UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all,

I moved out of my property on Jan 1st 2022. I was away from the property for 2 weeks dealing with family issues, and during that time I gave the estate agent permission to enter the flat as they wanted to conduct viewings. They had the wrong key and due to forcing it into the lock, the lock broke. I had a cousin attempt to enter the property to remove a broken down bed, mattress, dumbbells, and a couple of bin bags of items from the living room, but of course since the lock was broken he couldn't enter.

I told the landlord this and he said he'll sort it out and he'll just get someone in to remove the rubbish and he'll send me an invoice. I agreed as I was away, plus by searching local companies it would cost less than £50 to do that job of removal.

A few weeks later I was sent an invoice of £250.

Then they sent me another invoice for £500 + £500 and asked me to pay ASAP, threatening to refer me to a debt collection agency or County Court.

I replied asking them to clarify the amount, then they emailed me a new invoice for £350.

I requested a VAT receipt or invoice from the company as proof for the charges claimed and got sent a screenshotted bank transfer with no dates/times/name of address etc, to the said company.

I searched the company and they've been around for 5 months and will soon be struck off by the registrar of companies.

I emailed the estate agent again asking for proof of the work done but all she's saying is that the screenshotted image is all the landlord has given me and that I should contact the company myself to ask for proof of payment etc.

I feel like they're taking me for a mug here and I'm wondering if anyone has some solid advice as to what I should do?

Thanks

I wouldn't have agreed to the landlord "sort[ing] it out and ... send[ing] me an invoice" to start with if I couldn't clear the property before the tenancy ended due to the landlord (/their agent) fault?

Did you pay a deposit? If so, I would not agree with the amount and take it to arbitration with the deposit protection company. And if you did pay a deposit and it hasn't been repaid yet, I would follow whatever's Companies House procedure to stop it from being struck off pending your actions.