EA and Deposits

Kimmy2309

Has anyone ever had any problems getting their deposit back from the EA. We handed the keys back on our flat on Thursday evening and I tried to get in contact with the EA on Friday to find out what the process what. It has only been today that she has bothered to get back to me :mad: Also I find that the email our LL sent to them about the deposit went missing and I will have to get him to send another one this evening thus adding an extra day onto this saga. We are fortunately getting the whole of our deposit back but when is the key question? At what point can I escalate the matter? We really need this money as we have just bought a flat and need to furnish it. Currently sitting on the living room floor in front of the TV Plus it would mean that except for the Mortgage we are debt free because we will be able to pay off the last couple of hundred £££ on the credit card.

RacyRed

Hate to say it, but I chased up my ex EA (yet again) today and was told (yet again) it had been transferred to my bank account today.

I moved out 4 months ago!

Sammy85_2

Is your deposit in a scheme? You should be able to find out where the return process is at through them if it is.

moromir

Kimmy2309 wrote: »

Has anyone ever had any problems getting their deposit back from the EA. We handed the keys back on our flat on Thursday evening and I tried to get in contact with the EA on Friday to find out what the process what. It has only been today that she has bothered to get back to me :mad: Also I find that the email our LL sent to them about the deposit went missing and I will have to get him to send another one this evening thus adding an extra day onto this saga. We are fortunately getting the whole of our deposit back but when is the key question? At what point can I escalate the matter? We really need this money as we have just bought a flat and need to furnish it. Currently sitting on the living room floor in front of the TV Plus it would mean that except for the Mortgage we are debt free because we will be able to pay off the last couple of hundred £££ on the credit card.

Why do you think you are going to have problems getting your deposit back?

You say you dropped your keys back on Thursday night, which probably means the agent wasn't in the office to pick them up until Friday morning (entirely reasonable). As far as I understand it, Agents rarely do inventory inspections on a Saturday, its their main viewing day.

So say the agent checked out the property on Monday, she would still need the Landlord's permission to release the deposit, which can easily take a few days if the LL has unexpectedly gone away/in hospital/otherwise hasn't answered the phone.

I believe the tenancy deposit schemes allow at least 10 working days for the Agent to inspect the property and notify the ex-tenant in writing of any proposed deductions, then this can be negociated through correspondence if necessary.

It would be literally months, backed up with recorded delivery letters requesting the return of your deposit before you could 'escalate' the situation via small claims court. and even longer until such a case was heard.

I think you should take a deep breath and a step back, to use a cliche, take a chill pill at this current point in time. The agent seems to be moving fairly swiftly on returning your deposit, I'm sure someone be along shortly to relay a horror story as to how long it took for them to get theirs back! I mean this in the politest way but your strained finances are not the agents or landlords problem. I agree it was unfortunate that the agent did not return your call. Was there a reason she did not return your call sooner? Did you ask?

For example last week, the fancy new phone system we had installed at my work died a fantastic and almost comical death. For two days we couldn't make calls, access our email or our voicemail.

In short, put the kettle on and try not to panic yet.

Kimmy2309

I'll have a look at the scheme's website. Really hope it doesn't take 4 months!!!!!!!!

RacyRed

moromir wrote: »

Why do you think you are going to have problems getting your deposit back?
...

I mean this in the politest way but your strained finances are not the agents or landlords problem. I agree it was unfortunate that the agent did not return your call. Was there a reason she did not return your call sooner? Did you ask?
...

In short, put the kettle on and try not to panic yet.

What a very laid back approach. Next time I'm renting somewhere I must try telling the agent that I'll pay the deposit as soon as I get round to it.

If the LL has already confirmed to the EA that the full deposit is repayable then it should have been paid straight away. These are not normally small amounts of money!

Oh, and it isn't Kimmy2309's problem if the EA's email, telephone or whatever system goes down, it is the agent's problem and it is their responsibility to pull the stops out to ensure the deposit is repaid at the earliest possible opportunity - NOT at the EAs earliest convenience!

Kimmy2309

We actually gave the keys directly back to the LL on Thursday evening who was going to email the EA that night. He is very good with things like that. I didn't ask why she didn't call me back but the phone system was definately working as I left 2 messages with other people in the office. Our finances arn't dire but it would be nice to be able to get something to sit on. I have taken my chill pill and will wait to see what happens.

RacyRed

Kimmy2309 wrote: »

I'll have a look at the scheme's website. Really hope it doesn't take 4 months!!!!!!!!

My ex-landlord was abroad so wasn't contacted by the EA, but I wasn't told this until I'd really started to worry! However, they have spent the last month telling me "it was paid to you today - sorry we overlooked it last time"

moromir

RacyRed wrote: »

What a very laid back approach. Next time I'm renting somewhere I must try telling the agent that I'll pay the deposit as soon as I get round to it.

If the LL has already confirmed to the EA that the full deposit is repayable then it should have been paid straight away. These are not normally small amounts of money!

Oh, and it isn't Kimmy2309's problem if the EA's email, telephone or whatever system goes down, it is the agent's problem and it is their responsibility to pull the stops out to ensure the deposit is repaid at the earliest possible opportunity - NOT at the EAs earliest convenience!

I think you will find that actually, that isn't the case. I can't comment specifically because I don't know which of the three tenancy deposit schemes the deposit is registered with, but it is likely that if you read the terms and conditions, that the Agent (on Landlord's behalf) will have something in the region of 10 working days to organise the return of the deposit, and the Tenant has no recourse to harass the Agent during that period. No Judge in the land would look favourably on Kimmie's case if she tried to take the Agent (on Landlord behalf) to court at this point, in fact I doubt you'd make it past the submissions clerk.

Its not a matter of being laid back, its a matter of acting within the terms and conditions of the Tenancy Agreement and that of the deposit scheme that the deposit is lodged with.

It's also a matter of acting in a manner that is going to get you the result you want in the fastest time possible. Harassing an agent and demanding things is simply (rightly or wrongly) going to see you put to the bottom of the pile.

In my current rental, the procedure and time frame for the return of the deposit is outlined, Kimmie have you checked your TA or any documentation from the Agent for this information? (Although I don't think its necessarily a requirement that its in the agreement)

As I tried to say before, Kimmie has clearly made her point with the agent, there is nothing further she can do at this point without antagonising them. Give them a week (bearing in mind that our post system is rubbish and a cheque might take a few days to reach you), if nothing is forthcoming then post here and someone can advise her on what to do next.

ETA: apologies for dancing between first and third person in that last bit! Hope it makes sense.