Hi,
I have left my old rent house for nearly 3 months and still haven’t received deposit back. Every time I ask my property agent about it, he says that the bank needs more information about it. In the contract, it says that the security deposit is protected by Deposit Protection Service (DPS). What can I do in this situation to speed it up? It’s not the first time this property agent takes ages to do something requested by tenants.
Thank you
Contact the DPS directly. If you don’t have already ask for the deposit certificate and details.
Sounds like they haven’t lodged it. Bank needing more info is rubbish.
Go and see agent and don’t leave until sorted.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the quick answer. Really appreciate it.
I’ve just checked on DPS website and it’s saying the deposit can’t be found or is unprotected. I have emailed the property agent about it and waiting for their response. In the meantime, if they admit that the deposit has not been lodged or do not answer my email, what can I do in this situation, legally?
Thanks
Try to visit or at least call up the agent - much harder for them to ignore than an email. Is the landlord aware that the letting agent has not yet returned your deposit? Is there a chance that your deposit is held with another scheme such as MyDeposits?
I think you need to ascertain where your deposit is and what, if anything, is causing the delay. If your deposit has indeed not been protected, you can claim compensation and take the landlord to court, perhaps speak to a solicitor first.
If the deposit has not been properly protected then you could claim a penalty against the agent/landlord along with the return of the original deposit. The easiest way to do this is to find a firm of conditional fee solicitors, (no win no fee types) and ask them to take on the case. They will take a chunk of the penalty but you would get your deposit back plus some extra. If you don’t want the hassle, then just keep pressing to get the deposit returned. My guess is that once they read your last letter to them, the agents will make it a priority.
Good morning,
I’ve managed to get the deposit back from them just today. Thank you for all your help. Really appreciate it. Have a good day!
How did you persuade them?
I escalated the issue, that’s all. I’ve escalated another issue right before I left so now when I did again, the property agent might have feared that I might press charge or report the issue to his manager, so he returned my deposit as quickly as possible
I assume that telling them he believed they sc***ed up the deposit protection helped focus their minds.
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