[cybernoid]

kaladorm, on 09 August 2010 - 10:02 PM, said:

So we had our hearing today and were successful in claiming our full deposit + 3xdeposit + court fees + costs.

Our landlady had issued a cheque for the deposit which arrived shortly before the hearing. There wasn't time for the cheque to clear (given the trustworthiness of our landlady!) and so we went through with the hearing. I was concerned the judge may find that the deposit had already been returned but he made the order to state that the full deposit must be returned, with credit offered by the claimants for moneys already received. That way if the cheque goes through it has been upheld, if it bounces then we still have a judgment to be enforced

Excellent news. She was just playing the classic strategy of trying to steal your money with the hope you'll just roll over and take the abuse, and if you don't, she'll just repay it - no harm done. It's fantastic that the thieving scum didn't get away with it.

A lesson for us all. Pursue them.

[mikeymadman]

Heartwarming story

Make sure you get the court fees off her too, and remind her that you will register the judgement if she doesn't.

[sleepwello'nights]

mikeymadman, on 14 August 2010 - 12:41 AM, said:

Make sure you get the court fees off her too, and remind her that you will register the judgement if she doesn't.

The Court automatically register judgement if it is not satisfied within one month. The onus is on the defendant to ensure the entry on the register is correct.

Paying my judgement - what do I do?

[Bloo Loo]

kaladorm, on 09 August 2010 - 10:02 PM, said:

So we had our hearing today and were successful in claiming our full deposit + 3xdeposit + court fees + costs.

Our landlady had issued a cheque for the deposit which arrived shortly before the hearing. There wasn't time for the cheque to clear (given the trustworthiness of our landlady!) and so we went through with the hearing. I was concerned the judge may find that the deposit had already been returned but he made the order to state that the full deposit must be returned, with credit offered by the claimants for moneys already received. That way if the cheque goes through it has been upheld, if it bounces then we still have a judgment to be enforced

I cant be clear if you have been awarded the 3xdeposit part. can you confirm?

[Jason]

Well done kaladorm!

[kaladorm]

Yes I can confirm we did get 3x the deposit (as well as the original) as a judgement.

I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the process from my experience, as I researched it all quite thoroughly

[TeddyBear]

Good news. I hope some passing journo gets hold of this as a warning to landlords who try and steal deposits.

[Bloo Loo]

kaladorm, on 18 August 2010 - 09:50 PM, said:

Yes I can confirm we did get 3x the deposit (as well as the original) as a judgement.

I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the process from my experience, as I researched it all quite thoroughly

Spiffo!

Never, has so much, been owed, by so few, to so many!

[kaladorm]

Bloo Loo, on 20 August 2010 - 07:38 AM, said:

Spiffo!

Never, has so much, been owed, by so few, to so many!

Well I should say we got a judgement for 3x the deposit (plus original). Payment is due tomorrow and I've not heard a peep from them - I sense a charging order may be on the way before this is truly over with

[porca misèria]

kaladorm, on 21 August 2010 - 11:16 AM, said:

Well I should say we got a judgement for 3x the deposit (plus original). Payment is due tomorrow and I've not heard a peep from them - I sense a charging order may be on the way before this is truly over with

You reckon you might end up taking a charge on the house and repossessing it? Or if it's in negative equity, perhaps go for another asset ... ultimately bring down an entire BTL empire. That would make a fantastic tale for HPC (yeah, dream on)!

I'm sure you'll keep us posted, and don't let little things like trouble identifying assets you can claim on deter you!

[kaladorm]

porca misèria, on 21 August 2010 - 10:48 PM, said:

You reckon you might end up taking a charge on the house and repossessing it? Or if it's in negative equity, perhaps go for another asset ... ultimately bring down an entire BTL empire. That would make a fantastic tale for HPC (yeah, dream on)!

I'm sure you'll keep us posted, and don't let little things like trouble identifying assets you can claim on deter you!

