Ex says I owe her half the rent deposit.

poppysarah

"During the time we were there, one of her cats stained the carpet and so the deposit was lost on moving out."

If all the deposit was lost then give her half.
NOTHING.

timberflake

InkZ wrote: »

Give her half the money and ask her to send you half the cat.

This!

Seriously though, you say your half is £680 for the carpet, so the carpet cost 1,360!!?

Something's not right here, either there must have been more deductions or the LL or you ex is trying to (or has done in the case of the LL) pull a fast one!

split_second

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Or maybe she waited until the OP was debt-free and had the ability to pay? [You could even say she was kind enough to wait until then!]

I think, certainly morally, it depends on to what extent it was the girlfriend's cat as opposed to a joint cat. E.g. who fed it, who cuddled it, whose job was it (importantly) to let it out when it needed the toilet, etc.

Is it not similar to this...
Single mum meets a new man. They move in together. Child damages the carpet. Coupld split up and move out. Is the carpet damage the mum's responsibility because it was "her" child who did it? Or is it a joint responsibility as they both, at the time, had responsibility for the child? I'd say the latter.

i'm thinking this is an ex that has appeared from out of the blue after a year, suddenly asking for money, irrespective of if the o.p's debt situation (or lack of) is recent or a reference to past events

JimmyTheWig

split_second wrote: »

i'm thinking this is an ex that has appeared from out of the blue after a year, suddenly asking for money, irrespective of if the o.p's debt situation (or lack of) is recent or a reference to past events

Just strikes me as too much of a coincidence that it has happened a week after the OP has the ability to pay.

BitterAndTwisted

Just strikes me as the ex is on a fishing expedition. She precipitated the move because she needed to for work. She had the cats which caused the damage. She ended the relationship. All reasons why she doesn't deserve a penny of anyone else's money just because she's now decided that she does. I wouldn't be doing or saying anything until I had the court papers in my hands.

skinnycat

She paid the deposit, she didn't get all of it back.
She lost about £1360.
I didn't pay any deposit.. I didn't get anything back ... it all went to her.
She wants me to give her half of that (£680).

[I found the cats an inconvenience to say the least :-) ]

skinnycat

timberflake wrote: »

This!

Seriously though, you say your half is £680 for the carpet, so the carpet cost 1,360!!?

Something's not right here, either there must have been more deductions or the LL or you ex is trying to (or has done in the case of the LL) pull a fast one!

The whole living room and carpet had to be replaced and carried on into a conservatory. It was a big piece of carpet.

RAS

skinnycat wrote: »

She paid the deposit, she didn't get all of it back.
She lost about £1360.
I didn't pay any deposit.. I didn't get anything back ... it all went to her.
She wants me to give her half of that (£680).

[I found the cats an inconvenience to say the least :-) ]

She can whistle.

JimmyTheWig

skinnycat wrote: »

She paid the deposit, she didn't get all of it back.
She lost about £1360.
I didn't pay any deposit.. I didn't get anything back ... it all went to her.
She wants me to give her half of that (£680).

That's how I read it originally, but thanks for clarifying.

[I found the cats an inconvenience to say the least :-) ]

Were you clear about this when the cats came in to your life? E.g. if she already had the cats did you make suggestions for alternatives to the cats moving in with you both? Or if she got them whilst living together did you suggest she didn't?

Assuming, for now, that it was clear that it was her cat, that makes it (in my eyes) her responsibility.
How did the pair of you deal with money while you were together? E.g. what if you both agreed that the carpet needed replacing because of the cat while you were still living there? Who would have paid? Did you do joint finances and you both would have paid? Or would she have paid it all? Would one of you have taken a loan which she paid back? Or you both paid back together?
I think the way the bill is paid now should be the same as how it would have been paid when together as that is when the damage (and so the bill) was caused.

RobertoMoir

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

She's going to get legal advice? That will be money wasted. Her deposit. Her cat. Her expense.

I wouldn't even bother to respond to her empty threats, most especially texts. Serious people use proper modes of communication.

In fact, to take B&T's point further, in your place I'd refuse to discuss this with her by text any further. She's already told you she's considering legal action. In your place, I'd want any communication between myself and someone who was threatening to take me to court to be in writing.

Just so there could be no doubt over who said what to whom, you know?