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Damage To Flat Below
I was planning to retire shortly from my warehouse job and I moved into some shared accommodation, which was just meant as a temporary move before I move into a single flat when it comes available. Not long after moving into the shared accommodation I accidentally caused some water damage which then leaked into a room in the flat below.
Some students are sharing below and the water leak I caused damaged some of their property. One student had her MacBook damaged beyond repair as well as some of her furniture. It also damaged an iPad and an electronic keyboard belonging to the other student. She also had some clothes that were ruined. They also had to temporarily move out while the damage to the flat was repaired.
I had tenants insurance but had not relalised it was not valid for shared accommodation and my claim for the damage was denied. The students below had no insurance at all. I do accept that it was my negligence that caused the damage, but the students asked for £5000 for their damaged property, the damage put together could total up to be expensive but I think £5000 may be a bit excessive. They say they have receipts to back it up and will be suing me in the small claims court for the full amount.
If I have to pay for all of this, it could well mess up my retirement plan. I know the students would need to show evidence of their damage, but even if they can, I wondered as they were uninsured, should they be suing me?
Some students are sharing below and the water leak I caused damaged some of their property. One student had her MacBook damaged beyond repair as well as some of her furniture. It also damaged an iPad and an electronic keyboard belonging to the other student. She also had some clothes that were ruined. They also had to temporarily move out while the damage to the flat was repaired.
I had tenants insurance but had not relalised it was not valid for shared accommodation and my claim for the damage was denied. The students below had no insurance at all. I do accept that it was my negligence that caused the damage, but the students asked for £5000 for their damaged property, the damage put together could total up to be expensive but I think £5000 may be a bit excessive. They say they have receipts to back it up and will be suing me in the small claims court for the full amount.
If I have to pay for all of this, it could well mess up my retirement plan. I know the students would need to show evidence of their damage, but even if they can, I wondered as they were uninsured, should they be suing me?
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If they don't have receipts for the valuable items, unless they paid for them by cash, there should be a transaction on their bank account.
If they say it was cash, where did that come from?
What you need to think is, if you were in the same position with no receipts, how would you prove you owned the items and what age they were?
If the expensive items were in the same area, is that likely or is it inherently improbable?
Do their versions of events stand up, are they consistent? If there are various folk involved, do their accounts match up?
I hope you're getting the message not to accept everything at face-value and you must take time to do some research.
If they say it was cash, where did that come from?
What you need to think is, if you were in the same position with no receipts, how would you prove you owned the items and what age they were?
If the expensive items were in the same area, is that likely or is it inherently improbable?
Do their versions of events stand up, are they consistent? If there are various folk involved, do their accounts match up?
I hope you're getting the message not to accept everything at face-value and you must take time to do some research.
THECORBYLOOON, there are only the two girl students involved, they share the flat below. They say they have receipts for their damaged items and that they will compile an itemised list and them forward it to me.
From what they have said, their version of events does sound legit to me, however I do indeed get the message that I should not just accept everything at face value and I need to fully research this.
To be fair to them, both girls have told me that they will provide me with a full itemised list of the damage which they say comes to around £5000, then rather than accept a payment in instalments offer, they would prefer to sue me for the full cost and let a court decide how much I have to pay them. Maybe that might even be the better for me as this could get rather tricky for me to decide whether everything in their claim is legit like you suggest.
From what they have said, their version of events does sound legit to me, however I do indeed get the message that I should not just accept everything at face value and I need to fully research this.
To be fair to them, both girls have told me that they will provide me with a full itemised list of the damage which they say comes to around £5000, then rather than accept a payment in instalments offer, they would prefer to sue me for the full cost and let a court decide how much I have to pay them. Maybe that might even be the better for me as this could get rather tricky for me to decide whether everything in their claim is legit like you suggest.
It should only go to court if you refuse to pay or can't agree how much to pay.
I really don't know why they are so keen to go to court with the costs involved if you can come to an agreement.
To make a proper decision the courts would need a report from a loss assessor which is going to be expensive. You can't expect the court to determine the value of a used laptop and a second hand skirt without such a report, and of course if the girls do employ a loss assessor you should employ your own, too.
I really don't know why they are so keen to go to court with the costs involved if you can come to an agreement.
To make a proper decision the courts would need a report from a loss assessor which is going to be expensive. You can't expect the court to determine the value of a used laptop and a second hand skirt without such a report, and of course if the girls do employ a loss assessor you should employ your own, too.
hc4361, I won't refuse to pay but it is quite possible we won't agree on the actual amount of damages, that depends on what evidence they can show. I've never been to a small claims court but I thought it was quite a straight forward and inexpensive procedure?
I think the girls are looking at taking this through a court for various reasons. I admitted that I did mess up badly with doing a job and then had to tell them I had no insurance cover because I also messed up with that and I also had to tell them that I would not be able to pay for the damage up front and would need to pay in instalments.
So they likely feel no confidence or trust in me paying and keeping up with instalment payments and so feel that going through court is the better option for them.
I was told away from here that if payment in instalments is breached following a court judgement, claimants can then apply for something called an attachment of earnings where future payments can be taken from wages directly by their employer.
They may be aware of that and I totally understand their annoyance with all of this so overall they seem to feel that a small claims court is their best option. If they do decide it is, I guess that apart from being able to pay them in full, there would be nothing I could do to stop them.
