Estate Agent Bankrupt!

storeyboy10

I need some advice please.

I rented a property for 1year, and paid a deposit of over £1000 for this. The estate agents contract stated that the money was being stored in a tenancy deposit scheme, and named "tenancy deposit solutions" explicitly (I understand this is now called "mydeposit".)

I moved out of the property in early September, and the estate agent confirmed I would receive my full deposit back. He then became hard to get in contact with, and unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the company is heading towards bankrupcy. I don't have the deposit paid back.

More worrying, is that I have contacted all 3 TDS providers, and none have any reference of me or the property in question.

The shop looks empty, although someone seems to be collecting post - so I have written to give him 10 days to pay, or I will take legal action. No phone numbers are working any more (shop or mobile) and emails are not being replied to.

My question is - now I need to take some kind of legal action - what do people recommend? Given that the company might be bankrupt, would small claims court work, or something else? I am a bit in the dark.

Thanks!



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devils_advocate

Firstly, what hard evidenc edo you have that the deposit was placed in a specified scheme? If you have a letter or other note from the agent stating where it is held, and they dont hjave a record of it, go back to the agent by letter asking them to give you a reference number, etc for the scheme, and a written note to the scheme authorising them to release the deposit to you. If the agent is unwilling or unable to do this, and you have the evidence that they told you it is in a scheme, I'd consider reporting this to the police as fraud. If you can mention this as a possibility to the agent, I'm sure it will help in crystallising his thinking, as whilst any debts would be extinuished by bankrupy/insolvency, he can't escape the criminal law in this way.

I'll leave it to others to explain your remedies against the landlord if the deposit is not forthcoming.

barnaby-bear

storeyboy10 wrote: »

I need some advice please.

I rented a property for 1year, and paid a deposit of over £1000 for this. The estate agents contract stated that the money was being stored in a tenancy deposit scheme, and named "tenancy deposit solutions" explicitly (I understand this is now called "mydeposit".)

I moved out of the property in early September, and the estate agent confirmed I would receive my full deposit back. He then became hard to get in contact with, and unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the company is heading towards bankrupcy. I don't have the deposit paid back.

More worrying, is that I have contacted all 3 TDS providers, and none have any reference of me or the property in question.

The shop looks empty, although someone seems to be collecting post - so I have written to give him 10 days to pay, or I will take legal action. No phone numbers are working any more (shop or mobile) and emails are not being replied to.

My question is - now I need to take some kind of legal action - what do people recommend? Given that the company might be bankrupt, would small claims court work, or something else? I am a bit in the dark.

Thanks!



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Usually.
The deposit is the legal responsibility of the LL - the LA is his agent, it's not your fault he chose a ropey agents, it was his responsibility to ensure it was protected - plus he's probably still liquid - pursue him... you should have been given his details on the contract, failign that try the Land REgistry (3 quid) - if he's ex-pat it may be tricky but if in this country small claims...

Premier_2

You really should have been given full details of the scheme in which the deposit was protected within 14 days.

This is a perfect example of why tenants should ensure they get that information at that time, not when the tenancy is over.

Sorry, if the deposit was not protected, the new law doesn't help you much now - you'll need to pursue the LL for it's return via legal means if appropriate.

storeyboy10

Thanks for the advice.

I understand that the deposit was not protected, so cannot go down that route - I am left with only option of legal.

Would the small claims court be the right way to go?

silvercar

Your have to give the landlord the opportunity to return your deposit before you take him to court. Contact the landlord and ask for the deposit to be returned within 5 days. If you don't get a response then you could go to court.

Your action would be against the landlord not the letting agent.

storeyboy10

Thanks for the advice.

So even though it was the estate agent who lied about putting the money into a TDS, it is the landlord who is responsible for ensuring I get my deposit back?

Seems unfair on them - but I guess they can sue the estate agent for their loss of money, right?

sooz

It might seem unfair on the LL, but don't forget the LL CHOSE to employ this EA to act as his/her agent.

As silvercar says, you should write a letter before action to the LL. If s/he doesn't respond or return your money promptly, then take the LL to the small claims court.

The LL then in turn has to try to claim the money back of the LA, but that is not your problem.

hpmum

just out of curiousity - what was the name of the estate agency that went out of business ?

RobertoMoir

storeyboy10 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

So even though it was the estate agent who lied about putting the money into a TDS, it is the landlord who is responsible for ensuring I get my deposit back?

Your contract is with the LL. This is the LL's problem to solve to your satisfaction.

storeyboy10 wrote: »

Seems unfair on them - but I guess they can sue the estate agent for their loss of money, right?

Their choice. At the risk of sounding hard hearted, don't concern yourself with that. It's called "the Landlord's problem" for a reason. I'm not saying you shouldn't try and work with the LL to resolve the problems amicably - you certainly should... but be clear that you know they are obliged to sort this out to your satisfaction and that their problem with their agents doesn't affect that.

Fire_Fox

Ancient thread that has been bumped.