Deposit Protection Scheme

Thats pretty much it, but they are without doubt the least helpfull company i've ever had the displeasure to deal with.

there have been a catalogue of errors on their part whihc has meant it has been over 4 months since i moved out of my rented house and only recieved part of our deposit back last week, despite emails from the landlord and calls from ourselves theywouldnt release the undisputed anmount of the deposit becauise the email from the landlord wasnt worded correctly.

and now the disputed part of our deposit has been repaid in full to the landlord as we failed to get our evidence back to them within a 14 day deadline which fell during a postal strike.

So thats countless hours of my life spent chasing this up, and now £500+ gone, which the landlord claimed was neccesary as the carpets were dirty and needed cleaning once we moved out, depsite their independant checker saying they were only dirty from normal wear and tear.

Worst company ever, completely inflexible, shit, beware.

I always heard the carpets and walls were tear and wear
i never pay the last month rent when i am leaving a house

People, never ever pay your last month rent.

It's simple, no?

Wowza.

I've just moved out of my student house and got my money back very quickly. I was that impressed I was on the verge of recommending people to use the service...

Are you sure it's not your landlord's fault? Maybe he's bitter than he doesn't get to earn interest on your deposit money anymore...?

I always heard the carpets and walls were tear and wear

Depends on the extent of the wear. It's hardly fair if there are massive stains where oiled has been tracked through or the dirt is ground in because someone has not hovered as an extrem example.

i never pay the last month rent when i am leaving a house

Ed has had a bad experience with this one but the idea behind the deposit protection scheme is to avoid people having to do this.

Did you have proof of postage? Always useful whenever anything legal is done to help with situations like this postal strike business. It's unfortunate but you don't know how much of the disputed amount you would have received back if you had got your evidence in on time.

They should have been more flexible due to the postal strike. That bit is unreasonable.

Wowza.

I've just moved out of my student house and got my money back very quickly. I was that impressed I was on the verge of recommending people to use the service...

Are you sure it's not your landlord's fault? Maybe he's bitter than he doesn't get to earn interest on your deposit money anymore...?

With the deposit protection scheme the land lord does not hold the deposit.

People, never ever pay your last month rent.

It's simple, no?

Yeah but then what if you need a reference for your next place?

don't you pay at the start of the month for that month?
how can you miss the last payment?

not paying rent would have been a more expensive option, we've only lost £500ish on a property with a deposit of £4k and month rent was around £3.5k, and alos might be a problem for getting references in future.

I dont have any proof of postage, which was a MASSIVE error on my part.

Posted here really to vent, and hopefully forewarn people, as its only going to be about £100each between me and my housemates.

as far as flexibility goes, they are terrible, the landlord agreed to release the undisputed funds, and we also had to agree in writing to release the undisputed funds, they asked for all of our bank details and the amount each person should recieve. we then didnt recieve the money back after the 10 working days they told us to wait, so when i chased it up they claimed that they didnt have authorisation from the landlord to release funds, i asked the landlord to email them again, and forwarded the email they had sent and they still refused to pay the undisputed amount, as the amil didnt specify the exact amount to be released, eventually got the landlord to send the mail with the exact amount in and the released the funds, in the forma cheque made payable to me for the entire amount which i then had to distribute to my housemates.

I am about to become a landlord and although I understand there are many unscrupulous cunts out there, it worries me to hear the general advice is to not pay your last month's rent. This is why landlords often now charge 6 weeks rent as deposit, rather than just a month - to stop people who don't pay the last month from getting off scott free if there is anything over and above wear and tear which needs making good. I intend to act completely above board and transparently and I expect the same from my tenants.

A couple of questions:

Was an inventory carried out by an accredited inventory clerk before you moved in?

If not then the current inventory is worthless anyway which may have been why they didn't take it seriously when you complained, maybe they should have stated this to you, but sadly this also means you could have argued your case that the property was in this condition when you moved in, and the landlord would have had no evidence to suggest otherwise.

When disputing you need to ask to be referred to an Independent Case Examiner, they are the only people that have the power to make any decisions, don't bother with anyone else.

When was this money transferred into the tenancy deposit scheme? This all seems a bit sketchy to me, and most importantly did you sign a bare contractual tenancy or an assured shorthold tenancy, as up until about 3-4 weeks ago for that amount of rent you would have had to have signed a bare contractual tenancy agreement which fell outside of the tenancy deposit schemes responsibility, an assured shorthold tenancy would have been worthless in the eyes of the law if yearly rental exceeded £25k.

