£2000 damages!!! no written agreement house sitter

[ladylady]

Hi Guys

 

My son was house sitting for a friend in a lovely house for a year. There was no contract written or deposit taken. He recently left and left the property in a decent condition. However the owner has now presented him with a bill for 2k! This includes a new mattress (stained), chocolate behind a settee, egg slicer dirty etc etc etc! He is now climbing the walls! Any advice please?

[queensclose]

some friend you have.

 

looks like your gonna be falling out

[ladylady]

he was paying rent by the way

[Steve__M]

Was an inventory taken and agreed. If not then your ex(?)-friend doesn't have much of a leg to stand on legally.

 

I guess you will have a better idea whether your son is a slob or not and/or whether your friend has ridiculously high standards and high expectations.

[Aequitas]

They have to prove your son was responsible and then that what they claim is reasonable. I would not be inclined to take it seriously until they take it to court.

[ladylady]

no there was no inventory, and the issues include stains on the carpet (new one needed ) which he had professionally cleaned before leaving, egg boiler in the cupboard broken which he wouldnt have a clue how to use, rug by fire already burned,mattress yellowed,oven tin used! chopping board scored....... house plants outside.... Also when he was there the bath sprung a leak and went into the kitchen which he told her about but she didnt fix so there is water damage to a cupboard door...she is a donut! and he is not a slob. so i told him not to worry and to tell her see you in court! ( just a clue, she has a bedroom just for her Jimmy choo shoes!) He was going to offer her something but I said not to as that could have implications..oh yes and he also has a text from her partner saying thanks for leaving the house in good order... she also states on the bill that he was a house sitter not a tenant so I said well house sitting is a minimum of £10 a day so send her a bill!

[perplexity]

A son of mine would sort this out for himself.

 

If they're not allowed to be responsible for themselves, they wont.

[MrShed]

Just ignore them, or alternatively send a brief letter stating that you dispute all allegations of dilapidations, and if they feel they have a provable case to take to small claims court, but you will not correspond with them any further.