Return of deposit - how soon can I go to court?

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

Ok there have been a couple of developments today.

Today the LL rang me and said he'd split the difference between the £1,000 he had previousl offered and the £1,250 that we said we'd settle for last week - not because we had done any damage but to keep us from having to go to court. If we split the difference we will be out of pocket by £225. He asked me to consider it overnight and let the agent know tomorrow. We were slightly tempted as we obviously don't want to go to court and it would help with our overdraft, not to mention our stress levels. However, the fact remains that we did not do any damage to the property.

Weeks ago I contacted a Uni law centre and asked them for help with the case. I didn't hear anything except initially they said they weren't taking on any new cases til mid November and would pass my email on to another similar law centre nearby. Today I heard from them that they are looking at our case and asked us to go for a meeting with them on Monday.

I'd appreciate any views on these developments.

silvercar

So you said you would settle for £1250 and the landlord is offering you £1125 if you don't go to court. Is that right?

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

Yes. Our deposit was £1350. He firstly offered £675, then £850, then £1,000. I told the agent the minimum we'd settle for is £1250 and he now wants to split the difference between that and his 'offer' of £1,000.

stamford

There was a piece on Watchdog a couple of weeks ago - dunno if this helps

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/11/the_landlord_breaking_his_word.html

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

stamford wrote: »

There was a piece on Watchdog a couple of weeks ago - dunno if this helps

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/11/the_landlord_breaking_his_word.html

OMG! I'm surprised he's still walking the earth!

sooz

Has the LL said exactly what he wants your £225 for?

Seems very odd that he keeps changing his mind. One the one hand, I can see why you'd be tempted to take his offer, but on the other he's still taking the p*ss, & you have nothing in writing from him. If you say yes, how do you know you will actually get that amount, given his behaviour to date.

Ask him to put his offer in writing, specifying EXACTLY why he proposes to deduct this amount. And the quotes to substantiate it. Once in writing, I'd take him to court anyway . It will help your case if you can show the judge that he's making up figures as he goes along.

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

sooz wrote: »

Has the LL said exactly what he wants your £225 for?

Seems very odd that he keeps changing his mind. One the one hand, I can see why you'd be tempted to take his offer, but on the other he's still taking the p*ss, & you have nothing in writing from him. If you say yes, how do you know you will actually get that amount, given his behaviour to date.

Ask him to put his offer in writing, specifying EXACTLY why he proposes to deduct this amount. And the quotes to substantiate it. Once in writing, I'd take him to court anyway . It will help your case if you can show the judge that he's making up figures as he goes along.

No he hasn't said why he's keeping it and I strongly suspect he doesn't want it to go to court either.

Thank you sooz, your posts are very helpful.