AIBU to think £48 for a kitchen sink plug is TAKING THE PISS!!!

[Plugofgold]

£48 for a plug. That's what our grasping bitch of an ex landlady wants for the kitchen plug for the sink.

There's more, obviously.

[Didactylos]

You should have been informed of where your deposit is registered and protected through the tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of signing the tenancy: and if you havent been you need to contact the letting agent and landlord to find out how it is held:

also you can call the individual deposit agencies for your part of the country and they will search their databases for you, which might be quicker.

What a waste of time for everyone involved.....

[Plugofgold]

Been to see the letting agent in person. She said she had made a estimate of the costs of everything and not actually sent their handyman to quote properly as he did some work for Grabby Landlady and then she refused to pay him.

So she said that we should highlight what we think we genuinely did, like the shelf, she would get him to quote, and we could submit that to the landlady and they would pressure her into taking it.

I'm minded now though, to escalate it to dispute anyway.

[Plugofgold]

Oh yeah, "spot stain £30" when the carpets were rotten when we moved in and we had them cleaned when we moved in and again when we moved out and she said "yes but that's a different stain. You removed one and then did another so that's £30."

Grrrrr!!!!

[Plugofgold]

Found copy of deposit scheme. Going to ring them in a min.


Stand back.

[Apatite1]

Give them hell!

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

TBH I think I would dispute the whole lot. Even things like the knocked shelf, insist on 3,quotes for etc


If she can be pain in are, so can you. Would have thought all/vast majority not your responsibility

[KnackeredMuchly]

The deposit scheme are good and very fair... I hope you have good pictures though....

[Audeca]

Those prices she has quoted are astonishing. It sounds like your landlady is going for betterment.

Remember that she isn't allowed to claim new for old, i.e. if a tenant breaks a 9 year old dishwasher that has an expected lifespan of 10 years then the tenant is liable only for 1/10th of the cost NOT the whole cost of a brand new dishwasher.

With the deposit it's not just a matter of it being protected and them telling you so. They have to send you the proscribed information as well (for an idea of what this will look like see here) and this must include a copy of the deposit schemes term's and conditions. Failure to do this within 30 days of their receipt of the deposit (even if the deposit is protected) opens them up to a fine of up to 3 times the deposit.

And this is the grabby bitch who charged us £2856/mth instead of £2400 cos we wanted a tenancy under 12 months, and then when we asked to extend to 12 months, said she would only accept £3000/mth or she would serve notice.

If I understand this correctly you signed a new AST agreement after the expiry of the initial AST?

If so did she re-protect the deposit and reissue the proscribed information? Because if not then I believe (but please double check with Shelter though) that you've got her and you could suggest that in return for not pursuing her for the courts for that offence she will drop her demands on the deposit and you both walk away.

[Audeca]

God, that last sentence of mine is awful. I'll try again.

If so, did she re-protect the deposit and reissue the proscribed information? If not then I believe (but please double check with Shelter) that you've got a very strong negotiating point and you could try suggesting that in return for you not pursuing her for the protection penalty she will drop her claims and release the deposit.

Couple of other things whilst I'm correcting myself. I'm assuming - and I think other posters are as well - that you are in England or Wales? Just because the law gets a bit different in Scotland obv's.

Give Shelter a call and chat to them about it all. Also you may find the forums at landlordzone or MoneySavingExpert will provide you with some good advice (I always search through the landlordzone forums first now when I have a problem with our landlord).

[UncleT]

So did you call? What happened?

[Plugofgold]

Rang them and they said we have to have attempted to reach a resolution before I raise a dispute. It's with TDS, the deposit is protected as we didn't sign a new AST, we told her to shove it and took a different and much nicer house.

How do I get quotes if I don't have access to the property?

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get with the letting agent, for typing up the costings with a £35 + vat charge on each line! I challenged them on £5/bulb, let alone 16 of the bloody things and she said "I always charge that because you have to include the labour of fitting them."

Is that unreasonable? It sounds it to me!
She said that if all the works were done then obviously there wouldn't be loads of different £35 charges so the actual amount was likely to be a lot less than the invoice she sent. So why bloody send it like that? I'm seriously pissed off. The robbing bastards.

[Plugofgold]

Itsallgoingyobefine I can be extremely awkward. I'm just warming up!


If I decide to be pissy and dispute everything except the shelf, what's the worst that could happen?

[Plugofgold]

Sparechange how did your tenant try to justify £200 for a toilet seat? Was it set with diamonds? A glitter shitter? (see what I did there?)

[Poppy7]

How much is your deposit and how much of it is she claiming? She has to give you back the undisputed portion of it in accordance with the tenancy agreement even if you are in disagreement over the amount she is claiming - eg if the deposit was £3k and she wants £1k deductions the undisputed £2k has to returned to you (I think in around 10 business days after the checkout report, but may differ slightly).

When I was renting and had a similar issue the landlady stated that she was prepared to give me back the balance of the deposit if I was "reasonable" and accepted her (insane) deductions.

I sent a snotty reply back quoting the relevant provision of the agreement and got a grovelling apology from get letting agency and most of my deposit back within a couple of days - the landlord simply cannot condition return of the undisputed portion on your agreement to all her deductions.

The TDS website is also full of lots of useful advice and case studies. Someone has already mentioned that landlady cannot claim for betterment and if it goes to dispute I reckon most of this would be thrown out. If you want to demonstrate that you have tried to reach resolution I would send a letter headed "without prejudice" stating that you do not accept most of her deductions (be general - do not respond specifically on line by line basis, as that will give her a heads up as to what you will argue if/when it goes to dispute) but as a gesture of goodwill you are prepared to agree a deduction of x in respect of the item(s) you recognise are your responsibility.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

TBH as you had already signed and agreed a final inventory with the letting agent, I don't see how the landlord can unilaterally make changes to that.

[Plugofgold]

Audeca, landlord zone is amazing! Thanks tons!

[Plugofgold]

Poppy7:

Total deductions

£1944.00

Additional Comments - Gardening charge during tenancy - paid upfront £448- actual cost £296 - therefore credit of £152 to be deducted from above

£152 - credit

Deposit Held
£4200.00

Therefore the amount of monies to be returned from your deposit is:
£2408.00

[Plugofgold]

Loving the Without Prejudice idea and am drafting right now.

[TeeManyMartoonis]

Be belligerent and check your deposit scheme but be warned - this may take a long time. We had a similar issue, and it took 2 and a half years after moving out. We won, and were awarded 3 x the full original deposit. Even then we had to get the bailiffs to get it. Just be warned - you need a lot of patience.

Good luck!

[AKeyFox]

Don't give her a red cent.

Take it to dispute and wave their ridiculous document in the ombudsman's face.

She doesn't stand a snowball's.

[AgaPanthers]

you don't need any photos, the landlady must prove the damage do claim anything from you - SHE needs the photos (before and after)

[Plugofgold]

Update

We moved here on a temporary relocation so our relocation agent handles most aspects of our moves. The relocation company paid the deposit so we have had to go through them in irder to register a dispute. Thankfully the woman we are dealing with, is totally on her game and has taken over. I'm copied in on her emails asking for clauses in the tenancy agreement and words like "exhorbitant" etc!
We have offered £50 for the shelf and £50 for the removal of the swing and that's it.
I still can't get over the grabby cow!