Money still being owed.What to do next?!

sanita

Hello!
Will go straight to the point.
As sometimes happens LL did not paid deposit back. I took him to court, which he ignored and obtained CCJ by default. He ignored that as well. I decided to persue further and obtained a warrant. It was in mid February 2008. Since that time i have heard from bailiffs just once-they were unable to enter because nobody opened the door.
The LL appears to be a bit dodgy. The only address of his I got is his office address- my hubby went there -it is just a small room with telephone and PC, and i believe he is hardly there. Unfortunately, we have never met him personaly, therefore do not know how he looks like. I also have no idea whether he is a british citizen(name and surname are greek). We checked the land registry- his address there is the address of the property which we rented and I know for sure he does'n live there.
I honestly do not think any more that bailiffs will try hard to recover the money. I was thinking about a third party court order but the bailiffs is supposed to handle the letter from the court personally to the defendant and if they have difficulty to do so court just will be unable to start proceeding of the claim- so it may lead me nowhere.
Just wanted to find out what else can i do in order to recover the money, may be somebody has any helpful suggestion?
(i do apologise for spelling mistakes- english is not my native language)

MissEyre

How much is owed to you? Was the deposit held in a secure deposit scheme? What reason did the LL give for not returning it all?

sanita

MissEyre wrote: »

How much is owed to you? Was the deposit held in a secure deposit scheme? What reason did the LL give for not returning it all?

Originally deposit was £610, later there were court fees added, so total amount is around £720. Deposit was not under DPS because our contract started in Oct 2006.
LL gave no reason whatsoever. We never heard from him. We paid directly to his account by standing order and signed the contract in the LA.
When we moved out LA was satisfied with condition of the property and had no complaints-we have got a reference letter confirming that.

bluejake

I don't know why people don't just withhold the last months rent before moving out. I wouldn't trust a landlord...

chappers

bluejake wrote: »

I don't know why people don't just withhold the last months rent before moving out. I wouldn't trust a landlord...

Because the deposit is there to cover any genuine damages to the property and not for paying rent, not all landlords are theiving scum.

sanita

bluejake wrote: »

I don't know why people don't just withhold the last months rent before moving out. I wouldn't trust a landlord...

We have never had this problem before. the LA seemed to be ok.

zebulon

So, you have his account details then.... any chance they can just go and take the money from that ???

It's probably naive, but hey, what the point of baillif or whatever if they can't get the money.
Is the flat being rented again? Can't they get the rent mpney from some way or other? Like tenant has to pay them instead of LL etc... ???

ppfff, this must be so annoying :mad:

tbs624

You could go back and talk to the Court staff too, as they are only too familiar with this scenario. See here for what can be done to enforce a CCJ http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/enforcement/index.htm .

Or you could get some legal advice - if you paid your rent into a bank account, he can be traced. You can see a solicitor for a Fixed Fee interview (around £40-50) , and given the amount of money you are owed it would probably be worth your while. Alternatively contact the Shelter Helpline 0808 800 444 or your local CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) see here to find your local branch http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ . Good luck with getting it sorted out.

liz545

If you paid your rent directly into his bank account, then a charging order against it seems like the best bet, but it's a good idea to have a word with the court about enforcing the warrant.

Loretta

There used to be something called a garnashee order whereby the court freezes the bank account, you have to have the bank details and you do, until the amount owed is paid.

Have you called at the house you were renting, is anyone else living there now? do the new tenants have any contact details, is you landlord living there, do the niehgbours know anything and the neighbours at his office?

sanita

Thanks everybody for replies.
The house we lived in was a big house converted into 9 studios. I know from some people who still live there that somebody moved to our flat straight away after we moved out.

I have already spoken to shelter, to legal advice helpline, to a solicitor and i even called to traiding standards and tried to involve local BBC radio.

People from radio tried to contact LL but they were unable to get through his secretary- he was always out of the office.

Yes, I know his bank account details and i am aware about the possibility to obtain the garnishee order(now it is called third party debt order)
The main difficulty in doing this is following: The bailiff supposed to handle letter from the court to the LL personally and unless he has done this the court cannot start the proceeding. So, If that w****r is hiding the bailiff will never give him the letter and nothing will start.