Calamity of errors - Letting Agent/LL has not provided DPS info

RAS

Absolutely. I recall being asked for three years salary details. Took them in the folowwing morning. Wee bit os a shock to them.

DVardysShadow

Jediben wrote: »

I actually contacted the scheme for the DPS (MyDeposits) and they advised that if we were to try and take it to arbitration, they wouldn't be able to assist because the details logged for the deposit are not the same as the tenancy agreement (the start date would need to be the same) so I don't know if they have made things better or worse for me by botching the DPS as well. If I went to court and presented the DPS cert, it would presumably be immediately noted that the data is false?

Things would be more difficult for reclaiming your deposit, but the LL should not be able to claim any of it either! But after that point, it would be demonstrably not protected properly you would have a fair case for a 3 times claim , i would think.

Jediben

Update time: As suspected, no signed copy of my inventory was ever provided. We successfully completed our move to the new house (which is absolute heaven compared to the old place) on Saturday and spent all Sunday cleaning up the old one. Monday morning arrived and the LA chap shows up as planned at the old property for the check out process. The first thing he tries is to pull out a copy of the 'standard inventory' for the property (which was probably an unsigned copy of the 2006 one from the previous tenant) and is about to ask us to sign it (!) when both myself and my girlfriend give him both barrels - there's no way we are going to sign anything, no inventory has ever been provided to me, no document exists with my signature, how dumb do you think we are?

He's taken aback and actually says the words "whether it's signed or not is irrelevant"... Boom! Another salvo - we tell him we know that if there is no signed inventory then the whole check out process is effectively useless. There is no record of the state of the place when we moved in, no agreed contents of the premises etc etc and if we find ourselves facing any deductions we will be taking the LL to court. We also remind the LA that he was working for the business in the first year of my tenancy, when the property was supposedly FULLY MANAGED by him and that the LL will not be very happy with him for failing to provide an inventory anyway. The last thing the LA will want is for the LL to lose more money to us in court for failure to protect the DPS too.

What follows is possibly the fastest check out possible. He opens all the cupboards to look for 'food' which of course are impeccably clean. We left the damp in the property (no bleaching back took place because we want the LL to appreciate the problem he has in the property) and the LL then pulls out a little 'check out sheet' with very simple checks. No rubbish in the property - check. No furniture left - check (although we point out to him that without an inventory he can't determine whatever in the house is ours or the land lord's anyway) Windows clean - check Within 8-10 minutes he's declared the house in good condition with no repairs needed (he must be blind because we show him a water mark which has appeared on the carpet over the last fortnight - we think water is seeping from under the bathroom wall into the bedroom but he still doesn't write it down. Again, this is a structural issue like the damp rather than something we've caused so I've no qualms about it - and if he even says it's fine on the check out then it effectively didn't exist until the day after we move out) I initialled the documents at the two points and wrote my initials again to the centre of the page to prevent any extra stuff appearing on the document and that was it.
We reminded the LA that any deductions must be supplied to us in writing at our new address within 14 days (if not 14 then 10, I forget exactly) and so we are now just waiting on the deposit.

Fingers crossed the landlord sees the truth about the condition of his property as a result of his poor maintenance rather than our occupation, realises how badly the agency served him and figures out that the DPS responsibility is his!

BitterAndTwisted

I think you should be flexing your fingers now in readiness to type up that "Letter Before Action" if you haven't drafted it already

Jediben

LA has called and said we can come collect the cheque. Wouldn't post it and I didn't ask how much it was for. Will go pick up tomorrow.

Worcsman

This is one of the most interesting threads in the entire forum! Thanks for posting.

Jediben

Good news everyone! I have received my deposit cheque for the full amount (minus the checking out fee that was in my contract) so I am a happy bunny.
Thank you all for your help and support! :money:

sarah1972

user reported for continual spamming on mse

DVardysShadow

sarah1972 wrote: »

user reported for continual spamming on mse

So what do you do? You quote his post and rightly report it. BUT you leave the spammers domain name in your quote unedited. And it seems to be a familiar spammer domain.

So, now, Abuse have taken the original spam. But it lives on in your post.

Edit your post please.

Edited to Add. Spammers post and domain are now preserved in 15 locations