To not want to pay

[BoomerAnge]

Live with two flatmates.

One had his gf staying last night and she always leaves house later than any of us. She generally goes out through side door and posts key through letter box. Not a system I promote but one I have begrudgingly agreed to tolerate.

Anyway today I return home early and front door won't budge; it is clear she has left latch on and gone through (locked) side door... I tell flatmates and one comes to help but one with gf stays out, sleeps at friend's house and offers no support. Bill comes to 300 quid. Who should pay? I am close to snapping...

[FrenchLavender]

In any event, OP should not be paying. This would become a hill to die on for me.

LOL, I have never heard that phrase before but I LOVE it and will adopt it from this moment on. It sums me up perfectly when I've got my indignant head on about something.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

I agree, £300 for a locksmith is ludicrous! Even if it was a Sunday night it would be £100 too much.

[19lottie82]

I don't know........ of course the FM / GF should pay the costs but £300 seems bloody ridiculous. Did you get a few quotes or just go with the first?

TBH if I was the guilty party, I'd be willing to pay, but not £300 if it became aparent that the same job could have been done for £100!

[Carollocking]

Gold lock is now in place?

[SoupDragon]

How do you know who left the latch on the front door? You said the GF always exits though the side door, bypassing the front door which is what she seems to have done this time.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

She should pay or her bf

[Ifailed]

£300 for an emergency locksmith is not that high for London, especially if security locks like Banham are involved.

[StealthPolarBear]

I assume there is only one side door key and that's the one she posts back

[AyeAmarok]

He and his girlfriend should pay.

So he should pay all of it initially and he can discuss her partially reimbursing him if he wants to.

[JustSpeakSense]

OP, don't pay a penny of this bill, this is not your problem.

[turbohamster]

If there is only one key for the side door does the girlfriend know that? How forseeable was this?

[icanteven]

I need to retrain as a locksmith.

And gf should pay. It's up to her boyfriend if he splits it, but it's definitely her bill.

[AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered]

GF needs to pay, and she needs to get up and leave at the same time as your flatmate from now on.

[Ifailed]

I need to retrain as a locksmith.

Let say you did, and on a night-shift you had 2 calls, so £600. Of that £100 is VAT, so you are down to £500. Locks clearly vary in price, from a cheap cylinder at about £15, through to expensive mortice locks well over £100, so say an average of 75. This leaves £350 a night out of which you've got to pay for a vehicle, insurance, tax etc. I suggest that out of all the trades, a locksmith is not particularly well paid.

[FurryLittleTwerp]

GF needs to pay really, although I expect it will end up being shared.

She needs to go out at the same time as everyone else in future.

You each need a copy of the side-door key to keep on your keyring with the front door key.

[MyOtherNameIsTaken]

Agree the gf should pay.

But This would become a hill to die on for me is a brilliant phrase. I'm going to try to use it at least once this week.

[budgiegirl]

I'm very confused by this. If the GF went out of the side door and posted the key back through, why was the front door on the latch. Do you think she went and put the latch on once everyone else had left the house?

If she did, then she should pay. If she didn't touch the front door, then the bill should be split three ways. In this instance, the fact that she used the side door is neither here nor there. Whether she used it or not, the side door would be locked with the key inside the flat.

I wouldn't be very impressed with the flatmate that didn't come to help though.

[Paninotogo]

The last person out of the front door should probably pay, but I doubt they did anything on purpose, so just chalk it up as an accident and split the bill. The girlfriend is the least liable for this unexpected expense as she only uses the side door.

[HilairHilair]

The GF should pay.

And you should all have side door keys.

And she should leave the house when her BF, your flatmate leaves.

Does your flatmate with the GF pay a bit more on bills etc - is the GF there regularly, using hot water etc? You need to get this sorted.

[Leggit]

I still don't see where the bill came from - you say a flat mate came to help out?

[Carollocking]

My area it's 50 for the call out including Upto an hour of work plus cost of lock deffinately not 300 had to have myself 5 months ago lost my key in town no idea how as had all my others still lol

[PuppyMonkey]

You all bear equal responsibility for not ensuring the latch wasn't on the front door imho.

[diddl]

If GF never uses the front door how is it her fault that you couldn't get in?

Why didn't someone just unlock the side door with the key that she had posted back?

[Kiroro]

Flatmate or GF should pay.

New house rule - visitors can NOT be in the house without the person they have come to see.

[Kiroro]

Why didn't someone just unlock the side door with the key that she had posted back?
Because they couldn't get in the house to the side door key!