AIBU to refuse access to knobhead gas engineer

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Hi, long time lurker, new poster.

We rent. Have done our entire working lives. Never had any problems. Rented long term in London, had super relationship with previous landlords, even got card and flowers when we left and told if we ever need to go back to the area to give them a call.
Moved out of London to cheaper, nicer area. Landlady sends round gas engineer who for reasons unbeknown to me behaves like an arrogant fucking cockwomble. Parks on my drive without asking so I couldn't get my car on when I came home. Husband was already home and let him in thinking I was expecting him (I wasn't) I walk in to my living room and he's there and doesn't even acknowledge me when i ask what he's there for. (landlady forgot to tell me) I ask him to please take his shoes off. "I can't" he says then without asking telling me what he's doing he walks upstairs, boots on, starts opening all my cupboards, I call up asking what he's looking for (boiler obvs), I tell him where it is. Doesn't say a word to me, just opens it. I go down stairs, in the kitchen telling husband what a rude twat he is when he barges in the kitchen, in between my husband and I having a chat, not an excuse me, no, "I just need to check the oven" or similar....no, nothing, not a word. He turns my oven off with the kids dinner in it. I say, 'erm excuse me could you wait until I take that out' I get (with back turned to me) "No I haven't finished" He then TAKES MY TEA TOWEL AND CHUCKS IT ON THE FUCKING FLOOR" Now this would be bad anyway but I suffer from chronic OCD and general anxiety disorder. I threw him out there and then. I felt so invaded. My home is my orderly 'safe space' and it was such a horrible experience. My husband told letting agent to tell landlady never let him back. Letting agent was witness as she rolled up halfway profusely apologising that she forgot to tell me. She was standing in kitchen with us when I chucked him out.

Now I must say, we are a landlords dream even if I say it myself. Professionals, rent paid early each month, house immaculate, new quality carpet laid at our expense, long term renters. Our previous landlords have always appreciated this and never made us feel like second class citizens or 'just renters'
Despite knowing I have OCD (I let landlord know before I moved in as it seriously affects my life and home access, always need shoes removed, funny about strangers using my loo etc) she was happy to go ahead. Now the gas certificate is due again. I'm being told it HAS to be the same guy, he's the ONLY person qualified and it leaves all previous guarantees void if anyone else does it. Is this true? I can't find anything online about this. Now I know I need to allow access for maintenance but I also know I am entitled to live without harassment and live in peace. Do I really need let the man who i had to chuck out round my bloody home again? I have never had a single problem in the 20 years I've rented so I don't feel I'm being unreasonable asking the landlady to give a bit more consideration to really good tenants who i am told are a rarity. The letting agent has explained how damn rude he was. If it was her home I'm sure she wouldn't allow someone who had offended her in her own home back, why is it acceptable for her to force this arsehole on us again? AIBU to refuse access?

Thank you Cara. Sadly it is his own company.

My lovely handyman ALWAYS takes his shoes off, his instigation, not mine. He starts undoing his laces on the doorstep & they are off as soon as he crosses the threshold. My house isn't posh & I have wood floors, so it is totally unnecessary, but he is a lovely, polite professional & that is why I recommend him so highly to my friends.
As an ex-LL I would love a tenant like you OP and I am sorry yours doesn't seem to appreciate you or the care you are taking of her property investment.
Find another Gas Safe engineer & get it done. Give the bill to the letting agent & if she pays, she pays. If she doesn't, it's only about £80 and st least you haven't had a rude bully in your home.

Yes fully managed tenancy. I don't speak to LL direct. She only has one property, this one and the one she moved into. She's not a professional with a portfolio. She doesn't need to worry about money I said I'd pay for my own. I think she just likes control. She had shitty tenants before and seems to think we are somehow lesser people because we currently rent her property. Silly woman.

Never ever had a single problem with any other workman / landlord ever, despite my OCD GAD. He THREW my tea towel across the room onto the floor. Everyone's concentrating on the shoes. He chucked my stuff and turned off the oven when I was cooking and REFUSED to let me take the kids dinner out first. Anyone that thinks this is justified because I asked him, after he left mud in my living room, "excuse me would you mind removing your shoes if you are going to go upstairs", needs their head examined!

