Overpaid on rent - claiming it back

emfa3000

Hi!
I have recently moved out of a house I was renting and have accidentally paid for an extra month of rent. I have contacted the rental agency but have yet to receive a reply from them (they are usually rather speedy). I am considering taking the issue to small claims court, but wonder how strong my case is.

On the first month of renting, I paid late and incurred a penalty fee. I paid this fee and the rent on the 31st of the month, rather than the 1st, as was supposed to happen. Long story short, this confused me enough that I mistakenly set up my standing order to cover an extra month. It’s my error that cause me to overpay, but I feel that I am entitled to a refund, since I don’t owe them this money. I rang the company, and the employee (who sounded like they couldn’t wait for 5 o clock) told me to email someone and that I would get a refund. I have had no response and am considering small claims court as a backup plan if ringing them again cannot solve this. 

What is is the strength of my claim? I know that it is too early to see this option as an inevitability, but it would still be interesting to know where I stand.

Thanks for reading.

lincroft1710

When did your tenancy officially end?

MalMonroe

You'll have to pay to take a case to small claims court and it might end up costing you more than the refund.

Don't email or phone the rental agency, send them a proper letter by post stating that, as they are aware, you have overpaid your rent and you look forward to receiving the refund to which you are entitled within the next 14 days. Hopefully that will work as they have said you can have it back, it's just a matter of getting them to keep to their word. 

If it doesn't work then you could try writing to the landlord, whose details you should have been given, by law, when you moved in. They might not know what's going on if they have an agency handling their property.

MalMonroe

lincroft1710 said:

When did your tenancy officially end?

What's that got to do with anything?!

emfa3000

lincroft1710 said:

When did your tenancy officially end?

It ended on 01/07/2020 (or the 31st of June maybe). 

emfa3000

MalMonroe said:

You'll have to pay to take a case to small claims court and it might end up costing you more than the refund.

Don't email or phone the rental agency, send them a proper letter by post stating that, as they are aware, you have overpaid your rent and you look forward to receiving the refund to which you are entitled within the next 14 days. Hopefully that will work as they have said you can have it back, it's just a matter of getting them to keep to their word. 

If it doesn't work then you could try writing to the landlord, whose details you should have been given, by law, when you moved in. They might not know what's going on if they have an agency handling their property.

Thanks for your answer!
For the amount I want refunded, it will cost me £35 to file for it online. I’ve read that court fees will be refunded if you win the claim (can anyone with experience elaborate on this?), which is why I’m primarily wondering about the strength of my case, since it is my own fault that I overpaid, but I feel that it is ethical that they give the money back - I’m fairly confident that I would win, but I have no experience with anything like this so could easily be wrong. I am half confident that they will refund me if I bother them enough, but am just thinking ahead, seeing already it appears they want to make things difficult.
Indeed, landlord may be the next step!

lincroft1710

MalMonroe said:

lincroft1710 said:

When did your tenancy officially end?

What's that got to do with anything?!

For your information, if the tenancy didn't end until after the OP had moved out and the landlord hadn't agreed to a surrender, the OP would still have been responsible for the rent until the tenancy ended.

lincroft1710

emfa3000 said:

lincroft1710 said:

When did your tenancy officially end?

It ended on 01/07/2020 (or the 31st of June maybe). 

It would be more likely to end on the last day of the month, 30 June.

emfa3000

lincroft1710 said:

emfa3000 said:

lincroft1710 said:

When did your tenancy officially end?

It ended on 01/07/2020 (or the 31st of June maybe). 

It would be more likely to end on the last day of the month, 30 June.

Haha won’t say that in court. That stupid rhyme doesn’t even rhyme, never made sense to me. Have to do the knuckle thing instead.

Either way, indeed I had moved out before the tenancy ended, but did continue to pay rent right until the contract was up. It’s just that the standing order overran a month and I’m asking them for that money back. By now it’s pretty obvious that they’re ignoring emails. I’m not really sure where I stand. 

lincroft1710

So if the following are correct :

Your tenancy ended on 30 June 2020

You had moved out prior to that date

An SO for rent ending 30 June 2020 was paid on that date and thus all rental payments required under the tenancy were fully paid and no money was owing..

But an SO for a months rent was paid on 31 July 2020, money which you did not owe.

You should write to whoever the SO was payable to and ask for your overpayment to be returned. If no refund or reply promising a refund, you should send a Letter Before Action, which gives them 14 days to respond.

If the Agent received the money and passed it to the landlord, then you will have to write to the landlord.