letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

[gjr1508]

hello....here goes....hope someone can help,
i recently ended a 3 year tenancy through a letting agent, at the end of the tenancy the property was in good condition and my rent was always paid in full on time for the 3 years.

the tenancy was ended by the landlord as they wanted to sell the house.

after the tenancy ended i recieved a letter from my letting agency advising me due basically to cleaning costs (carpets, oven etc) which conveniently added up to the same figure as my deposit i would not get any of my deposit back. this letter stated my 'deposit' was called an advanced rental payment on my tenancy agreement.

i phoned numerous times to complain and dispute but the receptionist just kept saying she would get the boss to call me back. i went into the office but the boss wasnt available and never called me back.

when i moved to my new property my new agency protected my deposit through DPS (this was the first time i was aware of the schemes) so i looked into it.

turns out my previous deposit was not protected for the entire 3 year tenancy. i queried this with the letting agency and they said because it was an advanced rental payment on the T.A it did not need protecting.

i queried this with the DPS, citizens advice, my new agency and a free legal advice centre, all of whom confirmed that because the letting agency kept the money for non rental purposes it is a deposit and should have been protected.

the agency are not registered with the poperty ombudsman or the association of landlords and letting agencies to place a formal complaint or dispute my deposit.

i followed procedure, wrote to the agent to dispute the deposit and threatened court action, all i got back was a text message basically fobbing me off, so i started small claims court action.

the process was going smoothly and i had been confident that i am in the right,so when it goes to court i would at least get my deposit back and hopefully claim the 3x deposit penalty for none protection of the deposit.

today however i received a 'general form of judgement' from the court ordering that 'UNLESS THE CLAIMANT FILES COPY OF TENANCY AGREEMENT BY 9 OCTOBER 2012 THE CLAIM WILL BE STRUCK OUT.'

i do not have the tenancy agreement and have not thought it important as i am not disputing that the agreement states my 'deposit' is an advanced rental payment, my claim even states this in my summary, i am disputing that now they have retained it for none rental reasons, it has by definition become a deposit. after all if an agency is allowed to just simply call the deposit by another name on the T.A it would mean every landlord could avoid using DPS simply by calling a deposit an 'advanced rental payment', or 'a stick of rhubarb payment' or anything they want.

i am now concerned that even if i can get the agreement to the court in the 5 days the judge has given me, or alternatively not sending the agreement will both result my claim being struck out without even being heard.

can i contact the court to explain this and emphasise i am not disputing what it says on the T.A?

and if so, how do i contact them? is there a phone number for such matters or do i write to them?

or if not, is there anything else i can do to ensure the claim makes it to court without being struck out?

i put on my allocation questionnaire i would be willing to use a court mediator but have heard nothing about it?

if i get struck out, could i change my claim to just dispute the withholding of my 'advanced rental payment' money as opposed to claiming for none protection of the deposit, or would i need to begin a brand new claim for this?

please please help as i feel very much like a massive underdog here and do not know where i stand or what to do next.

many many thanks
G

[Sapphire]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

Bumping up for help.

[ploddertom]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

You need the agreement as somewhere within it should be the terms on which the money was taken and how it was to be held. If you do not have it then I would suggest contacting the Court in the interim advising them you are trying to get a copy and ask the Landlord for a copy or submit a Subject Access Request to the Letting Agent as they should also be holding a copy.

[pepsie]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

Can I suggest you follow PT's advice to sending a SAR to the letting agents..BUT a) make sure you send it by recorded/signed for mail...b) do not just call the Court,write to them and send a copy of the SAR and the postal receipt to back up your ongoing actions.

I would have thought the defendant should have produced the 'agreement' within their own defence, have you had a copy of the defence?

Pepsie

[gjr1508]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

thanks guys,

where do i obtain an SAR?

their defense is pretty brief as it is all through moneyclaim online, they have not included the T.A in the defense.

i went to the agencies office this morning to request the T.A, they told me point blank - NO, and i needed to produce my own copy.

i am writing to court to ask for more time.

any further help,much appreciated.

[ploddertom]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

I have to assume as the Letting Agency keeps details of their customers whether Landlords or Tenants then they would have to be registered with the Information Commissioners Office for data protection. It is for this reason I suggested a SAR to see what data they have which should include the Tenancy Agreement, a SAR costs £10 and they then have up do 40 days in which to reply. A simple SAR could be along the lines of:

"From:
My Name
My Address

To:
Acme Bailiff Co
Bailiff House

Date

Dear Sir
Data Protection Act 1998
Subject Access Request

Dear Sir


Please supply a complete list of ALL the data held and used by you that relate to Mr XXXX. It is also to include third party information held with all other agencies.

Additionally where there has been an event in the account(s) history during the period accounts have been placed with you that have required any manual intervention by any member of your staff or any other person I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have been caused or resulted from that manual intervention.

I would like to bring to your attention data can be held in written information, e-mails, electronic documents, photographs, CCTV images, telephone conversations and include any recorded or written opinions about me/us and any recorded or written intentions and action taken regarding me/us.

I/We would like this information to be sent to my/our home address as listed above. You have 40 days in which to comply.

To satisfy payment to supply this information I/we enclose a fee of £10 this payment must not be used for any other purpose.


Yours sincerely


A Peeved Debtor"

I also believe there is an alternative which is to use the CPR Rules to gain similar information as I assume they are going to rely on the TA to try & wriggle out of this. I believe it is CPR Part 31 which applies but as this not really my forte I would hope someone else may know.

Have you had a TA for this previously and is there a reason why it is now missing? Were you served with the correct documentation when you were given notice to quit?

[gjr1508]

Re: letting agent squirming out of DPS.....please please help

thanks all for your suggestions, i have sent the agency a SAR and wrote to the court asking for more time, hope i get somewhere.

many thanks