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TDS Success
SteveyLomas
Posts: 54 Forumite
I had a some good fortune winning my TDS dispute and whilst it didn't go to court, I have had a few requests to put my correspondence together in one place, so here is the course of my correspondence. I have not included the letting agents' as well, there wasn't any until right at the end. Please feel free to use any of this if you want to, however I have zero legal training and thus you should place no reliance on these letters - this is no like the reclaim your bank charges templates or anything.
I would also urge you to remember that the only money I ever had on the line was £80 - so don't feel frightened. You can do it all on line and losing £80 is the worst thing that can happen, and the best thing is 3x your deposit.
Initial letter:
Dear xyz,
Thank you for your previous response by electronic mail on 9th May 2008 sent by xxx (“FW: Please proof this email for Mr Lomas.” or the “Email”). I can confirm I have received £950.00, my share of the deposit. However, I note that the document attached to the Email (the “Certificate of Tenancy Registration” or the “Certificate”) demonstrates that xyz failed to treat my deposit in accordance with the requirements of the Housing Act 2004. These transgressions are detailed below.
Firstly, I am not named on the Certificate. My two former co-tenants are, however this afforded me no protection whatsoever under the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme for the duration of my tenancy. This left me with no recourse if the deposit was disputed, which is in clear contravention of the spirit and the wording of the Housing Act 2004.
Secondly, the Certificate states the deposit was protected on 31st August 2007. My deposit was placed with yourselves in two tranches: the first was paid by my former co-tenant, Mr. X when the flat was reserved on 18th June 2007, amounting to £1,000.00; the second amount of £1,761.34 was paid on 12th July 2007 by myself and incorporated the balance of the deposit and the first months rent. My former co-tenants made similar contributions around this time to reach the full balance of £5,284.33, which was made up of the deposit of £2,850.00, an administration fee of £376.00 and the first month’s rent of £2,058.33.
Thus my proportion of the deposit was fully paid by 12th July 2007. The Housing Act 2004 section 213 allows the deposit holder a maximum of fourteen days to protect any deposit from the date it is paid. Therefore, the deposit should have been protected in two tranches: the first by 2nd July 2007; and the remaining balance by 26th July 2007. The Certificate demonstrates that none of the deposit was protected until 31st August 2007, significantly beyond the period of grace stated in the legislation. While the absence of my own name from the Certificate supersedes this point as part of my claim, this further demonstrates the numerous ways in which the deposit was not protected in compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.
Finally, the Certificate which was forwarded in the Email is the first time that the Certificate has been presented to me or my former co-tenants. Not only is notification of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme a statutory obligation of the Housing Act 2004, it clearly states on the Certificate that “The deposit holder must give a copy of this form to each of the tenants named above.” Neither I nor my former co-tenants, who are named on the Certificate, ever received such a copy. This issue merely further demonstrates the lack of protection given to the tenants of the property; however my absence from the Certificate is the prime basis for my claim.
In essence, the Certificate demonstrates that my deposit was completely unprotected during the entire length of my tenancy. As such, I wish to claim for three times the amount of my deposit as a penalty for failing to register my deposit with an approved Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme in accordance with the statutory obligations of the Housing Act 2004. For the avoidance of doubt, and noting the receipt of my original deposit, this amounts to £2,850.00.
With regard to your response to my original correspondence of 7th May 2008, I am prepared to provide you with a further seven days from the date of this correspondence for you to provide me with the penalty amount previously stated. Failure to do this will result in me instigating legal proceedings to recover this amount. I reiterate that were legal proceedings to be initiated, any court costs, costs associated with attendance and foregone interest would be in addition to my existing claim.
Yours sincerely,
Stevey Lomas
Second Letter:
Dear xyz,
The period for response to my correspondence of 13th May 2008 has now expired. I will submit my case to Her Majesty’s Court Service today at 1400 BST if undertakings to meet my requirements are not received. The court fee of £80.00 will then be in addition to my claim, alongside foregone interest for the whole claim accruing at 8.0% per annum from today up to the date of settlement and any future costs associated with attending court proceedings.
However, my preference is to resolve this matter without proceeding to a full court hearing and welcome dialogue on the matter on my contact coordinates stated above.
Yours sincerely,
Here is the text that went into the court submission - not a lot of room so you have to be brief:
I rented a flat, with the defendant acting as letting agents. The tenancy was taken out by me and two flatmates in a joint contract. Through work, I had to leave the tenancy and found a replacement for my room. I was thus due back my portion of the deposit, which was £950. The defendant repeatedly did not respond to my requests for its return. I then discovered that the Housing Act 2004 stipulated my deposit was required to be registered with an approved scheme. The defendant had never issued details of this and therefore, I asked for proof my deposit was protected as well as the deposit’s return. The deposit was returned, but the 'proof' showed the defendant had broken the terms of the Housing Act 2004 as the ‘proof’ fell short of what was required by the Act.
