Couldn't get sofa through door ??aibu not to pay them?

[pinkyperkypoo]

So I'm getting rid of my old sofa.
I organised for someone to come out to collect and recycle it for £80.
They came out and said they couldn't get it through the living room door and demanded I paid them the £80 anyway.
I said well they got it in so it must get out.
The door hasn't shrunk
Anyway they've said they going to take me to court for not paying.
Was aibu to not pay ?

You got them to come out, it's up to you to check the size of your sofa. You should pay.

I had a similar experience. But in my case in between buying the old sofa and getting rid of it some years later we had had a new porch/front door fitted and the damn thing just wouldn't go through. Had to take a saw to it in the end.

Sorry, that doesn't help you .

Does it have legs that can come off to help?

Might have had to remove the door or something.

I once helped move a piano out of a first floor flat - piano went INTO the flat ok, but they'd since had a radiator put in opposite the front door (Why???) so it was a LOT harder to get it out past that! managed it with taking the front door off the hinges. I won't go into the rest of it but I'll just say my opinion of several people's spatial awareness went downhill quite fast after that!

But YWNBU - they didn't get it out so they didn't get their £80, perfectly understandable!

YANBU they sound bone idle at best and con men at worst

@Gormanuary

Beat me to it 😆

I had taken the legs off and removed all the cushions etc
I also removed the door handle so I had a bit extra room to move.

You agreed to pay them for a service, which they didn't carry out, so on the face of it you shouldn't pay.

It's unclear from your posts whether they actually gave up any time to try to move the sofa at all, whether you gave them information that would have helped, or whether they took one look and assumed though. Also unclear whether sofa could have been dismantled at all (or cut into pieces if it was going to the tip recyling rather than to someone else's home). On that basis I don't think we can be sure YABU or not, and why you're getting such mixed replies.

I wouldn't pay either.

They've travelled to you expecting to receive £80, yes I think you should still pay them! It's not their fault if they can't get it out! You should have made sure before you booked them! Would you go to work and not get paid??

Would I expect to be paid if I went into work and there was nothing for me to do? Yes, because I’m a salaried employee and I’m paid for the availability of my skills and labour, not for piecework.

If I took on a freelance job and then decided I couldn’t manage the work? I wouldn’t expect to be paid.

I got mine in through the door, but not out. I had changed the door since. I had to dismantle it indoors to get it out.

Do they even attempt it or just look at went “nope!”

I wouldn’t have paid if they had done that

If they attempted it and really couldn’t do it, I would have partially paid

If you saw it getting in a few years ago then they just didn't know what they were doing. There is a knack to this and they obviously don't have that yet. Not your fault that they can't do their job. I definitely would not have paid them.

Came onto the thread to see how many times 'PIVOT!' had been posted. Fewer than I thought

YANBU - they didnt do the job!

I wouldn't pay them a penny. They sound like scam artists, tbh. Turn up at people's houses, refuse to do the work but ask for the money and then threaten with court. I wonder how many anxious people pay up just to get rid of them? No one is going to take you to court over £80, the legal fees would cost more than that.

YANBU. They clearly couldn’t be arsed to try. I got my huge three seater into my old place on my own, with huge difficulty, but I still did it. Lazy fuckers. They can whistle for their 80 quid cheeky fuckers

Why not freecycle OP? You dont have to pay anyone then - and I bet it will get out of the door!

I'd put it on Ebay OP. Someone will pay you to take it away then.

YANBU. You saw people get it through the door once, so it's not your fault they didn't know how to do it. I wonder how many people they're "taking to court for £80" a pop.

YANBU

I had similar issue but the collectors just used a saw to chop it up.

It's a upstairs flat so it deffo didn't come in the window.
You'd be suprised!

But it's an odd sentence if you were there when it was delivered.

Anyway....
If you know how it got in, I'd have been tempted to get it out the door myself and give them £40 to take it away.

YANBU. Anyone who expects to be paid for a service should be basically competent. Unless you signed some contract to the contrary.

And this is what free cycle was invented for.

My sofa came apart to solve this problem. I have no idea how they did it but hopefully will remember whenever I replace it.

As for paying them, maybe pay some for their troubles? It's a hassle to go to court (even the small claims court) and they might mediate anyway.