Flipping Work men..Arrrrrrr

[seasprout]

This happened to my Dad, they cut into his section of guttering and glued a crap join which then persistently leaked on my Dads side for quite a while, but my dad gets on OK with his neighbours and they called the guys back to fix it...which they did well. No more leak.

Hope you get sorted.

[ginger ninger]

Sorry for not getting back, just got back from my Dad's, he's not very well the Dr thinks its flu but he has emphysema as well so he's not doing too well.

Anyway, I stopped OH from kicking three shades out of the workmen, they went on there way about 3.10, not before OH got the ladders out and went and had a look at what damage they'd done, that's when I had to stop world war 3, I got back on the phone to find out why the surveyor hadn't phoned me back, his "secretary" said he was out for the afternoon...Arrrrrrrrr.
So OH's given them an ultimatum, get him to phone me before 1 'o' clock tomorrow to arrange a time for them to come and fix the guttering or we'll have it fixed and take them to court for the damages.
Now the ball's in there court you could say.

O, they didn't touch the back....I don't think they dare with my pet HE-MAN at home

[Jeanied]

Gosh, what a hassle, Ginger - I hope it all works out for you! And if it doesn't - sue the socks off 'em. How dare they mess up your property.
(If that doesn't work - don't go to any expense as it may be counter-productive. How are you at ladders btw? Guttering isn't that hard a job to diy- but don't tell em that!)
By the way - it sounds like they have put the wrong size guttering up for the area of the roof they are working on - in other words they have done a botch job on the house next door, regardless of the way they have messed your guttering up.

[ginger ninger]

Its really pigged me off, our house is 150 years old, we have to put wood guttering up because it in keeping with the rest of the houses around us, then these ding bats come and do this, its just not on. OH went mental at them, he wasn't in the best of moods anyway...I'll be so glad when this years finished.

[green thing]

quote the party wall act at them
they can only cut up to the middle of the party wall anything past that its classed as damage to your property . if it's wooden guttering the joints do go soft and it's very hard to get a fixing into them and you have to cut (onto your side) until you find a hard bit.
tell them to cut it on the party wall line and replace your damaged guttering with a new bit to match next doors
green thing : )

[ginger ninger]

When we had our new gutter put up in 2007, our workmen had to cut into the house in questions gutter to get a good join, but we OK'd it with The Housing Association first before we started work and we got it in writing, so there was no need to cut 2 feet plus of our guttering today...it looks a right mess at the front of the house. I'm past mad now, I'm really upset about it.

[Pete C]

Getting upset is the easiest way to lose in a situation like this.

Write a letter to the housing association, and send it guaranteed delivery, so it arrives with 24 hours of posting and has to be signed for.

In your letter, don't argue or debate; there's nothing to debate. State facts, and keep them cold, hard and impersonal.

Firstly, describe the facts, with out emotion.

State that damage has occured to your property, and that HA is liale as the damage was caused by their agents, without agreement of legal permission from yourself.

Demand an explanation of the events leading to the damage, as well as a full breakdown of how they intend to compensate you for the actions of their agents, carried out on their behalf. Give them 28 days to respond (you have to be seen to be giving them a chance for any legal action to suceed).

State that you are informing the HA that they and their agents are not permitted to enter your land and property, nor to molest or intefere with such property with WRITTEN consent, and that such consent will not be given until a settlement over the existing damge has been agreed.

State that you find the HA to be fully responsible and liable for their actions and for actions of the agents they employ. Add that under the law of England and Wales (a legalise point) by giving such notice to the HA, the will be fully and legally responsible for any breaches carried out by either themselves and their agents, and that such actions will be criminal negligence, as they have been informed that these actions are unacceptable without written permission.

State that any criminal act, or negligent act, against your property will lead to unreserved action, which will be pursued without further discussion.


Whatever happens, don't let the HA palm you off onto the contractors. It's their issue. If the contractors return, inform them they you are not giving them permission to enter your property, thast the HA has been informed of this, and that any entry onto your property will be treated as a criminal act and prosecuted as such. If they try to imply they have a right to touch your property, tell them that they need to obtain a court order to allow this.

Basically, if they give you any grief, call the police. The old bill won't be happy, but they also won't allow a bunch of builders to damage your property. It all comes down to liability, which is a word to use often.

Good luck.

[green thing]

don't worry about it
ask then to replace your guttering if they refuse
take some pictures give them a copy of this page Making a Claim
and tell them you will send the claim forms off if its not fix within 14 days
green thing

[ginger ninger]

WOW, Thank You so much Pete C, I'll put a letter together in the morning. And Thank You green thing as well.

[Pete C]

One last thing: include this sentence when mentioning that you hold the HA liable for the damage.

"Having taken advice, any further act upon my property (be that a trespass, damage or other interference), whether by yourself or agents acting on your behalf that occurs without my express written permission, will result in punitive action."

Lawyers love that sh*t!

EDIT: Nearly forgot,and very very important. Don't forget to mark the letter WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

If you understand that, fine if not, read on.

One reason why many small claims fail is because often, people with little or no legal understanding make implicit agreements in their pre-action correspondence. For example, if the tone of your letter is "Fix my gutter or I'll sue you", a lawyer would advise throwing it in the bin. When you go to all the stress and expense of taking action, they'll just turn up, show the letter and explain that they are meeting your demand and that the repair work in on the schedule of works. A busy magistarte will throw the case out.

To ensure that this doesn't happen, between your address and the Dear Xxx bit, simply write in bold capitals (not essential but makes it leap off the page), WITHOUT PREJUDICE. This indicates that nothing in the letter should be understood to prejudice you right to make a claim; it puts the onus for solving te situation on the party receiving the letter.

One final point; don't get too stressed over all this. Most Housing Associations have some ethics and want to be good neighbours, so they'll probably be as annoyed as you and get it put right.

[Hilary B]

One more point. If your house is listed (which I would guess as reason for having to use guttering consistent with age and style), and is attached to next door, why isn't THEIRS listed?
The council's listings officer may be interested in all this.....

[ginger ninger]

I had a phone call from there surveyors this afternoon and He apologized for the inconvenience this has caused me, plus he apologised for the fact they should have contacted me prior to the work been done and if I wasn't satisfied about what had happened...they would repair ALL the guttering at the front and back of the house without any charge to me, I explained to them about the age of our house and that the guttering had All to be the same, he asked why so I told him that our houses were listed...apparently he hadn't been informed of this, talk about egg on his face.
So I'd call that a result, but as to when they'll come to fix the guttering is anyone's guess, so its not really over yet, but it is progress...I'll try and keep you posted.

[Eco-Chic]

I love this forum.

Folk get temporarily mad, but quickly get even

[Incy]

I love this forum.

Folk get temporarily mad, but quickly get even

What a lovely saying. I think I'll be borrowing that as a quote if you don't mind
Glad there's progress Ginger. Good luck and let's hope they sort it quickly and well!

[Eco-Chic]

What a lovely saying. I think I'll be borrowing that as a quote if you don't mind

*Blushes with pleasure* 'tis a wise old saying I made up at whatever the posting time was. You are most welcome to it Incy