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Landlord accusing me of rigging up meters, think its a bluff to not pay back deposit
Viberduo
Posts: 1,148 Forumite
Had issues with landlord not doing repairs, claiming I underpaid rent and so I paid more to find that I didnt underpay so I had now overpaid but then meant I accepted the new amount.
I moved out in June but had so many issues, LL refused my notice saying he never got it then when I sent another one I did a typo so it was invalid(i.e I wrote the 5th instead of the 6th) and despite the grass being cut when I moved out because he rejected my notice of a month and then claimed he never got the first one it was 3 months from when I originally gave notice, he then waited a month to take pictures of the garden so it had become overgrown AFTER I moved out.
After I waited a month to get deposit back it was only when Shelter sent him a recorded delivery letter(which he ignored to respond) and about 2 weeks later they rang him and he refused to return deposit so they got photos from me of spotless flat
Shelter sent him a demand giving him 2 weeks to return deposit as he admitted by email and letter he never protected it(this is in Scotland by the way) and that his alleged damage(he showed pictures of the overgrown grass, a carrier bag of recycling and thats it, none of furniture) He never even bothered to respond so Shelter contacted him by phone and he was argumentative on phone but then agreed to pay back the full deposit.
Got a phone call 10 minutes later from his SON saying I had rigged up the gas and electric meters and they have reported me to the utility companies and say because of this they will not pay back deposit and are contacting police and will give me their response to deposit return on Monday
Now for the claimed rigging of meters, before I moved in there was a gas leak when someone went round to inspect property and LL promised a electric cooker saying it was unsafe to use(but never contacted me to say there was a leak had to find out from the person who went round to inspect place) a few days after moving in I had electric radiator plugged in and despite it being only 3 months old and working fine at old property it tripped the power and the plug had melted and the socket had blacked and cracked.
I had to change light bulbs in kitchen every 2 weeks or so and ended up using weakest ones I could find but they used to actually EXPLODE sometimes or if I went to unscrew them the entire metal piece would come apart from the glass and all the sockets were burned, all the light sockets in bathroom were rusted and burned, and when light bulbs died in living room they had massive bubbles in them!!!
One time I lost power to flat and heard crackling from meter box so called LL who came out himself and tried the trip switches then called his mate who was a electrician, when they came out I managed to fix it myself as it ended up being a lose meter fuse, electrician REFUSED to come in and check it just seemed to want to go home(as this was like 8pm at night on a Friday) Next morning I get abusive call from LL saying I refused entry to electrician which was suspicious and accused me of rigging meter then also but says because of that he will not do any repairs to property(which he keeps his word as other things break and he refuses to fix them)
Anyway so to cut this down, when I move out he makes excuses about a check out inventory, when Shelter mentions court he responds saying I trashed property, I provide shelter proof of spotless property bar junk from previous tenant, Shelter writes a formal letter giving LL 2 weeks to return deposit, he ignores this and on the 15th day phone him to get him being rude as usual but eventually agrees to return deposit, out of the blue 10 minutes later his son rings and accuses me of rigging meters and how he reported it to police and utilities so will not be returning deposit, but after discussion says he will have a final decision by Monday.
Given that before I moved in there was a gas leak and when living there light bulbs exploded, electric sockets blew and burned out I assume something dodgy from LL or previous tenant.
Just wondering what to do now? Shelter says wait but I am thinking of contacting the utility companies to check if he is bluffing and if not telling them my new address as I have nothing to hide.
I moved out in June but had so many issues, LL refused my notice saying he never got it then when I sent another one I did a typo so it was invalid(i.e I wrote the 5th instead of the 6th) and despite the grass being cut when I moved out because he rejected my notice of a month and then claimed he never got the first one it was 3 months from when I originally gave notice, he then waited a month to take pictures of the garden so it had become overgrown AFTER I moved out.
After I waited a month to get deposit back it was only when Shelter sent him a recorded delivery letter(which he ignored to respond) and about 2 weeks later they rang him and he refused to return deposit so they got photos from me of spotless flat
Shelter sent him a demand giving him 2 weeks to return deposit as he admitted by email and letter he never protected it(this is in Scotland by the way) and that his alleged damage(he showed pictures of the overgrown grass, a carrier bag of recycling and thats it, none of furniture) He never even bothered to respond so Shelter contacted him by phone and he was argumentative on phone but then agreed to pay back the full deposit.
Got a phone call 10 minutes later from his SON saying I had rigged up the gas and electric meters and they have reported me to the utility companies and say because of this they will not pay back deposit and are contacting police and will give me their response to deposit return on Monday
Now for the claimed rigging of meters, before I moved in there was a gas leak when someone went round to inspect property and LL promised a electric cooker saying it was unsafe to use(but never contacted me to say there was a leak had to find out from the person who went round to inspect place) a few days after moving in I had electric radiator plugged in and despite it being only 3 months old and working fine at old property it tripped the power and the plug had melted and the socket had blacked and cracked.
I had to change light bulbs in kitchen every 2 weeks or so and ended up using weakest ones I could find but they used to actually EXPLODE sometimes or if I went to unscrew them the entire metal piece would come apart from the glass and all the sockets were burned, all the light sockets in bathroom were rusted and burned, and when light bulbs died in living room they had massive bubbles in them!!!
