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I am assisting a friend in legal action she is taking against the company that factors her building. The case seems like it should be an easy win, but I'm unsure where to initiate the action. It has been suggested that I begin with the First Tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) to obtain a judgement against the Property Factor on the basis that they failed to carry out their duties as described in their Written Statement of Service and then pursue an Ordinary Procedure to seek damages. The suggestion is that if the First Tier Tribunal issues a judgement against the Property Factor, they are more likely to settle the case before further action is taken. However, my friend wants to go straight to an Ordinary Procedure.
The facts of the case are fairly simple. My friend returned home to find her bathroom filled with sewage. The cause was identified as a choked (communal) drain directly adjacent to her bathroom. She contacted the Property Factor to report the problem. According to their Written Statement of Service, they will address emergency repairs within twenty-four hours. The following day, the Property Factor sent out a company to empty the septic tank. That company, as well as my friend and two neighbours, contacted the Property Factor to tell them that the problem was not the septic tank and emptying the septic tank had done nothing to fix the problem. The Property Factor thereafter took eight days to send out a company to clear the blocked drain. Due to this delay, sewage and blackwater flooded my friend's hall, bedroom, lounge and kitchen.
Later that same month, the drain was again blocked. My friend reported the blockage to the Property Factor. This time it took them thirty-one days to send out a company to clear the blockage resulting in more damage to her home. Subsequently, a company was sent in to decontaminate the property. They advised that the wet carpets should be removed and drying equipment used as a matter of urgency to prevent further damage. The Property Factor took a further four months to remove the carpets and, by then, much of my friend's belongings had been destroyed by mould and stank of sewage.
My friend wants compensation for the destroyed property (around £4,000) and for the distress of being forced out of her home for nearly eleven months until the damage had been repaired. We have an expert who will testify that had the leak been addressed within the twenty-four hours as stated in the Written Statement of Services, my friend would likely have been out of her home for no more than four weeks and the damage to her belongings would have been limited to those in the bathroom. The Property Factor also refused to provide any information pertaining to the insurance, as required under the Property Factor Code of Conduct, and has ignored the formal complaint she submitted to them despite committing to acknowledge receipt of the complaint in one working day and address the complaint within five working days. Instead, they have sent to a debt collection agency the factoring bills she refused to pay during the last six months she was out of her home (she had to pay for alternative accommodation out of her own pocket, explained to them that she couldn't afford to pay the factoring fees as well, and was told "not to worry about it").
I want to help her get the compensation she deserves and feel that the First Tier Tribunal is the right first step as it will provide leverage and could potentially result in their license to operate as a Property Factor being revoked (this is not the first time they have failed in their duties and breached the code of conduct). Any advice would be appreciated.
The facts of the case are fairly simple. My friend returned home to find her bathroom filled with sewage. The cause was identified as a choked (communal) drain directly adjacent to her bathroom. She contacted the Property Factor to report the problem. According to their Written Statement of Service, they will address emergency repairs within twenty-four hours. The following day, the Property Factor sent out a company to empty the septic tank. That company, as well as my friend and two neighbours, contacted the Property Factor to tell them that the problem was not the septic tank and emptying the septic tank had done nothing to fix the problem. The Property Factor thereafter took eight days to send out a company to clear the blocked drain. Due to this delay, sewage and blackwater flooded my friend's hall, bedroom, lounge and kitchen.
Later that same month, the drain was again blocked. My friend reported the blockage to the Property Factor. This time it took them thirty-one days to send out a company to clear the blockage resulting in more damage to her home. Subsequently, a company was sent in to decontaminate the property. They advised that the wet carpets should be removed and drying equipment used as a matter of urgency to prevent further damage. The Property Factor took a further four months to remove the carpets and, by then, much of my friend's belongings had been destroyed by mould and stank of sewage.
My friend wants compensation for the destroyed property (around £4,000) and for the distress of being forced out of her home for nearly eleven months until the damage had been repaired. We have an expert who will testify that had the leak been addressed within the twenty-four hours as stated in the Written Statement of Services, my friend would likely have been out of her home for no more than four weeks and the damage to her belongings would have been limited to those in the bathroom. The Property Factor also refused to provide any information pertaining to the insurance, as required under the Property Factor Code of Conduct, and has ignored the formal complaint she submitted to them despite committing to acknowledge receipt of the complaint in one working day and address the complaint within five working days. Instead, they have sent to a debt collection agency the factoring bills she refused to pay during the last six months she was out of her home (she had to pay for alternative accommodation out of her own pocket, explained to them that she couldn't afford to pay the factoring fees as well, and was told "not to worry about it").
I want to help her get the compensation she deserves and feel that the First Tier Tribunal is the right first step as it will provide leverage and could potentially result in their license to operate as a Property Factor being revoked (this is not the first time they have failed in their duties and breached the code of conduct). Any advice would be appreciated.