With Good deed led to £8,000 demand

EVERYBODY needs good neighbours… So the TV theme tune goes, and most people do little favours for theirs from time to time.

But few realise this could lead to a dispute and cost them money.

A reader called Andrea wrote to me about a problem with her neighbour which arose after she tried to do her good deed.

In May, Andrea’s neighbours went on holiday for a week and asked if she would look after their house while they were gone.

This involved her going in each day to pick up post, so the house didn’t look like it was empty, and letting their cat in and out.

Thieves

It was something Andrea had done for them many times in the past. And they did it for her.

On the Wednesday morning when Andrea went in she found the house had been burgled.

She immediately called the police, who arrived to check the property and provided her with a crime reference number.

It emerged that the thieves had come in through the back door and there had been no forced entry.

This suggested the door had been left unlocked.

Andrea had let her neighbour’s cat back into the house via the back door the previous night – and had, it seems, forgotten to lock it.

When her neighbours returned from holiday she explained the situation and of course apologised profusely. They were very understanding and said they would make an insurance claim.

However, on June 20 Andrea’s neighbours informed her that their claim had been rejected by the insurers on the basis that the house was under Andrea’s care when the break-in happened and the back door was left open.

The neighbours then advised her that they expected her to reimburse them for the stolen property, which

Acame to £ 8,000. Andrea was shocked that it had come to this.

She refused to pay the money and the dispute escalated.

Now her neighbours have issued legal proceedings against her in the small claims court. The court papers claim £ 8,000 from her, stating she was negligent in leaving the door open and that her negligence caused the loss.

I’m not convinced that this claim has any merit but it may make you think twice if a neighbour asks you to look after their property.