Deposit Misery .... :O(

Tori_Bellatrix

clutton wrote: »

if the sols letter is headed WITHOUT PREJUDICE then you cannot show this in court.

I wasn't sure if this was for me or not but if it was .. The sols letter had 'Without prejudice save as to costs' which I think can be shown ..

I'm still thinking over what to do ... The sol has come back to me and is urging me to settle with the cheque .. He does seem a bit jumpy that I might lose if I go to court on account of it being such a new law, mostly untested and he thinks that judge may show some leniency to landlords and therefore I might not win .. He also made these points... I've reworded them so they are not verbatim.

• A recent article suggests that landlords who renew tenancies after April 07 will only be liable to protect the deposit if the tenancy is changed in some way, such as by increasing the deposit. The statute itself is not particularly helpful on this point.
  

• The author of the legal article also thought that a landlord could prevent the award being made by protecting/returning the deposit before the hearing. Whilst not being sure about this, it is still a debateable point until we have some case law. Also some feedback from a few other solicitors is that Judges are reluctant to make orders where landlords have protected the deposits but simply out of time.

He also mentions that the LL could then counter claim for the 'damaged' cooker although I still have plenty of proof to fight this. The one thing he hasn't mentioned in any great detail was about the about the 14 days ruling ... so maybe he has overlooked that .. I'll mention it to him as I thought that's why the LL's got penalised.

aqueoushumour01

I've just found this thread. I put my book down and started to read this instead!!!

Must be a difficult decision to make OP. I wouldn't want to advise you either way but I wish you good look. You certainly deserve to get the 3x for all of the hassle you've been put through!

Kez100

Personally, I would call it a day unless the £100 doesn't cover legals and costs, in which case, I would go back - list my expenses - and negotiate a slightly higher settlement to make sure all costs are covered.

I have said before that vengence feels lovely but I don't think that it is a healthy reason to gain justice, not really.

Lavendyr

I wouldn't risk it either myself - better to get something than nothing. Better to make sure you do at least get back what you deserve rather than going after something and risking the landlord getting off scot-free!

Andy_Hamilton

But your able to get some of the CCJ whatever the case to award the deposit, you should be able to stick the court costs to that.

Guy_Montag

Well done! To be honest, I'd take the money & let someone else worry about generating case law. You've won, maybe not a 7-Nil drubbing, but certainly a comprehensive 3-Nil victory. There's one less LL in the world taking the p1ss out her tenants. Walk away feeling smug & think fondly of the moment she opened the letter & crapped herself at the thought of paying out £2,500.

diamond_dave

Just read your reply, clutton, and I have read the t's & c's about making a single claim. It just galls me that I have done everything I should do regarding the deposit and I have to jump through all these hoops in order to get back part of what I have shelled out. Plus, it also states that they will deduct tax from the deposit!! How do I PM you ?

clutton_2

DPS take 20% tax off the interest accrued on the deposit - usually a few pennies !!!!

diamond_dave

thanks for all the advice, clutton, as I said in my email I'll wait until I get the stat dec.form then take it from there. Keep you posted.

clutton_2

good luck DD