Today I received an email containing a s.48 notice and supplementary rent request/payment information document from an estate agent operating on my landlords behalf. The s.48 and request for rent contained within the email was dated 27/10/23. I had already paid rent this morning (01/11/2023) as is the prior agreement so I responded informing the EA that they had delayed in informing me of this change and that the rent had therefore already been paid to the wrong party and they should take it up with them if they want it. What is a bigger concern for me though is the fact that the original EA did not protect the deposit back in Feb 2022. I phoned them multiple times regarding this in the first few weeks of my tenancy and they just fobbed me off. I gave up in the end after I could not trace the deposit in the three major protection schemes, presuming that they couldn't be bothered and decided I would just sue them instead, though I fear that the s.48 received today may have thrown a spanner in the works in regards to this and I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. I did send a further email to the new EA asking them to clarify the location of my deposit, informing them that I suspect it was not protected. How does a new management company assuming responsibility for the tenancy affect the deposit in the case of it not being protected? Can I still make a claim on it, who should I make the claim against and when?