Unfair deposit deducations - possible fake invoice. Next steps?

debstardeb

Hi everyone,

Moved out end of July after 1 year tenancy. Landlord claimed £600 from deposit in cleaning etc. I said we would not accept this without invoices stating the actual charges incurred. After disputed costs they tried to charge for taking away rubbish (we actually saw the binmen taking away the rubbish the day we moved out) they 'as a gesture of goodwill' said they would take £80 off the costs they are claiming.

I have received two invoices from my landlord. One seems real and breaks down cleaning costs and is clearly from a registered company with a real address etc. (charges cleaning flat £150.00 and steam clean sofa £80.00)

In the documents we got was another 'invoice' on normal paper from a company called Alex and Co, 29 Heyford Avenue. There is no break down of costs on this invoice it just states:

cleaning
removal of rubbish
painting

total = £600

There is no name of anyone on the invoice, no telephone number, no details of how to pay. In addition after some investigating I found out that the property is one the landlord owns which was up for rent recently! One invoice is clearly real and states reasonable charges and simply looks like a real invoice of a business (i.e. full contact details etc). Also why would there be two invoices covering cleaning? This does not seem to make sense.

I do not think that the £600 invoice is real but am unsure of the next steps I should take.

My question is that if this invoice is fake, does that mean the landlord has acted fraudulently?

I have emailed him and told him I will not accept the painting charges without further clarification and explanation. Should I just try to get back the deposit money I am rightfully owed and leave it there? I feel like if there is other action I could take to complain about this landlord I would like to do it as I do not want other tenants to be swindled out of a chunk of their deposit. Who can I complain to?

Would the onus be on me to prove he has acted fraudulently or would the onus be on him to prove the invoice is real?

The deposit is held in a scheme but I don't remember if it is custodial or insurance based.

Any help on what I should do would be appreciated

Jowo_2

Was there a signed inventory in place?

Have you raised a dispute with your tenancy deposit scheme?

Trollfever

Can you ask the tenancy deposit scheme to investigate the "fake" invoice?


.

debstardeb

Yes there was a signed inventory in place. We didn't think about taking photos when we left and although we cleaned the flat when we left the landlord still told us they would be charging for cleaning.

The landlord is charging for steam cleaning of sofas, which we disputed as it really wasn't necessary, they looked the same when we moved in and out. Is it worth taking this to the deposit scheme holders to dispute it further? As I say we don't have any photos of when we moved out so we are unsure of what would happen if we disputed further.

I haven't referred it to the tenancy deposit scheme yet. I couldn't find my copy of the lease as I have just moved house. I have emailed the landlord twice to ask what deposit scheme we are in but so far he has ignored my requests. I will have a hunt around tonight and see if I can track it down.

Jowo_2

You should have received some kind of certificate and details of the scheme within a couple of weeks of signing the AST - the info won't be on your contract.

You can contact each of the 3 schemes to check which one it is in.
The raise a dispute there and they'll arbitrate.

I understand from posts on Landlordzone that a landlord is legitimately able to bill their time if they undertake cleaning, etc, in the property. The small claims court allows a certain hourly rate (can't remember the rate) for labour.

I also understand that landlords are supposed to provide a breakdown of the deductions they make.

Sole traders don't have company numbers, etc, in the same way as a limited company does.

theartfullodger

I understand from posts on Landlordzone that a landlord is legitimately able to bill their time if they undertake cleaning,

- I thought the guidance was you could not bill your own time, but to get a company/person to do things instead.

Re. the invoice & Heywood Avenue... According to streetmap there are 7 such in UK...

* Heywood Avenue, Austerlands, Oldham, OL4
* Heywood Avenue, Diss, Norfolk, IP22
* Heywood Avenue, Golborne, Warrington, WA3
* Heywood Avenue, Hereford, HR1
* Heywood Avenue, London, NW9
* Heywood Avenue, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6
* Heywood Avenue, Swinton, Clifton, Manchester, M_27

You'll know which might be close. You could use 192.com (or post which avenue it is & I'll do it) and see if there is a Alex & Co known at that address..

Or go round there & ask... (if it's legit fine, if dodgy they won't be pleased to be used for a fraud). If I found something I thought was fraudulent I'd advise the Police...

Cheers!

Lodger

Colincbayley

Jowo wrote: »

I understand from posts on Landlordzone that a landlord is legitimately able to bill their time if they undertake cleaning, etc, in the property. The small claims court allows a certain hourly rate (can't remember the rate) for labour.

IIRC it is something in the region of £8 - £12 per hour. But of course some people can work very very slow when on an hourly rate!!

debstardeb

It's Heyford Avenue in SW8. Did a search on 192.com but nothing has come up, tried Yell.com as well but nothing on there.

I remember we did sign the tenancy deposit agreement so i will get in touch with the schemes today and try to find out which one we're in and take it form there. I will keep you all updated. Thank you so much for the advice so far

debstardeb

On the TDS website it states that:

"The ICEmay at his discretion award you the disputed amount without

adjudication where [...] there is either no check-in or no check-out inventory or report."

We did sign a check-in report, but definitely did not complete or sign a check-out report or inventory, we simply packed up our stuff and dropped the keys off to the landlord's on the moving out date.
Should the landlord have got us to sign a check-out inventory?

Fire_Fox

Have you checked companies house? There is an Alex and Co Electricians in SW4 .... and if you check land registry sold prices, 29 Heyford Avenue SW8 is a block of flats.

debstardeb

Yes and those flats are owned by the landlord, as when I telephoned and asked the lady in the office just told me outright that they do manage that property. Smells fishy to me...