Agency trying to rip off my deposit - HELP

[cjferg]

I moved out of a flat in October as the agent handed me (pregnant woman) two months notice because I, fed up with complaining about the state of the flat and hearing nothing (mould in kitchen, a few fairly minor issues that they promised to fix before I even moved in,) said I was not paying rent until they sorted it.
They handed me two months notice and thankfully I was lucky enough to be offered a HA property.
I still payed all the rent I was owe them. In the whole tenancy I payed rent on time and the few occasions I couldn't I payed their extortionate late fees without complaint.
I thought because the inventory was done by a separate company that they would be fair, but oh no.
Just got their checkout inventory and they want to keep £100 for cleaning and £92 for "damages".
The cleaning, I know I missed a couple of things, I couldn't do the oven properly because the kitchen was so small and cramped and I'm pregnant so didn't want to be inhaling a load of oven cleaner. I didn't have time to do a couple of bits an pieces but the place was dusty and gross when I moved in. I had to spend hours scrubbing black mould out of the toilet cistern.
I also was never provided with, even when I asked, electrical safety check reports that should be done after every tenancy leading me to believe they were never done.
The pictures on the checkout inventory include on with piss on the back of the toilet under the seat which is the thing that is really getting me. I know cleaned that toilet and being the only occupant and female there's no way I could have pissed there.
They are literally trying to nail me for every tiny hole in the wall (all of which were there before I moved in) and chipped paint on a door that always stuck in the frame.
I don't have any photos of anything as I didn't have a camera while living there. Should I bother opening a case? The thing that has really angered me is the piss on the toilet and I don't want to just bend over and take this. Should I ask specifically what was damaged? There was nothing that I would say could justify £92 considering I painted the bloody kitchen to avoid being penalised for the mould.

TL;DR getting billed for loads of stuff that was not me/ was like that when I moved in

The thing with these situations is that they try to take the piss. The way to win is not to invest emotionally at all (very hard to do) and to fight it out with them.

I would start by writing a very simple letter asking for a written and itemised list of the damages/cleaning required. Then write back disputing every one of them.

You may find a tenants' union, like Acorn, will be able to help.

Just lodge a dispute over the use of your deposit with whichever scheme it is registered with. The deposit scheme will then take into account both sides of things and decide independently what should be charged

To be honest I was expecting to get nothing just due to previous experience of fighting agencies for deposits. I will ask for a list of damages, thanks.

They are total arseholes. They are probably using pictures of previous checkouts, like they did with mine. You can take it to a dispute agency, but be aware these are paid for by the agents and you only get one chance to tell them things. So if for example you say you left the bathroom clean. The agent can then answer that and submit a totally false picture suggesting you didn't. You then have NO COMEBACK to re-answer their reply. If you see what I mean. So you can't then dispute the fact that the picture they submitted is false. So you will probably lose, basically, if they are an arsehole agent and trying to scam you in the first place.

All check in and check out photos need to be date stamped so if they aren't then they can be disputed

Ask for an itemised list of damages and what requires cleaning, along with the quotes they've obtained for repairs/cleaning. Insist on proper quotes from named businesses, not just their best guess. Dispute the itemised list and let them know that if you agree to any repairs/cleaning you will expect proper receipts from the companies which carried out the work.

England: the agent didn't give you notice, the landlord instructed you to do so.

The deposit should be protected in a scheme, find out which one, raise a dispute. No need to engage with the agent. The LANDLORD needs to prove the damages.

electrical certificates are not mandatory in non-HMO properties.

read the how to rent guide on gov.uk

sorry - the landlord instructed the AGENT to give notice. You have no contract with the agent. Late fees would have been in your tenancy agreement with the landlord which you signed.

I think cleaning an oven is around £60-75, so with a few other bits om top, that's not too bad. You should have been given a DVD of photos taken when you moved in. Ask the inventory clerk for those for comparison.

They do this. It's their thing.

I lived in rented house for years, always kept them nice and cleaned when I left. They still kept it.

Sometimes if you call you'll hear them pretend to flap about saying they'll 'look into it' but never do.

The last two properties I told them to keep the deposit as the last month's rent. It's apparently illegal but the only way to avoid being ripped off.

They always do this. My son and I cleaned his (grotty) place within an inch of its life. In lieu of anything ro complain about, they commented that there was dust on the outside of the front door.

The (cheapest you can get) bathroom blind was broken when he moved in and he didn't notice. So OK, the supply and fitting of a blind had to be paid for - £90. With me making bullets and him firing them we made them get three quotes and ask the landlord to pay half as it wasn't new. Eventually he paid £37.

Letting agents are scum.

No, the deposit protection scheme has been in place since 2007 to prevent rip offs.

Info on gov.UK.

The deposit protection scheme IS a rip off and biased towards the landlord/agent as you can't dispute their response. so in a way it's worthless.

The deposit protection scheme IS a rip off and biased towards the landlord/agent as you can't dispute their response. so in a way it's worthless

Completely disagree.

It’s swung hugely in the favour of tenants and it’s virtually impossible to use the deposit.

If you have a professional inventory check in which you have checked andsigned. Plus accompany the check out inventory and document via your own photos it’s incredibly hard to be scammed.

Did you have an inventory done when you moved in? If not there's no way they can prove that you didn't leave the flat in the same state as when you moved in.

The deposit protection scheme is meant to be weighted in favour of the tenant, as with all things, your mileage may vary.
We once had the inventory clerk tell us at checkout that we had left the property significantly better than we found it, then the landlord tried to charge us £200 for dusty doors. We disputed it and it was fine in the end, but it's one more hassle you don't need in the middle of moving house, and I've only ever had one move where a landlord didn't try to pull a fast one with the deposit.

The deposit is the tenants money and it is for the landlord to prove that they are entitled to any of it for damage.

Screaming nonsense doesn't stop it being nonsense.

Have a read of this OP forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759912&postcount=3

Thanks for the replies.
I don't really have any proof as I didn't own any kind of camera during the tenancy. I was given an email inventory upon moving in with a couple of weeks to add anything in I noticed. There was no formal check in/out tour of the flat going over the inventory which I have had in previous places and I kept noticing stuff (holes in nail walls, etc.) months after I'd moved in. I assumed that since the inventory company didn't pick up on them initially that they wouldn't be taken into consideration.
I will definitely be asking for a list of the so called "damages"

The oven will take up most of it though. You can't leave a dirty oven - just as you wouldn't want to move in to a property with one.

Do as others suggest re list but this is not personal. The fact that you are pregnant is neither here nor there. The fact that you threatened to withhold rent and were a late payer is relevant as Landlords get nervous about this.

If my tenant started withholding rent payments I would serve notice too.

As others have said, an oven clean is expensive - a professional clean inc oven in between tenants can be £150+

I had a check out where the inventory clerk reported that “the carpets and curtains all need professional cleaning”. The flat had no carpets or curtains.