Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

[CleverClogs]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Had you thought of applying Superglue to his door where it meets the door frame? :rofl:

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Hmm. More confusion.

I've just came home to a letter from some company that is apparently a "business law firm". The date on it is 24th April.

It says "we have been instructed by your insurer to advise them whether there is an opportunity to make a recovery of their outlay from the 3rd party if one exists (my neighbour) who may have been responsible for the incident. We will seek to recover your policy excess within the claim."

So... this is the company that is going to try and get the money back off my neighbour once the repairs have been carried out and my insurance has paid out, is that right? And also my £250 excess?

It says my insurance company (RSA, rather than Morethan) is entitled to bring this action in my name. "Please be assured that our involvement does not affect the handling of your insurance claim".

It then goes on to say that the information they currently have is insufficient for them to be able to "fully consider this matter". And that someone (named) from their office will contact me within the next 7 working days to discuss the matter in more detail.

It then says (this is where I get confused). "When we contact you we should be grateful if you could clarify if you have any uninsured losses (losses/costs which your insurance policy does not cover) which you have incurred as a consequence of the incident. If you do have any, we will require you to provide us with full details and copies of all documents that support your uninsured loss claim."

"However, please note that unless proceedings are issued, we will not be recovering your uninsured losses on your behalf. Nevertheless, we require your uninsured loss details in order to ensure that we fully reserve your right to recover these independently of RSA's claim."

I'm not sure what they mean by this. I have buildings and contents insurance. Surely this should cover everything? Help!

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Does this count as a double post? lol

Not heard anything yet from the law company I spoke about yesterday.

Tomorrow I have a painter & decorator coming to see the damage and give me a quote (I also want him to quote for the previous damage to my bathroom). I spoke to an electrician - he wanted £25 just to come out and see it! - and he said that the light will probably work okay when it's dry...

My dad thinks I shouldn't put the kitchen repairs through on my insurance, and just pay for it myself (he said he'd pay it, but I said no). I want that POS upstairs to pay, I don't see why he should get away with it. But it's unlikely that he will pay, even if it was to go through the insurance. My dad reckons he would just ignore any correspondence asking him to pay up. I think he's probably right. It makes me so angry.

Anyway, I'll see how much it's all going to cost tomorrow.

I'm excited about the prospect of getting everything repaired. But fearful that this may happen again.

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Tomorrow I have a painter & decorator coming to see the damage and give me a quote (I also want him to quote for the previous damage to my bathroom).

My dad thinks I shouldn't put the kitchen repairs through on my insurance, and just pay for it myself (he said he'd pay it, but I said no). I want that POS upstairs to pay, I don't see why he should get away with it. But it's unlikely that he will pay, even if it was to go through the insurance. My dad reckons he would just ignore any correspondence asking him to pay up. I think he's probably right. It makes me so angry.

Anyway, I'll see how much it's all going to cost tomorrow.

I'm excited about the prospect of getting everything repaired. But fearful that this may happen again.

Wait and see what the contractor says tomorrow. Ask for a breakdown of any quote so you can see what relates to the old problem and what relates to the new problem (one may be covered by insurance and one may not).

You don't have to reply to that legal letter. They represent the insurance company not you.

One step at a time :hug:

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Yeah, I'll see what he has to say.

I've not to reply to the letter; they're going to call me.

Thanks :hug:

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Yeah, I'll see what he has to say.

Why not take some digital photos (on your mobile phone) as a record of the damage before it's repaired. You're building a file of evidence against your neighbour so if it happens again you've got it all documented hoto:


When the contractor provides his estimate ask him to include the *likely cause* of the problem such as "water coming through from the property above". That should help

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Just got a call from the decorator. He can't make it tonight now, he says he'll come tomorrow instead.

I took pics of the damage already (and a video of the water dripping from the light too!). The woman from the insurance company took her own pics.

I'm a bit confused about the likely cause thing. Is that for insurance purposes?

The guy from the law company called me today. He said he'd call back next week after I've got quotes.

I wonder at what point would it be considered criminal damage, if this was to persistently happen? The leak hasn't started again, but I'm paranoid

eta: does anyone know how I get rid of the mouldy smell? You can smell my kitchen when you walk into the living room, it's horrible. My bathroom doesn't smell at all, for some reason.

