Hello all

Moved out of my rented property around just over two weeks ago, which went through the proper procedures in respect of date of vacation.

Rather than it be a totally managed property, rent was paid to the letting agents, but the landlord was responsible for the upkeep etc.

Neither the letting agents, nor the landlord, turned up for the check out on the last day, as had been arranged, and after much chasing, the landlord sent in a company that says it is a "specialist in independent property inventories" in the last two days!

In his letter to me, the landlord has stated that the cost of hiring in the company to perform the checkout inventory, a fee of £60, will come out of my deposit.

So my questions are:

a) Is it normal for the tenant to be responsible for the cost of the check out?

b) In the check out report, the presence of mildew on the internal brick wall of the conservatory was noted and the charge of repair and repainting has been applied to me. The problem is that this is a clear case of rising damp. My responsibility?

c) Something else in the check out was that the freezer had not been defrosted. This was an impossible task for me, as the landlord has sealed a freestanding fridge in with silicon! It doesn't move, so you can't get to the plug to switch it off to defrost!

d) They are also trying to charge me to empty the council's black bins, even though they were left out to be collected. How canI be sure one of the other neighbours has not put additional rubbish in?

e) How should any additional cleaning cost be calculated?

Sorry for it being so long winded!!!

Many thanks in advance.

Hello all

I've got a classic car policy with Sureterm Direct and I've just moved house and informed them of my new address.

I've been advised that there will be an increase of £21 to the insurer as an increase in the policy amount - which is fine.

What I'm not happy about is that Sureterm themselves are charging me an additional £30 administration fee to do this!! Something seems incredibly wrong about this - all I've done is move house!! Surely it doesn't cost them £30 to amend an address on their computer?!

Hello there

I've just seen a flat I want to move into and have handed over the required funds to remove the property from the market and also pay the referencing fees.

I've not completed the forms yet, but discovered today that I have a CCJ issued over a year ago that I was completely unaware of as it was issued to an old property some 7 months after I had moved out. Also, the CCJ was issued by my current motor insurer who I was with at the time of the CCJ!!

Anyway, in the meantime, I'll be looking to have that set aside as my insurers knew where I was, but I imagine it's going to take some time.

I've been upfront with the letting agents and advised that I have discovered the CCJ and they say it will prevent me from taking tenancy with them, and that they don't accept guarantors.

I was just wondering whether there was any legal obligation for them to accept a guarantor, whilst I attempt to get this sorted out? If not, I'm soon to be homeless!! :/

Thanks in advance

For what sort of period?

Thanks

Won!!

The judge quoted contract law at the OPC representative and dismissed the case!!

Thank you everyone for your help!!

Hello there

The bass player in my band recently bought an ex-display amplifier from an online retailer, which keeps powering down during gigs. He has owned the item for 35 days only and paid £350 for it.

When he contacted the retailer, they advised that he needed to bring the item back in and it would be returned to the manufacturer for repair. When he asked whether he would be able to have a replacement, or credit towards a different item, he was advised by the retailer that he would only be entitled to £200 back, or against another item, as it was ex-display.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure the sale of goods act covers ex-display items, unless it says in the listing that the item was faulty, which it did not??

Thanks

Hello there

I recently moved out of a property I was letting from a local agent and have now moved straight into a new property with the same agent.

The problem I have is that the landlord of the previous property had insisted that he wanted to deduct £200 from my deposit for steam cleaning of the carpets (which are old and worn out in themselves), professional cleaning of oven (I thoroughly cleaned this on my departure), and general cleaning of property (which was spotless when I left!!).

I emailed the letting agent and requested quotations or invoices for the above amount and just received an email back with a breakdown.

The problem I now have is that the letting agent agreed to transfer my deposit across to my new property, which they have done, but minus the £200 from the previous property.

They have requested that I now make up the shortfall in deposit on the new property.

As I don't agree with the condition they are claiming the property is in, and as I've not received any quotations or invoices, what are my rights??

Many thanks

In that case, I'll just send copies of the letters sent to OPC and the details of Excel Parking Services v Hetherington-Jakeman judgement.

Thanks guys!

Problem is, the incident was a good few years back now. I've not asked her, but I personally wouldn't have a clue what I was doing two weeks ago!!

Hello all

Right. Have the court date through from claimants OPC going through the small claims track.

I will be supplying copies of the letters sent to OPC and will be supplying the details of Excel Parking Services v Hetherington-Jakeman judgement.

Anything else I need to add, based on this thread?

Thanks as always!

Nice one Jimmy. Thanks.

Would anyone be able to help me construct a defence please?