You should insist on being given 24 hours notice before anyone comes round to do any kind of work in your home. It isn't fair for someone to just turn up to test the boiler and be in your personal space unannounced, especially with your OCD.

Like pp have said anyone qualified can carry out a gas safety inspection. Your LL is completely wrong by saying otherwise. It's like saying that because your car is e.g. a Ford that only a Ford garage can ever do an MOT test on your car, which is nonsense.

Now worrying this thread might be a little identifying. How do I request its removal?

as others have said, any gas safe engineer with the right accreditations can do the check. The check is nothing to do with the warranty, which is maintained by doing a boiler service.

it may not be safe for him to take his shoes off but in that situation he should have shoe covers and I'm afraid you will have to tolerate that. If you refuse toilet use, up to you - tradies are used to that.

This man has no people skills at all and (as I think you have done) the landlady should be notified so she can find someone else.

The visit should be notified in advance and a suitable time agreed with you; I arrange gas safe about a month in advance (also a December check) and start by asking the tenant when suits them. I always use the same chap, not the one proposed by the agency because that will cost me three times as much. But his people skills are part of it - not hard as the others I tried wouldn't return calls or talk to me so didn't get my business . I also attend with him.

BUT - it is very difficult to get a short notice appointment at this time of year. So take charge, discuss with your landlady and say you don't want this guy again so she needs to arrange a different one.

*Also he should have said "I need to switch oven off to test/ can you show me where boiler is please/ I can't take my shoes off due to X/ can I use this towel please". I think the fact that didn't happen is really inconsiderate and rude and unprofessional which makes the parking thing feel worse.

This. Thanks. That is exactly my point,. It's not the shoes or the drive or the going round my house. Its the lack of basic manners while doing so. He treated me like scum.*

My last rented accommodation it was in the contract that I could not wear shoes in the house and had to take them off on the landing (front door opened onto stairs) so definately shoe covers should be worn.

I am ignoring the additional generic anti-landlord bile you are posting.

Of course it's not unreasonable to ask a tradesman to take off or cover their shoes! For many, many people leaving your shoes on is considered disrespectful or just downright filthy. Had you not put your own carpet in, OP, then you can bet it would be you who'd end up paying for damage out of your deposit when your tenancy ends.

24 hours' notice is a requirement unless it's a dire emergency. You're entitled to quiet enjoyment of your property.

I can see why the landlady might want to maintain control. She needs to make sure she complies with legislation otherwise she faces a fine or worse. However, that's no excuse at all for not showing common courtesy and making a reasonable adjustment by getting someone else in to do the job, in light of your mental health condition (which sounds like it might qualify as a disability under the Equality Act 2010).

NoSun 'He doesn't sound that nice' and 'was certainly brusque'.

That is an interesting take on the behaviour of an individual who tried to go upstairs in someone else's home without speaking to them, threw a tea towel, barged past two people to get to and open an oven without checking that he could...

Great that your own plumber is lovely. This one clearly isn't. By quite some way.

NoSun your plumber is polite by nature he obviously values his clients. What the op went through with this particular engineer is inexcusable. Manners cost nothing and if he values his business he better change his attitude.

If it is fully managed, that will be why they won't send anyone else.
This guy has got the exclusive gig to do all their gas checks.

They either aren't allowed to send anyone else under the terms of the contract, or they have a deal with this guy to get discounted checks which they can then charge a 'handling fee' for when they bill your landlady, or they have an annual contract covering all their properties, so f they send someone else, they'll have to pay them on top of what they've already paid him for the year

NoSun, I don't know where or indeed when you are living. In the 1980s it was regarded as eccentric to ask anyone to remove or cover footwear. Nowadays I find almost all trades and delivery people either ask whether they can come in in footwear or put on shoe covers on the doormat as routine. Even shoes which look clean could have picked up all sorts of animal and other dirt.
I normally remove my shoes in other people's homes as a matter of course, consideration and courtesy.

"I am ignoring the additional generic anti-landlord bile you are posting."

Where did that statement come from if she couldn't get the mud out of the carpet who would be paying for it?

If you are a land lord then you know full well good tenants are hard to come by. Never bite the hand that feeds you you're only costing your self more money.

