Getting my TDS deposit back

moneysavinmonkey

agree with the above.

If you phone up the 3 TDS scheme in turn and given them your tenancy details they will check if they hold the deposit ( I have done this).

Sounds like your landlord/agency are messing you around so if you can find out yourself where your deposit is held you can bypass them and hopefully get a quicker resolution.

Premier_2

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

Nothing to update yet.
To clarify for Premier - I was told it was held in "the TDS", but no I don't have any info on which etc which is one of the points I was making i.e. should have got that within 14 days of signing the contract. So that's why I said in OP "held in TDS".
This has been a bodge between the LA and LL as to who does what it seems - so awaiting LL's reply - have given her 7 days from yesterday's letter else think I may have to pop along to the County Court at this rate.

Be careful. County Court Judges seem to be very keen on claimants acting reasonably before court action - I think they are getting a bit fed up with people starting court action as their first approach to resolving a dispute rather than their last.

If I now understand you correctly, you have been renting a property. I'm not sure how long but I would guess it's been a minimum of 6 months. You were told the the deposit would be protected and know the details of this should have been provided to you within 14 days of paying the deposit. That was 5 1/2 months ago and I presume you've not requested the details before. Now you demand them within 7 days else you'll go straight to court. Does that sound reasonable to you? Lets hope the LL isn't on holiday for a fortnight like many many thousands are this time of year. You have a responsibility to act reasonably in your dispute and to ensure you act in a reasonable manner in any attempt to mutually resolve that dispute before a court hearing and in fact before even raising a summons.

Whatever your right in law, I've known some cases to be dismissed on the basis of unreasonable behaviour by the claimant, and others where the claimant wins (because that is their lawful position) but the judge would not award costs as again it was based on the unreasonable actions of the claimant.

It's not even 14 days (10 working days) since you ended your Tenancy Agreement yet.

moneysavinmonkey

agreed. county court should be 'if all else fails' last option.

HGLTsuperstar

Obviously county court last option. And I rented for 7 months and LL has a habit of being "unavailable" when it suits and then expecting me to drop anything when she comes calling. But anyway, we'll just see if she responds to my letter/email.

moneysavinmonkey

why don't you want to phone around the 3 deposit schemes + see if you can find your deposit? Would probably take you 15 mins or so at the most!

tbs624

HGLT -today is obviously the 9th working day since you ended your tenancy: now that you’ve written you may just get a repayment before the start of next week. You did, as I understand it, also try to arrange repayment via the LA, so keep notes on dates of these conversations.

I would agree that it's always best that a tenant (or any would-be litigant) attempts first to seek amicable resolve, but I didn’t actually read your post as meaning you were hot-footing it straight to the small claims court, more as an exasperated “ I think this may end up there”. ( I may of course be wrong )

The fact remains that a LL too has to show themselves to be reasonable, and a prompt check out and deposit repayment is one of the many ways in which s/he can do that.

It is after all the LL’s responsibility under law to (a) scheme- register the deposit and (b) give the prescribed info to the tenant, both within 14 days , and to arrange a prompt repayment or explanation of deductions.

This is one of the areas that the whole scheme has failed to address: tenants absolutely should not have to *ask* for this to be done.

I am trying to think of any other area where you or I could plead that our non-compliance with a specific law was perahps excusable because, unreasonably, no-one had reminded us of our legal duties

If LLs cannot/will not meet their legal obligations to their tenants - whether for deposits, repairs issues, gas safety or anything else - then IMO they should be prevented from renting properties out in the future. Not only is their behaviour unfair to tenants, it gives decent LLs a bad name. ( Can't remember whether it was Snooze or Squat in a previous thread who advocated errant LLs actually losing control of their rental properties as a penalty.........;))


Fingers crossed for you HGLT that your deposit is back with you by the end of this week. However, just in case its not, do remember that you can challenge proposed deductions, and that your LL must notify you of these in writing.

If it turns out that your deposit definitely hasn’t been registered or you get an otherwise poor response, do post back and you’ll get plenty of suggestions for the next step.

HGLTsuperstar

I would agree that it's always best that a tenant (or any would-be litigant) attempts first to seek amicable resolve, but I didn’t actually read your post as meaning you were hot-footing it straight to the small claims court, more as an exasperated “ I think this may end up there”. ( I may of course be wrong ) - NOPE YOU WERE SPOT ON!


Fingers crossed for you HGLT that your deposit is back with you by the end of this week. However, just in case its not, do remember that you can challenge proposed deductions, and you LL must notify you of these in writing. -AND BELIEVE ME I WILL CHALLENGE ISSUES LIKE NOT WATERING DEAD PLANTS!

If it turns out that your deposit definitely hasn’t been registered or you get an otherwise poor response, do post back and you’ll get plenty of suggestions for the next step.
THANK YOU MUCH APPRECIATED

HGLTsuperstar

ps I haven't said I "don't want to phone round the schemes" etc - I will if I have to (you make me sound dodgy!) but I'm trying to do this all above board with LL or LA or whoever else they say is handling matters!

Premier_2

tbs624 wrote: »

It is after all the LL’s responsibility under law to (a) scheme- register the deposit and (b) give the prescribed info to the tenant, both within 14 days , and to arrange a prompt repayment or explanation of deductions.

This is one of the areas that the whole scheme has failed to address: tenants absolutely should not have to *ask* for this to be done.

Absolutely, the law is very clear on this. The LL is required to give that information within 14 days. However, we are all human and we all make mistakes.

tbs624 wrote:

I am trying to think of any other area where you or I could plead that our non-compliance with a specific law was perahps excusable because, unreasonably, no-one had reminded us of our legal duties.

I can't think of one, exactly like that, but lets try it the other way round.

To use television signal receiving equipment, you need to have a valid TV licence. Would it be reasonable for them to just send you a summons in the post if you forget to renew it, or should they send a reminder?

When you travel on the public transport, you need to have a valid ticket. Assuming you are not an habitual, known fare evader, would it be fair to haul you up in front of the judge for failing to have one or should they request you pay the fare along with any necessary penalty charge first?

You are sent an electricity bill and you forget to pay it. Should you next receive a summons direct from the court together with applicable court costs or should the next correspondence be a reminder from the company you owe the money to?

moneysavinmonkey

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

ps I haven't said I "don't want to phone round the schemes" etc - I will if I have to (you make me sound dodgy!) but I'm trying to do this all above board with LL or LA or whoever else they say is handling matters!

i didn't mean it to make you sound dodgy sorry!

Just wondered if there was a reason as a couple different posters have suggested it.

It's perfectly reasonable to phone up just to get the details of where you deposit is held, particularly as you LL hasn't given you this information. You don't have to take it any further at that stage, you can still do everything else through the LL/LA.

If it was me this would be the first thing I would be checking as I would want to know if my deposit was protected or not, particularly as I could be entitled to 3x the deposit back if it wasn't protected!!