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Original poster

Is this theft?

32 replies

juicy0 · 16/07/2021 10:27

Hi

Looking for some advice please.
DD and her housemates had found a house for next year at uni but received a letter last week to say the landlord had changed his mind and their deposits were returned. All fine. Except that the girl whose account the deposits were paid back into is refusing to give my daughter her share back as they have since agreed not to live together next year.
We have asked politely for it to be returned but she is refusing and says she has sent the money to her dad and we need to talk to him about it!
Is this theft? What can we do to get the money back?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

OP posts:
Tibtab · 16/07/2021 10:34

Letter before action then put in a small claim via court:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

prh47bridge · 16/07/2021 13:20

What she has done with the money is not your problem. As Tibtab says, you need to send her a letter before action. If that doesn't result in return of the money you can claim through the courts.

Original poster
juicy0 · 16/07/2021 15:42

Thank you for your replies. It looks like that letter only applies to trade and goods which doesn't apply here though x

OP posts:
PanamaPattie · 16/07/2021 15:51

You simply write to her asking for the money back. Give her 7 days to pay it into the bank account of your choice - I assume you have proof that the money was paid into her account. If the money isn’t paid back, resort to small claims. I also assume the amount is worth chasing?

prh47bridge · 16/07/2021 16:30

@juicy0

Thank you for your replies. It looks like that letter only applies to trade and goods which doesn't apply here though x
The principle is the same. Just adapt the contents to match the situation.
Tibtab · 16/07/2021 16:33

It’s the same, you have to formally ask for the money back and give them time to respond then you can take them to small claims. They have to pay your filing fee if they lose.

RedHelenB · 16/07/2021 18:32

Do you have a way of contacting the Dad. If they all signed separate tenancies then the landlord should have returned the money to them individually.

Tibtab · 16/07/2021 19:03

It’s likely to be a joint tenancy if it’s a student house so the landlord can return the deposit to a lead tenant to disperse the funds

WildJelly · 16/07/2021 19:43

Have you contacted the dad? Ask for his details and so that first. Say you need the deposit back my x date.

drpet49 · 16/07/2021 19:49

As people have already advised. Get evidence she owes the money to your DD via email etc. Then take her to small claims court.

Original poster
juicy0 · 17/07/2021 15:00

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I don't have a postal address and the girl in question won't provide one, they only ever communicate via Snapchat or in person. Can I send the letter electronically or does that not count?
It's £100 so perhaps not worth pursuing if the costs will be more but it's the principle that's bothering me. The dad says it's up to the others whether they want to pay it back because my daughter 'messed them around and they had to find another house'. But no one is out of pocket except us!
It was the deposit for a new flat they were due to move into but now are not, and the estate agent returned the whole deposit to this one girl trusting she would distribute it back to everyone. She has paid back the others who are still living together next year but hasn't paid back to us.
It's all so bloody petty and time consuming. I feel like I want to notify the uni that she is illegally withholding money that doesn't belong to her.

OP posts:
thefirstmrsrochester · 17/07/2021 15:06

If it’s the landlord changed his mind, then all would need to find a new house anyway, regardless of your daughter going into the flatshare or not. Don’t understand why the dad can accuse your daughter of ‘messing them around’.

Original poster
juicy0 · 17/07/2021 15:18

@thefirstmrsrochester my daughter told them she didn't want to live with them next year and at that point the holding deposit had been taken but contracts hadn't been issued or signed. We then received a letter from the estate agent saying that the landlord had changed his mind and that deposits would be returned. It's all turned a bit nasty sadly.

OP posts:
Caroline147 · 17/07/2021 18:51

I would definitely tell the university. It’s not acceptable at all.

0None0 · 17/07/2021 18:55

Don’t contact the dad. It’s irrelevant what the other girl did with the money, she is still the one who owes it

Viviennemary · 17/07/2021 18:58

Good idea to tell the university. Don't deal with the Dad if the money was returned to the daughters account.

prh47bridge · 17/07/2021 19:13

It's £100 so perhaps not worth pursuing if the costs will be more but it's the principle that's bothering me

Costs won't be more. The cost of lodging a claim is £35. You add the court fee to your claim so, provided you win, the girl has to pay this as well as the money she owes. She will also have to pay any enforcement costs.

PanamaPattie · 17/07/2021 19:16

I can see why your daughter doesn’t want to live with them next year. The queen bee sounds awful. I too would tell the university- it’s theft - as she means to deprive your daughter of £100.

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 17/07/2021 19:35

Did your daughter pay the agent direct? I'd go to them- they should have paid her back, not via 1 person. They could be helpful in putting pressure on the girl. But at the end of the day, they owe your daughter and should have returned it direct.

thefirstmrsrochester · 17/07/2021 19:40

God the dad sounds like an absolute dick as well. He, albeit via his daughter, is holding onto money which isn’t rightfully his. Why should your daughters £100 go towards a deposit on a flat share that she isn’t part of. I’d be bloody furious too. And yes to a formal letter, letting the Uni know and pursuing through small claims if need be.

RedHelenB · 17/07/2021 22:28

But your daughter would have lost the money anyway because she was pulling out of sharing with them?

Soontobe60 · 17/07/2021 22:34

Did the other people lose money as a result of your dd pulling out of the arrangement?

JellyBabiesFan · 17/07/2021 22:53

Can you email the girl a letter before action and copy in the dad?

Write the letter as formally as you can and attach evidence of the payment made to the girl. The more formal it looks and more evidence you attach the more serious you will look.

I have done a letter before action once and I never needed to go to court. They dealt with the issue because I sent the letter and sounded like I meant business.

Viviennemary · 18/07/2021 00:12

Surely legally any contract between them ended when the deposit was returned. The girl is a thief and needs to be reported to the university.

Themeparklover · 18/07/2021 00:21

If your daughter paid the agent directly you need to state that you do not consent to your money being sent to a third party and give the agent 5 working days to return, if it went through the other girl and you have proof that she is withholding then you need to submit that to the courts and seek legal action.