Hi all, So I'll start at the beginning. My partner and I moved into a house on the 7th August 2010. My partner signed the contract and signed two cheques, one for the first months rent and the second for £450 deposit, to be paid to the DPS. We settled in nicely and enjoying our first home together On the 30th November 2010, I received an email from our letting agent, stating that they would no longer be responsible for collecting out rent and gave us the landlord's details to pay future rent to. We were informed that his brother would be dealing with the property. In January 2011, 5 months after moving in, we realised that the deposit cheque had only just been paid. This was from out joint account, that we put money into and don't really check. We never received a deposit ID for the payment, and as neither of us had used the scheme before we didn't even realise that we needed one until research after we had left. We gave our one months notice in august 2011, and left the property in September. Fast forward to June 2012 and we have still not got our deposit back, despite emails back and forth between myself and LL's brother. Because we don't have a deposit ID, he says he cannot release the deposit. So I stated that if he contacted the DPS and gave them proof of ownership of the house, and a letter stating the letting agents were no longer in business, that should be enough to release the deposit. Is this correct? He states that he does not have a letter stating they are no longer operating and so is unsure as what else to do? Should my partner and I move onto small claims court? Or is there another way? Thanks for reading!