deposit dispute:charged 40 pounds for slamming front door twice!

Patricia14

hello,

i wonder if anybody can help in any way on deposit dispute.

Last saturday, the landlord only gave me back about half of the deposit. most of the charges are highly questionable but one in particular stands out for being completely surealist.
he substracted 40 pounds from my deposit for slamming the door twice!!
Of course i said this is completely insane but he did not want to hear anything at all even when i said i will seek a sollicitor.
his scenario is the following: when one slams the door of his house it does shake the whole foundation!!
How more bad faith can it be!! anybody can tell where are the damages? Can he give me a proof of it?
For one thing he was not in the house the whole time to assess how many times i slammed the door or only God knows how much more he would have charged me.
Another thing is i never checked how many times he slammed the door himself!! Besides, as his familly was invited a couple a times, i heard the door was slammed on some occasion.
I do not really believe he charged them for doing that!!

As you can see this charge is above belief.
Anybody can tell how i can sort it out?

regards,
Patricia

new update: i forgot to mention the following:
he gave me the written confirmation for this non sence charge so i have all the leaverage to sue him.
he justifies himself on paper as follows (be ready for a good laugh):
2x slamming front door (estimated damage to bricks,frame,glass) :40 pounds

i forgot to mention as well the house is a terace house: meaning he has 2 nextdoor neighbours on each side. so everytime they slam their own front door, we should fairly assume it will have some repercussions on his bricks, frames and glass!! so why he does not charge them as well!! Maybe he should set up some device at their door to record how many time they slam their door and be able to charge them the relevant amount!!

Also i have seen the Citizens Advice Bureau and local housing council but they were useless.
I am still waiting for your suggestions, the more i will get the better it will be; and want to thank everybody who already gave me some advice.


best regards,


Patricia

ts_aly2000

Hi,

That's definitely a new one!

clutton_2

go to your local council private housing officer and get her/him to write to your landlord on your behalf. There are also 3-4 threads on here about this very same subject which are live at the moment, have a search and a good read.

Jim_B_3

Landlords like this are taking the !!!!!! and make it that much harder for every decent landlord. If he wants to hold back the deposit he's got to be able to identify the items you have damaged beyond reasonable wear and tear, with reference to the inventory you signed upon taking up residency, or identify significant structural damage (such as a hole knocked in the wall; if he can identify damage to the foundations that will cost 40 pounds to repair, push him for his qualifications in civil engineering and ask to see a copy of the quote from the engineers that will be making good the damage).

Many such landlords are chancers who know that most tenants will not pursue the money they are owed through the legal system. Do not admit to ANY damage, make it clear that any money you take back is taken without prejudice (i.e. is not a tacit admission that this is all you're owed), and push him all the way through the legal system to get your money back, plus costs. Metaphorically speaking, give him a bloody nose and grin whilst you do it.

missk_ensington

What else did he dock your bond for?! Unless it was in your contract that you can't slam the door (doubtful!) then I think any Small Claims Court would regard his actions unreasonable and possibly see him as taking advantage of his position.

martin1018

Being an avid reader of the thread titled 'Please help re flat deposit' which is currently ongoing, I would suggest that you read that for advice on what to do - and confirmation that you are not alone!
I am amazed at what goes on in the rental world, a world which thankfully I have had no need to go into.
Without doubting what you say, we have only one side of the story, but what you say he is doing is just sooooo wrong.
What is it with some landlords? - and yes I know there are some good ones, my best mate is one, a good one I hope!

Best wishes with getting your money back.

Martin

Patricia14

clutton wrote:

go to your local council private housing officer and get her/him to write to your landlord on your behalf. There are also 3-4 threads on here about this very same subject which are live at the moment, have a search and a good read.

new update: yesterday i forgot to mention the following:
he gave me the written confirmation for this non sence charge so i have all the leaverage to sue him.
he justifies himself on paper as follows (be ready for a good laugh):
2x slamming front door (estimated damage to bricks,frame,glass) :40 pounds

i forgot to mention as well the house is a terace house: meaning he has 2 nextdoor neighbours on each side. so everytime they slam their own front door, we should fairly assume it will have some repercussions on his bricks, frames and glass!! so why he does not charge them as well!! Maybe he should set up some device at their door to record how many time they slam their door and be able to charge them the relevant amount!!

i hope everybody finds it entertaining and wait for your suggestions.

Patricia

Patricia14

Jim_B wrote:

Landlords like this are taking the !!!!!! and make it that much harder for every decent landlord. If he wants to hold back the deposit he's got to be able to identify the items you have damaged beyond reasonable wear and tear, with reference to the inventory you signed upon taking up residency, or identify significant structural damage (such as a hole knocked in the wall; if he can identify damage to the foundations that will cost 40 pounds to repair, push him for his qualifications in civil engineering and ask to see a copy of the quote from the engineers that will be making good the damage).

Many such landlords are chancers who know that most tenants will not pursue the money they are owed through the legal system. Do not admit to ANY damage, make it clear that any money you take back is taken without prejudice (i.e. is not a tacit admission that this is all you're owed), and push him all the way through the legal system to get your money back, plus costs. Metaphorically speaking, give him a bloody nose and grin whilst you do it.

new update: yesterday i forgot to mention the following:
he gave me the written confirmation for this non sence charge so i have all the leaverage to sue him.
he justifies himself on paper as follows (be ready for a good laugh):
2x slamming front door (estimated damage to bricks,frame,glass) :40 pounds

i forgot to mention as well the house is a terace house: meaning he has 2 nextdoor neighbours on each side. so everytime they slam their own front door, we should fairly assume it will have some repercussions on his bricks, frames and glass!! so why he does not charge them as well!! Maybe he should set up some device at their door to record how many time they slam their door and be able to charge them the relevant amount!!

i hope everybody finds it entertaining and wait for your suggestions.

Patricia

Patricia14

martin1018 wrote:

Being an avid reader of the thread titled 'Please help re flat deposit' which is currently ongoing, I would suggest that you read that for advice on what to do - and confirmation that you are not alone!
I am amazed at what goes on in the rental world, a world which thankfully I have had no need to go into.
Without doubting what you say, we have only one side of the story, but what you say he is doing is just sooooo wrong.
What is it with some landlords? - and yes I know there are some good ones, my best mate is one, a good one I hope!

Best wishes with getting your money back.

Martin

new update: yesterday i forgot to mention the following:
he gave me the written confirmation for this non sence charge so i have all the leaverage to sue him.
he justifies himself on paper as follows (be ready for a good laugh):
2x slamming front door (estimated damage to bricks,frame,glass) :40 pounds

i forgot to mention as well the house is a terace house: meaning he has 2 nextdoor neighbours on each side. so everytime they slam their own front door, we should fairly assume it will have some repercussions on his bricks, frames and glass!! so why he does not charge them as well!! Maybe he should set up some device at their door to record how many time they slam their door and be able to charge them the relevant amount!!

i hope everybody finds it entertaining and wait for your suggestions.

Patricia

Phatmouse

All you need to do is speak to trading standards, as long as you had a contract you will get a refund. We were in a similar position with ours a reported them, just a phone call and they take it from there.

clutton_2

Phatmouse , now that is interesting, last time i spoke to Trading Standards they were utterly useless.