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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

They took the white goods

95 replies

ExchangedCat · 25/10/2019 14:28

We finally completed today (yay!) but some of the inventory items are missing.

Primarily we're annoyed about the white goods because we'd have brought our old ones with us if they hadn't said they were leaving them.

Their solicitor says they ticked 'included' in error, but my view is that it's a binding contract and if you say you're leaving working white goods then you flippin' well leave said working white goods? AIBU?

Anyone else have experience of this and what to do about it?

OP posts:

BasiliskStare · 25/10/2019 15:33

Well I would just say - old white goods are more expensive to dispose of that taking to the tip. They have to be properly disposed of. But if someone has helped themselves for their own use - a different matter - I wold write a sternly worded letter to say white goods were on the contracted to be left as pp has said & how are they intending to sort it out - assume you have the sale thing where they said they were leaving them - I suspect ( others will say ) it is all you need - Hope it works & all best to you - Basilisk

Passthecherrycoke · 25/10/2019 15:37

Really tough to resolve this, no matter what the legal position is, it’s expensive to enforce. Hopefully they’ll just pay up on request

ProfessorSlocombe · 25/10/2019 15:51

Really tough to resolve this, no matter what the legal position is, it’s expensive to enforce.

Ordinarily yes. However this is part of a bigger transaction (the house purchase) and the OP is paying a solicitor to act on their behalf. If this results in extra work (i.e. costs) from the OPs solicitor, they can be claimed back from the vendor.

SchadenfiendeUnmortified · 25/10/2019 15:55

@Genevieva

That's awful - could you not have held the estate agent responsible? - there's no way those keys should have been lent out.

Wonkybanana · 25/10/2019 15:56

the seller has emailed to apologise

That suggests that just maybe they really did tick the box in error and did plan all along to take them to the tip thinking that you wouldn't want them. I hope so, and that they make good their mistake.

Sewrainbow · 25/10/2019 15:58

Our cooker broke literally the week we left our old house and we bought a new and left it for the new people. It was the right thing to do...

OkayGoooouuuuuullllll · 25/10/2019 16:03

Breach of contract for sure, surely you can get some compensation for it?

Conkerer · 25/10/2019 16:11

Look on ao.com
They have some good deals and being seen to be reasonable will go a long way in this instance, I think.

Passthecherrycoke · 25/10/2019 16:16

It’s balancing the risks though isn’t it? Yes your solicitor can persue it, correspond, and take it to small claims - you can even do this yourself to save fees, but you have to pay a court fee. Then it goes in your favour (it surely will in the circumstances you describe) and you have to get them to pay somehow- possibly even by using court bailiffs. You’ll be paying for all this in the hope they pay up and repay your costs. At some point you’ve got to seriously weigh up how much you can risk for some old appliances. That’s why it’s best if they just offer some cash straight off.

Winteriscomingfast · 25/10/2019 16:18

At best it would be old for old. So £25 for a washing machine etc etc

PancakeAndKeith · 25/10/2019 16:20

Horse shit have they gone to the tip.

If they were old and crap would you really bother to take them to the tip or would you just leave them? I know I’d leave them sooner than haul them into the car. And I only take fridges to the tip. Anything goes to the top of the drive for the scrap metal guys.

I wonder if you could contact the removal company and ask if they remember taking them.

AJPTaylor · 25/10/2019 16:25

Have a look on fb or local sites for second hand replacements. It's really not reasonable for them to pay for new replacements.

magicautumnalhues · 25/10/2019 16:28

it's really slapdash - the documents should've been checked more carefully. I'd definitely want compensation. Even if it's only a small amount, it is a hassle you didn't think you'd have.

My city has a second hand white goods place, see if you've got one in your area.

VirtualHamster · 25/10/2019 16:30

Would you have negotiated the price down had they not been included? How many items are we talking about?

thegreylady · 25/10/2019 16:30

@ChardonnaysDistantCousin
I love the idea of it being done by mustang!

LittleAndOften · 25/10/2019 16:39

This happened to me in my first ever house purchase.. My solicitor was not interested at all but we had no cooker or anything! We badgered her and she made some calls. Apparently it was the removal men being overzealous and they brought them back that evening. But we had to pay to get the cooker reinstalled!

I hope you get this resolved OP. it's so frustrating as you can't really start to live there without these essentials!

donquixotedelamancha · 25/10/2019 16:42

That suggests that just maybe they really did tick the box in error and did plan all along to take them to the tip thinking that you wouldn't want them.

If you really intended to dump all your white goods, surely you'd either freecycle them or list them as included to give the option of OP keeping some and you not being inconvenienced.

They might have made an error on the form, or they might have changed their mind, but the stuff is not at the tip.

At some point you’ve got to seriously weigh up how much you can risk for some old appliances. That’s why it’s best if they just offer some cash straight off.

I don't think there is any real risk of not being paid if they own a home, but it's some time and inconvenience. I agree better cash now, if it's an appropriate amount, not just a token.

thisisreallyouting1234 · 25/10/2019 16:43

This happened to me. The dishwasher was taken and returned when I called the police. The fridge left didn't fit into the kitchen so wasn't the one there when I viewed but I just hoped karma got her. She can't have many friends.

msmith501 · 25/10/2019 16:45

Our sellers took the light bulbs, doors handles and lamp shades. They also didn't move out by the time expected 1pm on the completion day. In fact they hadn't started packing. We didn't get in for another two days as the removal lorry had to be unloaded for another job and then reloaded again for our move. I charged the sellers £1000 a day to rent our house and also the Same again for the removal lorry for each day. £4K later - via their solicitor - they got the message. Oh... and they also left greasy bacon fat in "our" oven ... pleasant people.

MrsJoshNavidi · 25/10/2019 16:46

apparently they've taken them to the tip

But you've paid for them. So they need to recompense you, surely.

SmileCheese · 25/10/2019 16:53

Have a look on fb or local sites for second hand replacements. It's really not reasonable for them to pay for new replacements.

Equally one could argue it wasn't really reasonable for them to sign a legal document saying they would leave them behind and then take them anyway...

I really don't see why the OP should be expected to pay any money to replace items which she already had and could have brought with her but didn't because the sellers signed to say they were leaving theirs behind.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 25/10/2019 17:09

The OP can't demand new ones. But at the same time if that's the only way the vendors can discharge their obligations, then ... tough luck

Trouble is the vendor might be on Facebook right now, looking for "spares or repair" items at a tenner to fob OP off with

Hard to tell one - say - Indesit fridge from another, even with kitchen photos to go on

CallmeAngelina · 25/10/2019 17:11

Years ago, when we were moving out of dh's flat into our first joint house, we asked the vendors if they wanted for free the gas cooker - we sure as hell didn't, so it was a pain when they said they wanted it gone. We had to pay for someone to come an take it away and then cap the gas pipe.
We then got a really arsey message from their solicitors demanding we re-instate it "at our own expense," as they understood we were leaving it for them. Fortunately, we had a paper trail (long time ago!) proving our position, so they shut up.

Musicalmistress · 25/10/2019 17:13

Do NOT say you’ll accept them returning them - they could drop off any random rubbish! Absolutely price up replacements including delivery & request that they bank transfer your solicitor immediately so that you are not out of pocket or inconvenienced waiting for a cheque to clear.

SmileCheese · 25/10/2019 17:17

Trouble is the vendor might be on Facebook right now, looking for "spares or repair" items at a tenner to fob OP off with

They have already admitted the items are at the tip so in this instance the only reasonable solution is to offer the OP money to compensate and replace the items.

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