Deposit Withheld Because of Items the Letting Agent Removed

Incisor

Gremilex wrote: »

Only evidence of the TDS was the paperwork we signed when entering into the tenancy agreement.
All funds were given to the LA.
No acknowledgement was provided beyond that point.

To court, as Poppysarah says. You need the right legal advice, but there should now be a penalty on the LL, payable to you of 3 times your deposit, as I understand it. Perhaps someone here could fill in the details, or post a link to a good thread?

tbs624

real1314 wrote: »

iirc some LA's have an in-house TDScheme (?) so there may be no other body to write to.

There are 3 schemes and the LA has to go via one of them, not cobble together one of their own. See here for contact info: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391

Gremilex - write to the LA, keep a copy for your records, stating the dates of your tenancy, the address of the property, the full amount of your deposit, saying that you disagree with their deductions & why, and are therefore formally requesting the return of the balance within 7 days. In the letter state clearly that you will be cashing the cheque you have already received, as part payment, and do not consent to that amount being viewed as full and final settlement. Also state that you would like them to confirm for your records the name of the scheme with which your deposit was registered. Hand deliver/send by Recorded Delivery. If they either don't reply or send back a letter disputing your version, send them another letter entitled "letter before action" and re-iterate your request giving them a further 5 working days, after which you will begin court action to recover your money.

silvercar

If it was an insurance based scheme, the money could have been held by the LA. Any amount not disputed is returned to tenant and any under dispute should be passed to the scheme to be held until agreement is reached.

tbs624

silvercar wrote: »

If it was an insurance based scheme, the money could have been held by the LA. Any amount not disputed is returned to tenant and any under dispute should be passed to the scheme to be held until agreement is reached.

Useful clarification for the OP Silvercar - but the point I was making is that the LA can't have an "in-house" set-up that is extraneous to any of the 3 standard schemes & their rules, and if there's a dispute the LA can't decide unilaterally what it will or will not deduct from a Tenant's deposit. Many of the smaller LAs will go for the custodial scheme, purely because it's free to register with.

MissMoneypenny

Gremilex wrote: »

Only evidence of the TDS was the paperwork we signed when entering into the tenancy agreement.
All funds were given to the LA.
No acknowledgement was provided beyond that point.

Here is the page from Shelters website about deposits
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/deposit_protection_schemes

gremilex

tbs624 wrote: »

There are 3 schemes and the LA has to go via one of them, not cobble together one of their own. See here for contact info: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391

Gremilex - write to the LA, keep a copy for your records, stating the dates of your tenancy, the address of the property, the full amount of your deposit, saying that you disagree with their deductions & why, and are therefore formally requesting the return of the balance within 7 days. In the letter state clearly that you will be cashing the cheque you have already received, as part payment, and do not consent to that amount being viewed as full and final settlement. Also state that you would like them to confirm for your records the name of the scheme with which your deposit was registered. Hand deliver/send by Recorded Delivery. If they either don't reply or send back a letter disputing your version, send them another letter entitled "letter before action" and re-iterate your request giving them a further 5 working days, after which you will begin court action to recover your money.

Letters sent as advised.

The scheme is TDS.

LA claims they cannot broker an agreement with the LL. They insist that I must use the TDS, they claim I have signed something to that effect. I have not checked the detail.
Do I have to do that, or can I just take this to court ?
Would not going to TDS annoy the judge ?
I believe we may be outwith the time limits of invoking a TDS dispute now.

Verbal agreement for removal was with LA, witnessed by inventory clerk. Items for removal detailed at check in.
LA agent removed items.

I have not performed a small claim before, if I file the court papers, who should I name as the defendants, the LL or the LA? Contract is with the LL and they are instructing LA to withhold deposit.

Thanks

SquatNow

I have a funny feeling this will all turn out to be a huge !!!!-up by the LA.

gremilex

Unless I am missing something obvious it seems we acted as agreed and instructed and the error lies with the LA.

liz545

Call TDS on 0845 226 7837 and ask them how to go about filing a dispute.
At this stage you may not need to go to court, you should be able to resolve this through their dispute service (in theory!)
https://www2.thedisputeservice.co.uk/index.php?p=1

gremilex

Deposit was not registered with the TDS within the 14 days.
It was 29 days.
Apparently the Housing Act 2004 states that this could incur compensation settlment for us of up to 3x our deposit.
Thanks for all the advice, there is now apparently light at the end of the tunnel.
I wonder if the LA will want us to register the dispute with the scheme now.
Any other advice welcome.