Rental Deposit held by Agent [Resolved]

[loring]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

I have from my deposit received a cheque for £230 pounds from the £800 deposit. Should I bank the cheque and note on the back of the cheque it is lodged as part payment towards my deposit.
any views on this.
Thanks
loring

[loring]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Hi flowerpower
The agent kept £550 as agency commission sent me £230 as my share

[PlanB]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

I have from my deposit received a cheque for £230 pounds from the £800 deposit. Should I bank the cheque and note on the back of the cheque it is lodged as part payment towards my deposit.
any views on this.
Thanks
loring

Bank the cheque because it's your money being refunded and not any F & F situation so no need to write anything on the back of it

A Tenant's deposit remains the Tenant's money throughout the term of the tenancy, it's seen as being held in *trust* by either the Landlord, the Agent or a TDS scheme and your money must be returned to you at the end and within 10 days of you moving out or requesting it. If it isn't returned in full the Landlord has to give a satisfactory reason for this, and if the Landlord can't agree this with you then the court can make their mind up for them

Was the cheque issued by the Landlord or the Agent (keep a photocopy of the name on the cheque) as this may give you a clue as to who's been holding on to your money without insuring it As I said before the Landlord may have asked the agency to do this on their behalf.

Also was there a covering letter with the cheque explaining why you are not getting back the outstanding £570 balance? £800 - £230 = £570 not £550 so maybe an extra £20 deducted for something else

[loring]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Hi Plan B
The Cheque is from the agent with a statement showing £550 deducted from the deposit and the balance £230 payable to me.

Thanks
loring

[PlanB]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Does the date on the cheque or statement indicate whether it was sent after your LBA would have arrived which could have prompted this sudden payment? Because they may have paid something but they haven't paid everything due to you yet

Nor have they answered your question about where/if the deposit was/is insured yet. I can't remember whether your letter gave them a deadline to respond so maybe leave it until after the weekend to seem reasonable before you comtemplate anything legal happening. In the meantime I would write a letter back to the agent saying something like "Dear Mr Rip-Off, Thank you for your cheque for £230. Since we have not agreed any deductions from my deposit I expect the remaining £550 to be paid to me in full by 4 pm on Friday 12th October, Yours sincerely, Ms Don't-Even-Think-About-Ripping-Me-Off"

Keep copies of everything

[kilasuit]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

"Dear Mr Rip-Off, Thank you for your cheque for £230. Since we have not agreed any deductions from my deposit I expect the remaining £550 to be paid to me in full by 4 pm on Friday 12th October, Yours sincerely, Ms Don't-Even-Think-About-Ripping-Me-Off

Brilliant and definately gonna cause a storm

[loring]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

I have sent off the letter as plan B suggested

[loring]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Hi Plan B
The letters you suggested have certainly worked.
Today I received a cheque from the estate agent for the outstanding balance of £550, must bank it tomorrow. I am glad I now don't have to go through the court route as I would find that a bit daunting, but I would have gone through it if it was necessary.
Thanks for your assistance and encouragement from the forum.

Another success for the allaboutdebt forum and myself.

loring

[IF]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Well done Loring and PlanB, love good news me

[PlanB]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Today I received a cheque from the estate agent for the outstanding balance of £550, must bank it tomorrow. I am glad I now don't have to go through the court route as I would find that a bit daunting, but I would have gone through it if it was necessary.

What great news

I'm so happy for you because your Landlord and the agent seemed to be taking advantage of your niceness. Bet they got a shock when you sent your Letter Before Action

Bank the cheque quick and treat yourself to something nice as a reward for your courage in standing up to them.

[The Tech Clerk]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Quite:- Plan B knows her stuff, that's why she's our housing specialist

Steady on, she will end up drunk on the flower shouting Flower Power & then doing The Hippy Hippy Shake!! lol (what a site), heck Im off!!

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Well done Loring, really pleased for you.

Nice result -

[The Tech Clerk]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Brilliant Result:-

[PlanB]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent

Well done Loring, really pleased for you.

Nice result -

When I see Loring get her great result it makes it all worthwhile

[Susiebling365]

Re: Rental Deposit held by Agent [Resolved]

A brilliant post and some of the info is useful to me for my daughter who has just left a tenancy similar to this and is worried that she will not get her deposit back...

Not while mum subscribes to this fab forum