Forced police entry - repair costs

[diy_fun_uk]

One of my BTLs has a young family as tenants. Few days back a neighbour 2 doors up (i.e. there's a house between them and my property, all terraced) reported hearing a young child in distress with the noise coming from my property. Police came out, knocked at door, listened through letterbox, didn't hear anything so forced entry in case there was a child and it had gone quiet for whatever reason.

Thankfully no child had been left unattended, there was no one in. So where was the noise coming from? The house in the middle were dog sitting for a friend! It was concluded it must have been the dog whining that they heard.

The (wooden) door is beyond repair, ruined down the opening edge. The police arranged for a locksmith to attend to make it secure. All they've done is put a not very robust hasp & staple on the inside and outside with padlocks provided to the tenant. So, 'secure' to an extent but not great.

Whilst the police have funded the emergency call out for the locksmith, I'm led to believe the cost to replace the door will fall to me because, although it was a false alarm, the police acted in good faith on the information provided. Whilst I've not spoken to the police, the landlord forum I'm on advises this is usually the way it pans out. Apparently you can sometimes submit a form requesting reimbursement but the chances of it being honoured are minimal (due to police acting in good faith, wasn't the wrong address etc.)

I know you'll be thinking 'insurance claim so what's the problem?' and to an extent that's true. However it's a bitter pill to swallow whether I go insurance route or self fund the repair, especially as the house was empty! Given those reporting the noise were 2 doors up, you think the police might also have quickly checked the house in the middle (where the dog was) prior to knocking doors in, although I appreciate time is of the essence.

One quote receive so far, £2k, which seems excessive to me. They said 'but it'll be an insurance job?' so that's maybe why they've quoted higher.

 

[The Samaritan]

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[conny]

Be much cheaper to get a good carpenetr to fit a new door & lock than go through your insurance.
Make it clear to them you are paying out your own pocket, not the insurance company. £2k seems very high.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Be much cheaper to get a good carpenetr to fit a new door & lock than go through your insurance.
Make it clear to them you are paying out your own pocket, not the insurance company. £2k seems very high.

Yeah, rightly or wrongly I try to avoid claiming when possible. The £2k, based on what I require, is definitely high.

 

[big-all]

my thought
unless you think there is and can prove malice on the part of the person reporting i think sorting it yourself is the only option but fully a guess ??

 

[securespark]

To use the parlance of my lads, £2K is a 'kin' rip.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

my thought
unless you think there is and can prove malice on the part of the person reporting i think sorting it yourself is the only option but fully a guess ??

Yeah this seems to be the consensus. I've never had this sort of situation before and it just seems slightly strange to me. e.g. a neighbour of mine could report a suspicious noise coming from my property, the police have no way of contacting me and force entry, only to discover it's my washing machine on a pre-timed cycle that's gone wonky.

So I'd be left to foot the bill for a new front door. Just seems a bit unfair to me when you're essentially an innocent party

 

[diy_fun_uk]

To use the parlance of my lads, £2K is a 'kin' rip.

Cheers, yeah I posted in the woodwork/joinery section about the cost but not as many folk look in there. Like I say they either don't really want the job and/or they're assuming I'm putting it through insurance so have bumped price up.

Will be interesting to see what other quotes come back at.

I got a wooden door (different property) replaced 3-4 years back for circa £500, decent door decent job ... unfortunately that person's retired.

 

[securespark]

Yeah, most of the tradespeople I got to know down the decades have retired or died.

 

[IT Minion]

Why wood?

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Why wood?

It's part of a larger (wooden) construction i.e. side panel and window. I intend to replace the whole lot with upvc a few years from now. Before you ask I'm not doing it now cause the tenants, whilst nice enough, aren't exactly keeping the place in tip top condition. Before you ask no I'm not going to evict them.

 

[gas112]

Although they have power of entry this is only under certain circumstances so could be worth a free half hour chat with solicitor .
Also was there a cheaper option for them to gain forced entry it could be argued that they should have went in a window . I had power of entry as part of a previous job and part of it was find the cheapest practical way of gaining entry

 

[opps]

As an aside...... the old bill recent turned up at my neighbour's house. They had been told that she was holding someone against
their will. She wasn't, they could see her kid's beds up stairs and decided to knock on the door rather than battering it in immediately. They had the battering rams and had a sniffer dog in the park behind the property. I came home shortly after the 12(?) policemen turned up. I explained that as a neighbour, I have no reason to be concerned about her children. The policeman told me that they suspected that the tip off was malicious.

If they hadn't seen the bunk beds, they would have smashed their way in. I am not criticising them though.

 

[big-all]

Although they have power of entry this is only under certain circumstances so could be worth a free half hour chat with solicitor .
Also was there a cheaper option for them to gain forced entry it could be argued that they should have went in a window . I had power of entry as part of a previous job and part of it was find the cheapest practical way of gaining entry

if they think someone is in danger or distress, thats enough for quick entry i would think??

 

[opps]

if they think someone is in danger or distress, thats enough for quick entry

I get that, but if they have reason to believe that the tip off might be malicious, then it is only fair that they proceed with caution. In the case of my neighbour, they exercised that caution. She was working from home, her 12 year old daughter had just got back from school. They decided to knock on the door, she invited them in. Fair play to both parties.

Strangely, I saw 12 to 15 of them visit another neighbour's house the following day. Again, it was a false alarm. For the record, I live on a very quiet residential road in the suburbs. We seldom see the old bill.