Disintagrating wall, advise needed??

[Stephen Blair]

Just tell the guy to get lost and ignore his calls and see what happens. Your moral obligation is diferent from mine and others on here, so do it the way i wouldn't .

[tommer9]

YOU were responsible (via your employee) for knocking down the wall. Its as simple as that. Get it rebuilt, and i mean just the bit you knocked down, and that will be that. If he wants to play the game of getting the whole thing rebuilt then leave it to your insurers. Your excess will probably be less than getting it rebuilt anyway.

 

Or you could do what Mr Blair said, but i would add that you should knock the rest down in broad daylight whils sticking two fingers up to him........just to teach him a lesson in unreasonableness of course........

[geoff]

If the wall had fallen on a kid,or burglar,liability would be with the landowner if the wall was deemed unsafe & at risk of colapse,get it surveyed by an engineer & if he condemns the structure due to condition & /or design I would consider sending him a copy of the report & wait to see his next move.

You should tell your insurance company & explain (with report),within the time scale specified in your insurances.

That's my opinion on it if the wall can be shown to be a liability to the owner. he got off lightly,if as you say he was aware & had not taken measures to make safe.

[geoff]

Just had a rethink after taking advice,and the best way would be to make your insurers aware at the first oportunity,let them know the circumstances surrounding the wall failing,and if you can show that the landowner was aware of the walls condition,then he may get the 'defective premesis act' thrown back at him by your insurers surveyors.

 

 

read this,and scroll down to landlords duty of care,& note section 4;

 

Defective Premises Act 1972 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edited July 21, 2011 by geoff
bit more.

[Rick2517]

Just tell the guy to get lost and ignore his calls and see what happens. Your moral obligation is diferent from mine and others on here, so do it the way i wouldn't .

 

My moral obligation is to put the wall back to the state it was originally was before the damage was caused, and as I have said I am moor then happy to do this but he is not willing to except and feels I should destroy the remaining wall and re build the lot.

That is not morally fair and it looks like I will have no choice but to go through my insurance and take the hit.

Thanks for you're comments!

[Rick2517]

Just had a rethink after taking advice,and the best way would be to make your insurers aware at the first oportunity,let them know the circumstances surrounding the wall failing,and if you can show that the landowner was aware of the walls condition,then he may get the 'defective premesis act' thrown back at him by your insurers surveyors.

 

 

read this,and scroll down to landlords duty of care,& note section 4;

 

Defective Premises Act 1972 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Thanks allot mate this is the sort of helpful response I was hopping for. That link is very interesting. I am going to try my best to make him an offer to pay the amount it would cost to rebuild the part of the wall damaged by me, which i think is fair. As im pretty sure it will cost allot less then my insurance excess.

If all els fails i will go through the insurance pay take the hit and move on learning a valuable lesson.

Thanks again.

[geoff]

With a bit of fair play you may find the insurance tell him you have no liability in this matter,more so if the landowner was aware of the wall's condition.

Im all for making good what one busts,but if the wall is/was in the condition you describe,and or built of single skin to 10 feet tall,with no piers in it,then you will have no probs with your insurance paying out...they just wont!

[Rick2517]

With a bit of fair play you may find the insurance tell him you have no liability in this matter,more so if the landowner was aware of the wall's condition.

Im all for making good what one busts,but if the wall is/was in the condition you describe,and or built of single skin to 10 feet tall,with no piers in it,then you will have no probs with your insurance paying out...they just wont!

 

You've hit the nail on the head there mate,Ive spoken to the insurance company and they have told me that there is no chance they would pay out as I can prove that the wall was in an unsafe state and the owner was aware of this for 12 months prior (his insurance company let it slip that he has been trying to claim to get it re built for over a year). Thats what makes it so frustrating because this guy has so obviously seen this situation as a god send and he can now point the finger at somebody because it has finally fell over ( maybe this is why he didn't tell the tenant about it!)

But i would still have to pay insurance Excess for the surveyor and so on and also loos my no claims next year. Lol just cant win!

[Rick2517]

I would like to add that in the past I have forked out without any second thought for fence panels, pains of glass for green houses, patio slabs and evan a new shed. Im well aware that I have a responsibility when working on peoples property and my customers no that when they employ me it comes with total reassurance and security that the job will be completed to the highest of professional standards and any damage we are liable for WILL BE FIXED!! "Thats just how I roll" :-)

[geoff]

I hope it all works out for you mate,I too will put right any 'mishaps',but I wont stump up if people are just trying one on,in this instance he has knowingly placed other people in harms way to save a few quid.