The Housing 2004 Act s214 states that if the deposit holder fails to meet its terms, the deposit holder is required to pay three times the deposit as a penalty to the tenant. Having informed the defendant of this and received a refutation of my claim, I present my claim for £2,850 to HMCS.
I also claim interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from today up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.022%.
Letter sent after judgement was made in my favour:
Dear xyz,
Yesterday, Her Majesty’s Court Service made judgement in my favour regarding xyz’s transgression of The Housing Act 2004. The court’s notification of this will be with xyz shortly. Therefore I now have a judgement which compels xyz to pay me the compensation detailed in the following table:
Original sum claimed
Interest from date of claim (21 May 2008) up to today's date (19 June 2008) at 8% per annum
Court fee
Amount payable by xyz
This amount is due immediately either by cheque to the above address, or into my bank details which are already held by xyz
As of today, xyz has been entered onto the Register of Judgement, Orders and Fines. This register is available to interested parties to assess the credit rating of a company or individual. Remaining on this register will impair xyz's standing amongst potential customers, suppliers, banks, building societies and credit agencies. Removal from this register is entirely dependent on xyz paying to me the sum dictated by the outstanding judgement. It should be further noted that if the judgement is not settled within 28 days of the judgement’s issue, xyz will remain on the Register of Judgement, Orders and Fines for six years, regardless of when the judgement is settled.
Failure to pay the outstanding amount will also lead me to take steps to recover the money from xyz. Unless I receive the full amount due in the next seven days, I will proceed to issue one or more of the following:
i) A warrant of execution, whereby court bailiffs will be instructed to take cash or goods (i.e. computers, cars etc.) from xyz's premises. Cash taken will go towards the amount due to me whilst goods taken will be sold at auction with the proceeds going to me, up to the amount owed. This action will also incur a fee which will be in addition to the amount owed;
ii) A third party order, whereby xyz's bank accounts will be frozen until I have received the money owed to me. The court may also order the money owed to me to be taken directly from xyz's bank accounts and paid over to me. This action also incurs a fee which will be in addition to the claim; and
iii) A charging order, which will prevent xyz from selling any assets without first paying the money due to me. This action similarly incurs a fee which will be added to the claim. In some circumstances, the court may also order a forced sale of assets to recompense the money due to me.
My preference is of course for the repayment to occur quickly to my bank account and for this matter to be set aside, however I will not hesitate to proceed if I receive no indication from xyz that they intend to settle this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Unbelievably there was still no response so I sent one final, personal emal to the guy 'dealing' with the claim:
The dispute I have had with you over the registration of my deposit has been going for nearly three months and it is nearing its conclusion. The court have given judgement in my favour and unless I hear from you, I will be issuing a warrant to the court, whereby they will instruct bailiffs to come to xyz's premises to take money or goods to sell at auction and pass the money to me. I would imagine this would be greatly inconvenient for xyz, not to mention the extra cost to you (the bailiff's fees are added to the amount) which will be incurred in this action.
Please can you advise me whether I need to make use of the bailiffs or whether xyz is prepared to pay the amount owed? The judgement, which I am sure you will have received by post, is for £2,942.46.
I look forward to hearing that there is no need to instruct bailiffs to recover the amount and you will be issuing payment shortly.
Regards,
Only at this stage did I elicit a response which was to ask for my payment co-ordinates. Money arrived a few days later.
The End.
I would also urge you to remember that the only money I ever had on the line was £80 - so don't feel frightened. You can do it all on line and losing £80 is the worst thing that can happen, and the best thing is 3x your deposit.
Initial letter:
Dear xyz,
Thank you for your previous response by electronic mail on 9th May 2008 sent by xxx (“FW: Please proof this email for Mr Lomas.” or the “Email”). I can confirm I have received £950.00, my share of the deposit. However, I note that the document attached to the Email (the “Certificate of Tenancy Registration” or the “Certificate”) demonstrates that xyz failed to treat my deposit in accordance with the requirements of the Housing Act 2004. These transgressions are detailed below.
Firstly, I am not named on the Certificate. My two former co-tenants are, however this afforded me no protection whatsoever under the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme for the duration of my tenancy. This left me with no recourse if the deposit was disputed, which is in clear contravention of the spirit and the wording of the Housing Act 2004.
