Anyone bben through the new MYDEPOSITS Dispute service?

[milkmonsters]

My daft ex-landlord is trying to claim my entire hefty deposit for a crack in the bath which was caused by the water-logged, collapsed ceiling above it. Luckily I have metadated photoss of the collapse as evidence so I should win, but I'm wondering if anyone else has goo dexperience of this dispute service, as my alternative is to take him to the small claims courts, something I'm unfamiliar with.

I lived in a rented house where my deposit was around £800 and my husband spilt red squash on the carpet and as we were moving in a hurry we decided to leave it and take the hit from the deposit.

The landlord tried taking our whole deposit to replace the carpets in a box room. We disputed it through Tenancy Deposits Scheme and they ended up taking £90 for a proffesional carpet cleaner.

The Disputes service know when someone is trying to do you over as they deal with it every day. I am sure that if your landlord is being unreasonable they will realise.

I went through the mydeposits dispute resolution arbitration service to prevent my unreasonable ex landlord taking more than a fair share of my deposit. I agreed to pay 400 pounds for redecoration but objected to a further £106. we were only there 6months. It too several months but apart from giving mydeposits all my information, carpet cleaning receipts, explanations etc. no work on my part. I won. I was aided by the fact that the landlords will find it very hard to prove and justify unreasonable deposit deductions and the dispute peolpe are wise to the fact that many landlords see diposits as a bonus for them to keep if they wish.
very satisfying even though only small amount of money involved for me, highly reccommend it.

Update:

My Deposits resolution service is totally POINTLESS as it's OPTIONAL to participate!

I waited 28 days for the outcome of the Dispute to learn that...

If the landlord can't be bothered to participate, he doesn't have to.

Which then means the only recourse is the courts as I'm now having to do. I left the property in August 2009, it's now March 2010 and I still haven't got my deposit back!

Be aware that mydeposits is sponsored by the National Landlords Association-it is not the entirely independent body it appears to be. They have unpublished rules-for example if (for whatever good reason ) you do not stay for the full length of your tenancy you are not covered by the scheme. If you have not paid all the rent (because your landlord is at fault perhaps) you are not covered by the scheme. The self congratulatory notice stating they are ward winners is about staff training not the quality of their impartial arbitration.