fact that no-one seems to be bothering their arse to actually sort it quick-sharp. Les is right about trying to contact the landlord to come to an agreement, but is that even possbile if the let's through an agency? And if not, and the agency aren't arsed, then Citizen's Advice is the way ahead. Admittedly, they might not get anything, but it's worth a try. Shouldn't have to tolerate getting treated like shit just because you're renting off someone.

Pretty much my thoughts.

If you pay for a service you should get the service. As for all the muppets going on about..has it cost you any money, yes he's paid to have a flat with a working boiler he's got a flat without a working boiler.

While it would probably be better to phone first an email will be fine and make sure you put a time line on the email. State you expect an answer with in 48 hours/3 days or something like that, if you've not had a reply with in the time contact CA. That way they can't just ignore it for a few days and leave you wondering if they will get back to you or when.

Exit_W0unds · 24th January 2008, 12:28pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghostsuit

As for all the muppets going on about..has it cost you any money

LOL, muppets.

Addy · 24th January 2008, 8:06pm

And now the letting agents are claiming the plumbers are lying to us about how long it will take to get parts in

They've told us 3 weeks, but apparently they've told 1st lets 7-10 days.

Before I do anything I'm going to wait until I find out exactly how long it takes.

A measure of how helpful the agents are prepared to be with us should be gained when we contact them to try and get a receipt for the washing machine. That's being done by email in the first instance (since they seem to favour contacting us that way now) but they were pretty resentful at us mentioning it having flooded in the first place (it was bought a month before we moved in) so I guess we just have to hit and hope. It's a £96 call out charge if we can't get it so obviously we're not ducking out of getting onto them over this.

StuntGirl · 28th January 2008, 9:57pm

First of all, read your tenancy agreement, it will tell you what the letting agent will hold itself responsible for. Unfortunately, the letting agent can have recourse by saying that these things take time, everythings always unpredictable, blah blah (this happened to me when my bedroom window fell out). If they do this, speak to your landlord, as if there is a case for negligence, it is quite likely that the landlord will be liable. Unfortunately for you, claiming compensation for wasting time and hurt feelings (it's called solatium, by the way) is a bugger. You have to establish that your landlord or letting agent breached their duty of care towards you. They may argue that the standard of care you recieved from them was reasonable under the circumstances. Since there is no real objective standard, "reasonable care" is enough. If you cant establish this, you dont have a claim.

What i would personally do, is demand reparation from the landlord directly, like Forbes said you could get a months free rent (i did). In this case, i think your case is quite shaky and you could end up saddled with legal bills, etc. Also, if you where thinking of going down the "no win no fee" route, they probably wont touch you as they tend to only take pretty cut and dried cases that they're certain to win. It isn't fair, but sometimes you do have to chalk things up to bad experiences. Also, I'm not sure if they do, but if letting agents have any sort of regulatory body, i'd make a formal complaint to them and also make a personal visit to the letting agent to vent my feelings and demand a quick solution.

i_am_blip · 28th January 2008, 10:36pm

why not vote with your feet and move out?

if they are not honouring the tenancy agreement you should be within your rights to move out.

¡Punk! · 28th January 2008, 10:40pm

Right. Fuck Scientology. Let's all go round to Addy's letting agency on Feb 10th!

endless psych · 28th January 2008, 10:40pm

This thread has me wondering. Ages ago someone told me that if a rented property was deemed un-liveable (is that even a word?

) that the landlord was responsible for putting the tennents up in alternative accomodation (a b and b or the like) for the duration of repairs.

Any legal types want to confirm or deny this?

Addy · 28th January 2008, 10:51pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_am_blip

why not vote with your feet and move out?

if they are not honouring the tenancy agreement you should be within your rights to move out.

Probably are, but given we've both got a hell of a lot on that's considerably more hassle than it's worth right now. If it's even viable at all, which I doubt given my time commitments. If it were practical, then aye I see where you're coming from but between work, looking for work (graduate stuff so not the simple kind of looking for work), exams, my dissertation, and other stuff I've no time at all to look for somewhere else to live