Hello, Can someone help before I go and seek legal advice. I bought a car of these guys six months ago, I had a few issues with my bank account getting cloned and reported this to them with also a change of address. They have now terminated the agreement without me receiving the paperwork and sent a recovery truck. I can clear the arrears and make the payments as agreed from now on in and I have made them aware of this. They just say tough but I am willing to go to court. They have threatened me with they will contact the police and report the car stolen. Can anyone advise on what my rights are? Anything will be appreciated.

Dear sir, Will be very grateful if you can help me regarding unreasonable charges levied against me for not paying service charge ,reserve fund and service charge deficit fees. I agreed to pay the original charge in 3 instalments which was agreed to by the management company HML Anderton in september 2017 . I failed to make the last 2 instalments which were due in february and march 2018 for 500 pounds and 490 pounds becaue I forgot . They claimed to have sent me a reminder letters which I never received. I have now received a letter from PDC property debt collection company dating 26 april 2018 with the following charges Service charge - 670.33 Reserve fund - 390 service charge deficit - 45.67 Reffereal fee - 300 managment fees - 96.00 PDC instruction fees - 240 PDC additional costs - 10 I called PDC to make payment of what I initial owed of service charge,reserve fund and service charge deficit which was 1106.00 but they refused and wanted a payment of 1751.90. Can please advice how I go about this . The letter sent to me includes 1. register of title 2. information sheet 3. reply form Have filled the reply form saying am only prepared to pay what i owe and need an explanation for unreasonable fees added. will appreciate the help Regards, Dennis

Posted on behalf of a family friend who is employed as a wagon driver and normally receives a monthly bonus of £500 which is due this Friday. He has been handed a letter today which he was told he had to sign to continue receiving the bonus. The letter contains conditions which he feels are unreasonable and he feels are an attempt to avoid having to pay the bonus. These conditions include: The vehicle must be in immaculate condition inside and out at all times. (The role includes delivering blocks and concrete to building sites.) Your attendance during the month must be 100%. Managers discretion may be used for genuine sickness, otherwise phoning in sick for work will result in loss of bonus for the month. You will have a flexible attitude to work to suit the needs of the business. Any incidents of not carrying out your duties as requested will result in forfeiture of monthly bonus. In the event of you giving notice to leave your employment with the company your monthly bonus will be forfeited. Can his bonus be stopped if he doesn't sign the letter and can the company impose the new conditions legally? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello I moved into a property as a tenant in London in February 2015. At the time another tenant was already at the property since 2013 but the overall tenancy has started in 2010. Several tenants had lived there before she moved in herself. Before me moving in we both signed an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, agreeing to continue the tenancy for another year until March 2016. At the time of signature we had heard of an inventory that had been made in 2010. It wasn't provided to us then and my housemate who had been there for two years had never seen it. With hindsight I should have asked to see it as it says - in the tenancy agreement we have signed - that we agreed to keep the interior and decoration of the premises including fixtures and fittings in the same condition throughout the tenancy as stated in the inventory. Although it adds that we are not responsible for fair wear and tear. So on 1st March 2016 we both moved out and the landlord decided to end the tenancy there and then. We were both responsible to empty an entire house of stuff left over the years by all the tenants that have been in the house before us. We were provided with the 2010 inventory three weeks before we left because I asked for it, as we had no way to know what furniture belonged to the property. The inventory showed that the place was already run down six years ago, with mentions of multiple marks on the carpet, the walls, 'off-white' sofas that was clearly white in the old days... Anyway, we really wanted our deposit back so we did pay £230 for end of tenancy professional cleaning and left the receipt with them. It didn't include upholstery but then I never sat on the sofa without a throw on it as it was so run down when I moved in. Now the landlord wants to deduct £510 for carpet and upholstery cleaning and said it was only an estimate so it could end up being more. She also said that we had two days to accept (over the weekend, sent last Friday) or she'd add £200 to fix other things including a rip under the fridge that was there before we moved in, etc. We were asked to accept on Monday but we refused, saying that we had 10 more working days to reply as per contract. Do you think we should pay anything extra? There are a couple of additional marks on the carpet that were there before we both moved in. Should we pay to fix that? Does that justify the £510? Thanks for your help.

