Please help re flat deposit

EagerLearner

Good morning everyone,

Well we stayed up really late last night and got all the paperwork done, included the Letting Agent on the forms too as we've been recommended (still not sare about that one, but hey).

I am posting details off today, suppose I should send her a copy of the letter via Recorded Delivery and another via standard 1st class in case she doesn't pick up the signed for letter again.

We kept everything short and mostly the same as had been posted here, all we adedd was the aspect that she'd clearly intended to modernize well before she saw our check-out inventory.

I really don't see why we should even go through this - we never damaged the property so why would she get nearly £700 of our money! Plus the Letting Agent fully admitted they don't advise re: what the landlord can or can't legally deduct.

Harrummmmmfff!

Thanks for help to date everyone, we will see what happens next week!

EagerLearner

UPDATE 18/08/06


Everything is in the post - sent one to her Recorded Delivery and one 1st class so she couldn't pretend she didn't receive it.

Feels GOOD and I'm now ready for the weekend!

clutton_2

its a drop of ""Chateau neuf de pap!" then is it ?????

don't even TALK about the DEPword ALL weekend !!!!

EagerLearner

He he - I can't afford any good stuff until I get the, er, 'said aforementioned' back!

No, to be honest, we will generally drink anything, only just started to know a bit more about wine, mainly due to a good movie called 'Sideways' - I recommend it to all!

clutton_2

Chateau Lafite for me - i WISH !!!

EagerLearner

Well, no news yet - but as she will be writing we may hear more tomorrow or Weds.

Assuming any of you (very nice) folk has been mean enough to act the way she has, what would your reaction be to a letter informing of court action (with completed court forms attached)?

I just know in my gut she can't charge us for repainting the entire flat, half the cost of living room carpet, or get brand new blinds at our expense...

EagerLearner

UPDATE: 18:48 21/08/06

Hi all,

Have come home and found that the landlady has rejected delivery of the court action letter we sent via Signed For delivery. She / whoever lives at that address (her 24/7 decorating cohort we know owns the place) would have seen it was from us as it had our names on the Royal Mail stickers on the envelope.

Luckily I thought she might do that, so I also sent the letter 1st class last week.

She was receiving mail at that address last week (as she responded to our 2nd letter) but now is pretending she has 'gone away'. As this is the address she clearly still uses for property management for other properties with the letting agent, what can we do?

Plus, we also sent a copy of the letter & court forms to the letting agent.

We were thinking to e-mail her tomorrow and say that we noted she refused delivery of one set of legal documents, but that we also sent it 1st class post and that her address is the one given to use by the letting agent for legal documents and that they have also had a copy of these.

She can't just run away from this and suddenly pretend she doesn't live there if certain mail turns up!

We intend to carry on with court action this Friday - is there anything else we should do to cover ourselves before then?

Thanks all.

Mrs_pbradley936

I would have no further contact with her at all. If the deadline comes and goes and she has not paid up issue the court proceedings. Then let them take over. If she ignores the court there will be consequences for her. Meanwhile go and buy yourself a bottle of wine. Not that fancy wine everyone is talking about (dry white house is all I ever ask for, I must be poor or uncultured) a bottle of plonk will do, then just sit back and forget all about it for the next few days.

clutton_2

pbradley is right - ""I would have no further contact with her at all""

just let the court take its course - if she has ignored the court papers, its her lookout when you get a CCJ against her if she does not respond or turn up. Don't molly coddle this woman any more !

glass of wine, good, bad or indifferent, sounds good to me !

you've done the hard bit !!!1

EagerLearner

Thanks guys - it's just frustrating she is choosing to be this childish. In her e-mail to us (with the breakdown) she said 'sorry for the delay but your letter was sent to my old address' - she was referring to letter #2, but refrained from giving us her 'new' address and is now saying she has 'gone away'. I think it's rubbish and that that address IS where she gets her mail as it's where the agents write to her.

The 1st class one she MUST have received - plus as it was a window envelope, she could have seen the words 'NOTICE OF COUR' through the window in bold, underlined.

Can the court not later say that we did not write to the correct address? I just wonder if we should write to the letting agent and say she's claiming to not be at that address anymore and see whether she has sneakily changed her address with them in the last few days?