Neibour issue - trying to make a claim on our home insurance

[mangos]

We got the keys to or house on 21st Jan. A Victorian end of terrace in a row of 4.
We met our neighbours who all seemed friendly.
One from two doors down invited us in to look at his house as he was having problems with damp and thought it was helpful to show us as our house had been empty for a year and we possibly had the same issues.
He had appointed a damp proofing specialist who was in the middle of stripping his plaster off at the time.
They seemed to be friends and suggested we use his damp proof guy if we had issues.

We were replacing the kitchen and bathroom in our house immediately and had our stop cock turned off for plumbing to be removed.
When we switched it on (luckily before flooring and units had been installed) a river of water flowed out through the front of our house.
As soon as this was noticed we shut off the stop cock and got our house insurance to do a trace and detect.

House insurer was fab. Came out quickly, found the burst pipe, excavated the concrete floor where the leak was so it could be fixed and then refilled the holes.
Our stop cock then went back on and we have had no further leaks.

During this time, neighbour from two doors down becomes very interested in our leak.
Tries to push his damp proofing friend on us.
I don't believe damp proofing was ever needed. There were damp patches that had appeared, but we knew the cause and these dried out and we promptly turned down his services.

Later on, maybe a month or a few weeks, this neighbour keeps bothering us and wanting to meet and discuss our leak.
It was a busy time, baby on the way, house renovations, family weddings abroad etc.
We speak to him over the phone on conference and he is demanding our insurers details and our leak detection report with confirmation that our leak was fixed.

I called our insurer and explained that this neighbour was requesting their details and explained I'm not sure if I should give them.
They said it would be ok to pass on their details as they will confirm that it's nothing to do with them.

Roll on a few months and it turns out all the damp proofing he had done hasn't worked and his house is full of damp again and it all has to be stripped out once more. He's now going on about being £8k out of pocket due to it and that his insurer won't cover it and thinks our leak is to blame.

A leak which flowed to the front of our house downhill and not across to his house two doors down and a leak which was only leaking for a day or two at the most, and didn't even cause major damp in our own house.

It turns out that he and his next door neighbour the other side had old mains pipes under the house that was over due for replacement and were leaky and he got a company to come out and replace the mains to the whole row.

All leaks for everyone sorted. Reason for damp to his house found and no need for damp proofing - just drying out.

It's now August and today I receive and email from my insurer saying he is claiming on us and they have requested further details.

I call them straight away and explain the above and they agree it seems weird but they are just at the stage of gathering evidence.
If he does have a claim against us, they won't cover it as it's on contents and the date he is claiming for was at a time we didn't have contents cover.

It's just a waiting game with that.

But I'm so angry with the neighbour.
He's on holiday at the moment and if he want I think I'd find it really hard not to go round and ask him what he is playing at.

What should I do next if anything?

Would you speak to te neighbour or leave it in the hands of the insurers?

It certainly doesn't make for nice neighbourly relations in a place we have only just moved to.

Edited by mangos on Wednesday 2nd August 20:41

[Bristol spark]

Am i reading this correctly, that a neighbour 2 doors down (ie 1 house between) thinks a water leak in yours is causing his dampness?

[Eddieslofart]

I'd go piss through his letterbox while he's away...that'll confuse him.

[Countdown]

If I thought they were rational I'd try to speak to them.

This guy doesn't seem rational. Damp takes weeks if not months/years to appear. He's off his rocker.

[Blue62]

I really wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Your insurer will deal with any claim in the usual way, a loss adjuster will be engaged to review the claim and assess liability, leave it to them and get on with your life.

If you are found liable (and it sounds unlikely), then it will hardly impact on your premium, I had a fire damage claim of £65k 2 years ago that resulted in an increased premium of £10pa, my advice is to relax.

[mangos]

Blue62 - only problem is that if we are found to be liable (a big if I hope), that it would have to go through contents insurance and our insurance was for buildings only at the time they have made the claim for.
We would have to pay out of our own pocket I guess if that was the case, which is why I'm a little panicky

[mangos]

Bristol spark said:

Am i reading this correctly, that a neighbour 2 doors down (ie 1 house between) thinks a water leak in yours is causing his dampness?

That's correct!

[mangos]

Countdown said:

If I thought they were rational I'd try to speak to them.

This guy doesn't seem rational. Damp takes weeks if not months/years to appear. He's off his rocker.

He really has no idea what so ever when it comes to home maintenance.

But his supposed stupidity is possibly hiding that he is trying to just pull a fast one

[tighnamara]

mangos said:

Blue62 - only problem is that if we are found to be liable (a big if I hope), that it would have to go through contents insurance and our insurance was for buildings only at the time they have made the claim for.
We would have to pay out of our own pocket I guess if that was the case, which is why I'm a little panicky

Never knew that contents insurance on your own property could be claimed against by a 3rd party property.

Should he not be going through his own insurance who would then make any valid claim against your insurance.

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

mangos said:

Blue62 - only problem is that if we are found to be liable (a big if I hope), that it would have to go through contents insurance and our insurance was for buildings only at the time they have made the claim for.
We would have to pay out of our own pocket I guess if that was the case, which is why I'm a little panicky

Never knew that contents insurance on your own property could be claimed against by a 3rd party property.

Should he not be going through his own insurance who would then make any valid claim against your insurance.

Yes, it's his insurance that's contacted my insurance on his behalf.

