Property Burgled - Agency at fault

jebuz

Hi Guys,

To cut straight to the point, we were burgled last Monday in a rented accommodation in which over €1500 worth of property was stolen.

We arrived home to find the door had been kicked in and bedrooms were looted. We were later told by the locksmith who came around to fix the locks that this is not the first time this door has been kicked in.

The reason why we think the agency is at fault is that our alarm was not working. We made this clear to the agency months ago that this needed fixing. One house mate has a record of emailing the lady about it, other than that we would have rang her, so it's our word against theirs in that case. It has always been hard to get things done or repaired with this agency.

When were on the phone to our agent following the robbery, one of the first things she said was that this would have probably happened even if the alarm was working - bullsh*t! covering her back, then she said she would make sure the alarm is repaired as soon as possible.

We had detectives around and they have advised us to follow up with the agency about the door and alarm, and let them know this was their fault.

So my question is, can we ask for some sort of compensation from the agency since it was their responsibility to get our alarm fixed and it wasn't done.

Now we're not looking for the whole amount back, but something towards the value of the property stolen, it's something that could have been avoided and we feel we are not liable in this case. I don't think we have much to go on legally, but we are thinking if we write a letter to them, perhaps they could come to some agreement.

Any advice?

Thanks.

seamus

Getting money would require going to court and suing the agency for negligence. Unfortunally, this isn't covered by the small claims procedure, so for the amount involved, it probably wouldn't be worth it.

But it's definitely worth pursuing. If an alarm is supplied in a rented property, it is the landlord's responsibility to ensure that the alarm is working correctly, and that faults with it are repaired as soon as possible after the tenant notifies them.

Try to come to some agreement - perhaps have your rent waived for a month or two (depending on how much it is). Then go out and buy yourself renter's insurance

Del2005

Your supposed to have renters insurance for your own personall property which would cover this.

Unless it's a monitored alarm then it would make no difference to the thieves, they know that no one bothers to respond to house alarms anymore since they go off all the time.

Was the alarm working when you moved in? If you have a record of the alarm being fixed as part of your lease or any other agreement with the landlord then you may be able to get some compenstion off the landlord, but the agency can only do what the landlord allows them do.

Ian Beale

jebuz wrote: »

Hi Guys,

To cut straight to the point, we were burgled last Monday in a rented accommodation in which over €1500 worth of property was stolen.

We arrived home to find the door had been kicked in and bedrooms were looted. We were later told by the locksmith who came around to fix the locks that this is not the first time this door has been kicked in.

The reason why we think the agency is at fault is that our alarm was not working. We made this clear to the agency months ago that this needed fixing. One house mate has a record of emailing the lady about it, other than that we would have rang her, so it's our word against theirs in that case. It has always been hard to get things done or repaired with this agency.

When were on the phone to our agent following the robbery, one of the first things she said was that this would have probably happened even if the alarm was working - bullsh*t! covering her back, then she said she would make sure the alarm is repaired as soon as possible.

We had detectives around and they have advised us to follow up with the agency about the door and alarm, and let them know this was their fault.

So my question is, can we ask for some sort of compensation from the agency since it was their responsibility to get our alarm fixed and it wasn't done.

Now we're not looking for the whole amount back, but something towards the value of the property stolen, it's something that could have been avoided and we feel we are not liable in this case. I don't think we have much to go on legally, but we are thinking if we write a letter to them, perhaps they could come to some agreement.

Any advice?

Thanks.

Claim from the renters insurance(I hope you rememberd to take out a policy),if you reported the broken alarm to them months ago and they did nothing do you really think they'll give you compensation if you don't have a legal leg to stand on?

Paulw

Did you not have your stuff insured? You should certainly look at getting contents insurance for all your own property within the apt.

I'm not sure that the agency will cover any of your costs.

jebuz

Guys,

Thanks for all the helpful responses.

Unfortunatly, we had no insurance, it's something we obviously overlooked and never though about, but will be looking into getting some as soon as possible. We were quite lucky that they didn't take more, and there was a lot more to take!

The alarm was working when we moved in, and I know we have no leg to stand on legally, but we're just hoping the agency would offer something as a sort of gesture, there's still some decent humans out there somewhere

Thanks again.