My former landlord sent me a false bill in the deposit deductions

Ricardo1980

cjdavies wrote: »

To be fair things like this should be stated in the first post to avoid confusion and wrong information/guidance.

My apologies. You are right, I should have said that clearly, now I understand that legally there is a huge difference between tenant and lodger, something I didn't know before.

Ricardo1980

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I must confess that I'm confused as hell. From previous posts it sounded like the OP was a tenant now it turns out there was a resident landlord. :huh:

Again, apologies. I'm new in this country and in the renting market, I had no idea that the difference between lodger and tenant was so huge, specially here in this country.

eddddy

Ricardo1980 wrote: »

I'm not really worried about money, but he has been very disrespectful with me sending me a false bill.
Is that an offense?

What you describe is fraud by false representation, which is a criminal offence.

But whether you could convince the police to get involved is another question.

Ricardo1980

eddddy wrote: »

What you describe is fraud by false representation, which is a criminal offence.

But whether you could convince the police to get involved is another question.

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot!

Now, how should I manage this?

He doesn't know I know this information at the moment.
I'm writing the before action letter right know.

Do you have any recommendation or strategy to use this against him?

I don't know if police is going to care about this, and probably they have more important things.

Can I force him to send me those details when doing a small claim or in court?

Should I add in the letter that I have the right to see those details? (obviously he will reject that, can I use that in court?)

Thanks a lot, you are very helpful.

EDIT:
I see that if a defendant does not disclose information that he must release, then that is called "Fraud by failing to disclose information".
Should I add that to the before action letter to force him sending me that bill details?
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/fraud_act/#a07

[Deleted User]

I did correct my original post but left what i had written in just in case the OP had been a tenant after all. Obviously he now believes he was a lodger.

So £60, if you can get the shop to give you proof that the bill was for something else entirely was made fraudulently. Otherwise you are depending on the LL being in court and admitting the bill was for something other than what he claimed. Or the LL not appearing in court so the case is awarded by default. I suspect the police will feel they have better things to do with their time than try to build a case for fraud against a LL for £60.

Then there's the other £240. I suspect you will need some evidence that these deductions were made unfairly, item by item.

THEN you need to actually get the money from the LL, otherwise there's little point in making the claim. That means paying further money for sheriffs or bailiffs and escalating the case.

Its not right that the LL did this, you couldn't afford to lose the money I'm sure.., but don't let this take over your life either. There are some things that are worth pursuing, and others that aren't.

Pixie5740

Ricardo, as much as your former landlord sounds like a total git I think this renting experience is just one you need to learn from and move on. Continuing to try and take this particular landlord to court for this, that and the other hoping something sticks is just a waste of your time and energy. No it's not fair that he'll get away with some of the thing he has but sometimes life isn't fair and you just need to learn from it.

If you have any doubts or questions about the next place you rent you can ask on here or contact Shelter for advice and clarification.