Hi, I need some advice in the following situation. I've recently completed a 3 month contract in a job where my direct line manager was short tempered, verbally abusive and would often shout, yell and bully me and all other fellow staff. During the contract I juggled numerous projects. One major project was completed and made substantial progress on the others. During the final week, my manager asked if I would consider a contract extension if it was offered, where I replied that I would consider this but did not confirm anything. Since I did not hear anything further, on the final day of my contract, a handover via email was given along with an update on the current state of all projects and left the company. I recently attended a 1st stage interview for another job after leaving the company, where the offer was conditional on a successful vetting outcome. Information requested was some standard documentation, including employment history over the last 5 years, along with details of my direct line managers during this time. During my 2nd stage interview, the interviewer informed me that my line managers have been contacted via telephone, where my previous manager (who was short tempered, verbally abusive and would often shout, yell and bully me and other fellow staff, where I would definitely not disclose by choice, but I could not supply false information on a vetting process) supplied a bad reference along with an inaccurate record of my duties. For example, I only worked on one project and made no progress on the other projects; I had left the company suddenly, etc. I believe I was not considered for this job that required the vetting process, based solely on the inaccurate information supplied by my previous line manager via the telephone. I have heard that I can request information about myself due to the data protection act? However this was a telephone conversation between my previous line manager and my new potential employer. I now plan to make a formal complaint the HR department, however given that this was a contract role, will anything happen? Also, can a legal case be made? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Thanks for the replies. The contract which I didn't sign specifies the deposit is held by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme - the dispute service . I had to pay estate agent fees (£126) before moving in and they included a breakdown that specified £20 was for deposit re-registration. I've never received a certificate number from TDS. Does this mean the deposit is not protected? Unfortunately i've already paid my final months rent. On the matter of the inventory there has been a load of emails between me and the agent where I have asked them to do a new inventory, and specified the main areas which were incorrect with photos. This was done as soon as I moved in. Their replies to these emails have been unreasonable. They just kept on repeating that it's not their concern, and we are liable for all damage regardless of whether it occurred prior to us moving in. Should I b asking the estate agent now about if the deposit is protected or am I better off waiting till I move out at the end of the month? And yes it's very much my feeling too that they are going to put up a fight about this.

Thanks for your replies, and apologies for previously not formatting it correctly. Thanks for all the references Ed. I've been reading through them. Lots of great information there. Unfortunately in my situation some parts conflict with other parts. The main points: 1) "The distinction between a tenancy and a mere licence is whether you, the occupier, are granted exclusive occupation of a dwelling" - Me and the other guy remaining jointly have exclusive use of the property at present just as the 3 tenants did prior to me moving in. This would indicate it is a tenancy. 2) "Where accommodation or facilities are actually shared with other people, there cannot be a tenancy UNLESS the parties sign a joint tenancy agreement." - I haven't signed an agreement so this would indicate I may not be in a tenancy at all. I've also read in many places that if you pay a deposit, move into a property (where the property owner does not leave) and start paying rent you are on an AST unless you have a contract specifying anything otherwise. The other thing I am now worried about is if the agency take the approach that I was never in a tenancy at all (due to the contract not being signed and therefore the previous joint tenancy remaining in effect) could they argue that the deposit I gave them was a "holding deposit" instead of a "damage deposit". The receipt only specifies "deposit" on it, and therefore could they refuse to give it back to me on the grounds that the tenancy was never started? It obviously was not a holding deposit since I originally replied to an advert posted by the existing house mates. The agency had nothing to do with advertising for a replacement house mate so it would of made no sense for the agency to ask for a holding deposit in this situation. Thanks for your advice SpeedFreak. Yes I do feel a little like I've been taken for a ride over this whole thing. In response to what you mentioned about it contracts: Every time a tenant changes all tenants have to jointly sign a new contract. From the sound of it the tenants have changed many times over the last 4 years. The agency however do not redo the inventory or even provide new ingoing tenants with a copy of the inventory. I did raise this with them, and they said it was impractical to do an inventory check every time a tenants changes. I don't think this is fair and it is even worse the fact that they do not provide new ingoing tenants with a copy of the inventory. I only got a copy since I noticed the contract referred to an inventory document and kept on hassling them till they gave me a copy. Does any one know if the inventory can even stand legally since the 3 tenants who signed it all left the property years ago! My current housemate and the girl who previously moved out both mentioned how they had never seen the inventory agreement before I got a copy of it.

Hi, I have a question about legal liability and who is entitled to the deposit in the following situation concerning rented property. I have recently moved into a house with a couple of other people. Their previous housemate had moved out and I was told they were looking for a new person to sign a new 6 month Joint Tenancy Agreement with. The agreement was with an estate agent who seemed happy to do tenancy swaps. I paid the estate agent a tenancy swap fee, my share of the deposit and the first months rent on time, and was told my references had cleared fine, and I therefore moved in on the proposed move in date, even though the contract had not yet been signed. One of my new housemates (who had lived at the property for a few years) announced she was moving out and therefore not willing to sign the new tenancy agreement. The other housemate (who had only been living in the house about 6 months) and I thought this would be no problem and we would just find another housemate. I asked the estate agent for a copy of the contract and the inventory document so we're could get things sorted out as soon as possible. However the inventory document is 4 years old and claims the house is in significantly better condition than it actually is. I notified the estate agents to this immediately, however they say that ingoing tenants are liable for the damage caused by previous tenants regardless of when it occurred (such a condition was never mentioned on the tenancy swap documentation I was given). They also said "if you're not willing to take on this responsibility maybe you should re-consider taking on the tenancy" (their exact wording in an email). I understand that in a joint tenancy agreement a "Lead Tenant" is picked. Then when the tenancy ends the "Lead Tenant" would have the entire deposit returned to him or her (and also would be the only tenant with the power to start a dispute with the landlord via the DPS (Deposit Protection Scheme)). The "Lead Tenant" should then distribute the deposit to the other tenants fairly. I also understand the DPS will not under any circumstances get involved with disputes about deposits between tenants. Could some one please confirm this is correct? Both me and the only other now remaining tenant have given notice that we are leaving. The estate agent have accepted our notice however I am confused about how return of deposits will work. The estate agent have a policy of only releasing an outgoing tenant's deposit when the ingoing tenant signs the contract. Since I haven't and now will not be signing a contract they are holding onto the guys deposit who lived in my room prior to me. The original total deposit on the house was £1000 and therefore I assume the deposit currently protected by the DPS is £1000. However the estate agent currently has a total deposit of £1333 since they still have the previous tenants deposit. Therefore who's deposit is protected by DPS and who's is not? Also will all 4 people's deposits be returned to the "Lead Tenant", or only 3 deposits (coming to the sum of £1000) returned to the lead tenant and the 4th deposit returned to either me or the guy who lived in my room before me. Can I be held responsible for the damage to the property and can I demand my deposit is returned separately since I have not signed the joint tenancy contract. (Taking into account by the time I move out at the end of June I will of been a paying tenant in the property for 3 months.) Also how does my housemate stand legally who had only been in the property for only 6 months, considering the tenant who recently left had been there for 3 years and I expect is therefore both the "Lead Tenant" and the person who should be held more accountable for the damage. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.