In 2015 there was a important and high profile Judicial Review regarding the serious matter of summons costs in relation to a Liability Order for council tax arrears. The case was that of the Reverend Paul Nicholson v Tottenham Magistrates and the London Borough of Haringey. In short, the court rules that Tottenham Magistrate's should not have allowed London Borough of Haringey to claim summons costs of £125 for each Liability Order given that the court did not have sufficient information before them to reach a proper judicial determination as to whether or not the costs claimed represented costs reasonably incurred by the Council in obtaining the liability order; 
The court found that Tottenham Magistrates Court erred in law by failing to make further inquiries into how the £125 was calculated. Accordingly, J Andrews ruled that the costs claimed were unlawful. Following Reverend Nicholson's court success, there have been a lot of developments. Firstly, Haringey's Council's external auditors; Grant Thornton reviewed the level of costs, and, unlike the position before the Judicial Review where Haringey charged a fee of £125, the auditors instructed the council to charge separate costs of £102 for a summons and to reduce the charge for a liability order issued by Tottenham Magistrates to £110 from £125. Most importantly, Haringey Council have refused to make Grant Thornton's report public. The judgement made clear that it related only to London Borough of Haringey and was specific only to Reverend Nicholson's case. Accordingly, whist it may allow him to claim a refund for any earlier years, it did not assist the many thousands (approx 20,000) of Haringey residents who had been overcharged every year since 2008. It was with this in mind, that the Reverend made a further application to the High Court. The basis of this new application being that he wished to challenge Grant Thornton's decision not to apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is contrary to law under section 17(1) of the Audit Commission Act 1998. The Reverend considers that an audit is a public interest activity. Secondly, the Reverend wanted everyone who has been overcharged since 2008 to be repaid. His appeal was heard in the Divisional Court last Thursday (24th February). A copy of the press release and background to his dispute with Haringey Council is below. I will address the outcome of the appeal in a separate post. http://www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.o...paul-nicolson/

Im stuck in a terrible dilemma. One that you think that would be made easier by the fact that I think the request is simple. Back last year my Vanquis went over its limit by accident. I left it for about a week as I was working and wasn't a priority. I rang them up and promised a repayment plan for payment to be made within 10 days, they accepted. During that time, I received no less than 18 calls in a week pestering me. They sent me SMS Confirmation of this plan and had the INCORRECT Payment date (It was out by 2 days, so naturally it made me worry) Naturally being me, I was furious and asked for the CORRECT Date of the 28th. I was told not to worry as it had been intentionally done like that. I said I want a text with the correct date as should anything go wrong, I kinda have proof. Eventually the gave in and sent it to me, payment was made etc. From that point i decided to put my foot in it and tell them they couldn't have my mobile telephone number or any number for that matter. I complained and complained and finally got the numbers removed but informed them nicely that they could contact me via email and letter. But now every time i ring up I am interrogated by their staff as to why I wont give them my contact numbers. I have even asked Vanquis CR to add a note saying not to ask or confirm numbers with me, but they have refused. Im tired of this and I sent them a counter letter stating that they could have my number on a few conditions; a) No more collection calls, If it goes over again, I will be aware and I will contact them if I need their help b) Only use the number to inform me of important changes etc or something that may affect me etc. c) no Marketing at all about services or their Option Repayment Plan BS. d) Correct information is given every time. They have refused this and they have said Quote Then today when I rang up to query the letter I had received I was told (And this is purely spiteful IMO) when I said that I was going to leave as it is. I consider that unreasonable. I want to quote the Collection Guidelines set out by the OFT and also make a mention of the FCA CONC Rules. I enjoy my peace and not having unsolicited calls. Are they allowed to tell me that and force me to give them my Mobile number.

