Overpayment of rent partially STOLEN due to mixup with dates

silk_2

Hi All

I need to know what's the best course of legal action (if any) to take on the following matter please..

We handed in Tennancy notice on the 20th Oct

We moved out of our rented home on 4th Nov

We weren't sure exactly when the checkout should be, and asked if it was the 26th Nov (via email)

We were told no, it's the 29th Nov (via email from sequencehomes)

The checkout was then booked by the EA for the 29th Nov (we have this in an email from the EA) and we promptly turned up then to hand our keys in as requested. We were vacated long ago, and the keys were handed over on the 29th Nov and this was all fine.

I then forgot to cancel my standing order and so £725 went through for the November period.

I called to claim it back.

They refunded about £100 less. I asked why.

They said they had charged me for rent between 26th-29th.

I have since been on the phone to them trying to resolve this, and whilst they admit that they "may have misadvised me" they can only go by the documentation and rent will remain due for that period. I also have this all on email.


Help please? We kind of needed this cash for Christmas and now I'm sure we'll be lucky to see it at all..

The person I have spoken to so far insists she can't do anything and I need to speak to the manager, who at this moment isn't picking up her phone. This manager is the one who booked in checkout for the 29th FYI.

silvercar

Still in the fixed term of the tenancy or periodic? When is the exact date of your monthly rent periods?

BitterAndTwisted

The check-out date is irrelevant. What is relevant is the date you handed the keys back as that is the precise date you surrendered the property. If you didn't want o be liable for the rent after you moved out you should have made arrangements to return the keys to the agent's office or directly to the landlord.

Depending on precisely what your rental-periods were you could have got away lightly. Stay just one day into the next rental-period and you're liable for the entire month's rent.

silk_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The check-out date is irrelevant. What is relevant is the date you handed the keys back as that is the precise date you surrendered the property. If you didn't want o be liable for the rent after you moved out you should have made arrangements to return the keys to the agent's office or directly to the landlord.

Depending on precisely what your rental-periods were you could have got away lightly. Stay just one day into the next rental-period and you're liable for the entire month's rent.

We handed the keys in ON the checkout date, to the person at the property doing the checkout. We were instructed to do this by the EA.

The issue isn't that we delayed anything, it's that we adhered to the dates they provided, and then later we were told they made a mistake which we now have to pay for?

silk_2

silvercar wrote: »

Still in the fixed term of the tenancy or periodic? When is the exact date of your monthly rent periods?

Periodic.

They have just today confirmed it's actually the 26th and that they made a mistake. We have it on record that they told us it was the 29th, and we have it on record that they booked in the checkout for the 29th and they wanted us to hand the keys during the checkout on the 29th.

donfanatico

silk wrote: »

Please read the thread.

I have not complained about the standing order but I was due a full refund.
I handed in the keys AT the checkout AS REQUESTED by the EA. This is the third time I have said this. They were handed in on the 29th and received on the 29th. That isn't the issue. The issue is that they are now turning around and saying "oops we meant the 26th now please pay for those extra days."

Please.. read.. the thread.

Thanks.

Ok, I understand - you weremeant to move and hand back the keys on the 26th but you moved on the 26th but didn't hand in the keys. You handed the keys in on the 29th so you should pay till the 29th. The tenancy ends when you hand in the keys unfortunately

Everything else is irrelevant IMHO

BitterAndTwisted

Look, it really doesn't matter what date they arranged for the check-out inspection to take place, or whether they got the dates wrong when informing you of it. What is important is the day you handed the keys back. That is the day your tenancy ended.

Please... read... the responses.

Thanks.

silk_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Look, it really doesn't matter what date they arranged for the check-out inspection to take place, or whether they got the dates wrong when informing you of it. What is important is the day you handed the keys back. That is the day your tenancy ended.

Please... read... the responses.

Thanks.

They told me the tenancy is due to end on the 30th thus they must have the keys by the 29th. The keys were handed in and received on the 29th.. as per their exact instructions. Sorry but what kind of point are you actually trying to make here. You are flooding my post with nonsense and I'm trying to get help. You seriously do need to re-read the post.

I've now bolded the important original parts of the post since you seem to be missing the point.

donfanatico

silk wrote: »

They told me the tenancy is due to end on the 30th thus they must have the keys by the 29th. The keys were handed in and received on the 29th.. as per their exact instructions. Sorry but what kind of point are you actually trying to make here. You are flooding my post with nonsense and I'm trying to get help. You seriously do need to re-read the post.

I've now bolded the important original parts of the post since you seem to be missing the point.

No you are missing the point unfortunately, don't get me wrong but you are not listening. Some of the people here giving advice know what they are talking about so LISTEN up. Trust me, it's worth it.

BitterAndTwisted

I have a feeling that once you contest them having deducting £100 for rent which may not be owed, if indeed your rental-period did end on the 30th, they will tell you that they've deducted £100 in administration charges for returning rent paid but not due.

Cancelling your standing-order would have solved this. But no, someone else is to blame for you being a numpty.

mouche

I have no legal knowledge of this but I had a similar situation in that our landlord simply changed the locks and never took the keys back despite us trying to arrange a handover several times. We had moved out 10 days before the 'official' tenancy end date and he had changed the locks one day later but not refunded the money for the period we had no access to the property. He also did not return our deposit. We took him to small claims court and after about 6 months were awarded the full deposit amount, 9 days rent plus interest. This may not apply to your situation but at least in our case the keys were never handed over but the tenancy did still end!