Hi I recently returned an item to a small online retailer due to the item being faulty/ incompatible with another item it was designed for. I made it clear in their support ticket that I wished to return the item for a full refund. Their support rep responded with "If the item is faulty we will replace it for you from our stock." The attitude of the customer service rep and part of their Terms of Service has me concerned: "Where items are returned as faulty and no fault is found by [RETAILER] a charge of £19.99 plus return postage is payable to cover the engineer's time." Also the return document sent for me to include with the item had the following paragraph: "Nb. Returns which are tested and found to be without fault, or where damage is found to have been caused by misuse, are liable to a £19.99 engineer's fee, plus return postage. By returning goods to us you are confirming that you understand and accept this." I left this unsigned. The item was returned in its original packaging. Would the seller have any recourse the levy a "engineer's fee" if they find no fault? If the item was returned fixed/replaced against my instructions what would be my next option (payment was through paypal)? Thank you in advance.

Hi All, I have served notice to my landlord to move out of my apartment on 01/12/2016. There are no arrears and everything is up to date. My landlord however wants to do an inspection on 14/12/2016 which is over 2 weeks before the tenancy ends and I feel will not truly represent the condition the property will be in before handing the apartment back to him. The reasons given by him for doing this are to get an assessment done for trades people to fit there schedules and to prepare the property for the letting agent. This is all very well and good but the landlord has said if they cannot gain entry they have said the following and I quote "It will be a long time before you can get your deposit back if at all" The LL requested access on Monday for the pre-end inspection. However I advised I am currently harboring a contagious condition, which I have had 6 courses of antibiotics to treat, been struggling with for over 2 months and it's still not close to gone. I also have extensive medical history and take various medications for my ailments nearly all of which cause some form of drowsiness. I am also classed as a vulnerable person. I have said to the landlord that I am harboring this condition and that it is contagious. I have not had any response since then despite a reply the same day. I have chased him up today and still no response. I could absolutely evidence that I've had several hospital visits in the last 3 months for this condition. During the weekend I was involved in an accident, my arm is in a sling as I cannot use my left hand at all. So as you've probably gathered I'm not feeling too social at the moment. I am aware that he probably has the right to enter in these circumstances, But I feel the inspection won't be a genuine representation of the condition of the flat after I leave. I plan to repair some things which have broken overtime and deep clean the property as I have lived there for 4 years. Can anyone suggest how I should approach this please? I don't want to make out that I'm using these ailments as an excuse to deny the landlord entry. I'm actually thinking I don't want to pass him the condition. But threatening the deposit if he can't get in? Really?! Seems a little unreasonable if you ask me. Thanks again in advance for any advice

I purchased for 15,000 euros for a market sales wagon (a Fiat Ducato van, fitted with cooling units, shelves and such). Prior to the purchase I paid for a "car inspection" and purchased the van on the basis of a generally favorable review. However, the review missed the fact that the van was completely rusted underneath. It was purchased 2-3 weeks ago. I do not see how the inspection missed this. As the inspector's request, the van was taken to a garage so that he could see everything underneath (this was expensive as the license plates and insurance had lapsed, so needed to buy for short term transport). It is so rusted underneath, it is requiring 10 hours of welding work. On the report, it is stated that there is minor rusting under edge of one door. Not that the entire thing is completely rusted underneath. For what it may be worth, the garage has taken photos. All this was done in Germany by ADAC (local equivalent AA / RAC). I know that the forum is UK oriented, but I cannot post on the German forums (I speak almost no German) and hope that the advice for the UK is likely applicable to me in Germany. So, is this simply a case of bad luck for me or do I have any legal rights? Thanks for any advice on what I can or should do? Regards, Doug

I have been working as agency in a private care provider. The staff get a good cash bonus if their inspections are good. One member of staff told me they were picked to speak to the inspector but chose not to tell all as they wanted their bonus. If they spoke out all the staff would have lost this payout (£500). Is it legal to offer a bonus that would potentially stop people from being honest and/or whisleblowing?

Hi all. This may be a long post so please be patient!! I have had numerous issues with the attitude and practices of my landlord in the past (even being caught going through a laundry basket once for evidence of pets!!), but following a recent mid-tenancy inspection (where he was caught going through kitchen cupboards?!) I have had a letter posted to me with a number of issues raised. I will outline some of these below and just want to know where I stand with the demands - Numerous nails in walls to hang pictures. Taken on another adult tenant, so sub-letting. The reality of this is my daughter (who is 30) has come home to live for 4 months while she finishes her Uni degree and moves back to the house she owns. Landlord adamant there is a pet here and states has found hair and also claw marks on walls and stains on the carpet. Again, the reality here is my other daughter sometimes visits with her dog, which could answer the hair (at least my only guess). The carpet stains are simply from living with 2 teenagers and the marks on the walls are from moving furniture. There is mould around one of the windows and I am to provide more adequate ventilation. I am not prepared to leave windows open in the middle of winter so not sure what I can do here? A hammer and screwdriver were left in garden to make for easy burglary and showing disregard for the property. More a dig than anything else I feel, but I kind of take a point. Locks on the garage have been changed and keys not provided to landlord. The reality of this is the landlord has not replaced the back gate which has rotten, so extra padlocks have been installed due to having expensive gym equipment in the garage and living near a rough estate. The padlocks themselves are off my daughters boyfriends bike locks, so I will most certainly not be provided keys. During the actual inspection the landlord invited a friend around to take a look at an area he thought had damp. However, from now reading the letter it appears this friend also got involved with the inspection and they are both claiming photo evidence of what has been found. Is this allowed? The demands that have been made are to repair all walls and have the carpet professionally cleaned. The landlord has stated there will be a further inspection in 2 weeks to assure these things have been carried out. Are these fair demands? In the past I have touched up any paintwork and deep cleaned carpets myself when I am due to leave, not while I am still living here. I cannot afford to have a carpet professional cleaned in a 2 week timeframe and cannot see how this can be demanded. Does a lot of this not come down to how I leave the house when I leave? He has stated there will be deductions from my bond if I don't comply, but how can this be done while I still live here? Again, sorry for the long post but I am trying to find out if this letter and these demands are fair, or just my landlord yet again trying to make my life hell. Thanks in advance.