Thank you

Would anyone be able to help me construct a defence please?

Thank you

Officially stamped this time... The real deal.

Well, just as I thought things had blown over, a court summons was received this morning, from OPC Ltd via MCOL.

The particulars of claim are as follows, although I'm going to omit dates etc in case they are reading this:

"We are a private parking company who holds a contract with the owners of the land to issue parking tickets to drivers not abiding by the terms and conditions which are displayed on site. On XX/XX/06 vehicle reg PXXX XXX was parked in XXXXXXXXXX, Hatfield, without displaying a valid permit. The case was handed to a debt collections agency who also failed to obtain payment. The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% a year from XX/XX/06 to 05/02/10 of £XX and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.02."

Obviously, I'm going to contest this, but need a robust defence. Would anyone mind helping me with this? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

SF

Thanks Gyzmo.

You're a star!

Sent the letter on the 24th by recorded delivery and have not heard a thing to date.

When should I start chasing?

I think my dad took some a few years back when he was going to sell it, but didn't. We've not located them yet though.

Hello again

I was drafting my letter to Direct Line, but I have just received a rather unpleasant, and quite rude, telephone call from them.

A woman from the Claims Validation team called me to go over the facts and try and catch me out on anything she could! A rather unscrupulous tactic which needless to say failed. Anyway, we got back onto the proof of ownership thing, which is proving especially difficult for me as I have nothing bar a serial number, which does determine date. The CCTV in the venue shows the guitar leaving in its case, but this is not enough to establish it's value apparently.

I advised I could go to any number of experts and gain written valuations based on what I know about the guitar and its condition. Apparently, the valuation should have been done before the theft and getting a valuation on a like for like does not prove ownership.

I've been through the terms a million times and I'm getting more and more confused.

The call was verging on them calling me a liar, which I cannot abide. I really won't let this lie, but don't know how to proceed.

Many thanks.

Even the smallest piece of advice would really help.

Many thanks in advance.

Hello there

I started my home insurance policy in January with Direct Line and added my '69 American Fender Stratocaster Guitar to the policy. My dad acquired the guitar in the late 80s as a swap for a Manx Norton motorbike in bits. His intention was to learn guitar, but he never had the time, so it's been sat in the loft ever since.

I've played the thing a few times in the house, but when I moved back near my parents in December '08, he agreed that I could have the guitar and start using it for gigs with my band, obviously as long as it was insured.

When I contacted Direct Line to take out the policy, I explained there was no proof of purchase, which they said was fine and in the event of a claim we could seek a valuation from an expert.

At the end of February, the guitar was taken from outside a venue we playing at while we were loading up our van. I've contacted the police, who have advised that CCTV on the high street was pointed the opposite way during the theft. The venue's CCTV does not cover the area where the van was parked for load up, so we've got no idea what happened at all.

Direct Line sent out a claims representative from UK Assistance, on their behalf, who says he requires documentation for the guitar. There isn't any as initially explained to the Direct Line sales person. All I have is the serial number. I don't have pictures of it as it has been sat in the loft for countless years.

In the end, he has asked for a signed letter from my dad to confirm he was the owner of the guitar and has given it to me.

This has got both myself and my dad a bit worried that if he writes this letter and they decide to reject our claim, or say it was fraud, because we cannot substantiate the guitar existed, bar the serial number, we are both going to be in trouble.

We really don't know what to do for the best. The guitar is worth at least £8,000 and it seems a hell of a lot to lose.

Any advise would be most welcome.

Hello there

Under the new Local Housing Allowance system, is there any requirement for the letting agent/landlord to be informed when a tenant is claiming LHA?

Just wondering as there appears to be increasing negativity from some landlords to the new system, and some tenants are being discriminated against as a result.

Many thanks

I did and he said the Landlord would require the references for his insurance purposes.

I think I may draft an email to the letting agent stating this.

Hello all

I've seen a property I'm really interested in renting.

I spoke the letting agent today and they feel that I won't pass the referencing stage of the application, as I am part of a partnership, but am effectively self employed. The letting agent says they will need two years' accounts, but the company only started earlier this year.

I've advised them that they can see my bank statements to show money going in and out and talk to my current letting agent, as I've been 2 months ahead on my monthly rental payments for the past two years and have always been praised at inspection time for the cleanliness of the property.

The letting agent doesn't think that the above will make any difference, and the only way round it might be to offer six months rent + six weeks deposit, which is over £5,000. That's my savings and more wiped out.

Not sure what to do, as I'm bound to encounter similar problems with every letting agent.

Thanks in advance

Spinning Fish.

thanks very much.

Will do!