Secondly, the Certificate states the deposit was protected on 31st August 2007. My deposit was placed with yourselves in two tranches: the first was paid by my former co-tenant, Mr. X when the flat was reserved on 18th June 2007, amounting to £1,000.00; the second amount of £1,761.34 was paid on 12th July 2007 by myself and incorporated the balance of the deposit and the first months rent. My former co-tenants made similar contributions around this time to reach the full balance of £5,284.33, which was made up of the deposit of £2,850.00, an administration fee of £376.00 and the first month’s rent of £2,058.33.
Thus my proportion of the deposit was fully paid by 12th July 2007. The Housing Act 2004 section 213 allows the deposit holder a maximum of fourteen days to protect any deposit from the date it is paid. Therefore, the deposit should have been protected in two tranches: the first by 2nd July 2007; and the remaining balance by 26th July 2007. The Certificate demonstrates that none of the deposit was protected until 31st August 2007, significantly beyond the period of grace stated in the legislation. While the absence of my own name from the Certificate supersedes this point as part of my claim, this further demonstrates the numerous ways in which the deposit was not protected in compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.
Finally, the Certificate which was forwarded in the Email is the first time that the Certificate has been presented to me or my former co-tenants. Not only is notification of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme a statutory obligation of the Housing Act 2004, it clearly states on the Certificate that “The deposit holder must give a copy of this form to each of the tenants named above.” Neither I nor my former co-tenants, who are named on the Certificate, ever received such a copy. This issue merely further demonstrates the lack of protection given to the tenants of the property; however my absence from the Certificate is the prime basis for my claim.
In essence, the Certificate demonstrates that my deposit was completely unprotected during the entire length of my tenancy. As such, I wish to claim for three times the amount of my deposit as a penalty for failing to register my deposit with an approved Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme in accordance with the statutory obligations of the Housing Act 2004. For the avoidance of doubt, and noting the receipt of my original deposit, this amounts to £2,850.00.
With regard to your response to my original correspondence of 7th May 2008, I am prepared to provide you with a further seven days from the date of this correspondence for you to provide me with the penalty amount previously stated. Failure to do this will result in me instigating legal proceedings to recover this amount. I reiterate that were legal proceedings to be initiated, any court costs, costs associated with attendance and foregone interest would be in addition to my existing claim.
Yours sincerely,
Stevey Lomas
Second Letter:
Dear xyz,
The period for response to my correspondence of 13th May 2008 has now expired. I will submit my case to Her Majesty’s Court Service today at 1400 BST if undertakings to meet my requirements are not received. The court fee of £80.00 will then be in addition to my claim, alongside foregone interest for the whole claim accruing at 8.0% per annum from today up to the date of settlement and any future costs associated with attending court proceedings.
However, my preference is to resolve this matter without proceeding to a full court hearing and welcome dialogue on the matter on my contact coordinates stated above.
Yours sincerely,
Here is the text that went into the court submission - not a lot of room so you have to be brief:
I rented a flat, with the defendant acting as letting agents. The tenancy was taken out by me and two flatmates in a joint contract. Through work, I had to leave the tenancy and found a replacement for my room. I was thus due back my portion of the deposit, which was £950. The defendant repeatedly did not respond to my requests for its return. I then discovered that the Housing Act 2004 stipulated my deposit was required to be registered with an approved scheme. The defendant had never issued details of this and therefore, I asked for proof my deposit was protected as well as the deposit’s return. The deposit was returned, but the 'proof' showed the defendant had broken the terms of the Housing Act 2004 as the ‘proof’ fell short of what was required by the Act.
The Housing 2004 Act s214 states that if the deposit holder fails to meet its terms, the deposit holder is required to pay three times the deposit as a penalty to the tenant. Having informed the defendant of this and received a refutation of my claim, I present my claim for £2,850 to HMCS.
I also claim interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from today up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.022%.
Letter sent after judgement was made in my favour:
Dear xyz,
Yesterday, Her Majesty’s Court Service made judgement in my favour regarding xyz’s transgression of The Housing Act 2004. The court’s notification of this will be with xyz shortly. Therefore I now have a judgement which compels xyz to pay me the compensation detailed in the following table:
Original sum claimed
£2,850.00
£18.07
£80.00
£2,948.07
This amount is due immediately either by cheque to the above address, or into my bank details which are already held by xyz
As of today, xyz has been entered onto the Register of Judgement, Orders and Fines. This register is available to interested parties to assess the credit rating of a company or individual. Remaining on this register will impair xyz's standing amongst potential customers, suppliers, banks, building societies and credit agencies. Removal from this register is entirely dependent on xyz paying to me the sum dictated by the outstanding judgement. It should be further noted that if the judgement is not settled within 28 days of the judgement’s issue, xyz will remain on the Register of Judgement, Orders and Fines for six years, regardless of when the judgement is settled.
