I'm a tenant, landlords company broke my hoover

[ditherwood]

Sorry, this is long, I'm waffling as really upset by this. My landlord had all my windows replaced in my flat last week. Obviously I had no control over this process and just had to prepare as best I could. It was a three day job, I worked from home the first two days as I don't like having men/people in my flat without me there, they could have completed the work in two days as they worked roughly a half day each day. On the third day I had no choice other than go into my office as I had in person meetings I couldn't get out of. On the third day the contractor arrived alone, previously he had had two other men working with him and two vans. He explained he had put the other two on another job for a man who gives him a lot of work and who he needed to "keep sweet". He had previously told me this last third day was saving "the worst job for last" replacing the kitchen window at first floor level.

The previous two days the other two men had put dust overs over everything and it was still quite dirty afterwards but I accepted here would be some dirt in addition to the significant disruption. They had a Henry hoover they used to clear up afterwards.

As I had gone to work he literally didn't cover a single surface, I have three sets of freestanding shelves as the kitchen has no cupboards space along with wall mounted shelving and a dresser, EVERYTHING for my kitchen is on these shelves, from plates to packets of pasta. EVERYTHING was covered in 100 years worth of dust and dirt from the windows.

When I got home on Wednesday I could see the contractor had used my brand new hoover as it was out in the hallway and full to the brim. I had closed off the living room and bedroom and had stored as much of my kitchen stuff as I could move in my living room. I hid the vacuum in the closed living room as it's a brand new Dyson V10 £329 that was a gift, less than two weeks old. He had gone in to the closed living room and searched for the vacuum, found it and used it on the rubble from the window and broken it. It is full of plaster and rubbish that has gone up into the mechanisms and completely buggered it.

I immediately tried to call him, it went to voicemail, I tried to empty the hoover but could see it was broken, I emailed the estate agent and told them it was broken. The landlord had insisted he visit early the next day to see the windows before he paid the final invoice. I showed him the hoover and cried I was so upset about it, he was quite sympathetic and said he'd sort it. I now haven't heard since Thursday and have spent literally all weekend cleaning my kitchen, removing every item from the shelves and cleaning everything.

I've felt really badly about this, I was really good to the window company, one of them actually thanked me for making them so much tea as he said it doesn't often happen. I even bought them doughnuts on the last day as a thank you, as I am grateful for having new windows even if I didn't ask for them, my flat has been freezing and noisy with original 1906 windows.

It's really affected my mental health. I feel really really upset over having a new hoover and he used it without permission and broke it. I literally never have any nice or new stuff, my boyfriend bought it for me as he knew I struggled with my old hoover, the flat is really hard to keep clean. I'd wanted a hoover like this for years, to have this bloke go into my private space and take it and use it and break it has really profoundly upset me and to have no resolution from my landlord yet feels like they are going to try to duck out of it and I'm the one who loses out and have done nothing to deserve it.

I emailed a formal complaint to the agent, she just called me and said it's completely out of her hands as the landlord used their own contractor.

AIBU to expect my brand new hoover to be replaced?

I hid the vacuum in the closed living room as it's a brand new Dyson V10 £329 that was a gift, less than two weeks old. He had gone in to the closed living room and searched for the vacuum, found it and used it on the rubble from the window and broken it. It is full of plaster and rubbish that has gone up into the mechanisms and completely buggered it.

Good God, I am furious on your behalf. You don't have to apologize for being upset about this or anxious that you won't get a proper response and have your brand new vacuum cleaner replaced. It is a normal response to a very upsetting situation.

The warranty would not cover that kind of use. Why should the retailer be out of pocket? The landlord needs to replace it then claim from the window company

Don't talk crap

Of. Course the landlord is responsible. It was his contractors who caused the problem

OP I had the very similar happen to me years ago. My LL replaced my hoover with brand new and deducted the cost from the contractors final invoice.

The contractor went ferreting around in your cupboards, used something of yours without your permission and broke it.

I would email the agent again who will have the landlord's details with the receipt, photographs of the vacuum cleaner and say that you will be deducting the cost of replacement from your rent.

It's up to the landlord to sort it out with the contractor. Not your problem.

Does the agent manage the tenancy? If they do, they can not come back with saying it is not in their hands as the contract for your housing is with them and they are a third party in this transaction.
Contact them again, I would suggest email so you have a written record, advising that as they are the point of contact for the tenancy they are legally bound to be part of this recourse. Explain what you need and want to happen and that you would be exploring legal options towards themselves, as managers of the tenancy, if the situation is not resolved.
It is then their job to speak with the landlord, as this is who their contract is with and the landlords job to speak with the contractors

I can’t see the shop replacing the vacuum. It’s been abused rather than used.

What shop on the planet would exchange a new Dyson that had been broken clearing up builder's rubble?!

Quite simply, know that this is down to the LL to sort out and you need to communicate firmly and clearly to show you expect this to happen.

Send a picture of the damaged hoover and an email to the agent, who communicates with the LL if you can’t contact them direct, but if you can, copy both in.