OP the man is not suitable to be going into customers' homes. He hasn't learned any consideration and is astonishingly rude. If it's is his own firm he must be very cheap to have any repeat custom at all. Your description of what happened sounds like an unforgivable invasion of privacy with added insolence. I think I'd have been too shocked to react.

He sounds like a one man band and if he is their regular engineer then why didn't he know the lay out of the house. They use him because he is cheap engineers who work alone does give good prices on their work.

Pretty much every workman offers to take his shoes off and no one has ever refused when I've asked (always say 'I've got a baby in the house who eats everything') He was rude.

"I am ignoring the additional generic anti-landlord bile you are posting."

I was wondering where that statement came from. I was thinking it can't be aimed at me as I have said how well I've got on with previous landlords. Its very much an issue I have with this one only. Or more to the point, the arsehole she sent round.

You can't pay for your own nit is the landlords legal responsibility and only she can pay for it. Snd even if you could legally pay for it, why in earth should you? It's her who will go to jail if the appliances or boiler are dangerous and cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Who does it though, as I said above in my initial post, isn't fixed tell the letting agency you want a different Gas Safe Engineer and remain firm. When does the current certificate run out? If it has already or does soon, they have to get another one in place. The fines for not having one are horrendous( again for the landlady ) Tell the LA they'd better get phoning round as you are not having that man in your house again

Oh, and the shoes bit, we've just completed an extension on our house and the plumbers and electricians needed to tie up the new bit with the old bit. When coming into our existing house, they all removed their shoes or put covers on and all removed shoes totally when going upstairs. You are totally in the right here.

He sounds knobbish. I don't think many landlords would change a tradesman if they have an account etc with them. I do understand your points that he was rude,but I'd just get it over and done with.
To consider moving because if this seems a huge overreaction. I'm tired so sorry if I've read that wrong.
It has to be done legally. Just let him get on with it & have your husband there.

Your husband let him in so obviously the plumber thought he could get on with his job. A bit silly putting tea on when you know he needs to check the gas oven, Six of one and half a dozen of the other I would think!

If it's fully managed, the engineer is down to the letting agent, not the l/lady. You can organise it, as long as the l/lady pays for it. The letting agent will reimburse you if you pay, engineer gives certificate to letting agent/l/lady.

Yanbu to request shoe removal, I'd ask the same, cream carpets on stairs and upstairs. One workman stood on the bath and left a tiny hole on it because he had a piece of gravel in his shoe. I was not happy.

The engineer sounds foul, I wouldn't let him back either.

HA tenants also get this attitude from a few engineers.

It comes to the fact that you are just seen as a lowly tenant OP.

The oven thing would have really pissed me off.

The pp that mentioned the Wirrel. You wernt meaning Liberty Gas by any chance.

RedHelenB my husband let him in because he blagged his way in knowing full well nobody knew why he was there. My husband said, "does my wife know your coming?" and he mumbled something about the agent and the radiator. When I got in we realised nobody knew why he was there so I politely asked him. He IGNORED ME, plus he had walked thick mud all over our cream carpet. He didn't acknowledge me when I walked in. I could have thrown him out. I put dinner on as I always do when I get in from work. So if he'd have had the bloody manners to turn and look and speak to me it wouldn't have been an issue. The letting agent came tearing round to profusely apologise for the cock up and explain why he was there. I only asked if I could take the food out before he fiddled with the oven, he said NO! This is MY home for gods sake.
I do not think it is an over reaction to move at all. We pay a fortune to live here and I have always been treated with respect by the owners prior to this. Likewise I have always had a great relationship with my landlords. I don't want to live in a home where we are made to feel like this is not our home. For every landlord that takes the attitude its their house and they will do as they please there are nice landlords in the private sector who value and respect good tenants. I made the LL and agent aware of my mental health issues before I moved. The letting agent told the land lady she had never witnessed anyone being so damn rude in all the years she had been an agent. The land lady didn't even have the courtesy to contact me or apologise and now she wants to send him back in my home again. Do you think she would allow someone who had treated her that way back in her house? I spent days and days after cleaning, crying, panicking, not sleeping. I had to take sleeping tablets, anti anxiety medication etc it was horrible. If this is a sign of the future relationship I am going to have with this woman I don't want to be handing over my bloody hard earned cash to her every month. Sod that. I'll be hearing today what she says. I'll update.