refund of deposit

janey70

hi after some advice about getting my daughters deposit back from a letting agent !
my daughter rented a flat off a well known letting agent after 6 months handed in her notice at the property and had the inspection done to make sure there was no damage etc to the property which there wasnt this was the 6th of march ;few days later they sent me a copy of the inspection which was all in order and said she would contact me within 10 working days but no one did so i emailed them back and she said she was waiting for letter off landlord to confirm he was happy to refund deposit ,so a week later she emailed us and said she had received the letter and would release the deposit and should take 3 to 5 working days .
that was 2 weeks ago last week i emailed her again stating no money or contact had been received she replied she would chase it up with the accounts dept ,a week later still nothing so rang her on Tuesday and got same reply that she would chase it up and be in touch ! but 2 days later still nothing ! i have sent her another email saying that im not happy basically and would like my deposit back or would take it to higher authority . but im at a loss at what else to do where do i stand ? who can i contact apart from the person who is dealing with this ?:mad:

rentergirl

Are you in England Wales? Is the deposit registered under an official scheme? If so, then deal with them. The deposit must be handed back within a reasonable time. And emails are no good: so easy to ignore. Send the request in writing, copy in the landlord with proof of posting. Good luck.

janey70

yes im in england rentergirl ,i have no idea if the deposit is registered ?? All i do know is that its from a company called martins and co who were the letting agents for the property all the contact is through them ?

bouicca21

Check the websites of the various deposit protection schemes - you should be able to check via surname and address. Your daughter should have been give a certificate to show that the deposit was protected.

If protected, then it should have been repaid within 10 working days of request. Start a dispute, making sure you identify the sort of evidence you need.

If not protected still use the sites to see what sort of evidence is required for a dispute but go to small claims and let the agent know - this may be enough to make them cough up.

BitterAndTwisted

Legally, the deposit should have been registered with one of the three deposit-protection schemes: DPS, TDS and MyDeposits. The former is the one where the money is physically given up to the scheme, the latter two are insurance-based ones where the landlord/agent retains the funds. Interrogate all three schemes and find which one the deposit is registered with and then claim the whole of the deposit back. The scheme will then require the landlord/agent to agree for full repayment.

Meanwhile, your daughter should WRITE to the both the landlord and the agent stating that they have been unreasonably dilatory and the deposit should be repaid by return of post.

janey70

this is going a bit over my head now all sites im looking at seem more for the landlords not the tenants ? we dont have the landlords address she rented this through Martin&co and never had any contact with landlord or an address for him everything was done through martins &co . as we said i have emailed them loads of times and saved all emails as that what they ask you to do is email even to give your notice ? sorry not very informed on all this any links of help would be good ?

janey70

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Legally, the deposit should have been registered with one of the three deposit-protection schemes: DPS, TDS and MyDeposits. The former is the one where the money is physically given up to the scheme, the latter two are insurance-based ones where the landlord/agent retains the funds. Interrogate all three schemes and find which one the deposit is registered with and then claim the whole of the deposit back. The scheme will then require the landlord/agent to agree for full repayment.

Meanwhile, your daughter should WRITE to the both the landlord and the agent stating that they have been unreasonably dilatory and the deposit should be repaid by return of post.

just found on martins&co site that they support dps ?

princeofpounds

1) Write in proper paragraphs and setences.

2) There are only 3 schemes. If the websites are too complex for you then phone them to see if the deposit was protected.

3) Saving emails is good, but all communication now should be in writing with proof of posting.

4) Do you have a copy of the tenancy agrement? This should contain the name of the landlord and an address for the service of notices (which might be C/O the agent).

princeofpounds

just found on martins&co site that they support dps ?

Then speak to DPS first.

janey70

priceofpounds thanks i have just rang there accounts department and demeaned to know what is happening he told me it was with the managing director for her to look at and they have requested it back off her so they can release the money ,i asked why has she got it as there was nothing wrong with the flat and he said she was prob just checking the invoices and he should get it off her this afternoon or at the latest 2moz ! so will see what happens i will prob end up ringing them again and if i do will have your post with dps with me so hopefully they will cough up

bouicca21

They certainly sound as though they are more for landlords than tenants - but you can use the information for a case on behalf of a tenant just as easily. It's sort of reverse engineering. I did just this recently and got my deposit back in full. I had an open and shut case but still made sure that the dispute service had access to every last piece of evidence.

But first check that the deposit is protected. My AST said the deposit would go in DPS but my dodgy landlord failed to do so until I pressurised him with the threat of a court action and then went with MyDeposits. So check with DPS first and if there's no record there go to the other schemes and check with them.

If not protected then it's small claims court.

Just seen your last post - be careful if they string it out long enough you will be out of time to make a claim.