Also do you have a copy of the agreement you signed, let me know the answers to the above and there might be something you can do about this.

People, never ever pay your last month rent.

It's simple, no?

Very stupid advice, if you want a reference from that landlord afterwards or to rent legitamately through an agent (or landlord that utilizes private referencing companies, as so many do now), as they will go through a reference company and speak to your previous landlord, and if you have defaulted on payments it may prevent you from moving into a property you want because of failed references.

Very stupid advice, if you want a reference from that landlord afterwards or to rent legitamately through an agent (or landlord that utilizes private referencing companies, as so many do now), as they will go through a reference company and speak to your previous landlord, and if you have defaulted on payments it may prevent you from moving into a property you want because of failed references.

everyone I know puts a mate down as a reference

same with jobs and security checks..

But you're an odd one Mike anyway.... :P

:d

everyone I know puts a mate down as a reference

same with jobs and security checks..

Doesn't always fly mate, many of the agencies have ways of checking peoples contact details properly, and making sure that you are who you say you are, you might get away with it sometimes, but you won't get away with it all the time.

never pay the last month rent when i am leaving a house

• Gold Star !
  
  
  

Landlords are, on the whole, not to be trusted with a deposit.

Ed really bad luck mate. Not much you can do.

Doesn't always fly mate, many of the agencies have ways of checking peoples contact details properly, and making sure that you are who you say you are, you might get away with it sometimes, but you won't get away with it all the time.

I just moved and had to go through this awful agency thing that checked EVERYTHING and give you a grade A (good tenant) B (needs guarantor) and C (not to be touched with a bargepole.

They called: My mum, my HR department at work, checked my wage and employment status, my three previous landlords, ONE of whom was a psycho who i kept my last month's rent off. They were going to put me down as a B) but I had to plead with them no to and finally scraped in.

Really fucking intrusive, but designed to stop the old 'mate will you be my landlord' ploy that has worked so well for me in the past.

Landlords are, on the whole, not to be trusted with a deposit.

If you know the law and protect yourself properly in the first place, you would never have to trust a Landlord with your deposit, its as simple as that.
Hence why you should never hand over a deposit to anyone who can't prove that they are a registered member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, if you are stupid enough to do so then you deserve to lose it, as you have absolutely no come back, hence the scrapping of bare contractual tenancys and all residential lettings that were previously under that legislation falling under assured shorthold tenancy agreements, meaning it is now a legal requirement for all deposits to be registered in the scheme.
So if your landlord takes a deposit, they are not registered with the scheme, and they don't register the deposit, they are breaking the law, and are liable to fines/prosecution.
Once its registered you also have the right to ask for proof that it has been registered, and the number for the "bond" as it is described

I just moved and had to go through this awful agency thing that checked EVERYTHING and give you a grade A (good tenant) B (needs guarantor) and C (not to be touched with a bargepole.

They called: My mum, my HR department at work, checked my wage and employment status, my three previous landlords, ONE of whom was a psycho who i kept my last month's rent off. They were going to put me down as a B) but I had to plead with them no to and finally scraped in.

Really fucking intrusive, but designed to stop the old 'mate will you be my landlord' ploy that has worked so well for me in the past.

Also designed to stop thieving bastard unscrupulous landlords from witholding your deposit money illegally, which has been a real problem for some unfortunate tenants in the past.

The whole private rented sector in this country is a fucking mess and a joke.

It needs more regulation.

Hence why you should never hand over a deposit to anyone who can't prove that they are a registered member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, if you are stupid enough to do so then you deserve to lose it

Sorry James but sometimes life is just not as easy as that.

The whole private rented sector in this country is a fucking mess and a joke.

It needs more regulation.

Sorry James but sometimes life is just not as easy as that.

Its as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. Its simple, if you rent through an unregistered landlord/person you are playing Russian Roulette with your deposit money.

Also designed to stop thieving bastard unscrupulous landlords from witholding your deposit money illegally, which has been a real problem for some unfortunate tenants in the past.

This wasn't the DPS (who actually were quite good in my case - got all my deposit back and felt safe in the knowledge it was in neutral hands) it was some other agency hired by my new landlord to check on me.

Sorry to hear they've been shit with you Ed, but i think the DPS is a step in the right direction for tenants' rights.