Hello, We have just given notice to vacate our property after after being here almost 3 years. We signed a 6 month AST back in 2012 and have been on a rolling contract ever since. About 9 months ago we received a letter informing us that our tenancy was being transferred to new agents as ours were retiring abroad, and have since had several inspections from the new agents, but signed no new contracts or agreements. Our contract with the original agents was quite basic and reflected the state of the property. We asked about paying a higher deposit as we had pets (something we’ve always done before) and having the property professionally cleaned when we leave (also always done before) but were told that it was not necessary, and the contract reflects this as nowhere does it state either. The inventory actually describes the carpets and walls as “grubby, stained and marked.” Under "checking out" it says that we need to leave the property clean and tidy, and ensure items listed in the inventory are returned to their original position. Thats all. We have now received a checklist from the new agents of things to be done prior to vacating, and it includes getting the carpets professionally cleaned and proving so with a receipt. Do we have to do this? We have no contract with this agent, and I appreciate they have high standards, but the previous agents and landlord didn’t and I don’t think it’s fair to expect us to make good marks and stains that were there when we moved in. It hadn’t even been dusted or cleaned when we moved in – it was awful. We will obviously clean from top to bottom and leave it in a much better state than when we moved in. Similarly, we asked for permission to decorate and kept colours neutral as requested – light blue that used to be dark brown, and white that used to be lemon. The checklist asks that we return all walls to their original colour. It also asks that we clean the windows externally – which has never been done by the looks of it! Are we within our rights to question these requests? Or is it a case of, they have our deposit so have got us over a barrel?

Hello Everyone Please accept my apology if this post is a bit lengthy. I'm on Credits Only JSA as I'm working part-time Mon to Fri. Recently, my JSA advisor had sent me to Mandatory Work Activity(MWA) when she learnt I was having holidays from work. She did that although she knew I did not fit the MWA selection criteria. The advisor, despite my objection, just handed me the referral letter to the MWA and said if I don't do it my NI credits will be stopped. Due to her pressure I complied and went and did the MWA for 4 weeks. When I completed the MWA and on my first meeting with my advisor, she handed me another letter for the work programme (WP) personal advisor interview. At that point I protested and said I already have a part-time Job which was staring again in 2 days and I'm not interested in going into the Work Programme. I also said that as far as I know the Work Programme is not mandatory for people on Credits only JSA. All that was ignored and the letter was handed to me. On further research, I was able to confirm that indeed I was exempted from the Work Programme. I have then lodged a formal complaint in which I questioned the reason for setting up a work programme advisor interview for me from the first place without my consent or even discussing it with me. I also indicated that as it was voluntary I had no legal obligation to attend that interview. However, after the interview date (which I did not attend) , I was called by the Jobcentre and told that they have now made another appointment for the Work Programme Interview and if I don't attend it then they will close my claim. I replied that I did explain to them in my complaint letter why I did not agree with being sent to that work programme interview and it was now more than 4 weeks without receiving any reply for that complaint from them. I asked the person on the phone how come it is mandatory to attend that interview while at the same time the law states clearly that the work programme is voluntarily for people on Credits Only JSA? The person replied that all advisor’s interviews are mandatory and if I don't attend then they will close my claim without even taking it to a decision maker. I'm not sure about the motives behind insisting on forcing me into that interview but given previous experiences with my advisor I really do not want to go there. Now today, the jobcentre has sent me another letter stating that if I do not contact them to arrange for another interview within 5 days then they will close my claim. I have already contacted my MP regarding this matter as this is getting too much but can someone please advise me on these points: 1. How valid is the claim that all Advisor’s interviews are mandatory (i.e. normal bi-weekly advisor interview versus a specific Work Programme interview)? 2. Why would they insist and try to force me using threats to attend the work programme interview even although I'm not required by law and I have made it abundantly clear verbally and in writing (more than once) that I had no intention of following that programme? Is it possible that they had already sent my details ,without my knowledge or consent, to the work programme providers? 3. Can they just close my claim just like that for not attending the work programme interview without even considering the compliant that I have raised or even involving a decision maker? Please your advice is appreciated! Thanks for your help. Lucy