Hello! I would be really grateful if I could get some advice please! I had a tenancy inspection 28days ago and there were a few issues that they kicked off about (hairdye on the toilet seat etc!) One of them was that some of the lightbulbs needed replacing - however the light fittings in the property are 3 pin energy saving which cost between £10-£13 each and 5 of them all went over the Christmas period. We simply can not afford to replace them all - more like 1 a month at the moment!! Can we be evicted for something like this? I though I had read something a while ago about 'non'standard fittings' and gave these lightbulbs as an example, but I can't be sure. Any advice would be much appreciated

I have had damp in the property for over 9 months, The landlord refused to repair the damage, I am now getting evicted due to rent arrears. Due to the damage I can file for disrepair at the court which I have done. The landlord now wants to repair the damage which I don't have a problem with. The landlord has now sent me a "Notice to Tenant of Inspection" and that the "Property manager" will come round to the property which there is no property manager and nothing about one in the tenancy. The landlord is saying PERSON A is the property manager but he is not, He is a local tradesmen. He came to the property previously and was so rude and refused to do the work. I really do not want this person in my home. In my tenancy it says: That the landlord or any person authorised by the landlord or his agent may as reasonable times of the day on giving 24 hour written notice, (Unless in emergency) enter the property for the purpose of inspecting its condition and state of repair. The tenant shall permit the property to be viewed on reasonable notice (atleast 24hours) at all reasonable times during the final weeks of the tenancy. Can I refuse PERSON A access to the property but allow the damp specialist in? I do not want this person in my home, even though the landlord wants them to come? Is there any other advice? Edit: It says on tenancy During the last final weeks of the tenancy, The tenancy is on roll over I've only signed one. What does it mean by Final weeks in tenancy? Court hearing is 9th april. Another 4 weeks away, I'll be given eviction but wont leave the property so then landlord will need to apply again to the court which will take even more time, All I need to know is, Can I refuse the person access who the landlord has given permision to?

Hi, We have a routine house inspection planned for this coming week which has happened every six months for the last 5 years. During the last inspection the estate agent said it is now part of their procedure to take pictures of every room, which they then forward onto the landlord to show them what their property is currently like to give an impression of the type of people living in it. We agreed because we felt very on the spot but rang up later to say we weren't happy & they said this is the case with many of their tenants and they will have to rethink. Now, they have hired an external agency called Pinstripe to carry out inspections. On their website it says they too take pictures of the house. We have rang them to say you can take as many pictures as you like of the walls/doors/curtains everything that belongs to the landlord & the landlord is welcome round in person anytime, but we don't want our personal possessions in the pictures. They said we (as tenants) have no choice that is what they do and we have no right to stop them. If we had young children would we have more rights? Or can random people come and take pictures of their bedrooms? We will have all of our electrical goods and personal items on display to a number of people who have access to our house! Please can someone provide any info on this subject and of any rights we do/don't have. Thank you

Hi all we are currently working overseas and are renting our home out (please don't think we are greedy BTL landlords . . . we don't really have a choice in this economic climate and we love our home). The letting agent had arranged for new tenants to move in, however despite passing the old tenant on inspection, the new tenants were not happy with the place and have said they will not sign the lease until we meet their demands. Some of these are spurious (they have decided they want us to replace some of the furniture which they were happy with when they first applied). Do we legally have to meet their demands or have they in effect rejected the contract? BTW - the agents are being terrible! many thanks in advance

As a newby not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes. I am about to move out of my rented flat and I have to have a property inspection. Not a problem with that except that the lettings agent wants to charge me £35 for the inspection! There is nothing in his T&Cs about a charge for this, but as he is holding a £500 deposit, if he decides to take it out of that there isn't much I can do about it. Does anyone know if he can legally just take this money without my consent.

Hi, today I had my yearly house inspection by the letting agency that i am with, and in the conversation we had the agent said they are going to change the yearly inspections to quarterly inspections is this a bit to much? Never rented a house before that was inspected every 3 months before! Oh and I gave him a list of basic repairs that are needed, nothing fancy or expensive but I bet they dont get done!