I think the girls are looking at taking this through a court for various reasons. I admitted that I did mess up badly with doing a job and then had to tell them I had no insurance cover because I also messed up with that and I also had to tell them that I would not be able to pay for the damage up front and would need to pay in instalments.
So they likely feel no confidence or trust in me paying and keeping up with instalment payments and so feel that going through court is the better option for them.
I was told away from here that if payment in instalments is breached following a court judgement, claimants can then apply for something called an attachment of earnings where future payments can be taken from wages directly by their employer.
They may be aware of that and I totally understand their annoyance with all of this so overall they seem to feel that a small claims court is their best option. If they do decide it is, I guess that apart from being able to pay them in full, there would be nothing I could do to stop them.
That quite correct, they can apply for an attachment of earnings or get the bailiffs in - but they can do that if you draw up a legal agreement between you without going through the courts. If you breach that agreement it is then a very simple and straightforward process for them to apply to the court for enforcement.
You all seem to think that the court will look at their itemised list and magic a figure from that. That is not the way it works. The court is not going to look at each item of clothing and determine either that it needs to be replaced, it's value or if it can be cleaned.
As you admit liability the only thing for a court to determine is the amount - and for that they need at least one report from a loss assessor.
You all seem to think that the court will look at their itemised list and magic a figure from that. That is not the way it works. The court is not going to look at each item of clothing and determine either that it needs to be replaced, it's value or if it can be cleaned.
As you admit liability the only thing for a court to determine is the amount - and for that they need at least one report from a loss assessor.
hc4361, they said not, but did not know why, maybe because of shared accommodation as that was the issue with my insurance.
From the comments I've received on here and what I have read, I doubt the girl who has the damaged clothing would get anything for that other than the cost of cleaning, I think the same about the furniture. It is the electronic equipment that are the main items and the most expensive. Again from the other comments it seems as if a court would award damages for the replacement value of these items providing evidence is provided.
From the comments I've received on here and what I have read, I doubt the girl who has the damaged clothing would get anything for that other than the cost of cleaning, I think the same about the furniture. It is the electronic equipment that are the main items and the most expensive. Again from the other comments it seems as if a court would award damages for the replacement value of these items providing evidence is provided.
Interesting comments Neveracrossword, I do appreciate all views posted whatever opinions anyone has, but it would be interesting to hear anyone's comments on what they would say if it were the students themselves or their parents who had posted. If anyone wants to look at it that way, I would be interested to hear your views.
Texman, my post was sparked off by noticing how many posters were making sure that you weren't going to be fleeced, taken for a ride! If the victims were the ones posting, I think we'd all be saying 'Make sure the guy upstairs doesn't leave you in a worse off position' or 'If he's not going to pay the full cost of the damage, let the courts sort it - you've done absolutely nothing wrong.'
Very interesting Neveracrossword! I guess that when a member posts a question, they are asking for advice so most who reply will advise the member posting the question what they think is best for them. So replies could well have been very different if it were the students who posted about the scenario.
In scenarios like this I would guess it is quite likely that either party could try to fleece the other so the students could be trying it on but I’ll keep an open mind on it until the show me their itemised list of the damage. When I have some of this information, I may post another question so that members can assess it more from both sides.
In scenarios like this I would guess it is quite likely that either party could try to fleece the other so the students could be trying it on but I’ll keep an open mind on it until the show me their itemised list of the damage. When I have some of this information, I may post another question so that members can assess it more from both sides.
Yes Neveracrossword, both of my children were once uni students and I would have been extremely annoyed it this had happened to them so I don’t blame you at all for looking at it from the students side.
What you said in your earlier reply to TCL was correct, the girls did say they would provide receipts and evidence of the prices of the damaged items are on sale for now.
It’s a good point you mention about the students not expecting to wait years to be put back into the position they were before this. Just suppose I offered to pay in full but I said I would pay them back in instalments over three years or even longer, I doubt they would take that as acceptable! I really do not know how a court would view that?
Quite a few have advised that going to a court should be a last resort which I do accept if a realistic settlement is offered like you have suggested, it is just that the students may not feel it is realistic. I think these girls are feeling they don’t trust me and I can’t say I blame them. I guess like you said, if they had posted, a lot of members would have replied back saying don’t trust this guy at all, he won’t keep up with his payments so take him to court!
What you said in your earlier reply to TCL was correct, the girls did say they would provide receipts and evidence of the prices of the damaged items are on sale for now.
It’s a good point you mention about the students not expecting to wait years to be put back into the position they were before this. Just suppose I offered to pay in full but I said I would pay them back in instalments over three years or even longer, I doubt they would take that as acceptable! I really do not know how a court would view that?
Quite a few have advised that going to a court should be a last resort which I do accept if a realistic settlement is offered like you have suggested, it is just that the students may not feel it is realistic. I think these girls are feeling they don’t trust me and I can’t say I blame them. I guess like you said, if they had posted, a lot of members would have replied back saying don’t trust this guy at all, he won’t keep up with his payments so take him to court!
When my ground floor flat was flooded after a fire above and all my clothes got soaked I claimed for the whole ruddy lot of them, plus new bed carpet the lot. Sorry your fault so find a way to pay up even if it means taking a loan. Why should they be without their stuff because of your careless behaviour.
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