Sold house and buyer is claiming damages

[podwin]

Quick question (hope it's in the right place).

My Sister and her husband sell their house.

Mother moves in with kid(s).

Child is outside, pulls patio door handle (rather than sliding it), door is pulled off runners and falls on child, pinning her to the ground.

My sister and BiL get a solicitors letter demanding £300 for damages, child is thankfully OK.

I have said they should ignore it, sister wants to acknowledge letter via their solicitor stating the door was fine. I completely disagree.

Who is right, surely the new owner cannot demand a thing can they?

Thanks.

[McSam]

No chance, unless you specifically guaranteed to the buyer that that door was in good working order and perfectly safe, they can jog on. She's trying to make a cheeky few quid.

If your sister already has a solicitor, ask them to confirm the situation, or speak to Citizen's Advice - once that is done, ignore it completely.

[zaphod42]

Houses are not covered by any SOGA or similar protection (except from a new build sale which will carry levels of guarantee from the house builder)

My understanding is that houses are bought based on the buyers inspection and survey / due diligence and there is no comeback on the vendor. However, I am not a lawyer.

(This post might be better placed in SP&L)

[hidetheelephants]

podwin said:

Quick question (hope it's in the right place).

My Sister and her husband sell their house.

Mother moves in with kid(s).

Child is outside, pulls patio door handle (rather than sliding it), door is pulled off runners and falls on child, pinning her to the ground.

My sister and BiL get a solicitors letter demanding £300 for damages, child is thankfully OK.

I have said they should ignore it, sister wants to acknowledge letter via their solicitor stating the door was fine. I completely disagree.

Who is right, surely the new owner cannot demand a thing can they?

Thanks.

The would-be plaintiff should be directing their demands to the current property owner, to wit themselves. I feel that the correct response, if indeed any is needed, is that delivered by the respondent in the case of Arkell v Pressdram.

[Simbu]

podwin said:

My sister and BiL get a solicitors letter demanding £300 for damages

Seriously? What kind of shyster solicitor entertained that?!

[podwin]

It has come from their solicitor dealing with their purchase of the property.

It has gone straight to my sister's solicitor who dealt with the sale, and all am I aware of is that they have simply passed it on to her without any advice.

[Jobbo]

If she wants to reply, she should direct the buyer to speak to the surveyor they instructed, or their own insurers.

[Shuvi Tupya]

Don#t forget to bill them for your time and your solicitors time..

[_Batty_]

Jobbo said:

If she wants to reply, she should direct the buyer to speak to the surveyor they instructed, or their own insurers.

Probably a 'house buyer survey'.
Which means they drive past it,'yup its a house'...

[rah1888]

Caveat emptor

[NDA]

Tell them you choked on a meal purchased with their deposit and, as a result, will never play the piano again.

At best it's laughable, at worst it's an attempt at extortion. There is no legal merit whatsoever. Tell them to sit on it.

[Neil H]

I hate the way this US-style litigation is spreading over here. I would simply ignore it.

[Jobbo]

_Batty_ said:

Jobbo said:

If she wants to reply, she should direct the buyer to speak to the surveyor they instructed, or their own insurers.

Probably a 'house buyer survey'.
Which means they drive past it,'yup its a house'...

That's the point - if she wanted it to be surveyed properly then she could have done so, but it would have been her choice. There's no warranty in a standard residential property sale contract about the state of repair.

[Roger645]

Report the mother to social services for not supervising her child properly!

[Simpo Two]

Suspect the hairy-arsed 18-stone tattooed boyfrend pulled it off.

There's no evidence, merely a story.

[CatherineJ]

Out of interest how long was the timescale between them selling the house and the kiddywinkle pulling the handle of.

[Stevenj214]

Play letter tennis with their solicitor. £25 a pop for them. Continually ask for clarification, references, proof etc. Getting more and more ludicrous each time. Question if they even have a child. Request copies of birth certificates.

[podwin]

CatherineJ said:

Out of interest how long was the timescale between them selling the house and the kiddywinkle pulling the handle of.

Less than a week.

[McSam]

Stevenj214 said:

Play letter tennis with their solicitor. £25 a pop for them. Continually ask for clarification, references, proof etc. Getting more and more ludicrous each time. Question if they even have a child. Request copies of birth certificates.

If you have a lot of spare time, do this!

[CatherineJ]

Smells far too fishy to me. I mean I'm no expert but you just can't pull a patio doors off the runners by pulling on the handle can you? Surely there are safety measures to prevent that happening.