[Sapphire]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Here you go, just a simple google http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/od...f-musty-smell/

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Thanks The smell just seems to hang in the air, so maybe a dehumidifier would work? My parents have one.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

My bathroom doesn't smell at all, for some reason.

All the deodorant spray has killed the mould. msl:

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

I don't use a spray, I use a roll on Don't like nasty aerosols

[Madgrrl]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Just spoke to the decorator. He's quoted me £400 all in to fix the damage in my kitchen and bathroom. Kitchen's the cheapest at £50, bathroom is a big job.

I don't see why I should have to pay for someone else's negligence. Not as if I've got loads of money to spare. But I guess I'm going to have to because I doubt my neighbour will cough up a penny of this.

So frustrating. I suppose I could look at it as an 'investment', something that might help me sell this place. But I'm terrified I'll get it done up and it'll happen again before I get the chance to sell up.

My kitchen light is fine btw, the decorator switched it on using a pen lid. All okay. So at least I don't have to get that sorted.

Hmm, I wonder if I could ask to pay the £250 excess against my bathroom instead of the kitchen, and have the insurance cover the rest of that work instead? Although the woman from the insurance did say it'd be £250 excess for both the most recent damage to the bathroom AND another £250 excess for the other damage at the other side of the room.

[ethanarcher012]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

Yeh, its better to consult you insurance company as this property solely belongs to you.

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

I wonder at what point would it be considered criminal damage, if this was to persistently happen? The leak hasn't started again, but I'm paranoid .

Why would it be criminal damage unless he deliberately poured the water through the ceiling into your flat rather than being a bit splashy in the bath :bathbaby:

[PlanB]

Re: Neighbour's continuing damage to my home

He's quoted me £400 all in to fix the damage in my kitchen and bathroom. Kitchen's the cheapest at £50, bathroom is a big job.

I don't see why I should have to pay for someone else's negligence. Not as if I've got loads of money to spare. But I guess I'm going to have to because I doubt my neighbour will cough up a penny of this.

So frustrating. I suppose I could look at it as an 'investment', something that might help me sell this place. But I'm terrified I'll get it done up and it'll happen again before I get the chance to sell up.

My kitchen light is fine btw, the decorator switched it on using a pen lid. All okay. So at least I don't have to get that sorted.

Hmm, I wonder if I could ask to pay the £250 excess against my bathroom instead of the kitchen, and have the insurance cover the rest of that work instead? Although the woman from the insurance did say it'd be £250 excess for both the most recent damage to the bathroom AND another £250 excess for the other damage at the other side of the room.

One of your problems is the large excess you have on your insurance policy. If you only had a £50 excess (or a nil excess) then most if not all the work would be covered and you wouldn't be stressing. Is it fair to blame your neighbour for your choice of insurance cover :noidea:

You seem to have got multiple claims going on (3 different areas of the flat?) but are they really all his fault or is it just the area around the bathroom light which keeps coming back? You say the kitchen issue is damp/mould but you haven't said where it's coming from or how your neighbour is responsible for causing it. If that damp has built up over time from an historical leak from the flat above then the insurance company may argue that it's your fault (the damp) for not dealing with it promptly first time. With respect the decorator has quoted only £50 to fix the problem so it can't have been massive damage. Have you approached your neighbour about the kitchen issue as well as the bathroom over the years?
:washing:

I'm not belittling your problems but the insurance company or any court presented with these facts will have to determine the difference between your neighbour's 'negligence' and your duty to fix up damage when it happens and not leave the area to degenerate and consequently cause further damage like damp.

Old properties need lots of maintenance and repairs which can become a burden. Things like your kitchen lightswitch which only needed a 'nudge in the right direction' by your decorator to fix is a prime example.

Perhaps the real issue is whether you've simply fallen out of love with your old property because of its high utility bills and ongoing repairs as well as your neighbour's negative attitude towards you, so moving on is not such a bad idea after all. He is what he is. You can't change him but you can change your attitude towards him or sell up and remove yourself from the irritant.

In the meantime you can hit him with a bill for the £250 excess on your insurance claim. You'll have to send him a Letter Before Action before you can issue a court claim:

http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/taking-action/small-claims in Scotland

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mc...nt-information online in England & Wales only