Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[Chickendoodle]

Hoping someone here knows about the lagal side of tenancy deposits.

 

My DD rented a flat which she shared with 2 lads. The tenancy was in her name and she paid the full £600 deposit. She left the flat 7 months ago to rent a flat on her own and one of the lads took over the tenancy.

 

The flat was pretty grotty anyway and during the 4 years she was there there was general wear and tear from 3 x 20 somethings flat sharing! She didn't expect to get the deposit back and thought that was that

 

She signed all the stuff she needed to and gave her keys back. Anyway, yesterday she got a phone call from the letting agents saying that she owed them over £200. somewhat shocked she asked them what for and they said that due to damages they were taking her whole deposit and they wanted £200 more.

 

She did not do an inspection of the flat with anyone from the letting agents so she has no idea what this is for. She has asked for a detailed breakdown but surely they can't come to her 7 months after she has left asking for money? I thought also that after a certain number of years the landlord would expect general wear and tear and couldn't charge the tenant?

 

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

Edited July 29, 2011 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

I'd suggest that she refuses to pay and let him sue her for it through the Small Claims Court if he is so minded. I doubt he would bother, as it is unlikely to be cost effective, and if he did, I doubt he'd win.

[Chickendoodle]

Sounds like a good idea - she moved into the flat I think before the deposit protection scheme came in in 2007 so it would not happen now

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

Blimey. Eg's advice seems sound as always.

What of the lads? Are they accepting any culpability for the alleged damage?

[Woodcat]

My suggestion is that she tells them to take a hike and that if they take her to court she will take them to court for the deposit because when she handed back the key's it was fine. That would probably scare them into going away. I know that she feels she wouldn't have got it back but the prospect of losing plus a counter claim worth more than they are suing her for is probably enough to set the wind up them and send em after the boy that took over the tenancy

[chris_21]

when she left the flat did she inform the letting agents that she had moved out and one of her flat mates was takeing over the tenacy if so then it's not her problem the letting agent's should contact the other people.

 

she should get her deposit back as someone else took the tenacy on after her.

 

i shouldn't lose any sleep over it as i can bet the letting agent's will not contact her again as there will possible chance it's a scam.

[Chickendoodle]

DD has emailed the tenancy deposit scheme dispute team (she remembed that her tenancy agreement was re-done when the deposit protection scheme came in) and she is now trying to get her whole deposit back as it looks as though the letting agents have broken every rule there is!

[Chickendoodle]

DD has court date booked for September. Letting agents are putting in a counter claim but we have had a strange development today.

 

DD bumped int one of her previous flatmates (who still live in the flat) and she was explaining what had happened and that she was taking the letting agents to court to try to get her deposit back. She hasn't seen either of them since she left as they were a bit childish and threw a bit of a paddy as they had to take over the tenancy! When she mentioned that the carpet had been replaced P said that it hadn't and that actually NO WORK AT ALL was done on the flat when she left. He is going to write a statement confirming this and let her take photos of the flat with a copy newspaper showing the date to prove that the carpet is still the same (she has photos of the carpet in her file)

 

So the agents (who are a very big company) are prepared to go to the small claims court using fraudulent invoices for replacement carpets, decorating and cleaning, totalling over £800 for work that was never done.

 

DD is calling Trading Standards today to see what she should do. I said if she went to court she shouldn't let anyone at the letting agents know what she had discovered and just produce all of the evidence. They would then presumably be in contempt of court and committing fraud.

 

I am just completely gobsmacked that they could be so dishonest.

[Egluntyne]

Goodness. Sounds as if you have got them over a barrel. Marvellous.

 

A shame your daughter has had all this worry and upset though.

[Tutti Frutti]

File for some compo - they shouldn't be able to get away with making her suffer and worry like this

[Chucky Mama]

I would take advise from someone on this. It might be better in the long run to avoid going to court and get them to settle out of court by paying her the deposit and compensation. She could threaten to let this slip to 'Watchdog' or similar. That would make them sit up. Going to court is not a pleasant experience to have to go through. Thank goodness she has this information though - result

[Leicester_H]

Don't suppose there is a photo of the old carpet (perhaps taken during a party say) so that you can PROVE carpet not replaced ?

 

H

[Chickendoodle]

Yes she has photos - in fact the letting agent sent her photos showing why they had to be replaced! All she has to do is photograph them now and they will be the same.

 

She called the court this afternoon and explained the situation. They told her to get all of the new evidence together and write to the judge who is presiding over the case. He/she will then decide how to proceed (hopefully by calling the Police!)

[Leicester_H]

Can she get a witness to confirm the new photo's are taken after the claim of replacement.

You want to cover all the bases as the agent is obviously dishonest.

H

[Chickendoodle]

Oh yes definitely- her old flatmate still lives in the flat and he is going to write a statement

[Tweety]

Even though it sounds as if she has a watertight case, I would avoid going to court if at all possible. It is not a pleasant experience and nothing is certain in litigation, so I would be inclined to write to the judge as suggested by the court and send copies to the agents.

I would be very surprised if the agents continue with their action once they discover your evidence.

[Patricia W]

As a landlord I had a very bad experience with a large letting agent ( it had won prizes for customer care???). It's a long story so I won't launch into it, but basically they settled out of court and paid us a lot of money back. Watchdog heard about it and wanted me to go on the programme but in the end I didn't. It may not be a bad idea to let them know about this, because they may know of other cases like yours from the same agent. I think that you should write to the judge first though.