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landlord refusing to use ADS to claim back deposit
jcwood
Posts: 1 Newbie
I was wondering if anyone could help me with some free advise. I moved out of my rented property in oct 2010 after having lived there for 3 years. It is not the first property I have rented, in fact it is the third. I have never not received a deposit back in full, so I have been somewhat caught out by this one! Before I moved out I cleaned the property, including hiring a carpet cleaner, repainted a few worn areas such as door frames and window sills, and scrubbed out with bleach an area that had got a little damp from having a wardrobe against it.
On inspection the landlords weren't happy that I hadn't fully cleared the basement. I explained that most of the things left there had already been there when I moved in (for example a light fitting from a childs room and an old TV), although I had left 2 pallets which I had used to keep my freezer and tumble dryer above the flood water that came in everytime it rained! I thought these would be useful to the next tennant, so I left them in place. They also asked that I remove a couple of items from the garage area which I had over looked, so of course I did this without complaint.
I then asked when I would receive my deposit back, and they told me they would be back in touch.
The next day I contacted them and asked them for news. They told me the landlady wasn't happy that the hall and stairway carpets were properly cleaned. I disputed that I had already cleaned them, and besides which the hall carpet had been worn when I moved into the property which had been noted on the inventory.
They again told me they would be in touch, and again I left it for a day or 2 before ringing them.
The letting agent told me at that point that there was a problem with my copy of the inventory. They said that it didn't match theirs, and the signiture looked "wrong". As I have never altered my copy of the inventory I must admit I was furious at both the accusation and also the fact that if I knew my copy was right then that must mean that THEIRS is the one that had been altered!
At this point they told me that the deposit was now "in dispute". I called back 2 weeks later and was yet again told that no decision had been made and the deposit was still "in dispute".
Having no experience of the dispute process I didnt know the kind of time scale these things take, so I left it a few weeks. In late November I decided to be more proactive, and contacted the DPS myself. They told me NO dispute had been opened, and that we were still the registered tennants. I then found out that the letting agent had confusingly paid £100 more then my actual deposit into the scheme! Bizarre!
Over the past 2 months I have tried 3 times to reclaim my deposit through the DPS, and also tried opening an alternative dispute service, all these things have been rejected by the letting agent, no counter offer, no explaination, just "rejected". I have since emailed them asking what reasons they had for withholding my deposit, and asking them for a response within the week, which they have failed to do.
What on earth do I do now??
Jen
On inspection the landlords weren't happy that I hadn't fully cleared the basement. I explained that most of the things left there had already been there when I moved in (for example a light fitting from a childs room and an old TV), although I had left 2 pallets which I had used to keep my freezer and tumble dryer above the flood water that came in everytime it rained! I thought these would be useful to the next tennant, so I left them in place. They also asked that I remove a couple of items from the garage area which I had over looked, so of course I did this without complaint.
I then asked when I would receive my deposit back, and they told me they would be back in touch.
The next day I contacted them and asked them for news. They told me the landlady wasn't happy that the hall and stairway carpets were properly cleaned. I disputed that I had already cleaned them, and besides which the hall carpet had been worn when I moved into the property which had been noted on the inventory.
They again told me they would be in touch, and again I left it for a day or 2 before ringing them.
The letting agent told me at that point that there was a problem with my copy of the inventory. They said that it didn't match theirs, and the signiture looked "wrong". As I have never altered my copy of the inventory I must admit I was furious at both the accusation and also the fact that if I knew my copy was right then that must mean that THEIRS is the one that had been altered!
At this point they told me that the deposit was now "in dispute". I called back 2 weeks later and was yet again told that no decision had been made and the deposit was still "in dispute".
Having no experience of the dispute process I didnt know the kind of time scale these things take, so I left it a few weeks. In late November I decided to be more proactive, and contacted the DPS myself. They told me NO dispute had been opened, and that we were still the registered tennants. I then found out that the letting agent had confusingly paid £100 more then my actual deposit into the scheme! Bizarre!
Over the past 2 months I have tried 3 times to reclaim my deposit through the DPS, and also tried opening an alternative dispute service, all these things have been rejected by the letting agent, no counter offer, no explaination, just "rejected". I have since emailed them asking what reasons they had for withholding my deposit, and asking them for a response within the week, which they have failed to do.
What on earth do I do now??
Jen
0
Comments
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Contact DPS again. If the agents don't make a claim for any deductions within a defined period (and I'm not sure what that is but they should be able to advise you) the deposit should be returned to you in full.0
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Talk to DPS about using the "single claim process" - see S20 of the Ts and Cs0
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Also worth asking for a copy of 'their' inventory. If someone has altered this after you signed it or forged your signature and is trying to use this to extract money from you, it's likely that a crime has been committed.0
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Sounds like typical landlord behaviour, they are all immoral human beings by nature unfortunatly. You have to kick up a stink and get your money back. If you dont then go the legal route. Best wishesI am not a financial expert, and the post above is merely my opinion.:j0
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I'm not sure that your comments about or attitude to landlords in general is particularly helpful to the OP. Could you please explain why this would be of any interest to them or any one else on this forum? Or, failing that, might you be able to contribute something constructive about this particular situation?0
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If you just want to vent your rage, use the Discussion forum which exists for this purpose.Sounds like typical landlord behaviour, they are all immoral human beings by nature unfortunatly. You have to kick up a stink and get your money back. If you dont then go the legal route. Best wishes
If you have something constructive to say for the OP.... oops, can't finish the sentence as you obviously don't!0 -
If you just want to vent your rage, use the Discussion forum which exists for this purpose.
If you have something constructive to say for the OP.... oops, can't finish the sentence as you obviously don't!
I did give him advice....I am not a financial expert, and the post above is merely my opinion.:j0
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