Holding Deposit not being returned??

ajp166

Hi everyone,

My partner paid a UK estate agency a holding deposit for them to take a flat off the market. She paid £300. Her move in date was meant to be the 7th May 2011. All refernces were checked and came back ok so on the 7th May my partner went to their office with the full deposit, there was only an admin girl in the office and the contract was given to my partner to sign, now the contract said it was a minimum 6 month contract but on initial contact they said if you give one month notice you can leave, so the contract stated otherwise, now my partner was not happy about this so the girl in the office called her boss and he spoke to my partner, he asked her to go and read the contract and cool down, so my partner left and came back after 10 minutes and the lady in the agency said that it's better if she does not sign the agreement as they didn't want to let her the flat anymore... Now my partner immediately asked for her holding deposit back and the lady said yes it would be given minus an agency fee of £95 . My partner was not happy so the lady again called her boss who confirm they would try and transfer the whole amount back to her on monday 9th May. So my partner left. Today my partner called them and they kept saying no one was in the office to help so I called and spoke with the boss, he was extremely rude and said they need to speak to the landlord about the £300 deposit :mad: I said to him that it was your agency that broke the deal and he said no it was my partner, I was so angry that he is now saying this which is a complete lie as my girlfriend went to their office with £1300 in cash. Now at the end of this conversation I asked when she would get her money back and he said she won't be getting a penny back and she broke the deal.... I was shocked as he initially said he needed to speak to the landlord about it....

What can we do now? They broke the deal so I am really angry about this holding deposit...

Any advice would be really appreciated....

DannyboyMidlands

What paperwork do you have from the agency stating the purpose of the holding deposit and circumstances under which it would be handed back in part or in full?

ajp166

It said no refund if she changed her mind... it was very short and not many details on it...

DannyboyMidlands

Hmm so we're into "he said, she said" territory but it sounds like you might have a case at the small claims court. In the first instance I'd send them a letter requesting the £300 and giving a 2 week deadline before you start proceedings.

ajp166

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

Hmm so we're into "he said, she said" territory but it sounds like you might have a case at the small claims court. In the first instance I'd send them a letter requesting the £300 and giving a 2 week deadline before you start proceedings.

Thanks alot... what about the deposit protection scheme? the company are members and also ombudsman?

DannyboyMidlands

Small claims court is pretty easy to deal with though. You can do it all online and it costs around 20 quid. I did with Lloyds bank over unfair overdraft fees and won.

As far as I'm aware the DPS is only intended for the security deposit once an tennancy has commenced and nothing to do with holding deposits.

I'd write to the agency first (recorded delivery so you can prove they get the letter), then small claims, then write to the ombudsman if you can be bothered.

PaulLuke

Problem with the deposit protection schemes is that they apply to rental deposit paid as part of a tenancy agreement and your partner did not complete the tenancy agreement so I don't see that those schemes would be of any use to you at all.

ajp166

Do you think I should go to the agency? I actually work in law funnily but Immigration ....

dancingfairy

Normally holding deposits are non-refundable if you pull out. It's unclear from what happened who actually pulled out - if you see what I mean.
Normally you sign up for 6 months and you have to stay for 6 months, after that you have to give 1 month to leave. I'm not sure why your partner was told to 'cool down' - was she rude to them? were they rude to her?
As far as I can see if she pulled out she looses the money. If they pulled out she is probably due the money back. Check the contract though.
As has been said already she will probably have to take it to court to get the money back though as it seems to have got to a he said, she said type situation.
Firstly I'd write a nice polite letter to the estate agency asking for you money back, explain that your partner was told that she couldn't have the property any more and she wants her money back. If this fails then it will be court I guess.
I probably would avoid going around there to talk to them to be honest - unless you can keep your cool as otherwise it will be counter productive. Also if you have everything in writing you will have proof that you have tried to be reasonable - if you go around there they could start making accusations and there could be more 'he said, she said' stuff.
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ajp166

The woman in the agency was very rude throughout.... my partner was upset as they didnt tell her the clauses initially... I called the boss earlier and he immediately said 'listen to me, I will only say this once', i was very polite when I called and didn't like that statement...

geoffky

Treat them with the contempt they deserve..give them a two weeks before action letter and then drag the idiots into small claims court...simples..this is the language some people only understand..