Am I Entitled To Claim My Money Back...

flizzy

Hey everyone

I've just written a really long email to the students union at my university because I might make a complaint about the Housing Office who rented my room out to me at the beginning of term. I feel as though I was given misleading information when signing out of my tenancy agreement and this has consequently put me out of pocket by like £900...

Here is the email I have written which will give you an idea of what happened:


Hello,

I was wondering whether the union can help or advise me with a complaint I may want to make against the Housing Office. I feel that I was mislead by a member of staff at the Housing Office upon signing out of my tenancy agreement which, consequently, has put me out of pocket by nearly £1000.

I'm a first year undergraduate student and lived in university accommodation for the first two weeks of term, however I then decided that I would prefer to live at home and commute to university instead. I went to the Housing Office in person to find out what rent I would be liable to pay if I was to I pull out of the tenancy agreement. I asked the member of staff serving me whether I would only pay for the weeks I had lived at the accommodation, and she told me that yes this was true plus I would have to pay the admin fee for termination (which I think was £30). I was happy with her answer, signed the tenancy termination form, and arranged to move out the following Saturday. I asked how long she thought it would take for a new tenant to be found and she said that she was 'confident that a new tenant would be found within the next week or so'.

A day or so later, a housemate of mine who was living at the same address was thinking about doing the same, so I went with her to the Housing Office. The same member of staff served her and, upon signing the form, my friend double-checked with her that she too would only be paying for the weeks she had lived at the accommodation. The member of staff answered, to my astonishment, that she would need to still pay for the room until the 7th December unless another tenant was found! She was also told that it is unlikely that a new tenant would be found because 'nobody seems to want to live in Park Village'. My friend decided that due to this she would remain at the accommodation and leave after 7th December, and this is what I would have chosen to do had I been correctly advised.

I have now paid around £900 to the Housing Office for a room I have not been living in nor have I had the keys for. I am not due to pay any further rent as I have now paid up to the deadline date of 7th December, but I feel completely cheated out of my money due to being given misleading verbal information.

Would I be able to claim back all or some of the money I have paid, on the grounds of being given misleading information? I understand that it is my own responsibilty for reading into documents I sign such as tenancy agreements, however surely the Housing Office also has the responsibility to give correct information if a student asks for it?

Any help or advice much appreciated


I was just wondering if anybody knows if I have any chance of claiming my money back on the grounds of being given misleading verbal information? :undecided

Thanks xx

pixiedust_2

I doubt it... It would be very much a case of your word against theirs, and I can't see that going well! Definately try, but don't expect more than a letter of apology.

flizzy

Yeah it's very hard to imagine myself winning the dispute should I raise it, because of everything being verbal

A few weeks ago I phoned the Housing Office to see if they had happened to have found a new tenant yet, and I recognised the voice of the lady on the phone to be the same lady who mislead me. I didn't make this known, however I did say that I had been mislead by a member of staff and that I was frustrated that I had to pay until December - just to see what she would say. She said something along the lines of ''Oh I very much doubt that anybody would have told you that'' :mad:

My boyfriend witnessed me being told I would only pay for the two weeks I had lived there, and my housemate witnessed the story being changed by the member of staff in question...would these witnesses make my case stronger at all?

dmg24

What is important here is what was stated in the contract when you signed for the accomodation.