Petty deductions from deposit - what now?

iapetus

I'm seeking advice on what to do over a £20 deduction from the deposit on a flat I was renting. Yes, it's petty, but let me tell you the story.

When I moved out of the flat, the deductions from my deposit included a £20 charge for the ironing and rehanging of a pair of pink curtains in one of the bedrooms.

I queried the deduction, because the curtains had been lying folded on the window sill when I moved in, and were lying folded on the window sill when I moved out. I spoke to the relevant person at the lettings agency (who shall remain nameless, but are a relatively large local agency with about six offices scattered around). She told me (in no uncertain terms) that the curtains had been hung when I moved in, and that I was therefore liable for the £20 charge and that if I disputed this I should put my claim in writing, but I wouldn't get anywhere. I told her that the curtains had not been hung when I moved in, and she replied that they clearly had been, and that she had checked with the inventory clerk and that if they had been unhung at the time it would have been noted on the check-in inventory.

Now, this surprised me. Because the room contained one window. With one curtain rail. But on the inventory were two pairs of curtains. I could only assume that when I moved in, both pairs of curtains had been hung on the same curtain rail and that I had somehow in my sleep, without any memory of this strange disaster of haberdashery, removed the pink pair and placed it on the window sill.

Well, I could only assume that or that they were wrong, and respond as suggested with a a slightly mocking letter. Which I did, informing them that I expected to receive by return of post either an explanation of how to hang two pairs of curtains simultaneously or a cheque for £20 and a written apology for accusing me of lying.

What I actually received was a letter that completely bypassed the question of an apology, and informed me that yes, the blue curtains had been hung and the pink curtains had been left folded on the windowsill, but at my checkout, the pink ones were left in a "SCREWED up condition" (their emphasis, not mine). This, of course, isn't true - the curtains were left exactly where they were for the full year that I was in the property. It's possible that the top fold got a little ruffled on moving out, but there's no way on earth that they were SCREWED up. The charge would therefore be reduced to £10.

Now, I don't need £10. But at this point I can't help feeling that I'm being SCREWED over (my emphasis this time). This isn't the only problem I've had with the lettings agency (long story short: repairs that were promised on a regular basis were not carried out, the bedroom suffered from damp which they did not address despite being notified of it early in the year - and then tried to charge me for on moving out, and the front porch was a deathtrap in case of fire, as if you went into it without your keys you would be locked into the porch unable to escape either inside or outside). So frankly I'm not feeling that willing to accept £10 - their line is that it's terribly good of the landlord to meet me half way, but as far as I'm concerned there's no reasonable claim to be made here, and that all they deserve is half of nothing.

I've counter-offered that I'm willing to accept no money at all if the £20 is instead given to a charity of the landlord's choice. It's purely a matter of principle, and I want to make it perfectly clear that this isn't a case of me trying to scam them for money. If that's refused, though, what choices do I have?

I presume the next step would be to take this to a small claims court. Given that at the moment it's my word against theirs (with their word having been demonstrated once already not to be worth the paper it's printed on, given that I have both their initial claim that the curtains were hung and their later admission that they weren't) would a claim stand up? How much would it cost me to make the claim, and how much might I end up paying if they chose to contest it? Am I just being silly about the whole thing? Should I take the £10 they offered and spend it on a name-of-lettings-agency-sucks.com domain to mock them and warn others to avoid their services in the future? Should I just let it drop (probably the most money-saving thing to do would be to take the £10 and run, I guess)?

Answers on the back of a postcard...

olly300

This is a common trick. Deduct a sum small enough so it's not worth you going to the small claims court to get it back.

Did you sign the inventory? If you did you have no come back. If not it is worth threatening them with legal action even though the amount is so small. It will cause them more hassle, particularly if you can get some publicity from the local press, to defend your claim. By the way you don't give the information to the press a "friend" does.

iapetus

I signed the inventory, but all that the inventory said was that there were two pairs of curtains in the room, nothing about whether they were hung, folded or SCREWED up.

whambamboo

iapetus wrote:

I presume the next step would be to take this to a small claims court. Given that at the moment it's my word against theirs (with their word having been demonstrated once already not to be worth the paper it's printed on, given that I have both their initial claim that the curtains were hung and their later admission that they weren't) would a claim stand up? How much would it cost me to make the claim, and how much might I end up paying if they chose to contest it? Am I just being silly about the whole thing? Should I take the £10 they offered and spend it on a name-of-lettings-agency-sucks.com domain to mock them and warn others to avoid their services in the future? Should I just let it drop (probably the most money-saving thing to do would be to take the £10 and run, I guess)?

Answers on the back of a postcard...

£30 to make the claim.

You should definitely sue, as a point of principle.

If you win you get the £30 costs + £20 claimed.

If you lose, you pay nothing - they are not allowed to claim costs in the small claims courts.

Faced with the court summons on their doormat, I can guarantee you will be paid within days. It will never go to court. If they do contest it, there's no charge.

To sue, go here https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

It's all online.

Re the your word versus theirs, the onus is on them to prove that they have suffered damages that have cost them £20. If they can't, they get nothing - this is because they could just make up any stupid story, and you would have to prove the contrary.

Sue sue sue!

Teach them a lesson. It's quick and easy.

iapetus

Well, it's all cleared up now - the landlord has apparently agreed to the £20 to charity offer, so I've agreed to let it lie. Thanks to all for the advice.

Now, in true money saving tradition, I can't help wondering if the £20 is now tax deductible.

missbee

This is probably petty - but is ther any way you can actually check it's gone to charity? I'm not sure I'd trust their word!!!!

iapetus

They've offered me the receipt.

tobedifferent

You were lucky, a few years ago I was in a flat and the inventory had evrything as brand new, perfect condition, which it clearly wasn't. My supposedly brand new bathroom was a dark brown from the 70's! I wrote a new inventory and refused to pay rent till they signed it and sent it back, which they eventually did. On moving out they tried to take my whole deposit on the basis of their inventory. It took 6 months and a summons to sort it out.

Another letting agent charged me cleaning fees as my front windowsill was dusty!

I insist on checking and writing every inventory with the letting agent now.

clutton_2

i know i am a landlady and therefore the scum of the earth as far as some are concerned - but has the OP gone mad !!!! suing for £20 ?????? for goodness sakes, what on earth is this all about, and dont tell me principle, its just plain old nonsense.

In this life we all get screwed by someone, or maybe even several someone's, along the way, but, what on earth is the point in spending time and effort on a really petty thing like this ?

move on, enjoy life, laugh about it, use it for an amusing after dinner party - but please - going to court for £20 ????? really - its a waste of time, energy, court time, public funds etc etc - write it off !!!

its nonsense like this that stops serious cases going to court when folks are hurt/injured/deliberately attacked - all that is at stake here is your pride !!!

sorry if this sounds curt, its just SUCH a silliness - it would be terribly funny if it was not so sad.

sanfrancisco

clutton wrote:

i know i am a landlady and therefore the scum of the earth as far as some are concerned - but has the OP gone mad !!!!

sorry if this sounds curt, its just SUCH a silliness - it would be terribly funny if it was not so sad.

An unsurprising summary from a landlady. Back in the real world £20 still means something to many of us. Do you only deal in £1000's?

clutton_2

tens of thousands actually .............................










takes tongue out of cheek !