Landlord will not return full deposit

[Luluke]

Hi all,
Im recently moved to England, and rented a flat from a private landlord. Things started to get weird straight away. First of all, i never met the actual landlady, whos name was on the contract, but instead i had to deal with her husband. The only contact number i had, was her husbands mobile number. The guy told me to sign the contract, and like an idiot i did. He did not sign it, instead he took a copy, signed by me, and told me that he would bring me a copy signed by his wife, sometime in the next few days.(This never happened) Anyway, the neighbours started to cause me trouble, and to cut a long story short, i wanted to leave. I called up the guy and asked him how much notice he needed. Although the contract said 1 months notice, he told me that he was flexible and all i had to give was 2 weeks notice. Around the same time, the hot water boiler broke, and left me without hot water and heating for the next 2 weeks, as he would not fix it.
I sent him written notice, by registered mail, and heard nothing from him. I called him again the day before i was to move out, and he had forgot all about it?? So the next day he came around and agreed that the flat was in the same condition as when i moved in. He told me that he would send me the deposit, in the form of a cheque, through the post, in the next few days. I was not very happy about this, but didnt really have any choice. Four days passed and i had not recieved anything, so i tried to call him, but all i got was a messenging service. I left several messages over the next few days, and finally he answered the phone, and told me that he has someone else moving into the flat and once they had moved in, he would be happy to send me the money. The cheque finally came, but it was only for half the amount of the deposit, and a letter explained that they have kept the rest to cover 2 weeks rent, the amount of time that the flat was empty. Even though it was only empty for 9 days, and that was because he waited until 2 days after i moved out, to advertise it. Im sure they think they can get away with this because im a foreign girl on my own. This was just before the new law came in concerning the deposits.
I was under the impression that the deposit could only be kept if there was some sort of damage to the flat.
What are the chances of getting the money back from them through the small claims court?
Im sorry to go on, but i have no idea about the laws for this country, and the idea of going to court is a bit scarry for me.
Any help, anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[MrShed]

You have one massive problem, and that is that you do not have in writing that he accepted 2 weeks notice. Without that, any court case would probably be a waste of time, as you have no proof of it I'm afraid.

[Luluke]

Hello ,
Thanks for the reply.
The only proof i have is in the letter that they sent with the cheque. Its reads " you left on the 25th April, having given 2 weeks notice" Would this count as proof?
Thanks again

[MrShed]

No, it just proves you gave two weeks notice. Doesnt prove that they accepted 2 weeks notice. I sympathize, and wish the answer was different, but you could not win this in court, so it would be foolish in my opinion to pursue this, a complete waste of your time and money. Take it as a learning experience(IE get everything in writing always always!!) and move on.

[Luluke]

Thank you MrShed.
What would actually count as proof? Would her signature on the bottom of the letter i sent them, count? I may be able to get her to sign it, if need be. Would i then have a good case?
Thank you.

[MrShed]

What would actually count as proof is the LANDLORD(NOT the husband, unless again you have something in writing showing that he was acting as her agent) giving you a SIGNED letter stating "I accept 2 weeks notice instead of 4 weeks, and forgo any rent owed during this differing time period" - not going to happen!! A letter YOU sent has no relevance - it has to be what she is saying, not what you are saying. Honestly, you are flogging a dead horse.