UPDATE: |’Greater Manchester Police broke down my door after getting the wrong house – and are refusing to pay for the damage’ News

It took almost four months for him to finally receive an answer, telling him that after ‘carefully assessing the facts’, he could not be reimbursed for the damage

A man has been left outraged after the police wrongly broke down the door to his apartment during a 999 call – and have now refused to pay for the damage.

Chun, who moved to Manchester from Hong Kong after the Covid-19 pandemic, says the front door to his apartment in Denton, which was empty due to him selling it and moving house, was left wide open for weeks after police wrongly targeted his home on December 15 last year.

He has claimed he has since footed the bill for installing a new fire door – costing just over £1,400 – under the impression that Greater Manchester Police would then compensate him.

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But after months of being ‘passed around like a football’, the force has refused to pay out for the damage because officers had been ‘given the wrong address’ by the 999 caller and that they were, therefore, not at fault.

However, the wording on Greater Manchester Police’s own website reads: “You can ask the police for compensation for things like forced entry (eg, the police were given the wrong address and broke down your front door by mistake).”

Chun, 33, who did not want to be pictured, was in the process of selling the property and upsizing with his partner and child when police burst through the door at Windsor Court, on Wordsworth Road, while responding to a concern for welfare call.

It was only when his selling agent visited the property weeks later that she noticed the door had been left open after being damaged by responding officers. He says he almost lost the sale of the apartment over the ordeal.

“In December I was close to completing the sale and my agent went to do a final check of the property when she called me saying the door had been broken. I said, ‘are you kidding me?’ I thought there had been a burglary,” he told the M.E.N.

“I got there and there was a clear mark where the door had been broken and just left wide open for everyone to see. I kept calling the police and finally had an officer tell me that they had received a call about someone who was going to take their own life at my flat – but it was actually the wrong address.

“They left the door open for weeks and nobody contacted me at all to tell me.”

Chun said he repaired the door, which cost £1,458 due to it being a specialist fire door, and then began the process of claiming the compensation back through GMP. He says this included sending physical letters at a further cost from the post office.

It took almost four months for him to finally receive an answer, telling him that after ‘carefully assessing the facts’, he could not be reimbursed for the damage.

“I heard nothing for weeks, no reply and no updates,” he said. “I called the department again and then finally, on February 11, a woman handling the case told me the letter was received and I would get a response within 28 days… but by this point it had already been two months.

“Then I was told it had been rejected. Meaning I won’t get any compensation. The property has now been sold but I almost lost the deal and had to pay to get it fixed for it to go through.

“By their own laws, it means the police can break down anyone’s door and then just say ‘bye bye’. It’s crazy. Despite following their instructions, I have received no resolution, only delays and poor communication. This has caused significant stress and financial loss.

“I will fight for my rights. Nobody has been willing to help me at all. I have only lived here for four years and moved from Hong Kong. It has made me scared.

“I only want my costs back for the damage to the door. I spent my own time fixing this. Hours spent trying to ring the police. They don’t have a hotline for the department, so I was passed like a football back and forth just to get some answers. It’s so frustrating.

“Imagine if I was poor or I was a single mum, with no money to fix it. They just closed the doors on me. Even in 2025, I had to write physical letters and wait.

“I then had to pay £7 for the letter to be sent first class from the Post Office and signed, just to claim my own money back.”

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that they were called to a concern for welfare report at an apartment in Windsor Court on December 15 and admitted that officers gained entry to the wrong address, but said it was because they had been ‘given the wrong address by the caller’.

The force said that following an assessment, the flat owner’s claim for compensation was denied and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “On 15 December 2024, officers responded to a concern for the safety of a man in Windsor Court, Denton.

“Officers responding to the emergency call entered an address that they had been told the man was in, entering using powers under the PACE act.