Well - like I said earlier; the agent would have been left with the same impression as me; i.e. the tenant was *apparently* a lone parent with a 2 YO son. I accept that kids will be kids and there might have been SOME damage done, but the scribbles were clearly done by older children who "should've known better" and moreover some of it would've been too high for a toddler to reach. That I guess, is by the bye...The point remains that the tenant DID NOT return the house to me in the same condition she got it in. My husband & I incurred considerable cost & time in putting the property right in order to let it again. We would like to recover those costs as far as practicible. Yes, Just4Let, the utterance was subjective, but NPNG was merely giving his opinion and advice on the matter was he not??? The agent may very well challenge this, but on reflection I think the way to go would be to sue the ex-tenant as well as the guarantor. Your opinions/advice would be gratefully received!

Hi No pain, no gain. Great quote by the way... I'm English, married to a Corkman & live in Cork. Love the life here, if not the cost of living!!! We have further movement. I had a call this morning from the tenant who received my letter. Well - I have my doubts that it was indeed the tenant who called but that's another story... She claims that she didn't leave any rubbish, and that the house was clean when she left. I asked whether she had looked at the photo's I'd sent and was told she hadn't. To make a long story short, I explained about the damage caused, the children's scribbles on the walls and the general dirty state of the house. I also pointed out that as per lease, she was supposed to clear all the rubbish on leaving, and I could charge her rent for every day the rubbish was left. (But hadn't!). She claims she has no money, and single parent, etc., etc. At this point I terminated the call as I was getting very angry, and felt it was going nowhere. I suggested she read my letter very carefully and check her lease. I have also requested that all further communication be in writing as I do not wish to speak to her any more.... LBA think you?

Hello again! I've checked over the contract and yes, the guarantor DID sign it (as well as the tenant & myself). I've also highlighted where the tenant breached the lease. There was a 6 month break clause in the contract, which I understand from the agent is normal in AST agreements. As the house was rented on a 'rent-only' basis (i.e. the agent only found the tenant, and arranged for the necessary credit checks to be done), I don't see how I could sue the agent - unless I'm missing something? . I think the best thing to do would be to wait and see if the tenant settles the bill first before writing an LBA. I've asked for payment within 14 days of receipt of my letter which was sent via recorded delivery. Given the above, would I still be able to sue the guarantor as well? Many thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it!!

Thank you so much No pain, no gain and Just4let for all your help and constructive comments. I've talked to my husband, and we think the court route would certainly be the way to go, in view of the fact there was no check-in report. But the house was professionally deep-cleaned before she moved in, and I still have the bill for that, so that goes some way I believe to proving the state of the house before she moved in. The absence of a check-in report is a mistake I SHALL NOT BE REPEATING, believe me!!! I have sent her a recorded delivery letter to her new address requesting the matter be settled within 14 days. I will wait for the 14 days to elapse before instigating court proceedings. One more question if I may. On starting the tenancy, my ex-tenant had to have a guarantor. Can I name him as well as her partner in the proceedings? Many thanks for your help as always!

The deposit was later transferred into my name by the letting agents who held it in the DPS originally.... It is still in the DPS but disputed. The tenant asked for repayment which I have disputed. At the time, I didn't know about the damage to my property, and I wrote to her explaining I would not be refunding the deposit until the rent was settled and I was satisfied with the state of my property when she moved out. Of course, in view of what's happened, I am NOT prepared to repay the deposit...

Hi there No - it was rented through a letting agency on a 'rent-only' basis. See my earlier answers. The deposit was placed with the DPS through the agent and later transferred to me. Many thanks

I should also add - I understand from the neighbours, there have been problems with noise and the amount of people going to & from the house at all hours. I have not yet mentioned this nor the fact I know about the informal childiminding business to the tenant as yet, as I am awaiting her comments regarding the damage and the rent.

Hi No pain, no gain. Thanks for all the help so far! The deposit was for £850 and is held by the DPS. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I have already disputed this some time ago, but no further action since then. I don't know the next steps to take on that one... I can prove the damages, as the tenant has an unusual name which was written all over the walls, as well as the Disney stickers all over my bedroom wall (I have no kids!!). The fridge freezer which was left in a filthy & smelly condition was BRAND-NEW!!!! Any further advice or thoughts would be welcome...

No I didn't. It would seem she had NO intention of putting right the damage, as she'd texted me saying she'd cleaned the house. I arrived home 2 weeks later, and it was fairly obvious she'd just picked up and moved. NO attempt was made to clean it or even make sure she took all her food.... I took pictures of the state of the house BEFORE we cleaned and painted it and mailed them on to her. I've since sent the bill (and yes, copies of receipts for the stuff we bought, as well as the bill from the cleaning co), and am awaiting further comment. When I commented about the children's scribbles on the walls, she did ask to meet me and point out the damage, but I refused as I was still very angry and did not want further upset. By that time we'd already started to clean up and paint, so not much point. All I told her was that I would mail on the photo's on my return (Which I've done) and sent her a letter to follow up. I have e-mailed the letter as well as sending it on via recorded delivery to her new address. I should also mention no check-in report was done. This was my first time renting, and this is a mistake I will not be repeating, believe me!! Deposit was 1 month's rent paid in advance. Hope the above make a bit of sense now...

