Landlords - Trying a ripoff!
 

My deposit is with the DPS thankfully, so when I was told they had found faults after I left I decided to fight back.

Here's my response.

Camilla,

I will dispute any claim against me for the following reasons:

1.On the day of hand over you said you would recommend “a full refund” and that the property was very clean and tidy. The paperwork I signed and hold a copy of, only mentions a scratch on the table and that I was to return the strimmer, which I did.

2.You (XXXXXXXX Properties) manage the property and as such should take responsibility for reporting any faults found during your regular checks. Not all of which took place as I was at home for some of them. If the problem was present before the handover then it should have been noted and I should have been informed and given the opportunity to correct them.

3.New Tenants subsequently moved into the property the next day and could well have made the crack.

4.The landlord employs you to check the property and for them to re-check three days after I moved out is not reasonable and not very trusting of you. The landlords have not contacted me with any costs to date but have refused my refund request which I will I contest for the reasons stated above.

I fully accepted the scratch on the table but as you stated the landlords are not concerned, but like the sink unit it is now quite old and but the sink is not leaking now and I wonder if it ever would?


Ian

I am waiting for a reply before I got to dispute using the DPS.

The cistern cracked in the house we rent out. These things happen to that type of thing, especially with age. We, as landlords, bought and fitted a new cistern.
If any damage wasn't noted on the day, it's their bad luck. Coming from a military background, if you get away with damage on the march out, it's a bonus.

I am military and it was a personal tenancy. The cooker was gleaming and the rest of the property sparkling.

The agent turned up with cleaning stuff but left without using it!

Two questions, was an inventory completed at the start of your tenancy that was signed by both you and the Landlord/agent? Also did anybody meet you to "check you out" of the property going through said signed inventory?

Yes and yes, if you read the OP you will see the agent "checked me out" and we where both present.

The landlord even did a pre-handover before I left and found nothing.

OK they have disputed my request for a refund and want £100. ADR requested, I am not rolling over.

This is the letter I had to write on behalf of my daughter to the robbing cnuts 'Wren Properties in Didsbury, Manchester:

Letter Number 1:

Dear Melanie,

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that when I moved out of the property it was in a clean and presentable condition. Considering that I was in the property for three years I cannot be held responsible for the cost of routine decoration, taking into account that no painting or decorating had been carried out during the three years of my occupation.
You appear to have high standards of cleanliness, but it is a pity that these standards were not adhered to before I moved in as the carpets had not even been vacuumed let alone cleaned, with debris such as hairgrips and a babies soiled diaper under one of the beds.

What you do not seem to realise is that I have rented properties over the last seven years from letters such as Gascoigne Hallman and Jordan Fishwick without issues therefore I am using these letting agents as a benchmark in comparison with Wren Properties.
Regarding other letting agencies, not one had the cleanliness standards that your agency appears to have and similar to when I first moved into the property it was as if the last occupant had vacated ten minutes previous. This appears to be common across the sector in my experience.

I am suggesting that you are penalising me and trying to justify the forfeit of my bond with manufactured complaints.
I am also aware that other previous occupants left the properties without giving notice and leaving an unpaid electricity bills. It has also been alleged that due to a dispute with the landlord a former tenant left the taps running before moving out leading to the flooding of the property which obviously occurred cost particularly as the premises in question had a basement which had to be pumped out by the utility provider United Utilities.

The lady that did the inspection informed me that I would also be liable for replacement mattresses due to health reasons and allergies.I would like to point out that:

· One of these mattresses was not new when I movedin and was stained.

· Shouldn’t mattresses be replaced anyway afterthree years and if so is this my liability?

· Additionally are general repairs and maintenancesuch as painting and decorating the responsibility of the landlord?
I feel that I vacated the property in good faith leaving it as clean and tidy as possible and the landlord is trying to recoup previous costs incurred by other tenants bypenalising myself and withholding my £950 deposit.

I am also in the process of disputing the electricity bill because:

· From December 2011 I have paid £1200 in electricity

· The day I moved out of the property I received another electric bill for £700.
Before I seek legal advice I shall require:

· An invoice detailing the cost of cleaning the carpets after I moved out as the carpets were certainly not cleaned before Imoved in.

· Any other evidence to justify why you have not returned my deposit.
You may think you can bully and intimidate me because youthink I am a young woman on her own and this as you have already experienced has infuriated members of my family.
Please resolve this situation amicably as I would preferthat this does not escalate further. I am not happy how I have been treated by Wren Properties as I have always paid my rent early and probably contributed inthe region of £30,000 to the landlord over the three years I was occupying the property.

It seems to me that the landlord wants to let the property,and generate revenue probably to pay the mortgage but does not want anyone to actually ‘live’ in the property.
After carrying out various investigations letter number 2 was submitted to the same robbing feckers:


Melanie,

Thank you for the information, however there are now additional discrepancies concerning issues relating to work carried out which has been detailed in theattached invoices.

• Cost of painting

The cost of £200 is extortionate considering that no decorative maintenance hadbeen carried out during the term of my tenancy. This comes under general wearand tear and would have had to have been undertaken after three years anyway.

I have also realised that other tenants have had their properties decorated free of charge and I think that I am being unfairly penalised by being expectedto pay for the general maintenance of other properties belonging to this landlord, hence the invoice for £650.

• Cost of Carpet Cleaning

This invoice for the sum of £90 was submitted by Wren Properties representative'Marion' who was the person who actually completed the work together with other members of her family which I think is fraudulent. Marion is generating her own income at my expense when the carpets did not need cleaning and certainly did not go through this process before I moved in.

I have noted that there is no name on the invoice and I wonder if tax has beenpaid to the Inland Revenue in connection with this work. As you are aware most people in the UK have to pay tax and I fear you are operating an unlawful racket. How many unfair inspections has Marion carried out and how much money has she earned as a result of her 'little' cleaning business? The omission of aname on the invoice tells a story and the story is that Wren Properties are using fraudulent activities to generate income for themselves and their associates at the expense of people like myself.

Therefore I am not accepting your offer of £560 as feel that your representative and landlord are acting unfairly and unlawfully and I would be grateful if you would refer my case to arbitration, and if you have no framework in place in order that I can appealagainst your reduced offer of £650 I will attempt recourse through a court oflaw.

The full deposit was returned but we are still in dispute with the electricity provider EON via OFGEM.

I wish my tenants cleaned everything before they do a runner.. I mean leave. :(

feckers! nail 'em to the wall!

UPDATE
 

Nice one :)