Thanks Ford. Jeff

Thanks guys. Just about to send the following to my landlady (to put it in context, I live in Scotland): As promised, I've attached a copy of my signed agreement. There are a couple of bits that I don't accept, however: - It has come to my attention that section 82 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 expressly prohibits landlords or letting agencies from charging their tenants for any fee other than their rent and deposit. Section 88 of the Act states that tenants who have been charged any additional fees are entitled to have this returned, and as such I am asking you to refund the full amount of £75. - My deposit should, by law, be registered with a tenancy deposit scheme, as it is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy – see https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords/overview. The fact that 'licensed agreement' is written on the document doesn't change the fact that it meets the criteria for being an assured shorthold tenancy. As the Citizens Advice Bureau website states: "What an agreement states and what the tenancy actually is may be different. For example, your landlord may claim that the agreement is not a tenancy agreement but a ‘licence to occupy’. In England and Wales, but not in Scotland, you may also have signed an agreement stating that the property was granted under a licence to occupy. This is not enough to make the agreement a licence". From https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/tenancy-agreements/ I would therefore request that you either refund my £150 or register it with a deposit scheme (and provide me the details thereof). Also, licensed agreements need to be signed by everyone sharing the property, as they are joint arrangements. - The aforementioned website also states that: 'In Scotland, in most cases, your landlord must provide a written tenancy agreement.' This is confirmed by the Renting Scotland website, which states 'Legally, landlords must provide a written tenancy agreement'. However, your agreement states that 'this is not a tenancy agreement'. I would therefore ask that you please point out why this is a case where a written tenancy agreement isn't legally required, or supply one. To avoid any further misunderstandings, I ask that further communication regarding this matter is in writing.

All I redacted was my name and that of the landlady, as well as the address of the property. Just the landlady and I. I'm not worried. Just want to know my rights. It might only be £150, but that's £150 of my hard earned money! LOL! The problem is that the law is potentially being broken, and this puts me in a position where my landlady could cook up some spurious reason not to give me back my deposit (as has previously happened to me and people I know). Jeff

Yes, quite possibly. It's not licensed in the sense described in that article, in that my fellow tenants and I each have independent agreements to rent a particular room in the flat, ie it's not like we're jointly renting the flat. Jeff

The room was advertised on Spareroom.

Thanks guys. My landlord doesn't live in the property - I rent a room in a flat owned by her, and share the kitchen and bathroom with two other tenants - but the tenancy agreement (attached) is entitled 'house share license'. Am I right in thinking that this doesn't exempt my landlord from needing to register my deposit? Thanks Jeff

My live-out landlady told me today that my deposit was exempt from needing to be registered under a tenancy deposit scheme as I have a licensed tenancy. Is she right? Thanks Jeff

Thanks. The link relates to letting agents - does the same law apply to landlords as well? Jeff

Yes, it was and it is, although I don't know yet if I'm going to get the police involved.Jeff

Thanks guys. Luckily, I live in Scotland.I don't suppose you know the name of the relevant legislation, so I can quote it in an email to my landlady? Jeff

I was recently illegally evicted from my landlord, with immediate effect. He's refusing to give me my deposit back or my unspent rent. Assuming I can prove in the small claims court that I was illegally evicted, can I sue him not only for the above, but also for the distress he caused? Thanks, Jeff

When I moved into a new property recently, I was charged a £75 one off admin fee. This seemed a bit steep for sending me a tenancy agreement and doing a bit of filing, but I was in a bit of a bind, so I accepted. Is it legal for landlords to charge such a fee? Thanks Jeff

I work in a call centre, earning the minimum wage. If I am on a call at the end of my shift, I am expected to finish the call before I can leave. Sometimes this can result in me staying back for over half an hour. I don't get paid for staying back past finish time. Whether I get the time back in lieu is at management discretion (and my manager is only willing to give me the time back on the odd occasion). Her argument is that the company pays me for time I spend going to the toilet when I'm not on break, so it evens itself out. As a result of the above, I am in effect working for less than the minimum wage. Is that legal? Thanks.

Thanks guys. How much compensation would I be looking at for the bank's mistake (bearing in mind that I was turned down for a job with a bank last summer because of my credit history, and would have been accepted had Lloyds defaulted me in 2004 when they were supposed to have done)? Jeff

Last year, I contacted Lloyds Bank about a couple of defaults which are still showing on my credit file, but which I felt should had been entered years before they were (and which should have by now disappeared as a result). In December last year, Lloyds wrote back to me to tell me that: 'The accounts should have been defaulted in October 2004 and I have contacted the relevant department to ensure your credit file reflects this and that the information recorded is accurate'. Imagine my surprise, then, when I obtained my credit file in February and discovered the information hadn't been amended! I contacted Equifax to challenge the incorrect info, quoting the letter sent to me in December. I didn't expect Lloyds to take my word that the information was wrong, but I hoped that they'd trust their own customer service department! Sadly, it was not to be. Equifax told me that Lloyds had said I would need to speak with their customer services department. I've since spoken to customer services, who told me (a month ago), that my account was in the process of being returned from 1st Credit Ltd (even though they'd emailed me on 26th Jan to say that 'Your account has now been returned to Lloyds'). She said that she couldn't simply arrange for Experian and Equifax to be instructed to amend my credit file - apparently, there were procedures that needed to be followed that took time, and my account would need to be returned from 1st Credit Ltd in the first instance. The other day, I contacted my case handler again, but she told me that my case was still in progress, but couldn't give me a timescale as to when it would finally be resolved. My question to the forum is this: Do banks need to follow procedures lasting weeks or months to return a debt to the bank's management and to have a credit file amended, or are they messing me about? Thanks Jeff

Until recently, I worked for a company in Scotland, where I was the only English person in the office. At the end of my trial period, I was dismissed. The reason given was that I asked colleagues too many questions. This came as quite a shock, as: A. I had been told my my boss's boss the week previously that I had passed my probationary period (something my boss denied during the probationary meeting). B. I had achieved all of the performance targets that I'd been set. C. I was asking fewer and fewer questions each week, as my skill and knowledge level grew. Moreover, I'd be surprised if more than 5% of my day was spent receiving training from colleagues. I now wonder whether I was let go for being English (even though the only behavior that could be described as anti-English was when the MD made a few jokes about the English). Might I have a case? Thanks