Furniture removed from communal area

[Bigsis]

My son, partner & their 2 small children have rented a ground floor flat through a Lettings Agency for 2 and half years. Due to another rent increase they gave notice to leave. On the Friday they used a friends van to remove everything from the flat with the exception of 2 sofas, which they were unable to get out the front door or the patio doors. When they were delivered they were assembled inside the flat. They told the Agency Manager they had a problem with the sofas, but would dismantle & remove them. On the Monday my son got hold of the right screwdrivers etc & put the sofa parts in the large communal hallway, making sure they did not block any doors or fire exits. Later that afternoon they had an email to say they had failed the inspection, the last comment was that the furniture was to be removed. He was unable to use his friends van until the Friday as he needed it for work, then it broke down. So my son arranged for a 'man & van' to collect the sofas on the following Tuesday, when he got to there they were gone.

He contacted the Lettings Agency Manager to ask where his sofas were, she said they had a complaint from the Managing Agents & she had disposed of them. He had no email or phone call to inform him of the complaint or give him notice of their intention to dispose of the sofas. They will not tell him how they disposed of them or communicate with him. The were bought on finance over 5 years and is still paying for them monthly.

Can you advise on how he handles this situation, so he can recover the cost of the sofas.

[des8]

Re: Furniture removed from communal area

Seems to me the Lettings Agency Manager now has a problem!
She knew the sofa was to be left in the hallway for later collection.
In moving it she became a bailee and should not have disposed of it without first taking certain steps eg giving notice that the goods would be disposed off if not collected within a certain time.
As she was acting as an agent of the Management Agents, they or their principals are liable to recompense your son to te value of replacement of the sofa.
cf Torts (Interference with goods)Act 1977 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/32
[MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION] will have further useful comments

[Diana M]

Re: Furniture removed from communal area

they had an email to say they had failed the inspection, the last comment was that the furniture was to be removed.

. . . . when he got to there they were gone. He contacted the Lettings Agency Manager to ask where his sofas were, she said they had a complaint from the Managing Agents & she had disposed of them. He had no email or phone call to inform him of the complaint or give him notice of their intention to dispose of the sofas. They will not tell him how they disposed of them or communicate with him.

They may not communicate with him but that doesn't stop him communicating with them loud and clear!

I would tell him to make a formal complaint (in writing) to the agent.

Include evidence of the cost of replacement sofas (original invoice or quote for like-for-like new ones etc) and ask for reimbursement for his loss.

If that doesn't work (which I doubt ) then escalate the complaint to whichever third party redress scheme the agency is a member as required by law. There are three >

1. https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how...ke-a-complaint

2. https://www.ombudsman-services.org/s...anaging-agents

3. http://www.theprs.co.uk/Consumer

The Ombudsman schemes are free to use.

The were bought on finance over 5 years and is still paying for them monthly.

If the sofas were purchased on finance it would be unwise for him to stop paying while this gets sorted because it could impact on his credit rating (a Default registered on his CRA files).

Secondly, what did the agent mean by "failed the inspection"?

I presume this was the Inventory Check-Out and perhaps a potential argument over the return of his Deposit.

Di

[R0b]

Re: Furniture removed from communal area

I would start with what Diana has said to begin with, but Des is also right should you want to take steps further than that.

I wold only add that you might want to check the finance agreement because there is usually a right for the lender to terminate the agreement if the goods have been disposed of or are no longer in your possession (if it wasn't a personal loan agreement). It would also be helpful to know what sort of finance agreement it was such as a loan or a hire purchase type agreement. There could be issues with the latter type of agreement if there is a balloon payment and your son wishes to return the sofa instead of paying the balloon amount as the sofa is not the original sofa that would have been purchased.

If it was me and the finance was just a loan, then a replacement of the sofa might be fine but if it was a hire purchase type agreement, your son might want to consider the letting agency paying the remaining finance amount plus a little extra on top for loss of use e.g. the month or months it has not been used and then getting a new one.

[Bigsis]

Re: Furniture removed from communal area

Hi R0b

Thanks for your reply. My son has been trying to get in touch with Hitachi to find out more details. The furniture, a 2 seater & 3 seater sofa, was bought from DFS on a 5 year loan agreement through Hitachi. They were unable to send details by email but said they would post out the information which could take up to 7 days. The total cost was £1547 & has £547.74 left to pay. When he gets the letter he can send a copy to the Letting Agents.