landlord ripping us off .what can we do??

ladylumps45

hello!
il try to keep this as brief as possible.
moved into a property on 6th sept 08.instead of 600 deposit we paid 900 which the landlord wanted as we had 2 dogs.he paid a letting agent to manage the property .although the house as nice we found out the area was awful and next door were drug dealers that had people knocking say and night and used to row in the night.
we decided we couldnt stand it anymore so looked for somewhere else.we informed the letting agent and handed in our written months notice after being there 7 months.(agreement was 6 months).
the landlord then phoned us basically trying to persuade us to stay.
we didnt and carried on our moving.
paid our rent upto the 6th april but moved out on the 20th march and handed keys back to agent about a week later (a week before we had to get out).
the agent went round to do the inventory check about a week ago and everything was fine.had a message on mobile yesterday from the agent saying that the landlord had been round and there was something wrong with the stair carpet and the quote was a hundred pounds.the message also said that we paid extra deposit for the dogs.
there was nothing wrong with the carpet apart from the fitter either missed a couple of staples or they had fallen out so in 1 corner if you hoovered it it came up a bit .there was absolutely no damage at all.the house was left spotless and our dogs are excellent in the house.
i think the landlord got the hump because we didnt stay and is now ripping us off and im not prepared to accept it,especially when the agent did a check and found nothing wrong.
i might be wrong but i also thought that as our tenancy ran out on the end of the 5th april ,they were supposed to give our 900 back within 14 days so why wait till 9 days later to tell us theres something wrong.dont they have to inform you within so many days??
im going to ring them today but unsure what to say as we are being ripped off here bigtime.please help...thankyou.

clutton_2

did the agent or landlord not put your deposit in one of the deposit schemes ?

ladylumps45

yes the letting agent did

Wickedkitten

Do you have a copy of the signed off inventory from the agent? The landlord is definitely taking the !!!! if the only issue is that a bit of carpeting has come up and he is wantinng £100 for it.

ladylumps45

we do not have a signed off copy of the inventory.we werent given one.its took 9 days for us to be told this when i thought they had to within so many days.where do we stand ??thankyou.we were expecting our 900 back but now theres all this instead.its so upsetting as we looked after the place and it was spotless.

sooz

ladylumps45 wrote: »

........all of the above is irrelevent.....

the important bit is -

the agent went round to do the inventory check about a week ago and everything was fine.had a message on mobile yesterday from the agent saying that the landlord had been round and there was something wrong with the stair carpet and the quote was a hundred pounds.the message also said that we paid extra deposit for the dogs.
there was nothing wrong with the carpet apart from the fitter either missed a couple of staples or they had fallen out so in 1 corner if you hoovered it it came up a bit .there was absolutely no damage at all.the house was left spotless and our dogs are excellent in the house.
i think the landlord got the hump because we didnt stay and is now ripping us off and im not prepared to accept it,especially when the agent did a check and found nothing wrong.
i might be wrong but i also thought that as our tenancy ran out on the end of the 5th april ,they were supposed to give our 900 back within 14 days so why wait till 9 days later to tell us theres something wrong.dont they have to inform you within so many days??
im going to ring them today but unsure what to say as we are being ripped off here bigtime.please help...thankyou.

Ask the agent to put the problems & the quote for carpet repair to you in writing. You are meant to be given these details in writing, not over the phone.

You don't have to get your deposit back within 14 day (although of course you'd like it back asap). It depends on the circumstances, & how long it takes to get the necessary quotes in writing. With the DPS, the timescale is there for the return of the deposit once it has been agreed. As you don't agree, then you take it to dispute. Take it up with the deposit scheme who holds your deposit.

Do you have a signed copy of the check out report? If this states the property (including carpet) is ok, it will strengthen your case. Did you at any time report the problem with the carpet, before the check out report?

Wickedkitten

I would ask for pictures of the damage as well.

ladylumps45

hi and thanks for the replies,we werent given a copy of the check out report.ive just rung the agent and they have now said the hundred pounds is for cleaning the carpets on the stairs .she confirmed that the agent reported the house on checkout to be clean and fine and that it was the landlord who has said this.

sooz

£100 for cleaning stair carpets? How many flights of stairs are there?

It sounds an awful lot. Get the agent to put it in writing, along with a copy of the quotes. Call around some other companies, & get some quotes in writing for comparison.

Just check to see if the LL's quote includes flea treating, or odour removal.. there may be some doggie extras rather than just normal carpet cleaning.

ladylumps45

its a tiny end of terraced house.with about 12 very narrow stairs.
ive just told the letting agent that we want to see photos of the supposed "dirt" and the quote.
we lived there for 7 months and i made sure that the house was spotless when we left.
the dogs paws were even wiped by my hubby when they came in from the gravel garden and there wasnt even any mud or grass in the garden,hust concrete and gravel.
i questioned why was the inventory checkout fine with the letting agent and was told that a different member of staff did the inventory before we moved in to the moving out one.as if thats our fault.
we really feel totally ripped off.

DawnW

When you get the quote in writing you will need to contact the DPS and lodge a dispute. They will/should mediate between the LL / LA and yourself. Tell the LL/LA that you are going to do this - they may back down.

It will likely take longer than 14 days to get your deposit back, especially if there is a dispute. 14 days was reasonable in the days when the LL/LA held the deposit, but now that is not allowed, you have to rely on the DPS systems etc, which are not always that efficient to be honest. When one of my Ts moved out a while back, they were very narky about the time it took to get their deposit back (all of it, no dispute). I had to tell them that it was nothing to do with me, and not within my power to hurry it up.