State exactly when the hoover was new and the price. If you haven’t got a receipt send a link to one online. Lay out clearly that the workmen has a Henry for the first couple of days and where you put the hoover, hidden away and behind closed doors. State clearly where it was when you returned home and that the builders must have gone into your private space that they didn’t need to enter for the job space to look for it, and used it and broken it.

Quite simply state that as the LL hired the workmen, you expect him to deal with them and decide how to address the issue. Say you are offering him the choice of 2 options - to transfer the money to your Bank Acc or to take an equal reduction on the next rent, and you’d like to know his choice within 48 hours. I would finish by saying that as well as the item being broken, you feel violated by the incident. It’s hard enough to have workmen in your home that you haven’t requested, but it’s totally unacceptable to experience them going into closed off rooms and taking and using your equipment whilst out. State that you hope they will be making that very clear to the workmen and their superiors and considering what more can be done to protect tenants in future.

You dont have to be rude or aggressive. However, you should be firm and assertive.

Take the pics, get a receipt or link to the price and send the email. You will feel empowered and as if you are taking the incident back into your control. And then start to let it go. In all liklihood, the LL will cover the cost as they should.

Anither thing to say to the LL and agent, is that in future you only want workmen organised through the agent. Then, if there is something like this, the agent should be willing to pursue it on your behalf and mediate.

Why is everyone calling a Hoover a Dyson? Do you call a Ford a Vauxhall?

A Dyson a Hoover. Now am AM confused!

I would also consider these options:

• taking LL / agency to small claims court
• withholding cost of vacuum from rent payment, after sending them a letter via registered post

I know, I always refer to vacuum cleaners as that, never hoover. Mostly because Hoover as a company have the shittest customer service known to man and I don’t want to make their name synonymous with c
vacuum cleaners.

Annoys me too!!

The warranty won't cover it being used to vacuum builders rubble!

Of course she can't exchange it. The contracting company broke it and need to buy a replacement.

People saying you are overreacting have never rented and had a contractor damaged a precious (to you) possession. Or probably rented.

OP the process is simple, it just probably won't be easy. Your contract is with the landlord, it doesn't matter whether it was his contractor or his dog that damaged your property, he is responsible.

So, you need to push to be reminbursed with a new replacement. I also wouldn't have been cleaning and would have insisted on a builders clean (specialist clean by a company) but it's done now.

If the landlord wishes to try and claim the cost of the hoover from his contractor afterwards that is his choice, but not your problem. Don't let him wriggle out saying he is waiting for the money from the contractor. Be very clear about who has contracts with who and where responsibilities lie.

Do you have the LLs contact details or do you have to go through the agent like I do?

"People saying you are overreacting have never rented and had a contractor damaged a precious (to you) possession. Or probably rented."

I have rented and I now own. I can assure you that the sort of contractor who will damage your possessions, and even worse, go into parts of your property that they don't need to and go through your stuff, will do so regardless of whether you are the owner or the tenant. IME it's easier being the tenant as you have an ongoing relationship with the LL, who has the contract and therefore needs to deal with the contractor. For an owner it's all 'you did this', 'no I didn't' and 'it was like that before' back and forth. Your only lever is his reputation locally.

My neighbours had a lot of work done and I had to get them to chase several of their workers to fix damage to my house. The workers denied it, but by chance, I had photographs of the relevant parts from just before they started. Lesson for any homeowner: if your next door neighbour has major work done, photograph your property as soon as they start (use their scaffolding if necessary)!

OP you have my sympathies, when I moved into my house it was a new build and having guys in to do the snagging list was a complete nightmare.
So bad in fact that half way through I told the site manager that I didn’t want anyone else in the house. The mess that was left each time was appalling. Dust everywhere, they would use our toilets and leave pee on the seats, stuff stuck to the carpet, mucky footprints.

It feels like such a violation, renting or owning.

As other people have said, I would compile an email, detail everything that has happened include pictures. I’d would send it to LL, Managing Agent and the Contractors, CC them all into the same email and say you don’t care who pays or who fixes it but you want reimbursement or a new hoover. If the contractor is a company then go to the MD.

Good luck!

Exactly. I wonder when these people last tried to exchange a used (more like abused) vacuum cleaner...

If this was a housing association and contractors behaved like this (some of them often do) all the HA would care about is that the contractors are cheap and they would keep them on regardless if they are the cheapest.

They had no business touching your personal belongings OP You could stick a review on trustpilot

Do this. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t ‘do’ confrontation, stand up for yourself here, or you’ll get fucked over. The LL will just try to ignore you and hope you give up.

Which is what I would expect. Not the landlords fault. Contractor can be awful

Ffs everybody knows hoover is interchangeable with vacuum cleaner, it has been for decades. Can’t believe anyone’s still complaining about this shit.

Personally in your shoes I would write to the letting agent and advise that you'll be buying a replacement vacuum and deducting the cost from the next month's rent. Give them 3 working days to respond and then do it.