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While I was on vacation in August last year, a pipe broke in the bathroom of my rental property.
The ground floor rooms were flooded, the roof collapsed, the floors buckled and the house was uninhabitable.
My rental agreement states that in the event of such incidents, alternative accommodation will be provided through the owner’s insurer, Axa.
But the insurer told me I would have to claim these costs under my Admiral contents cover. The admiral told me it was a building insurance issue. I’ve spent around £15,000 on hotels and Airbnbs for myself and my two young children.
South Carolina, Buckinghamshire
Axa suggested there were delays in meeting costs and in helping it find a more suitable temporary abode while it checked whether its Admiral contents policy would cover the bills.
Sally Hamilton responds: Having been through a similar flood last year, I understand your situation. I was fortunate that it was clear from the beginning that my building insurer would pay for temporary accommodation while repairs were made, and since I didn’t have to move immediately, I had time to plan.
Your case was more complex since you are a tenant and, since the place was uninhabitable, you had to move out almost immediately while the landlord filed the insurance claim.
However, you felt you were on solid ground, as it was written in black and white in your contract that the cost of temporary accommodation would be covered through the owner’s insurance company.
But Axa was delaying. You first contacted me in October last year, more than six weeks after the water leak ruined your house.
You expected Axa to step in and resolve matters quickly, but instead, you were left to fend for yourself and move from place to place, spending thousands of dollars on top of your regular rent on the uninhabitable house.
In total, he moved ten times, including a stay at a property where he had to sleep in a children’s bed even though he is 6ft 2in. It was unsettling for you and your children, who are nine and 12 years old.
The situation was more complicated because the owner lives in Australia and was initially not allowed to discuss the matter directly with Axa.
Your biggest worry was having to terminate the lease, because the rented home was perfect for you and your children’s schooling.
When a rental home becomes uninhabitable, landlords with homeowners insurance are generally covered for loss of income if the incident results in early termination of the lease.
Some policies, such as your landlord’s Axa plan, offer the policyholder the option of covering alternative accommodation costs for tenants.
This last option is more complicated for the landlord and potentially more expensive for the insurer, but if a landlord has good tenants and does not want to disappoint them, then it is prudent to have this coverage.
I would suggest that all tenants review their agreements to ensure that such costs are covered if the worst happens.
Some landlords without this coverage may waive rent if they can afford it while repairs are completed, while others may simply end the lease.
For policyholders to be entitled to alternative accommodation cover, your tenants must normally continue to pay rent as normal, as you have done.
He was also worried that if he stopped doing so, the cover would be invalidated and he would never get back the £15,000 he had already shelled out on Airbnbs.
I asked Axa to explain what was delaying her decision to cover these expenses and help her find more suitable temporary housing. My question prompted him to act and a few days later he suggested that there had been problems checking whether his Admiral content policy would meet the requirements.
Some policies offer alternative accommodation cover, although they typically offer a much smaller sum than buildings policies.
It shouldn’t have taken so many weeks to discover that you weren’t covered by Admiral. (Also, you said you were impressed with Admiral and that it quickly delivered on your five-figure content claim.)
Following my intervention, Axa finally clarified that she was responsible for reimbursing her Airbnb bills, as well as covering future accommodation costs until she can return to her rental home. Just before Christmas he moved into a property for which Axa has paid £24,000 upfront for a 12-month lease.
When we caught up last week you said you had finally been refunded your £15,000. You thanked me profusely and said, ‘What do everyone else do without Sally to help them?’
An Axa spokesperson says: “We are very sorry for the delays in confirming alternative accommodation for SC. We will continue to support him until he can return home.” Axa has also paid him £500 as an apology.
I can’t access £6000 in my eBay account
I have a problem with eBay that is causing me enormous stress. The company suspended a previous account I had due to a small outstanding sum from 2018 and is now not allowing me to access around £6,000 I have in a newer account. I need the money for upcoming expenses including a vacation deposit.
For example, West Dunbartonshire.
Sally Hamilton responds: You told me that you had sold two watches through the marketplace through your newest account and that the buyer paid £6,041 immediately. They were happy with their purchases.
It turned out that eBay had blocked access due to a £181 debt dating back seven years.
You say you don’t remember what this was for, but you offered to pay for it to have the restrictions lifted.
EBay agreed and said it would send a payment link, but it never arrived.
He tried four or five times to fix this. But the customer chat service did not move forward and since time waits for no one (or customer service representative), you contacted me for help.
Within two days, eBay issued a new payment link, you paid the debt and had access to your £6,041. Better late than never.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk; include the phone number, address, and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to speak. to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot be responsible for them. The Daily Mail cannot accept any legal responsibility for the answers given.
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