Cleaning “company” removed items they were told not to. Do I contact estate agent?

[Blades2]

Hello, iam looking for some guidance please.

My ex and I are selling the family home, he is very controlling and undertaking a lot of the business and of things on this.
Iam kept in the loop by the estate agent and shared solicitor.

A quote for clearing and painting the house internally was provided by the estate agent, and I was a bit iffy as he was described as “a local man named xxxx” but anyway my ex decided to hire this man with clear instruction to not touch the shed, he would clear that out once a buyer for house was found.

Ex arrived at the house yesterday to collect his things and I was to go later to collect the children’s and mines, except the shed had been emptied, everything is gone, including my family Christmas decorations 😭

My ex says this man was a contractor from the estate agent, so I contacted the man yesterday, he wouldn’t pick up my call so I sent a text outlining who I was, that the shed wasn’t to have been touched and to please return my items in a timely manner. His reply was “all went in skip nothing I can do about it now” he then went on to say he wasn’t told about the shed not to be touched.

do I contact the estate agent? Im obviously going to get nowhere with “local man” but my ex is saying to just leave it, as it’s all gone now.

thanks for reading if you even got this far

Yes. The contract was with the estate agent. They are responsible for the missing items. Can you list what has gone? And approximate costs to replace?

Did ExH definitely definitely tell him about the shed?

Thank you so much for replying.

I could put a rough cost on the things but to be honest, a lot of the things were priceless memories

That’s my dilemma. He has lied lots since the breakup, so I’m really unfortunately unsure if he did. He is saying to the children he lost his grandpas necklace and wallet but my head is telling me if the shed wasn’t to be touched, why did they even have a key for it?

How frustrating. Yes, I would contact the estate agents. Do you have a copy of the clear instructions not to clear the shed? That would strengthen your case for compensation - along with a costed list of what's missing.

You could probably have done without this, couldn't you? Hang on in there. The New Year and a new start are around the corner.

Unfortunately this is a small town in Ireland where everyone knows everyone and it was done via phone call 🙄

The ex insisting you just leave it and accept everything is gone is a red flag. Sounds like he knows he didn’t tell them, by accident or deliberate. Either way it would be ex’s fault. Don’t let it go either way because this is awful and I would be heartbroken.

I'd ask ex for proof of the email sent, stating not to touch the shed. Before proceeding any further.

Contact the police as it’s theft.

I’d say your ex has actually arranged for your items to be skipped. But contact the EA and see what they say.

Don't be ridiculous. There's no proof that the contractor or the estate agent even knew that they were to leave the shed alone. And it would be impossible to prove that the Ex deliberatly neglegeted to tell them to leave the shed instead of "just forgetting".

I've voted YABU as you trusted a known liar (from what you've written) and have no idea of what he arranged. I see no reason for disbelieving the local man, but will happily change my vote if the Estate Agent backs up your ex.

Not to say that I'm unsympathetic; what a blow to have lost sentimental items and have the cost of replacements!

Not trust. More an issue of having no other choice. Reasons why he’s my ex, being he’s abusive and controlling. But that doesn’t take from the fact the cleaning company were extremely unprofessional when I tried to contact them, so at the very very least, I thought by contacting the EA they’d know not to recommend such an unprofessional company.

By trust, I meant that you trusted him to arrange it. You had the details for the Estate Agent, so there was an element of choice when you decided to allow someone who "lied lots" to arrange the disposal of your property - with certain items retained.

In hindsight, you would probably agree that it might have been prudent to ensure the instructions were clearly understood, at least by the Estate Agents.

How were the cleaning company unprofessional? What is your complaint about them?

It's obviously a very difficult time for you, but from the info so far, I think you might be looking to hold the wrong people accountable for the upsetting loss of your items.