Deposit dispute

tbs624

embelliss wrote: »

This is what I'll probably do with the current place I'm living in because the deposit is exactly equivilant to 1 months rent. But the problem with the previous place is the deposit is £200 more than 1 months rent, so my deposit was £795, which is alot of money to lose.

You do need to understand though that the LA/LL can begin court proceedings for the unpaid rent which could leave a nasty little CCJ on your credit file.

Not condoning what sound to be the dodgy practices of your LA - Paintpot's advice is good

embelliss

paintpot wrote: »

Good luck.

Thanks so much for your advice, it's really helpful.

Yeah the situation is as simple as that, but I think the LA thinks I'm going to cave in.

I called the letting agents yesterday, to ask for a copy of the 'check out' check list that the agent did with me when they inspected the property- in which the agent said to me 'Everything is in immaculate condition, you will receive your whole deposit back', and it says on the check out form that there is no damage etc.

The agent was threatening court on the phone, and mentioned CCJ's etc, I think they are testing my boundaries as I'm young, and it 'appears' that I don't know much about renting.

Also, they have not yet given me back the un-disputed amount- is this wrong?
I moved out on the 28th of June.

The contract says something like
'the agent must tell the tenant within 10* (*These timescales can be changed by agreement with the tenant in individual cases or by the contract used as standard by agent) working days of end of tenancy if they propose to make any deductions from deposit.'

-I'm assuming they can do this simply over the phone? which they have done.


Also on the phone yesterday, the agent kept saying 'you need to pay for the 'broken' bollard' ... they kept saying it was 'broken'!!
I kept saying 'the bollard isn't broken, you simply do not have the key'- and she said 'it is because it's not in the original state you were given it' (meaning down so a car can park in space),
and I replied 'because it is upright and locked into place doesn't mean it's broken as this is one of the intended positions and functions for the bollard'.

This is a complete nightmare.

Loretta

Yes of course you should have had the part of the deposit back that is not disputed, there is no question about that.

As as been said before on a lot of threads if possible go and sit in their office until you at least get the undisputed part back.

Have you notified the TDS about the dispute, I think they have a time limit for dealing with disputes, maybe 14 days, so keep on at them too

zebulon

I would avoid to get into this kind of endless phone conversation with them now!

so are they going to send you the check-out list ?

embelliss

Loretta wrote: »

As as been said before on a lot of threads if possible go and sit in their office until you at least get the undisputed part back.

Have you notified the TDS about the dispute, I think they have a time limit for dealing with disputes, maybe 14 days, so keep on at them too

Sounds like a great idea, unfortunatly I've moved 140 odd miles away haha, which I guess is making me more stressed as I can't do much from where I am apart from call them at all hours.

I haven't personally notified TDS, I have printed out a dispute form and filled it in, I'm just waiting on the copy of the check list and a letter stating the charges from the LA so I can submit with the TDS form to the TDS.
I'm not even sure if the LA have informed the TDS.

zebulon wrote: »

so are they going to send you the check-out list ?

I phoned them up 20 mins ago to see if they have sent it. Every day since thursday she's been saying she's 'onto it' but that's all she ever says. If I don't receive it by tomorrow I'm going to complain to TDS that I haven't received deposit back and it's more than 10 working days since checkout.

tbs624

embelliss wrote: »

I phoned them up 20 mins ago to see if they have sent it. Every day since thursday she's been saying she's 'onto it' but that's all she ever says. If I don't receive it by tomorrow I'm going to complain to TDS that I haven't received deposit back and it's more than 10 working days since checkout.

Send a letter to the LA by recorded delivery this afternoon, keeping it brief and stating just the facts, listing all your telephone conversations - dates, who you spoke to. Send a copy of this to TDS, plus the LL personally (if you know his name & address - you were legally entitled to that info whilst a tenant but you can obtain it from the Land registry for around £3.) State in the letter that you request repayment of your deposit deposit in full within 5 working days.

If no response within that 5 days or if they do write offering the partial refund plus their explanation and you don't agree with this as their final offer, you then write again, heading it Letter before Action, again requesting repayment, giving them a further 3 working days, and tell them that unless they send you the deposit refund you will begin legal action for recovery, and your claim will include the costs involved in you doing so. Stick to doing everything in writing now (by rec delivery), as you'll then have a clear paper trail if you do need to pursue it to court.

Stressful though it is, you do have to sometimes view these things as one of life's annoying 'games' as a way of keeping it all in perspective. If you definitely didn't use this parking space/bollard or get given a key, and there is no evidence to show that you did, then don't give in: as you say, many LAs rely on people giving in, especially once they have moved away. Good luck.

embelliss

UPDATE:
I think the LA finally realised that I was not going to back down to them taking some of my deposit for something I was not responsible for.
They phoned me today and let me know that my full deposit is being sent back to me

carpetbelly

well done

JoeA81

Great news! These crappy LAs really are B***ards sometimes. I've been in a similar situation with an LA I used to rent through.

These people need to understand that you wont be bullied into losing your deposit through no fault of your own! Well done for sticking to your guns.

neverdespairgirl

Well done on sticking to your point, and glad you have it all back now.