I've already identified that they are the owners of the house (just to be prepared). I still don't think they fully comprehend the seriousness of the issue, even now a judgement has been made - i.e. registration of judgement, affecting credit rating, any additional costs if we have to make a charging order etc.

When we arrived at court for the hearing (they didn't show), there was a hand written letter waiting for us there. Note that this was sent well outside of the 14 days to respond and basically monaed how it was our fault as we didn't ask for a reference number and we broke the tenancy agreement by causing damage etc etc... (i.e. nothing related to the issue under discussion which was the DPS). The judge pretty much ignored it

[cybernoid]

kaladorm, on 21 August 2010 - 11:16 AM, said:

Well I should say we got a judgement for 3x the deposit (plus original). Payment is due tomorrow and I've not heard a peep from them - I sense a charging order may be on the way before this is truly over with

So are these idiots still under the impression that they are above the law?

[kaladorm]

cybernoid, on 25 August 2010 - 05:42 PM, said:

So are these idiots still under the impression that they are above the law?

Apparently so. They've not paid within the 14 days, I rang the court to get confirmation of the notice resent to us (as I didn't get the first one they sent) and the court told me they received a fax yesterday saying they are appealing: they've not paid the fees though so it's not yet been processed. The judge will then decide if they can appeal and a hearing will take place in crown court.

Given the case was pretty clear cut I'm not sure what grounds they're appealing on, probably the fact that their letting agent didn't tell them about the DPS (which they've cited all along). We made it clear our contract is with them and if they want to take it up with the letting agent they can do, but they still cited this in the letter sent to the court for the initial claim, which the judge clearly did not see as relevant

[BearlyBegun]

kaladorm, on 27 August 2010 - 02:13 PM, said:

Apparently so. They've not paid within the 14 days, I rang the court to get confirmation of the notice resent to us (as I didn't get the first one they sent) and the court told me they received a fax yesterday saying they are appealing: they've not paid the fees though so it's not yet been processed. The judge will then decide if they can appeal and a hearing will take place in crown court.

Given the case was pretty clear cut I'm not sure what grounds they're appealing on, probably the fact that their letting agent didn't tell them about the DPS (which they've cited all along). We made it clear our contract is with them and if they want to take it up with the letting agent they can do, but they still cited this in the letter sent to the court for the initial claim, which the judge clearly did not see as relevant

I'm glad you've fought this case and am very interested to hear the eventual ending. From everything I read it all seems totally clear cut in your favour, so here's hoping after the dragging out of it you get your just rewards. 3x deposit would make it worthwhile!

The closest I've seen recently in similar situation was with my girlfriend regarding a London flat she rented with someone. The deposit wasnt protected and upon leaving the landlord wanted £700 to re-floor the entire room, for stupid reasons. I encouraged my girlfriend to dispute this via DPS, and when I realised they hadnt protected we basically threatened Small Claims Court -> they quickly realised their mistake and liability and returned full deposit. We could have persued for the 3x claim anyway but it seemed like a satisfactory outcome so it ended there.

I am really pleased for renters that this has been brought in and is upheld so strongly by Small Claims if the deposit isnt protected. I havent suffered myself but know of numberous friends who have been basically scammed over the years into losing some or all deposit over things they felt they couldnt fight.

Power to the tenants!

[BearlyBegun]

kaladorm, on 08 July 2010 - 02:02 PM, said:

I've noticed in a number of posts (and think I've seen someone cite a case) that mentioned if the landlord protected the deposit between being issued notice and the court hearing it could be construed that the landlord had protected the deposit and the case be dismissed.

I've received the following from TDS concerning this:

"Thank you for contacting The Dispute Service.

Ok, no deposits can be back dated so it may be harder for your Landlord to try and register your deposit."

I'd like to comment that from my experience it seems to be virtually impossible for the landlord to protect the deposit AFTER the tenant has left the property.

I believe the requirement is that deposit must be entered into TDS within 14 days of the start of the contract, not sure where the law stands if its protected say a week before end of contract, but certainly if the tenant has already left it seems very difficult to get round.