Estate Agent 'lost keys'

mathie

Ok try not too laugh too much as this actually happened.

We're selling our house. The EA lost the keys. They're saying the keys were 'coded' i.e. don't have the street number on them but they do have the code and the street name.
One problem. There's only one house for sale on our road.

So in theory the person who took the keys could get into our house.

The EA recommends we change the locks.

No mention of anyone other than ourselves paying.

What do you reckon?
thanks
M

El Stuntman

mathie wrote:

Ok try not too laugh too much

I tried but that's just too funny

gently explain to your EA how they (1) will have lost a sale if they don't pay up pronto and (2) how you will take them to the Small Claims Court for the amount it will cost to get the door replaced

patrickolee

Bloody right, the EA should pay. Cheeky gits for trying to get out of it.

talkingclock

Is it just me or are all EAs just utterly useless? And i'm talking of own experience with them...

bugler

The EA should definitely pay. The fact they didn't offer to would be enough for me to dispose of their services fully, to be honest.

irlirishkev

talkingclock wrote:

Is it just me or are all EAs just utterly useless? And i'm talking of own experience with them...

No, you're not alone there. Any I've dealt with were either morons or liers. Or both.

OP - No way you should have to pay to get your locks changed. Simple as..

Victor

Realise that changing a lock only costs 10-20 euro + labour and is relatively easy to do.

bugler

I'm fairly sure my girlfriends ex-housemate was charged €80 by a locksmith to change the front door lock. Maybe that was steep, I don't know.

Regardless of what it costs, it wasn't the OP who necessitated a change of lock, there's no way they should pay for it.

RuggieBear

Victor wrote:

Realise that changing a lock only costs 10-20 euro + labour and is relatively easy to do.

true but why should the owner pay any amount to fix a mistake a halfwit has made.

Change the locks and send them the bill.

patrickolee

OP says "keys were 'coded' "... so I'm guessing security keys. You won't be able to replace them for 20-30 euro.

Downtime

talkingclock wrote:

Is it just me or are all EAs just utterly useless? And i'm talking of own experience with them...

Cos you have dealt with all of them. A bit of a generalisation.

Victor

patrickolee wrote:

OP says "keys were 'coded' "... so I'm guessing security keys. You won't be able to replace them for 20-30 euro.

I think he means they had a tag with "Main Street - 12345" on them, not "12 Main Street".

mathie

Victor wrote:

I think he means they had a tag with "Main Street - 12345" on them, not "12 Main Street".

Exactly!

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

I'll let you know what happens!
M

loyatemu

get them changed and deduct the cost from the agent's bill.

krinpit

loyatemu wrote:

get them changed and deduct the cost from the agent's bill.

Definitely the best course of action

ciarsd

loyatemu wrote:

get them changed and deduct the cost from the agent's bill.

Is that possible though, considering that most if not all agents take their fee from the contract deposit before handing over the remainder to yourself or your bank account?

To the OP, I suggest contacting the EA and stating that you are now obliged to change locks due to their incompetence and as such to expect a bill from you.

If they are shying away from this issue I would be looking to employ another EA to sell your property. At the end of the day you are their temporary employer.

esmeralda

Quote:
Originally Posted by talkingclock
Is it just me or are all EAs just utterly useless? And i'm talking of own experience with them...

Cos you have dealt with all of them. A bit of a generalisation.

Exeptions confirm the rule, of course, but the EAs I have dealt with, were totally inept. Face-to-face conversations reveal similar experiences across the board.

esmeralda

P.S. Losing house keys (About the most serious breach of security possible even if for relatively short time) and then not offering to pay for the client to have the locks changed on the house in question is just OUTRAGEOUS!!! Refusing to pay when asked is off my richter scale...

mathie

Locks will be changed today at EA's expense.
They 'offered' to cover the costs and to get someone up to change them.

Crisis over.
Now to just find the 57" LCD that was in our sitting room up until last night


M

ciarsd

mathie wrote:

Now to just find the 57" LCD that was in our sitting room up until last night


M

It should be right beside the BlueRay player next to the XBox 360 :cool:

Gerry_J

Have to say, some thing like this happened me. I had my brief case taken on Parnell Street in January; two keys no address on them just the office reference number but the corresponding files were in the case and had to get Dynolocks to call out and change both barrels @ 8pm on a Wednesday evening, needless to say the landlords weren’t thrilled but were happy that the properties were secure. So I guess the proper way to go is get the agent to pay for the change of the lock. Regards Gerry.