Mydeposits - dispute after receiving part of deposit back

cambs_7777

Looking for some advice here please.

Basically, the letting agent took cleaning fees that were not justified at the end of our tenancy (actually, a different agency taking over the property charged the fees, sent the invoice to the agency I signed with, who then billed me for most of it - even though they did not find the faults themselves!).

I accepted the amount they offered with the view of receiving the money without any delays, and then raising a dispute for the unreturned amount with MyDeposits afterwards. I signed a letter with the agency 'accepting' the cleaning costs, but also in the letter it states that 'should a portion of your original deposit not have been returned and be subject to a dispute, you are able to cash this cheque without adversely prejudicing any action you may decide to take'.

So, I wrote directly to the landlord once I had the partial deposit returned, as I hoped they would understand the unfairness of the situation. The landlord forwarded my letter to the agency, who are telling me:

1. To contact them and not the landlord
2. That I agreed to the deduction and and as the deposit has been released from MyDeposits they won't be able to help me as 'it is not protected anymore'.

Is this indeed true, because I understood the dispute could be raised after the partial return of the deposit?

Thanks in advance



.

jjlandlord

What do you want to dispute exactly?

You accepted the cleaning costs. That's it. Game over.

Pixie5740

In order to have your deposit returned then both the landlord and tenant have to agree on any deductions made. If they can't agree then they can use the arbitration service. If you've received some money back then it sounds as though you've accepted the deductions and that's that.

It doesn't matter who carried out the check-out inventory or who protected the deposit as your only contract is with the landlord.

cambs_7777

jjlandlord wrote: »

What do you want to dispute exactly?

You accepted the cleaning costs. That's it. Game over.

Obviously, I want to dispute the cleaning costs, which I assumed that I could do up to 3 months after vacating the property. I got it wrong then, fair play.

Renting may be money making game to you, but I can assure you it's not to the vast majority of tenants

Kynthia

The phrase means that if a part of your deposit was in dispute then cashing a cheque for the balance wouldn't be seen as your acceptance of the proposed deductions. Part of your deposit wasn't in dispute though as you accepted the proposed deductions.

cambs_7777

Kynthia wrote: »

The phrase means that if a part of your deposit was in dispute then cashing a cheque for the balance wouldn't be seen as your acceptance of the proposed deductions. Part of your deposit wasn't in dispute though as you accepted the proposed deductions.

Fair enough. I did dispute the amount with the agency by email before signing the letter, but it wasn't an official dispute with MyDeposits.

However, I did ring MyDeposits before I signed the acceptance and asked them clearly if I could raise the dispute with them after I got the partial deposit back. She said categorically I could. Obviously, there have been some crossed wires somewhere :wall:

jjlandlord

Of course you can raise a dispute for up to 3 months, as you stated.

However, since you agreed in writing to the deduction there is nothing to dispute anymore.

cambs_7777

jjlandlord wrote: »

Of course you can raise a dispute for up to 3 months, as you stated.

However, since you agreed in writing to the deduction there is nothing to dispute anymore.

Thanks for coming back to clear that up again, buddy :beer: