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To pay or not ?

13 replies

hannabanana · 30/11/2012 18:57

Any advice ? We have an end of terrace Victorian house with what would have been a shared chimney at the back . Next door have had theirs removed not sure when but our half is left and in a poor state of repair . Our neighbour told us she was getting damp through into her room , and probably due to our chimney , we had informed her it would be removed as part of a big extension we are having done , this has now started . She has in the meantime had her room replastered and injected by a damp 'specialist ' and wants us to pay £1000 towards this . We feel this is a ) too expensive b) she never gave us the opportunity to get a cheaper quote and c ) there is no definate evidence it was from our chimney , she's now threatening us with small claims ! Any advice please ?

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purplewithred · 30/11/2012 18:59

She is nuts. No way can she expect you to pay for this without you having had the chance to accept responsibility and agree the price. Small claims will laugh at her.

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hannabanana · 30/11/2012 19:03

Thank you , it's soo difficult as she's a nice women and this is going to bugger up our neighbourly relationship but we feel that if we give in this time it could be the start of a long list of things that we are expected to foot the bill for .

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lalalonglegs · 30/11/2012 19:42

How can your chimney be causing her rising damp Confused? Maybe PigletJohn will be along to explain?

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Sausagedog27 · 30/11/2012 20:06

She has got no claim! Could you argue that the issue stem from the works they have done in removing their half of the chimney? She can't just undertake works to her own property and expect you to pay.

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hannabanana · 30/11/2012 20:23

It's not rising damp , the houses are rendered and the rendering is is a bad state , she claims she has emailed and sent a letter but I haven't recievrd these , arghhhh , I need a house in the middle of a field !

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VivaLeBeaver · 30/11/2012 20:27

Sue her back for damaging your chimmey by her removing her half of it!

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digerd · 30/11/2012 20:47

For the small claims court to accept her claim she must have a structural engineers report substantiating her claim.

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hannabanana · 30/11/2012 20:56

Thanks everyone, will she have a claim if she has gone ahead and had the works with a firm, and quote she has decided on, even if it would be deemed to be our responsibility ?

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VivaLeBeaver · 30/11/2012 22:20

No she won't. As she will have gone about it the wrong way.

In the very, very, very unlikely event it would be deemed to be your fault. Possibly the court might say you need to make a contribution. But not pay the whole lot as you wouldn't have had chance for cheaper quotes, etc.

But firstly it doesn't sound like its your fault.

Secondly even if it was, she can't prove it after the work has been done. There's nothing to assess then.

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VivaLeBeaver · 30/11/2012 22:24

Plus if it was your chimneys fault then it would likely have been some flashing which needed fixing. She should have given you the chance to fix the flashing, then waited to see if any damp then dried. Which it would normally do once any problem has been fixed.

If there was any damage to be repaired, the very most she could have hoped to have had a claim for would be the very small area under your chimney. So a small area of replaster, not a whole room!

A court would expect a neighbour to be given a chance to rectify a problem before been billed for it.

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jakesmith · 02/12/2012 10:02

The problem with this situation is that it is lose-lose. If you make the right moral decision & refuse to pay her you may permanently sour the relationship. It's not good to have bad relations with neighbours. I don't see you have any choice but to refuse to pay though as there is no evidence that it is your fault, you had no opportunity to rectify, and you had no opportunity to get comparative quotes.

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PolterGoose · 02/12/2012 15:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Rudolphstolemycarrots · 02/12/2012 20:18

You need to talk to citizans advice.

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