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I was wondering if anybody could help me with the following problem i'm having. In December 2005 I started my Maternity Leave from work. My employer never paid me a single penny of my Maternity Pay. After getting a solicitor I was advised to take them to an Employment Tribunal. This process to over a year to get a hearing date. i spent my entire 6 months leave without an income as i was also refused benefits as the DWP said i should be in receipt of SMP. I won the tribunal and the employer then appealed. 8 months later they dropped the appeal, but this was 20 months after my Maternity Leave started. It is now 2009 and I still have not received a penny or an offer from my employer. He just stopped trading an started a new company, saying he can't afford to pay me. My only option now is to pay a non returnable £750 to make the first company insolvent - not really worth it when the company has no assets to recover. I have been in discussions with the Revenue about my SMP. They say that even though I was clearly entitled to to the money they will not pay me the money as I should have made a claim within the first 6 months of the first SMP payment due (ie June 2006). But as i was still going through a tribunal process i didn't. They have said that if my employer would still be able to claim it and pay me, but he's not going to do that! Surely this is insane! They admit they owe me the money and would still pay the employer - but not me! Do they have a legal duty to pay me the SMP owed? I have good reasons for not meeting the 6 month time limit - but can they really enforce such a short limit on claims? Does anybody know if there are any time limits involved? Can anybody advise me on how to appeal and what to say to get them to hear my claim? Please help!

We received the summary of the landlord's evidence today. Apparently they've produced quotes & estimates and are claiming to keep £600! But I have an Inspection Summary that says the house was acceptable and clean, apart from the damp mould, which they said was our fault, and they asked to keep £200 for repainting. The damp appeared in the first month, so we were not responsible for that! I think the quotes are to do with the damp & mould - but that's not our fault in a brand new renovtion of a really old stone wall house with no damp course - is it?? So how does it suddenly become £600?? If it's not listed on our Inspection summary then how can they claim it? We only have 9 days left to submit our evidence as the DPS didn't notify us over the weekend, meaning we lost fri, sat, sun & mon due to that delay!! How can the landlord that flouted the system now try and use it to profit from me & escape court prosecution?? Surely the ADR should throw his claim out as he didn't even register the bond until the month we were illegally evicted?? I have proof that he didn't register it. I have proof that the section 21 was invalid and we were illegally evicted. I also have the Inspection summary saying the property was acceptable and photos of the damp & mould on the inside & outside of the house & on our possesssions. Will the ADR accept any of this as evidence? Please can somebody advice me on what the ADR will accept as evidence against Preseli Lettings Thanks very much

Hi, I hope somebody can advise us. We moved into a house in Oct 2008 and paid a desposit to an agency (EDIT- we have the receipt). Neither the landlord or the agent registered the deposit. In November the landlord took our stuff out of the garage, threw it into the mud and then padlocked the garage. Even though the garage was included in the contract and the advertisement he refused to unlock it for the entire tenancy, despite repeated requests. A lot of our stuff was damaged when he threw it out, and we have photos to prove it and an admission from the agent that the landlord had restricted our access to the property. In February I found out the deposit was meant to be protected and asked the agent why they hadn't done it. The next day we were issued a section 21 and told to leave. After speaking to Shelter I was told the section 21 didn't stand if the bond wasn't registered. I told the agent this and he said it was valid, started getting aggressive and threatened us with legal action and costs. Then the landlord registered the bond, and the agent said the section 21 was valid as it had been done - but they issued the section 21 two weeks before they registered the bond (we have all the dated letters). The landlord kept coming round to the house banging on doors and shouting - my son was so scared that we decided to move out immediately. After the inspection they wrote to say the house "the standard of cleanliness is of a good to acceptable standard". But now the landlord has asked the DPS to keep the entire bond of £600! We are all up to date on the rent - in fact we moved out 2 weeks before the section 21 deadline, but had paid for that month already! We're a low income family with a child and just cannot afford to lose this money. We've disputed his claim and are waiting to see his evidence, but I want to make a claim for the damage to our possessions and the eviction - which I now realise was illegal! So My questions are... 1. Do I have to submit a Letter Before Action? And if so, what do i put in it exactly? 2. Can I claim for everything in one claim or do I need seperate claims for the damage to property, the non registering of the bond & the illegal eviction? 3. Can I get any legal help as I'm on a low income and don't know much about the legal system? Any help you can give me would be helpful - thanks in advance

