Return of Deposit - going to court

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

pinkkaz wrote: »

I'd go to court if I were you. It's your money after all. I would also add on interest for the months he has taken to pay you back, cost of letters/phone calls etc.

Do you have a solicitor friend you can call (or the one you're seeing on Friday) to see whether banking the cheque means you can't claim the rest of it?

Yes we will find out tomorrow if we can bank the cheque and still go for the rest. We could really do with it on our bank account!

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

Thanks everyone for your input. My husband didn't phone him last night. Well see what advice we get tomorrow and take it from there.

watchingmymoney

The LL is simply a deceitful bully. It should be about the inventory (damages recorded at move in and move out) and unless you caused real damage, anything beyond normal wear and tear, he can't claim a thing. He is counting on you being intimidated. I don't know how long you were living in his property but was it covered by the government deposit scheme? He is then required to provide detailed proof of why he has taken part of your deposit. Even if the deposit was not covered by that scheme he should still provide you with detailed proof. Any judge would ask him to supply written proof of his expenses related to his withholding part or all of the deposit.
STOP speaking to him by phone. Only speak with him by text or preferably by registered post. Keep things as factual and "neutral" as possible (civility goes a long way in your favour). You need a paper (virtual or otherwise) trail if you do decide to pursue this in court otherwise it really is your word vs. his (and you have no idea what lies he may tell a judge). If you do speak to him by phone follow it up immediatley with a registered letter stating what was discussed. If he disagrees he can inform you of that (in writing). Do not cash the cheque while you "figure out" whether or not to go to court as that makes the whole debate null and void as you would have legally accepted his position.
Good luck with everything!

clutton_2

as long as you write back to the LL saying that you have not accepted the cheque in full and final settlement, there is no reason why you cannot cash the cheque.

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

To anyone who was helpful and kind enough to give advice in this or my original thread, here is a quick update.

After much consideration, advice on this thread and free legal advice we decided to bank the cheque for £1,100 - £250 short of the amount we were owed.

We are not happy about it but needed to clear our overdraft and also continuing with the dispute was getting more and more stressful partly because of intimidation and veiled threads from the landlord.

Also it was explained to us how much it would cost to take the case to court and obviously as I think I said before, they pitched their 'offer' at an amount they thought we would accept.

It is a very annoying that landlords can get away with this and even though the law says they must justify why they are keeping part of our money, this isn't going to happen.

Thanks everyone who contributed and Happy New Year to you all.

SouthCoast

Has the cheque cleared yet, or could it bounce?

Running_Horse

Sorry I saw this too late, but if it is as you state, the courts take a very dim view of what your landlord is doing, and err on the side of tenants. Having said that, a judgment is just that, a judgment. Getting the money is another kettle of fish.

Lady_Annabel_Aardvark

SouthCoast wrote: »

Has the cheque cleared yet, or could it bounce?

We banked it on 23rd Dec so hopefully (and according to online banking) it has cleared.

mclaren32

Under the new clearing cycle that cheque cannot now be returned so you are ok.