Fake Money in my deposit !!Update pg5!!

waster_2

Is the “disputed” £500 part of the deposit or the first months rent?

If it is the deposit and the tenancy commenced on or after 6 April this year then the Agent or Landlord must have it placed in an approved scheme. See details here. Basically within 14 days of receiving the deposit the Agent or landlord must by law provide you with deatils of how the deposit is protected. The Agent or Landlord cannot withold money from the deposit at the end of the tenancy unless you agree. If no agreement it goes to a dispute resolution procedure to resolve.

So, if this is a deposit and the tenancy started on or after 6 April you should by now have been provided with details of how YOUR deposit is being protected. See also this leaflet. If they do not secure YOUR deposit then it says:

“What happens if you don’t secure a tenant’s deposit?
The tenant can apply to the local county court. The court can order the landlord or agent to either repay the deposit to the tenant or protect it in a scheme. If the landlord or agent has
not protected the deposit, and they fail to do so within 14 days, they will be ordered to pay the tenant three times the amount
of the deposit.”.

With regards the disputed £500 your problem is that you or someone else could have switched it between the bank and meeting the woman rep of the Agents. What sort of envolope was it in. In my experience banks do not usually just give it to you in an envelope, you need to ask. So I can see why it would not just be accepted that the envelope you handed over was the same one as was given to you in the bank. Or was it a sealed plastic “wallet” that could not be resealed once opened? Get this confirmed ASAP.

In any case, if I were you I'd sit tight, pay your rent on time and await someone to prove you have done something wrong and/or unlawful. It is not for you to prove your innocence. At the end of the tenancy, if things are still not resolved you are still entitled to your deposit back. It is only the Agent's allegation that you gave them the forged notes, it is not proven. If, as I say above, it is part of the deposit IMO even if it went to dispute reolution you would likley be successful in getting all your money back. The Agent's rep accepted your cash, made no comment or otherwise relating to its pedigree and there is nothing to prove you passed it to them in any case. If the Agent regularly accepts large sums of cash then he (or his rep) will generally be deemed to have the skill and knowledge to spot funny money. And, furthermore, they should have done that at the time of the transaction not some time later. In an hour and a half that money could have changed hands a dozen or more times - who knows? It could have been half way to London and back in that time from Birmingham.

Finally, if you do fall within the remit of the Deposit Scheme ensure you have details of where YOUR deposit is being held. Ask for that now.

Good Luck.

EvilDes

Update for those who have been following my story...

Yesterday my dad received a phonecall from the police. Now, I wasn't there and don't know the full conversation, so I'm a little sketchy on specific details, however, what my dad basically told me was that the police informed him that (for whatever reason, Im unsure as to what) they have ceased their enquiries into the matter. The police officer said (off the record) that they could blatantly see discrepancies in the estate agents stories, the way things panned out on the day, and the whole fiasco with the notes being Scottish.

To this day, the police still haven't actually managed to get hold of the apparantly fake notes from wherever they are today, so they obviously haven't been able to do forensic tests on them.

Which does leave me in a bit of a dilemma. I do not feel as though justice has been done, and now I'm awaiting contact from the estate agents still demanding the £500. I can see this whole issue going to court, or when it comes to collecting the deposit back, the estate agents will no doubt be complete !!!!!! about it.

Waster: I had a good read of what you wrote, and had a look at the links posted. I still have had no information regarding where my deposit is, maybe because they are trying to contest the fact that we gave them a full deposit. However, I will be looking into what can be done next.

So, sorry for the let down of what happened. I myself feel very disappointed that no legal action is being taken by the police, as I KNOW that someone in this estate agents has broke the law and tried to pass it on to us. So it makes me feel it a personal matter.

So, Im asking if people can offer any advice on what I should now do? Seek advice from a solicitor and take action first? Or let it unravel itself and take it as it comes?

I'd like to say thanks for everyone's input, it really has helped a great deal, even if just for my own peace of mind!

Thanks,

Des

lynzpower

hiya des,

As ever im interested to see how this pans out.

COuld you get a statement from the agent to find out what thier intentions are with the 500 quid.

the real difficulty here is that the police dont have enough grounds to prosecute them. But that certainly doesnt mean anyones guilty nor innocent.

I wonder whether the police complaints commission might be able to help - sorry, probaly not but iM just thinking out loud really.

Tiger_greeneyes

Can you get a crime reference no from the police? It may be a bit of insurance for you. You've still got your full receipt from the EA's, so that counts for something. Lynzpower may put me right on this - she knows loads more than me about rentals (I've only rented twice and let out one property - and I've slept since then!) but I'm wondering if you could just not pay the last month's rent and that way you keep your last month's rent money? At least if you know you can do that, you can relax

real1314

I'm confused??

If the police haven't been able to get hold of the notes, then presumably the Agent still has them?
In which case, they have not passed them on to the Police as fakes, so they must be treating them as genuine. Surely?

So your (rightly) in the clear. Perhaps the Agent is dealing with it internally? If this is the case, you might never be told exactly what went on, but you might want them to clarify in writing that they have accepted your deposit was paid in full?

tomstickland

If the policed are not interested and the agent is still unhappy about these "fake notes" then the agents should return them to you. Ask them what they're going to do.

regularsaver1

I work in a bank

If someone pays in a fake note and we feel it was no known then we do the receipt and send to Bank of England , and they will get their money back.

Or if we feel it was paid in intentionally to defraud bank, they are sent to investigations unit.

Customer gets a receipt either way

I also can concur that we do not issue scottish notes

EvilDes

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

As I stated somewhere in this post, the notes were passed on to the estate agents bank, by the estate agents. So that's why the police couldn't get hold of them because the estate agents bank sent them up to Scotland for their own, or the Bank of Scotlands, analysis. The police weren't too pleased with the manager at the estate agents for not phoning them straight away so they could get the money, instead he took the money to the bank after he found out they were fake (or before, according to one of his many stories).

Hope that clears up some of the confusion.

My confusion lays with the fact that the police haven't got the notes and yet are ending their enquiries. Surely it's like them knowing where £500million worth of drugs are and not getting them to see where they came from??

I feel sick that some (excuse my language) w****r has swapped our money for fake notes and has got away with it. It really does sicken me.

prudryden

What evidence does the estate agency have that your funds were ring fenced and not commingled with other possible deposits etc. and that in fact it was your money that was deemed fake by the estate agent's bank?

EvilDes

I really couldn't tell you. I have no idea how they came to the conclusion it was mine. Obviously, we just have their word for the fact that it was ours, which isn't saying much after the whole fiasco of what's been going, and their stories changing so often.