I rented a property for 2 years and got it for a reasonable price in times when it was hard to rent property. However then the property market became buoyant and the letting agency (PPM Wigan) issued me with a Section 21 to get me out of the property so they could rent the house for a better price now that the market for rentals was better. I was given 2 months to leave and I handed the leys back within 2 weeks….fully paid up (as can be shown on my bank statements).
It was a lovely detached house in excellent condition and the only problem with it was that it had white carpets that had become dirty over the years. I had the carpets fully cleaned (something now I regret) and the house was handed back totally clean and in good order. Aside from slight damage to a door (I offered to replace the door), the house was in good condition.
However the Letting agents (PPM) made it very clear to me that I would never see my £750 deposit again due to the alleged condition of the house, which was in fact a beautiful home and not at all in bad condition. They treated me very badly at the end of the tenancy process and I did not even sign the final inspection form as they intimidated me so much I left in floods of tears.
I requested that an independent assessor be allowed in to inspect the home as I did not believe or trust their judgement as to its condition. The assessor was not allowed entry.
I handed the keys back in August 2011 and I informed the “Deposit Protection Scheme” agency http://www.depositprotection.com that the bond was in dispute. However I did not know my DP ID number as this had never been given to me at the start of the tenancy as indeed neither did was the process explained to me by the letting agency. I understand that PPM as the Letting agent should have explained the deposit protection scheme to me in full, but this never happened.
I consulted a solicitor with a view to taking this dispute to the small claims court, however unfortunately the company I chose to represent me had little interest in this case (small amount, £750 bond) and even though they took my money, did not process my case. However with me waiting for them to process the case, time went on!
After 5 months I asked the solicitor to return the money to me since they had not dealt with my case (which they did) and I contacted the DP Company to seek information about my ID number. After repeatedly ignoring my emails they eventually responded to inform me that they had handed my money back to the Letting agency. The agency had apparently sited “Rent arrears, damages, cleaning & replacement items” as the reason for reclaiming my bond and completed a Statutory Declaration, in accordance with Section 21 of the DP companies Terms and Conditions countersigned by a solicitor. It was all a total lie!
It seems (I have now discover months down line) that the DP agency wrote to me to give me 2 weeks to object to this and if I did not respond in 2 weeks the bond would be returned to the Letting agency. Before I go on any further I want to say that I did NOT have any rent arrears, did not damage this property (aside from a lock I put on a door which I offered to replace) and the house was indeed clean. The amount required for minimal cosmetic repair did not equate to £750. At most, this was a £150 cost for minimal cosmetic issues which I would have settled.
So okay- here is the legal loophole. The DP agency wrote to me in November 2011 at the rental properties address which I vacated in August 2011. Of course I was unable to respond in the 2 week legal period given, as I had handed the keys back on the 17th August 2011. How could I respond? I didn’t live there. The DP agency was not given a full address for me from PPM Letting agency, but they did have my email address. They could have used an email address to contact me, so why didn’t they? Why use a former address for such an important communication?
This was a legal document to the value of £750 (to me), so why could they not send it by registered post requiring my signature for proof of delivery? Most other legal documents are sent by registered post.
Here is the catch: I stated the obvious to the DP company that if a former tenant is applying to have their bond returned to them that by this very fact, they no longer live in the rental property. So why oh why when the landlord applies for the full bond to be returned to the landlord/letting company- would the DP agency write to the tenant (by non registered post) to an address the tenant no longer lives in? How many other tenants have fallen into this trap, whereby they have not know about this letter or 2 week period to object to it, because they never actually received it?
By way of a fallback position, they say the tenant should have informed them of their new address. However since the Letting agency didn’t even give me my DP ID number in the first place or advice on how the system works, how could I even log onto the site to do this? Besides, they had my email address. Just to be sure (if the agency really DID represent the interest of the tenant) they could have easily copied the letter to the email address they had on file. If the Deposit protection scheme had written to me and emailed me at the contact address given, there would be at least some chance for me to find out I had been falsely accused of ““Rent arrears, damages, cleaning & replacement items”
The whole system is one big con. I have never known a person ever get their full bond back at the end of a tenancy…..ever!
This system should be scrapped ASAP. This is in fact theft. £750 has been legally and wrongfully taken from me.

Seems like the 2012 Olympics are already producing winners and losers 8 months before the opening ceremony!

So happy for the agents who increased the rent 14% during 6 months http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-24013752-highbury-stadium-flats-all-sold.do

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