I am embarrassed to raise this as it involves such a small amount but I suffer from MH issues and threats tend to have an exaggerated effect on me! In brief: 1. I am a lessee with a share of freehold in our block of flats. I applied for some company records for which the statutory payment was £5. I authorized our managing agent to pay this and any postage to the company secretary from a surplus on my service charge account. I got no answer. 2. I was subsequently advised by the company secretary the total inc. postage was £6.17 and asked for a cheque payable to himself personally. To avoid any confusion I therefore electronically sent that additional amount to my service charge account and authorized the agent again to transfer the amount to the company's client account. No response. 3. I advised the company secretary that it would not be appropriate to pay him personally as the fee was payable to the company, the Companies Act set out that this was the case and any out of pocket expenses he should get from the company, not me. 4. After obtaining some very unpleasant emails, I re-stated my position the money was due to the company but offered to pay the company by cheque or electronic payment if he provided the payee and (for electronic payment) sort code/account number details. He continued to demand payment. 5. By this time the matter was getting to me psychologically. I therefore wrote to the chairman of the company (with whom I have recently had arguments about whether the company was properly run - so he is not exactly on my side) asking whether payment could be made personally to the company secretary. He said yes. 6. I issued a cheque to the company secretary personally. 7. He has just written back returning the cheque and now demanding payment to the company threatening legal action if I do not pay promptly. I have offered to pay if the payee or other details are provided as requested on 9/9/14. There has been no response. 8. I believe the company and company secretary have behaved totally unreasonably. Payment is still available from the service charge account for which it would be easy to arrange transfer. I have bent over backwards to arrange payment. I believe the threat of court action is intended to cause harassment actuated by personal malice because I raised difficult issues with the company and also brought a motion to replace the company secretary. 9. Do I have a defence if a court claim is issued? Can I get it dismissed on grounds of payment made or other unreasonable conduct? Any advice would be welcome as I feel the company officers (who should be acting in the interests of all the owners of the block) are abusing their position and the resources of the company. Unfortunately a lot of the owners are non-resident, so it is difficult to hold them to account.

my seetec advisors keep trying to give me appointments to use there computers for an ELVIS session (which i can easily do at home) i have missed the last 2 and i have a 3rd tommorow now as i have not been sanctioned after recieving the good reason letter from dwp am i to understand that the decision makers may agree that these are unreasonable because of my agoraphobia? i tell Seetec everytime that i wont be able to sit on there computers because of this but they still seem to give me these appointments

Hi guys, i'll cut straight to the chase. I was recently applied for a Sales Executive role, however due to my experience and skill base, this job was not suitable for me and the company "created" another role; Business Development Executive. I have been employed for 2 months now and done alot within my first 2 months, such as help creating a new website, positioning brand, improving brand awareness etc. All good, however I suggested that we should begin setting targets to help increase our market share. This is fine, Boss asks me to draw a report together indicating our current sales and where we can go from here. The sales indicates that in the area he wants me to focus, they are only £48k 2013-14. So I suggested an increase of 25% due to my efforts and another 5% increase due to probable market dynamics. However boss basically wants me to make 10k a month or 120k in a year on prior sales, which is a 3.5 fold increase. Do you consider this unreasonable because I do, and I fear that although it is possible it is hugely difficult given current share of the market and prior sales. For this reason I fear dismissal as the boss is asking me what sales ive made this week etc hoping that I am going to say its 2.5k this week.

It is a fixed term laon agreement that I took out in June 2010 for the purchase of a car. It was a fixed term loan for 15k with 5k charges added and was for 60 months at 350pm. Paid every month up until Jan this year. Sent them an I & E asking to write off ...said no. I have had numerous letters off them adding charges at £25 a time and I wrote to them again on on 5th MArch offering a reduced payment of £200pm. No response so wrote again on 3rd April enclosing copies of all previous letters. Then had an income and exp form back with a rather sloppy written comp slip once again sent the I & E I had sent before which is the national debtline one. Has a letter back dated 11th Apr asking me to ring them. Now I know you are all gonna say I should never ring but thought it would be easier ...what a mistake! The guy on the phone said the following:- I should sell my car and then keep say 2k of the money to buy another and pay the rest off the loan? I replied not an option as one I need the car for work etc and also I would not get much for it and would be like giving it away and then I'd still owe most of the loan anyway. They could put a charge on my house. I replied no equity. He then threatened that they would take me to court and I pointed out that I felt an offer of £200 was a fair one in consideration of my circumstances and that I'm sure a judge would too! he asked for a landline and I replied I wanted all correspondance to be in writing ..he said they needed a number to get in touch and I said get in touch by post. then went to say that I would be fined over £100 if they couldn't get in touch! I replied that he should put a note on my account that all corresspondance will be answered promtly in WRITING! I also asked about the charges being added and he replied that as they are not willing to accept my offer charges will still be added!!! Has anyone had any dealing with these ... they are being really unfair in my opinion ..not sure whcih way to go with this please help x