Failure to pay the outstanding amount will also lead me to take steps to recover the money from xyz. Unless I receive the full amount due in the next seven days, I will proceed to issue one or more of the following:
i) A warrant of execution, whereby court bailiffs will be instructed to take cash or goods (i.e. computers, cars etc.) from xyz's premises. Cash taken will go towards the amount due to me whilst goods taken will be sold at auction with the proceeds going to me, up to the amount owed. This action will also incur a fee which will be in addition to the amount owed;
ii) A third party order, whereby xyz's bank accounts will be frozen until I have received the money owed to me. The court may also order the money owed to me to be taken directly from xyz's bank accounts and paid over to me. This action also incurs a fee which will be in addition to the claim; and
iii) A charging order, which will prevent xyz from selling any assets without first paying the money due to me. This action similarly incurs a fee which will be added to the claim. In some circumstances, the court may also order a forced sale of assets to recompense the money due to me.
My preference is of course for the repayment to occur quickly to my bank account and for this matter to be set aside, however I will not hesitate to proceed if I receive no indication from xyz that they intend to settle this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Unbelievably there was still no response so I sent one final, personal emal to the guy 'dealing' with the claim:
The dispute I have had with you over the registration of my deposit has been going for nearly three months and it is nearing its conclusion. The court have given judgement in my favour and unless I hear from you, I will be issuing a warrant to the court, whereby they will instruct bailiffs to come to xyz's premises to take money or goods to sell at auction and pass the money to me. I would imagine this would be greatly inconvenient for xyz, not to mention the extra cost to you (the bailiff's fees are added to the amount) which will be incurred in this action.
Please can you advise me whether I need to make use of the bailiffs or whether xyz is prepared to pay the amount owed? The judgement, which I am sure you will have received by post, is for £2,942.46.
I look forward to hearing that there is no need to instruct bailiffs to recover the amount and you will be issuing payment shortly.
Regards,
Only at this stage did I elicit a response which was to ask for my payment co-ordinates. Money arrived a few days later.
The End.
0
Comments
-
Wow- thanks for that Stevey, that's incredible useful information.
There isn't much information out there about the TDS and how to get the 3x reward for catching your letting agent/landlord out so that information is invaluable.
I'm currently renting and perfectly happy and no plans to move but I'm not sure that the letting agents have properly protected the deposit as I don't think we got any kind of 'certificate' although within the tenancy agreement there was mentions of deposit schemes. Exactly what does the certificate consist of?
The other question I have for you is what happened in court. Did the letting agent defend the case? What did the judge say? Thanks again, hopefully you'll now be the board guru on TDS claims!!0 -
Thanks for the info Stevey.0
-
Two questions:
Were you taking the letting agent to court or the landlord?
Did either defend the action in court?I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
Ah I have nothing to offer on the court side. The claim was never defended so I won by default.
It was the letting agent I was pursuing, as they had been particularly difficult during my tenancy. However I believe I could have jointly cited the landlord and the letting agent - the landlady had been nothing but pleasant so I went for the letting agent.0 -
Interesting as I thought the deposit scheme obligations fell to the landlord. I wonder if the letting agent will claim the costs from the landlord?I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0
-
My reading was it was the responsibility of the deposit holder and/or the landlord. As the letting agent was the deposit holder, it was logical to think they would be responsible for registering it with a scheme.
However, the bunch I dealt with were downright incompetent so maybe they did have a case. But they never fought it so we will never know.0 -
legally i understand that it is the LL who is always responsible in law - a tenant must not legally be allowed to suffer from a LLs poor choice of LA0
-
I think that this LA are so inefficient that they didn't even realise that!Loretta0
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I disagree with you there actually clutton. Upon review, the legislation says
"references to a landlord or landlords in relation to any shorthold tenancy or tenancies include references to a person or persons acting on his or their behalf in relation to the tenancy or tenancies"
which I believe means if you as a LL had employed an LA to deal with this, it is the LA's responsibility. So perhaps I could not have sued the LL. However, I could have jointly named them and let the judge decide who should pay. As the tenant, it essentially doesn't matter. If the deposit is not protected, then someone is responsible and the judge can decide who it is.0 -
Hey, this is great. I'm in the same situation myself, having ended my tenancy with an unprotected deposit, and after 3 weeks have still not received it. So am looking to go legal to sort this out. You state in your final letter to the court that "and received a refutation of my claim" whereas you didnt mention this happened in your post? What was the case?
Thanks again for your hard work sticking up for the rights of tenants...0
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