Tenant forged AST.

tumbledowngirl

RAS wrote: »

In writing means pen and paper. By all means send a copy by e-mail as well but it needs to be pen and paper.

Either hand deliver and photograph delivery with copy of the day's paper or send two copies from different post offices and get free certficates of posting, to both known addresses. That meets the legal requirement if it goes to court.

Thank you for this advice.
I suspect our LA has been relying on emails - certainly, that's the majority of the communication we've seen. I know the offer of settlement was an actual letter, posted to both our property and the tenant's new property and duplicated in an email to his work email account - and the tenant responded by email from the same account.

If you send an email and the tenant responds in the same way, is this acceptable as proof? I can see that sending an email and getting no response means that the tenant can claim he didn't get it - but if they respond by return email, can they then use the "not in writing" arguement, or is the fact they replied enough?

tumbledowngirl

We have received a response to the request for access, from the third party this morning.

In it, he repeats his blackmail threat, claiming to have just spent 3 years fighting a client's case against RBS, in which he successfully won £35,000 damages for stress.

He also asks why the LA is requesting permission for access, since the LA has previously accessed the house without permission (not true, and provable from a trail of emails and responses) and has asked why access is needed and then ended by stating that the return of keys means the LA "held a function in the property", and asks what that function is and its outcome.

I have no idea what that even means - can someone enlighten me?

The tenant's wife handed in a bunch of keys to the office unannounced and the LA's immediate response was to email the tenant to say they had been accepted "without prejudice".

poppysarah

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

We have received a response to the request for access, from the third party this morning.

In it, he repeats his blackmail threat, claiming to have just spent 3 years fighting a client's case against RBS, in which he successfully won £35,000 damages for stress.

In writing?

I would seriously start recording your calls if he is phoning.

tumbledowngirl

poppysarah wrote: »

In writing?

I would seriously start recording your calls if he is phoning.

By email.

By law, you can only record calls with the other parties permission, if the content is to be used by a third party.

poppysarah

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

By email.

By law, you can only record calls with the other parties permission, if the content is to be used by a third party.

You are allowed to record your own calls.

Transcripts from them may be usable in court.

poppysarah

So by email he has attempted blackmail?

tumbledowngirl

poppysarah wrote: »

So by email he has attempted blackmail?

That's what has been suggested in previous answers above.
This person is the tenant's father (though he has tried to pass himself off as someone else). He claims to be working for the tenant and has "threatened" us that if we persue this through solicitors, he will have us for harrassment. He has claimed we are trying to extort money from his "client" and has said that they will counter-claim for damages of over £2000 for various accusations of disrepair.
He said in his original email that any court case we bring will be drawn out and we will lose, at great cost to ourselves - hence him repeating this threat by way of example in his latest email.

Does all this count as blackmail??

poppysarah

Go organise a half hour freebie with a local solicitor.

jjlandlord

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

Does all this count as blackmail??

No.

You really out to focus on one thing:
What are your options? What do you want to achieve?

Then, pick one way forward and focus on that and on making it happen. Ignore the rest if inconsequential.

This is all over the place at the moment, IMHO.

tumbledowngirl

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Do not give in to blackmail, and this is precisely what these scumbags are up to.

They can consider the "case closed" on any date they like but it's not in their gift to do so. These shysters are amateurs and not very good with it, either.

"loss of tools, loss of use of the garden, loss of use of part of the kitchen, stress of having to wait in for workmen" do not constitute actual financial losses bar the tools, and they should have either been looked after by the tenant properly or insured by him.

Get your surrender document signed and the money agreed paid over to you or get to court.

This is what I am referring to, when I say "blackmail".
To my mind, BitterAndTwisted is correct - the people we are dealing with are trying to stop us taking legal action by threatening us with the consequences of what will happen if we do.
How else would you define blackmail?

Clearly it's all over the place - because our tenants are trying very hard to avoid their responsibilities.
They have been offered 2 ways of terminating the agreement - a/ by paying a settlement fee, or b/ paying the rent until a new tenant is found.
They are refusing to do either.