Hi, I won an employment Tribunal against my former employer NMR Web Design in Monmouth, Wales because they illegally withheld my wages & my Statutory Maternity Pay (which could well be fraud)... Web company to appeal over tribunal (From South Wales Argus) They were ordered to pay more than £8,500 in backdated wages, SMP and compensation. This figure is now more than £11000 due to interest added. The director, Mark Briscoe, has stated he cannot afford to pay me. It has been nearly 3 years since I won and I still have had no money from him or a single offer of payment. Meanwhile NMR Web Design has continued to trade and now Mark Briscoe has started another web design company, called Pyramid Consulting, in the same town of Monmouth offering exactly the same services! He is clearly taking money through both companies and yet has made no attempt whatsoever to pay me what I am owed. He's even in the Monmouth & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce (MDCTC) - what a joke!! Please can you advise me on what legal route I should follow to make him pay for his flouting of the law & court judgement against him and his company.

I wouldn't listen to Celtic Warrior if I was you! Preseli Lettings (a letting agency in West Wales) have been shown to break the law when it comes to the Housing Act 2004. Seek a reputable agent for advice in future!

Hi,, I rented a house from Preseli Lettings, a company in Pembrokeshire West Wales. They did not register the deposit with a protection scheme. When I raised this issue they said it didn't need to be registered and then served me with a Section 21 eviction letter. Through their disturbing behaviour I was forced to leave due to concerns over my family's safety. I have been informed that it is illegal to not register the deposit & they are not able to serve a Section 21 without dong so. I tried to tell them this but they insisted I was wrong & they threatened me with court action & costs if I didn't leave. I was wondering if anybody else has had any dealings with this company or it's directors as I am am starting legal action against them. Any other people's experiences would be useful and if I can show they do this as practise then I might have a good case. Thanks in advance.

I have a problem with my landlord & Letting Agent. He didn't register my deposit, and after 3 months I asked them where it was. The next day they issued me with a Section 21. When I informed them their Section 21 was invalid without the deposit being protected they threatened me with solicitors. They then registered it with the DPS - 2 weeks after I complained and after the Section 21! The landlord started coming around shouting & banging on the door so I left anyway. Now he' s applied to the DPS to keep the FULL deposit even though their inspection letter says the property was satifactory! What do I do - how do I claim & how much does it cost. I'm a very very low income family struggling on 1 income & kids to feed! I can't afford to lose this deposit! Thanks for any help. :-|

I have a problem with my landlord & Letting Agent. He didn't register my deposit, and after 3 months I asked them where it was. The next day they issued me with a Section 21. When I informed them their Section 21 was invalid without the deposit being protected they threatened me with solicitors. They then registered it with the DPS - 2 weeks after I complained and after the Section 21! The landlord started coming around shouting & banging on the door so I left anyway. Now he' s applied to the DPS to keep the FULL deposit even though their inspection letter says the property was satifactory! What do I do - how do I claim & how much does it cost. I'm a very very low income family struggling on 1 income & kids to feed! I can't afford to lose this deposit! Thanks for any help. :-|

I have been having trouble with my landlord. I am renting a house with a garage, which is included in the contract. One day teh landlord turned up without notice, entered the garage removed all my property and placed it outside in the rain and proceeded to lock the garage with a padlock. I returned to find my property outside in the rain, damaged, and my daughter told me what she has seen the landlord do. This was 4 months ago and the garage is still locked. I have made repeated requests to the agent that he have the owner open the garage again, but the agent says that even though the garage is mentioned in the contract it is not included in the price. Surely this is not right? I'm paying for use of a garage I cannot access. Surely I should be able to negotiate on the rent and get a reimbursement for he last 4 months that i have not been able to get in to the garage. There are also the two separate issues of the landlord entering the garage without notifying me first, and then the willful damage to my property. Please advise. The landlord is turning into a nasty piece of work & I need help!

My family & I found a house throuhg a letting agent. We paid the agency fees, deposit, etc and moved in. After a month or so I enquired if our bond had been registered as we hadn't been sent any documentation about it. The letting agency said the landlord had not registered he bond but it didn't matter. Every time I insisted it was registered the agent said it was not important. After about 4 months we have just been issued a section 22 and asked to leave. But this has been issued without them registereing the bond! Are they allowed to do this? I am very concerned now that my family are going to be financially stung, and with young kids I'm extremely upset about having to move again after we were assured it was a long let. We paid agency fees and large moving costs as we were told it would be a long let, and yet not even 6 months in we are being told to leave. I suspect the reason is because i moaned about the DPS scheme. What rights do I have regarding the eviction notice and can I complain about the agent not registering the bond. They are not members of ARLA. Thanks, Sim