Hi Caggers Just thought this may be of some use to others on CAG Its a House inspection checklist form in PDF that you may use especially useful if renting to keep your own detailed copy of move-in and move-out. please feel free to use or amend.

Hope someone here can provide a little advice. I recently left my rental property after ~5 years. My landlord did not take a deposit when I moved in, nor did they conduct an exit inspection with me present prior to me moving out (I requested that the landlord do this when I handed my notice in, but they did not get back to me about it). The landlord now wishes to charge me for some damages and cleaning which I am happy to pay for, as I simply ran out of time before I had a chance to clean the entire house to the standard I would have liked. I have a few concerns though: I believe the landlord may charge an unreasonable amount for cleaning, as they are undertaking the job themselves I believe the landlord may try and charge for as-new repairs, when I know that the damage could be remedied with, for example, spare parts rather than a lock-stock-and-barrel replacement The landlord also wants to charge for a broken appliance that I know for certain was working when I moved out, but not having gone through an exit inspection I don't know how we can get around a situation of my word against theirs. The landlord has also been bombarding me with picture messages of each (small!) item of cleaning they have had to do, and has been on the phone to me accusing me of lying and trying to pull a fast one, even though I have always made clear that, deposit or no, I want to make things right. So what are my rights here? What is the landlord's legal standing given the lack of deposit or exit inspection? I'm happy to pay for reasonable cleaning and repairs, but could this get protracted and horrible if, as I suspect, the landlord comes back with a bill that includes an unreasonable amount of work and some downright fabrications? Am I within my rights to send them a cheque for a reasonable amount along with a covering letter justifying it? What should I do if the unprofessional abuse via phone and text message continues? Thanks all.

Please can anyone offer any advice about resolving a dispute that began in May. I bought a laminate floor from Quickstep from their own online website in April, thinking they were a reputable company with quality products. However, not long after it was laid (a friend laid it) it became apparent one of its joints was faulty. I got their own dealer's fitter to see it and he agreed the joint was weak and that he would be nervous to lay it himself and he put this in writing, although his finding wasn't 100% conclusive in laying blame! To cut a long story short Quickstep wouldn't accept his report and now after ALOT of persistance from me and after 4 months I've finally got them to arrange an independent inspection (that they will pay for as product is under 6 months old and onus is on them to proove there isn't a fault!). However, I have just looked up the man they are sending out, and found his wesiteb and can see hes a salesman for quickstep cleaning products so not independent at all if he's even an inspector:!:! I've already booked his visit next week as I was so relieved they were finally sending someone. What are my rights? Are they entitled to send whoever they like? Should I cancel him? Please help I don't know how to move this forward!

I have a question regarding property inspections: Our landlord made an appointment for inspection and no one ever turned up. Now about two weeks later a new inspection was timetabled where photos will be taken, without an apology for no show last time. There are several questions I am asking myself: Do I have any right to complain if appointments are not kept and I am not informed, do I have to let people take photos (and of which areas) and what can they be used for (advertising online?), if the date the landlord fixes does not suit me, can I ask for a different one and where are these rules set out? Kind regards and thank you for any answers

Hi all, Had notification on Monday of an inspection this Friday of the house I rent by the letting agent on behalf of the landlord. I am midway through painting the property, colours I chose and have agreed when I said I was painting, I would paint back to white when I eventually move out if the colours aren't suitable, mind when I moved in there was a bright pink wall in the living room. My main worry is that I am doing this painting alone and the ceilings too high in my bedroom for me to complete on my own, waiting for my boyfriend to come over so he can paint the tops of the walls so my bedroom painting wise does look a mess at the moment. Will the letting agent have any problems with how my bedroom and the rest of the house looks bearing in mind its midway through painting? Also what else should I expect them to look at and maybe pick up on? Its a home I clearly live in, its not a mess but its not tidy either, I have books all over the place as I am a bookworm. The house was unfurnished except for a washing machine and fridge freezer in the kitchen. Any help and advice welcome. Thanks

hi there i want advice on getting a car inspection i have my astra mk6 1.4t at the dealer for checks on problems that i have and fond no problems i contacted vauxhall and they said it was the characteristic of the model that i have. i dont agree with them so i need a second opinion

I moved out of rental property at the end of May. but the landlord did an inspection at the beginning of June. Can he do that? Thanks

as to my question their is case law that stipulates that a party to an assignment of a debt can inspect the deed of assignment, especially if it has gone legal any links to a thread with the case law thanks

forgive me for my ignorance, I am a first time letter and want to know if I am going to be told to remove posters basically. I dont see anything in our contract which states that posters cannot been put up. currently my flat mate has a few posters and a flag pinned on the wall. I have not seen this as a problem as blu-tack always leaves a mark, and my mirror is actually hung on a pin. also, we have our inspection tomorrow and i am going to point out a few things which i feel needs to be seen too but i am unsure as to whether i am being picky. my kitchen tap drips and the fridge door is needing to be lifted before it shuts properly which as you can imagine is irritating. so some guidance on whether these issues will be sorted or not would be awesome. thanks for your help