Landlord / Letting agency deposit dispute advice

FrancisBegbie

Hi , 

I rented a flat for two years and left it in a better state then I first found it , I left on the 22nd of May. 

When it came to my deposit , the letting agency rang me and said they were going to take £165 out of my £550 deposit for carpet cleaning . 

At first I agreed via telephone and email however I then checked my itinerary and the carpets were listed as stained . I then disagreed as I knew I hadn’t damaged the carpets . 

The letting agency had a history of being rubbish so on the deposit protection scheme website I disputed the £165 and told the letting agency who then bombarded me regularly saying I couldn’t change my mind , I said I can and let’s leave it to the referee the deposit protection scheme . 

I submitted my evidence and asked for receipts of this £165 and for them to also provide evidence of the damaged carpet . 

Months passed the letting agency did nothing , I contacted the DPS who said if they don’t reply then contact them to prompt them otherwise the money will be held by the DPS forever . 

Eventually they submitted their argument and the DPS contacted me this week to tell me they had ruled in my favour and included a pdf document with their reasons why for example they had no receipts for cleaning or photographs that were taken at the time the photographs were months later so could have been someone else who damaged the carpet . 

Since then I have had a debt collection agency contact me for £165 plus £30 additional charges and saying I just pay within 7 days . 

The letting agency have told me to deal with the debt collection agency and not speak to them . 

I had told the debt collection agency a legally trained expert adjudicator has ruled in my favour I won’t be paying and they said they are contacting the letting agency to see if they are going to take me
to small claims court !

What do I do ?

I am broke and the guarantor was my dad and I won’t want him to get any trouble or potentially lose a case and occur costs . 

It’s unbelievable. Any help welcome . 

Comms69

Tell the DPS to pay you the money. 

Tell the debt collection against to foxtrot oscar. (note that regardless of the adjudicators decision, anyone can take you to court; your reason o tell them to foxtrot oscar is that you don't acknowledge this fictional debt, nothing to do with a separate decision.)

Stop talking to the agent, you have no contract with them. 

saajan_12

I'll add some detail below, but the key is did the deposit scheme return your deposit in full? If so, ignore the debt collection agency - they have no more power than the LA themselves. If you get a court claim, then respond, presenting your evidence that this was already decided by the deposit scheme and present your evidence of the check in / out report. The point of the deposit schemes is so that courts don't have to be bothered by this, so courts don't like going over the same thing again, so will most  likely stick to the deposit scheme's decision. 

FrancisBegbie said:

Hi , 

I rented a flat for two years and left it in a better state then I first found it , I left on the 22nd of May. 

When it came to my deposit , the letting agency rang me and said they were going to take £165 out of my £550 deposit for carpet cleaning . 

At first I agreed via telephone and email however I then checked my itinerary and the carpets were listed as stained . I then disagreed as I knew I hadn’t damaged the carpets . - always best to check the inventory etc first, as you agreeing to the deduction could be evidence in the LL's favour. 

The letting agency had a history of being rubbish so on the deposit protection scheme website I disputed the £165 and told the letting agency who then bombarded me regularly saying I couldn’t change my mind , I said I can and let’s leave it to the referee the deposit protection scheme . - good. 

I submitted my evidence and asked for receipts of this £165 and for them to also provide evidence of the damaged carpet . - good. 

Months passed the letting agency did nothing , I contacted the DPS who said if they don’t reply then contact them to prompt them otherwise the money will be held by the DPS forever . - there should be a way of submitting a single claim if they don't respond. 

Eventually they submitted their argument and the DPS contacted me this week to tell me they had ruled in my favour and included a pdf document with their reasons why for example they had no receipts for cleaning or photographs that were taken at the time the photographs were months later so could have been someone else who damaged the carpet . - great! Did they return your deposit in full? 

Since then I have had a debt collection agency contact me for £165 plus £30 additional charges and saying I just pay within 7 days . - if this is a pre-court debt collection agency, they have no more power than the LL asking for money. Just ignore them. You only have to start paying attention if you get anything from a court. 

The letting agency have told me to deal with the debt collection agency and not speak to them . - correct, don't speak to the LA. Your tenancy is finished and you have your deposit back (i think). Also don't speak to the debt collection agency, as they have no power and are chasing something you don't owe. 

I had told the debt collection agency a legally trained expert adjudicator has ruled in my favour I won’t be paying and they said they are contacting the letting agency to see if they are going to take me
to small claims court ! - Don't be scared by that, the small claims court would be the next step for the LL / LA. If they do, you'd get a letter, just make sure you respond in a timely manner providing the evidence from the deposit scheme. Its VERY unlikely the court don't uphold the deposit scheme's decision. 

What do I do ? - Ignore for now. Act if you get anything from a court. 

I am broke and the guarantor was my dad and I won’t want him to get any trouble or potentially lose a case and occur costs . - Father should do the same as you. No one will get into trouble and any costs would only be if it gets to court. You can both defend the claim easily to the court by showing the deposit scheme's decision. 

It’s unbelievable. Any help welcome . 

penners324

Keep all the paperwork. If they do start court action that paperwork should prove they're talking nonsense and the judge should throw their case out. 

FrancisBegbie

Yes they have paid me , what are the chances of being took to court though ? 

Comms69

FrancisBegbie said:

Yes they have paid me , what are the chances of being took to court though ? 

Somewhere between 0 and 100%; the chances of them winning are pretty much 0% (unless you ignore any court paperwork, in which case it's 100%)

greatcrested

OK you've received your deposit backin full.Happy days!

The debt collection agency is on a hiding to nothing. Ignore them.

Chances of this going to court are minimal. Chances of you losing in court, also minimal.

saajan_12

FrancisBegbie said:

Yes they have paid me , what are the chances of being took to court though ? 

About as likely as a chancer making up that you owe them £X. You can't control if they want to be silly and take this to court. You CAN control the chance they win - which is zero provided you just respond simply if/when you receive anything from the court. 

FrancisBegbie

Can they pursue my guarantor for this as I don’t believe they have my address but the letting agency has my dads details and address because he was the guarantor ? 

Comms69

FrancisBegbie said:

Can they pursue my guarantor for this as I don’t believe they have my address but the letting agency has my dads details and address because he was the guarantor ? 

They can pursue the queen for it if they want, the answer remains the same. Just chill.

moneysavinghero

Play them at their own game, refer them to Section 21 of the Theft Act 1968 and let them know if they would like to go to court then you are more than happy.