Bringing a Claim against a Landlord for not using DPS without a Tenancy Agreement

[SamanthaM]

Hello All - I recently rented a room for a few months in a house with two women. The Landlord lived next door and he had passed responsibility over to two women to manage the renting of the empty room. During tenancy they informed me that previous tenants had not been given their deposits back for reasons such as losing a key and because there was a violent fight at one departure. I asked for a tenancy agreement and was never provided with one. I have a screenshot of this. I started planning to leave and they informed me the bills had gone up and they would need to take it from my deposit. (I have a screenshot of the room advert which clearly states bills included) I left and never received a returned deposit. I believe this it was the owners responsibility and he should have given me an assured shorthold tenancy and he should have used DPS. He has a very close relationship with one of the women and knew that I was living at the house. I believe this is a bit of a scam that they have set up and I would like to challenge them. I would also like the court to awarded my x3 my deposit back which they are at liberty to do. My question is, is there a precedent for doing with without a tenancy agreement? I have not been able to find one.