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Help please! Estate Agent has disappeared with my bond. In November 2011 I rented a house with an assured shorthold tenancy contract. I paid the junior estate agent a bond of £600 in cash and was given a receipt signed by him.(Mr O.)
In October 2012 I vacated the property in excellent order. The checkout was completed by the same agent (Mr O) and another agent ( Mr S). Mr O thanked me for leaving it in such good order and told me that I would receive my bond back in ten days.
After ten days there was no return of bond. I contacted Mr O by Email and was told the accounts department was being reorganised by "Bri" and that it would be paid to me shortly.
I started to try and trace the bond with the tenancy deposit schemes and found that the bond had not been lodged with any of the schemes.
After many Emails to Mr O and "Bri" I received an Email from "Bri" saying the deposit would definitely be repaid by Dec 4th.
After that date I received no further replies to my Emails- and no return of bond.
I visited the address of the agency only to find that it was a ficticious address. All trace of the letting agency had now dissapeared from the web. The company was not registered at companies house.
Mr O refused to answer my calls but after visiting dozens of agencies around the area I eventually found Mr O working at a different Estate Agency.
I issued Mr O a copy of the Shelter template letter "Request for a tenancy deposit to be refunded".
Mr O sent me a letter stating that he had only been an employee at the agency I had rented from, ( I strongly suspect this is not true) and as such was not responsible for the return of the bond. He refused to give me the address of the landlord of the property or his own address.
He stated that Mr S should be contacted at the ficticious address to get the bond back.
My contract stated that the bond must be returned by the Landlord to me within 28 days. I found the address of the landlord from the Land Registry and went to visit the Landlord (Mr N). Mr N said he did not have the bond so was not going to give me any money.
Not having my bond back over the Christmas period has left me in serious financial difficulty. I feel I should take somebody to court to get my bond back but I do not know who I should be naming on the summons. Do I make a claim against the landlord, against the agent I gave the money to, or the mysterious Mr S whose private address I do not have?
I am desperate for some advice as to what to do next! Please can anyone help?
In October 2012 I vacated the property in excellent order. The checkout was completed by the same agent (Mr O) and another agent ( Mr S). Mr O thanked me for leaving it in such good order and told me that I would receive my bond back in ten days.
After ten days there was no return of bond. I contacted Mr O by Email and was told the accounts department was being reorganised by "Bri" and that it would be paid to me shortly.
I started to try and trace the bond with the tenancy deposit schemes and found that the bond had not been lodged with any of the schemes.
After many Emails to Mr O and "Bri" I received an Email from "Bri" saying the deposit would definitely be repaid by Dec 4th.
After that date I received no further replies to my Emails- and no return of bond.
I visited the address of the agency only to find that it was a ficticious address. All trace of the letting agency had now dissapeared from the web. The company was not registered at companies house.
Mr O refused to answer my calls but after visiting dozens of agencies around the area I eventually found Mr O working at a different Estate Agency.
I issued Mr O a copy of the Shelter template letter "Request for a tenancy deposit to be refunded".
Mr O sent me a letter stating that he had only been an employee at the agency I had rented from, ( I strongly suspect this is not true) and as such was not responsible for the return of the bond. He refused to give me the address of the landlord of the property or his own address.
He stated that Mr S should be contacted at the ficticious address to get the bond back.
My contract stated that the bond must be returned by the Landlord to me within 28 days. I found the address of the landlord from the Land Registry and went to visit the Landlord (Mr N). Mr N said he did not have the bond so was not going to give me any money.
Not having my bond back over the Christmas period has left me in serious financial difficulty. I feel I should take somebody to court to get my bond back but I do not know who I should be naming on the summons. Do I make a claim against the landlord, against the agent I gave the money to, or the mysterious Mr S whose private address I do not have?
I am desperate for some advice as to what to do next! Please can anyone help?
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