Yes, there was ( One month's rent) and is held by the DPS. However, the tenant still owes me a month's rent, and so I've disputed this. This new issue is over and above the rent which is still owing. Another question: Once the deposit is disputed, what are the next steps? Does anyone know?? TIA

Bumpity bump...Any other thoughts?

Many thanks for your response! Any other thoughts anyone??

Hey guys! Thank you so much for your good wishes. Well - Ireland is VERY different to home, but am loving the life here even though it's so bloody expensive. ( A nice lump sum would come in handy here...). I live in Cork which is not far from anything - town, countryside, seaside, mountains....So peaceful here! My old boy (cat) has moved as well, and loves it here too!!

Hope there's someone who can help! I live abroad. I rented out my 2 bed house via an agency to a female lone parent and her 2 YO son on a 1 year lease. It seems she moved her partner in and was carrying on an informal childminding business from my home. She ended the lease after 6 months and moved out earlier this month. I flew in last week and visited the house. She left it in a terrible state - very dirty and smelly with grease all over the walls, and children had scribbled all over the walls. I won't even mention the rubbish piled high outside the house, and the state of the garden.... My husband & I have had to paint the walls to get rid of the scribbles, do a scratch clean before the cleaner we hired got there to clean the house (It was that bad!) and tidy the garden. She stills owes 1 month's rent, so obviously I've challenged the return of her deposit, and I will be billing her for the cost of the cleaner, plus cleaning materials and cost of the paint needed to re-paint the house. I have taken pictures of the damages and have e-mailed them to the tenant. We would like to also charge her for our time. What would be a reasonable amount to charge? We were thinking of £10 per person, per hour and travel costs. Please let me have your thoughts! TIA

Freaky!! How are you these days??? Forgot to add: Part of the reason I've been so quiet is that I got married last year and am settling down to life in Ireland! Makes a change from London, I can tell you... Thanks ever so much for checking this over - I did wonder, then found the original statement which I did for the MCOL..... *goes back to corner twiddling thumbs and counting the interest*

This is the copy of the statement I did when submitting the claim via MCOL. Is this OK or should I amend?? Thanks!

Hi Pete I've since seen a piece on the front page stating we should amend our claim from penalties to UTCCC. Does this apply to HSBC claims and if so, how should I go about it?? Can you advise? Thanks

Hey guys!! I'm back! Have you missed me? . What news on here? I've since moved abroad, so don't get much chance to go on here...

Hey guys! Long time no see Good(ish) news yesterday, but still have my doubts we'll be seeing some dosh any time soon...The banks will be dragged through the process kicking & screaming while we poor mug punters are covered in the brown sticky stuff....:mad: What do you think?

Hi - Thanks for the reply. Just to keep you updated, I've raised a complaint with both Welcome's HO as well as the OFT.... I await the outcome with interest!

Afternoon - just a quickie which I hope someone can help me out with.... I've got a loan with Welcome which I'm now in a position to settle in full. So I wrote to them asking for early settlement figures which I've now received. Called them this morning asking how I can settle as I have no chequebook on my account, and was told I could settle with a debit card. Gave them the number and was then asked how was I able to settle the loan.:o WTF I thought - I've had loans with you before, always settled in full and I've never been asked that. So I asked them why did you want to know when the money's coming from my personal bank account. It's for money laundering reasons was the reply. So I terminated the call, and thought I'd ask the question: The money was obtained by legal means. My bank know where it came from. Is there a legal responsibility for me to tell Welcome the same info? Personally, I think this is intrusive, and only my bank, govt bodies who need to know or the police can ask for this info. Can someone tell me? TIA:)

Great! I'll take a look now - Thanks!

BUMP! Any chance of reply please?

Hi I've had a loan with the above since last year. I am now in a position to settle it in full, so have asked for and received a settlement figure. How do I go about checking the figures are correct in accordance with s97 of the CCA (1974)? TIA

Happy New Year all!! OK - I've sent off the letter N via Recorded Delivery (8th Nov and delivered 12th Nov), and 12 working days since delivery means that 1st Credit should have supplied a copy of the agreement. Which to date they have not. Am I right in thinking that after 30 days an offence will have been committed? The 30 days are up on the 12th Jan? And would I be right in thinking the debt is unenforceable as long as 1st Credit do not supply the paperwork? Or is the debt now unenforceable at all due to the 12 day deadline being missed?? Any advice or help welcome! TIA