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Deposit refund advice?
Comments
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Thanks SquatNow Its just ashame you cant ask a simple question without other people criticizing and assuming things. Next time I need advice I stick to asking friends. I think this site is more about arguing and debating rather than for offering advice. It would have been nice if people asked for more info on the situation rather the jumping to conclusion and not even answering the question anyway. I guess some folk are incapable of saying yes and no.0
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shadej, I'm afraid you don't understand how a forum works. You spell out a problem, and people give their thoughts. My thoughts are thus:
I don't know how you spelt out the instructions, but keeping a cat in the house and not allowing windows open is an unusual rule - I would expect it to be in bold and underlined if it was so important. If it is hot, I open a window instinctively. It may well have been. However, the sum of her crimes appears to be
1. smoked inside - ok naughty, but you were away and you probably won't be able to tell in a week.
2. Left some washing up - yup annoying but that is living in shared housing I'm afraid, particularly with a youngster.
3. Opened a window.
Now I think it is a bit harsh to take someone's deposit for the above. Yes the cat got fleas, but that is unfortunate. We had a cat for 20 years (old cat when it died!) and it had fleas once. Its pretty unfortunate.
So my opinion - return the deposit and remember that perhaps you like your house a certain way and perhaps don't have the right disposition (you need to be a little bit happy-go-luck) to take a lodger in the future.0 -
Shadej if you had really wanted just a yes or a no then you would not have posted the whole story you would have posted bullet points of the saga, I know you will take that as a critisem but hopefully when you have calmed down from this situation you will see many of us are trying to give constructive advise.
Either way re your lodger as she has been so bad with rent I would not hold out your hopes that she will walk in and pay up what she owes. I would therefore be ready to ask her for her full payment and accept she may 'use' the deposit as part of that payment.
IF you get your full rent and you get to negociate about the deposit why don't you ask your lodger if you can keep it towards cleaning up after her and the extra costs caused. her response will let you know if its a simply yes or going to be a battle and you can decide from there how much effort it is worth.0 -
Shadej if you had really wanted just a yes or a no then you would not have posted the whole story you would have posted bullet points of the saga, I know you will take that as a critisem but hopefully when you have calmed down from this situation you will see many of us are trying to give constructive advise.
Either way re your lodger as she has been so bad with rent I would not hold out your hopes that she will walk in and pay up what she owes. I would therefore be ready to ask her for her full payment and accept she may 'use' the deposit as part of that payment.
IF you get your full rent and you get to negociate about the deposit why don't you ask your lodger if you can keep it towards cleaning up after her and the extra costs caused. her response will let you know if its a simply yes or going to be a battle and you can decide from there how much effort it is worth.
Somewhat helpful and somewhat not.
How could I ask a question and expect a honest answer if I had not given the full story? If you read my post I was not asking for advice on the situation just on the deposit. I had already spoken to friends and family for advice but when it came to the deposit everyone had different views, hence me asking here. I only received one answer about the deposit and everyone else decide to give advice on the whole situation which in all fairness I kindly asked people not to do that as I wanted a few quick answers so I could make a quick decision. The one person that gave me advice didn't agree with me but had a point and I decided to take her advice. So yes I can take criticism. I hate when people assume I hadn't done something. For example: I have stated four times that my cat is not a street cat but a house cat. He is Persian costing over £400 and you don't just let them out. A window open yes but not full blown and for the whole two weeks, Which she already admitted to. Had I had been home and my cat cought flees I would have treated it strait away and the whole house would not have been affected. Anyway I have recieved the rent and I didn't refund her. Turns out she booked several pay per view movies and made in excess of 8 phone calls, totaling £36.32 Shes gone and so have the flees. I have no plans for a lodger in the future so advice is really too late.
Again thank you to everyone.0 -
Thanks sue you have a point. My cat is 3y and is a house cat. He never goes out and has never cough flees. If she had not left the window open for two weeks im guessing it wouldn't have happened. The washing machine was not part of the deal. I would not had had to rewash clean clothes and the duvets if she hadn't left the window open. Her saying sorry does indicate that she accepts responsibility that it was her fault. Oh I don't know but I do know that it wasn't my fault I did my best to make the house clean and comfortable for her stay with us. But you do have a point and accidents do happen.
Cat obviously wants to go out. It's a cat being outside doing cat-things is normal. Never did get those daft middle-aged women who imprison animals. Keeping a cat permanently in the house and all windows shut is basically a bit weird - it's perfectly plausible the lodger had no idea of these wacky-left-of-centre house rules.0 -
He is Persian costing over £400 and you don't just let them out.
All my pedigrees have had the right to roam, at 400 pounds he won't be show quality only 'pet'- he doesn't know he's a pedigree either. It's a cat that likes to roll in grass, chase flies not some sort of antique for resale on ebay !0 -
Clutton I am not quite sure why you seem so bothered and interested? Maybe you have a somewhat boring life and see this as fulfillment. If indeed thats the case the please feel free to throw at me what ever makes you feel better, I have already made up my mind and you going on is pointless.
How rude, you get advice from a professional landlord with a wealth of experience and make personal comments.....0 -
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barnaby-bear wrote: »Cat obviously wants to go out. It's a cat being outside doing cat-things is normal. Never did get those daft middle-aged women who imprison animals. Keeping a cat permanently in the house and all windows shut is basically a bit weird - it's perfectly plausible the lodger had no idea of these wacky-left-of-centre house rules.
Friends of my mum used to breed Persians so they were not allowed out (your prize female having kittens by the local ginger tom is apprantly frowned on), but they were NOT kept in the house, they had a huge pen with a 10' tree branch within it to scratch and climb, a covered area for when it rained and it was up against a hedge so flies and beetles came in for the cats to chase (and eat). Personally cannot see ANY reason for a pet to be confined to the house because the owner thinks it is too pretty to go out, but we are all different. Thankfully when I had dogs they knew what it was to roll in old fish, swim out and chase ducks, get hosed down due to bringing back all the mud from bottom of a puddle, walk for miles in rain and sun and lay in front of the fire having their belly rubbed when clean.0 -
I am almost sure that I am not the 0nly one to keep a house cat that I don't allow to play with dirty stray cats. Anyone that thinks I don't open windows and the back door is plain stupid. My cat doesn't run out he is happy in his bed or on the sofa. Maybe you should speck to a few HOUSE cat owners before you comment. I am not a breeder so no I don't have "a huge pen with a 10' tree branch within". Im just a loving cat owner who wants my cat safe and away from dirty strays.0
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