For a number of years we have had a mortgage with platform, we have never paid late or missed a payment, in 2008 the property became unsuitable for our needs due to other commitments, there was no chance of selling it as the mortgage was way too high and values had gone through the floor, so we asked if we could let the property. Platform agreed to this. They charged a annual £35 "Tenancy Review Fee - As part of us agreeing to let your residential property we have the right to conduct a review. If we choose to do so we will tell you at the time of the review in writing. The non-refundable fee is to cover the administration cost" According to the current Tariff they also charge a £72 Letting Application fee, I cant remember how much I paid. When pressed recently what this "administration" is they write to tell us its due and receive my letter and the insurance which I send them, they then scan them to my file, I do more admin than they do. For the first year they wanted this fee every 6 months, which was ridiculous, they then agreed to do it every year. This year on the 24th April I received a letter telling me the tenancy is due for renewal and they need to see a tenancy agreement (same tenants for past 4 yr) and payment of £35 or they will class the tenancy as unauthorised and increase the interest rate by 1% This had to wait until pay day came around, in the meantime in the 2nd week of May I received the same letter again but this time asking for £55 over 50% increase, when I rang to question I was told that the rate went up on the 1st of May, when I questioned exactly what kind of administration could possibly cost £55 all she could say was writing a few letters and scanning them, when asked how they could justify such an increase there was no response, nor was there a response to the fact I had only just over a week before the end of May had a request for £35. She did say its all covered in new tariff of charges that I received, but when I said just because you have sent me a list of amounts that does not make them fair or right, I could write anything and send it, that doesnt make it right, lawfully or morally. They have also been causing me headaches over my buildings insurance, they demand to see a copy of the policy schedule each year which I have no problem with if it wasnt for the way they go about it. I have a landlords insurance policy and have had from day 1, this year on renewal I received a letter asking for a copy of the schedule, I faxed this to them for some reason I also had the hindsight to note the date and time I sent the fax, 2 week later I received a further letter from Platform stating that as they had not received any insurance detailts from me they had gone ahead and arranged their own policy which I cannot claim on nor would I see any documents, this would be charged to me at a cost of £21.20 a month and a £10 administration fee had been debited to my mortgage account and will accrue interest at the same rate as my mortgage (for the next 23 years!) I called giving the exact date and time I sent the fax (without this they would never have found it, as they didnt even bother to process is) she looked through the fax system and found the fax, looked over the policy and said everything is fine the charges will be removed straight away, she could offer no explanation as to why despite me doing my part, they had failed to carry out the simplest of tasks. You would think that would be the end of it ... not a chance, when they wrote telling me the fee was now £55 they also demanded confirmation that the buildings insurance covers residential letting and confirmation of the sum insured, both of which were on the policy schedule, which they checked when they previously told me everything was fine. Then last week I received a call saying there was no date on the policy schedule which is ridiculous, I pointed out exactly where the date is to be told that she couldn't actually see the documents I had sent as they weren't on her screen anyway and she was just going off what the system said, why was she calling me without confirming the facts first? I reminded her that the policy was checked while I was on the phone after they claimed they didn't have it but all she said was maybe the pages didn't come through clear ARGH So yet again I faxed the policy schedule off to them. Can companies lawfully use "administration fees" to profiteer, which is clearly the case, if not I want to be an admin worker for them as they must be earning an awful lot of money, what they do they cant do right. Do we really have to keep being shafted like this. Incidentally the rent doesn't even cover the mortgage, insurances & upkeep so its not as if we are doing it to make money. I hate this company, the Mortgage point told us that these will be the only people we could use at the time I had 1 default on my credit file which should never have been on my credit file (and has been removed now) my wife had nothing on hers, Mortgage Point also made us take up a specific life insurance or pay a massive amount of money on top i believe around £1000