One time I lost power to flat and heard crackling from meter box so called LL who came out himself and tried the trip switches then called his mate who was a electrician, when they came out I managed to fix it myself as it ended up being a lose meter fuse, electrician REFUSED to come in and check it just seemed to want to go home(as this was like 8pm at night on a Friday) Next morning I get abusive call from LL saying I refused entry to electrician which was suspicious and accused me of rigging meter then also but says because of that he will not do any repairs to property(which he keeps his word as other things break and he refuses to fix them)
Anyway so to cut this down, when I move out he makes excuses about a check out inventory, when Shelter mentions court he responds saying I trashed property, I provide shelter proof of spotless property bar junk from previous tenant, Shelter writes a formal letter giving LL 2 weeks to return deposit, he ignores this and on the 15th day phone him to get him being rude as usual but eventually agrees to return deposit, out of the blue 10 minutes later his son rings and accuses me of rigging meters and how he reported it to police and utilities so will not be returning deposit, but after discussion says he will have a final decision by Monday.
Given that before I moved in there was a gas leak and when living there light bulbs exploded, electric sockets blew and burned out I assume something dodgy from LL or previous tenant.
Just wondering what to do now? Shelter says wait but I am thinking of contacting the utility companies to check if he is bluffing and if not telling them my new address as I have nothing to hide.
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Comments
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Could you reduce this to a few simple facts?
Which country are you in; Scottish law is different?
If in England or Wales;
Date when the tenancy started
Date when fixed term ended
If periodic, what date did you first give notice? To end on what date?
Ditto for the other attempts to give notice.
Is the deposit protected? And did he send the prescribed information within the require timescale?
Did you take meter readings at the beginning of the tenancyt and at the end?
Was there a dual signed inventory when you moved in?
Why did you not report this mess to Environmentlal Health when yoiu were there?If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0 -
Probably a bluff but I would contact utility companies & Police to find out how much of a liar he was (I reckon 100% liar).
If he has reported you you should explain the background, deposit dispute, Shelter involvement etc etc.. I think Police can work out what's really going on...
Write down/keep evidence of any more harassment.. Harassment is a CRIME & landlord/son can get a **free** holiday in HM Prison..0 -
For those who have skipped to replies...
a) The tenant has received the deposit back.
b) Tenant is worried that Landlord has reported them for "meter rigging".
Only the OP will know if the meter is "rigged", and if it was the Utility Company will be in touch, and then worry about it then.0 -
Alias_Omega wrote: »For those who have skipped to replies...
a) The tenant has received the deposit back.
b) Tenant is worried that Landlord has reported them for "meter rigging".
Only the OP will know if the meter is "rigged", and if it was the Utility Company will be in touch, and then worry about it then.
Sorry, I must of made it unclear as I have not got the deposit back as he agreed to return it and a few minutes later his song rang replying I am not getting my deposit back as I rigged the meter.
For one I do not know how to rig a meter and if I did I would at least do it in such a way that would not be noticable so how would LL even know? it sounds like he is just trying to make excuses or either the previous tenant rigged it or something similar because there must of been a reason for a gas leak before I moved in plus lightbulbs blowing and sockets burning out.
In actuality I never used the gas heating since the day I moved in since it was a old fashioned back boiler and I could not get it to work and just popped on a fan heater for a hour or two in evening in one room as it worked out cheaper anyway.
To the others this is in Scotland, I did take a meter reading when I moved in and out but misplaced them somewhere but I know for a fact it was in debt when I moved in and when I moved out was about £1 in credit, I know the LL at one point claimed it was like £20 in debt when he did check out inventory but considering he took 2 months to do a check out inventory and its like £2.70 a week standing charge no wonder and that is wiped anyway as its not tied to the meter.0 -
Why haven't you taken him to court?0
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Why haven't you taken him to court?
I am in the process of doing so but going through the channels of writing a formal demand giving him 14 deays to respond, giving him a month to return deposit before that.
This is his last chance if he refuses monday then the solicitors are writing up documents.0 -
I would check who holds your deposit. It must legally be held in company such as Deposit scotland and if he does not do this he can be forced to pay you thousands in compensation. Also this would show if he was decent landlord and would make it easier to gain recompense.I would follow this up asap if you do not have these details ask shelter etc a=bout this or even approac estate agents etc. I rent a property ib scotland so know something about this0
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As in Scotland, can you not also report him to the council? They could consider him unfit to rent a property, I presume.:beer:0
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I would check who holds your deposit. It must legally be held in company such as Deposit scotland and if he does not do this he can be forced to pay you thousands in compensation. Also this would show if he was decent landlord and would make it easier to gain recompense.I would follow this up asap if you do not have these details ask shelter etc a=bout this or even approac estate agents etc. I rent a property ib scotland so know something about this
The OP has already stated the deposit is not protected
Shelter sent him a demand giving him 2 weeks to return deposit as he admitted by email and letter he never protected it(this is in Scotland by the way) .I Would Rather Climb A Mountain Than Crawl Into A Hole
MSE Florida wedding .....no problem0
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