I understand he could claim on my buildings insurance as there is some liability cover, bug had no idea he could attempt a claim on my contents policy (of which didn't exist)

[mangos]

Eddieslofart said:

I'd go piss through his letterbox while he's away...that'll confuse him.

This is what I feel like doing, but I would need a she-wee to do so

[TA14]

How can he claim against your house contents? Does he suggest that you had a leaky kettle?

[mangos]

TA14 said:

How can he claim against your house contents? Does he suggest that you had a leaky kettle?

This is the wording in the email I received from my insurer today -

'I've also looked at your policy cover to see whether we can help you with the liability claim against you. This type of claim would be dealt with under occupier’s liability cover that is usually provided by a home contents policy.'

[tighnamara]

mangos said:

This is the wording in the email I received from my insurer today -

'I've also looked at your policy cover to see whether we can help you with the liability claim against you. This type of claim would be dealt with under occupier’s liability cover that is usually provided by a home contents policy.'

What exactly is his claim, have you seen anything official stating what required to be repaired, why they think you are responsible, what works he has carried out at his property, along with all dates etc.

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

What exactly is his claim, have you seen anything official stating what required to be repaired, why they think you are responsible, what works he has carried out at his property, along with all dates etc.

it doesnt say exactly in the email

they are just gathering evidence at the moment.

however, based on previous contact with this neighbour, he has tried to claim on his own home insurance policy for the damp proofing he had done, but they wouldnt accept his claim. Thats when he tried to get our insurance details.

He seemed to be cross that we were geting our leak fixed by our insurance. However its a totally different issue. We havent had damp proofing work done under insurance. Our claim through our insurer was small in comparison.

He said at one point his bill for the damp proofing work was £8k. Whether it ended up being more, I have no idea.


This is the main info given in the email:
'Further to your claim, we've been contacted by ***** Insurance about water damage to your neighbour's property at**********. They're alleging that the damage was caused by a burst pipe at your property, and they're holding you liable for the repair costs.
They say that the damage happened on 5 April 2017, which was some time after the water leak we dealt with for you. Please can you confirm whether there was a further leak at your property on this date, and what steps you took to repair it.'

[tighnamara]

mangos said:

it doesnt say exactly in the email

they are just gathering evidence at the moment.

however, based on previous contact with this neighbour, he has tried to claim on his own home insurance policy for the damp proofing he had done, but they wouldnt accept his claim. Thats when he tried to get our insurance details.

He seemed to be cross that we were geting our leak fixed by our insurance. However its a totally different issue. We havent had damp proofing work done under insurance. Our claim through our insurer was small in comparison.

He said at one point his bill for the damp proofing work was £8k. Whether it ended up being more, I have no idea.


This is the main info given in the email:
'Further to your claim, we've been contacted by ***** Insurance about water damage to your neighbour's property at**********. They're alleging that the damage was caused by a burst pipe at your property, and they're holding you liable for the repair costs.
They say that the damage happened on 5 April 2017, which was some time after the water leak we dealt with for you. Please can you confirm whether there was a further leak at your property on this date, and what steps you took to repair it.'

Are they aware he also had a leaking pipe that he repaired.
Sounds as though they just want to confirm you had no further leaks before going back to his insurance company.

[mangos]

tighnamara said:

Are they aware he also had a leaking pipe that he repaired.
Sounds as though they just want to confirm you had no further leaks before going back to his insurance company.

Our insurer were not aware, but I informed them of that today.

[Hoofy]

I don't know which bit of the UK you're in but I have been meaning to speak to you about a slight damp problem I'm having in my Wendy house.

[DonkeyApple]

Hoofy said:

I don't know which bit of the UK you're in but I have been meaning to speak to you about a slight damp problem I'm having in my Wendy house.

Let me have the details when you're finished as our pond is full of water!!

OP, sounds like you're insurer is going through the motions correctly. Good luck with the neighbour, he does sound like a plank.

[QuickQuack]

mangos said:

tighnamara said:

What exactly is his claim, have you seen anything official stating what required to be repaired, why they think you are responsible, what works he has carried out at his property, along with all dates etc.

it doesnt say exactly in the email

they are just gathering evidence at the moment.

however, based on previous contact with this neighbour, he has tried to claim on his own home insurance policy for the damp proofing he had done, but they wouldnt accept his claim. Thats when he tried to get our insurance details.

He seemed to be cross that we were geting our leak fixed by our insurance. However its a totally different issue. We havent had damp proofing work done under insurance. Our claim through our insurer was small in comparison.

He said at one point his bill for the damp proofing work was £8k. Whether it ended up being more, I have no idea.


This is the main info given in the email:
'Further to your claim, we've been contacted by ***** Insurance about water damage to your neighbour's property at**********. They're alleging that the damage was caused by a burst pipe at your property, and they're holding you liable for the repair costs.
They say that the damage happened on 5 April 2017, which was some time after the water leak we dealt with for you. Please can you confirm whether there was a further leak at your property on this date, and what steps you took to repair it.'

I think replying to your insurer to confirm that there had definitely not been a further leak after the one they dealt with, and additionally reminding them that your property does not share a wall or a boundary with the other property, would allow them to tell the other party to jog on. Do ask them politely (since they're on your side!) how it could be that the intervening property between your house and the claimant's house has no leak or other water damage, yet damage at the claimant's house is due to a leak which didn't even exist on the date of the damage. It might be worth dropping into the email that you believe that the claimant is trying to commit fraud by a false claim - it should start setting off some alarm bells if they already weren't ringing.

I just don't get how stupid yet devious some people are!