I am employee, called permanent relief, on a zero hours contract with the local authority. I have been working for them for 2.5 years and mostly I have been offered as much work as I can manage. My work involves a lot of driving to visit customers. Up to now, I have been adequately recompensed for my travel. After the 18 miles and half hour drive to my office base, my hourly rate of pay started and I got recompensed mileage expenses. They are now proposing that my current office base is being moved a further 14 miles away involving an extra half an hour travel, (extra 28 miles and 1 hour of travel per working day). If, over the coming year, I did exactly the same work as I have done in the past year, I would incur a loss of income of £1,000. This takes into account the very small amount of disruption compensation they award per mile for the difference in distance to the new workbase. Some days I only have one visit, so with the new work base I may travel for 2 hours for a one hour home visit and spend more on fuel than I earn for the one hour of work. I am the only employee on a zero hours contract so have noone at work to discuss this with. All other employees are on permanent salaried contracts so not incurring a loss of income. I have asked my employer to put in place an arrangement that protects me from the loss of income. They have said they will not. The restructure feels unfair and unreasonable. Can anyone give me any advice? Happy to answer questions. Do I take this to Employment Tribunal? Grievance?

Hi, I haven't posted in awhile so I will try to keep it brief as possible. Quick background information. I had 4 major foot operations, none particularly successful and then I was run over by a car as a pedestrian crushing my operated on foot. Being previously self employed it left me unable to work and in severe debt. I received a pitiful amount of compensation which I spent catching up on debts and bills. To top it off despite being house bound and in a wheel chair ATOS found me fit to work (even claiming I can walk up stairs despite interviewing me in my ground floor flat). I have been on appeal now for 17 months and receive just £60 a week after the CSA and crisis loan repayments. For a long time I have been paying Southern water £30 a month which is more realistically than I can afford. They have been demanding I pay £65 which they say is my rate able value of my one bedroom flat that has been condemned by Environmental health and the housing associations own surveyor. I have told them that that amount is not achievable on my income and have asked for a water meter. They refused saying it is not possible in a flat (they have since fitted one to a neighbours identical property). I then asked for an assessed rate which they told me would cost me more. In December they called in their bully boys CSA debt collectors which we agreed to continue on £30 a month. I struggled and paid £35 a month to try to show I am willing. Becuase of a DWP error I missed a payment and they are now demanding the whole £768 in one payment. I am not really bothered about court as I own absolutely nothing so baliffs would be a waste of time. I don't even own a bed as it rotted away in my damp ridden flat. Is their any help for people as the water bill is totally out of control. I can't seem to get any help and they constantly harass me.

HI, could do with some help as to whether my employer is being unreasonable or not I am returning to my part time job which is 15 hours in a school (after my third and final child) I was previously working three days a week 9.30 to 2.30 3 days a week My employer now wants me to work five days a week and spread the 15 hours over 5 days, which means the extra childcare costs and additional travel (its a 20 mile each way drive) that it makes out i am at a loss for working when I was hoping to go back and just do 3 days that I had before Have i got any right to just return to the same pattern as before? I think the maternity cover may take my job. I have phoned HR about what flexibility I could be offered and been told to just speak to the head master who doesn't seem to be bothered

Hi all Appreciate any advice on this situation. Tenancy ended nearly 3 weeks ago, and agent has been delaying agreeing deductions on deposit to return to us. They did notify us that some minor burnt on marks on oven side would need to be cleaned, but oven clean otherwise. Lived in property for 2.5 years, cleaned property to sparkling, way cleaner than when we moved in. We requested amounts for oven clean a few times, and kept being told they were still waiting on quote. After 2 weeks we requested deposit back, agent said they had the oven cleaned and were awaiting invoice, so could not issue us final schedule until they got invoice back. Bit cheeky, but not much we can do. I attempted to call TDS about timelines we should get undisputed deposit back in, to be told that agent had since moved our deposit from them (but we had not been informed). I phoned the other schemes to find deposit registered with My Deposits, and their requirement is that we need to 'formally request return of deposit' and give agent/LL 10 days from that formal request. I'm gobsmacked because we didn't even know it was with them, and besides, it's our deposit, why do I need to formally request it back?? FAQs on MyDeposit state that undisputed deposit should be returned within 10 days of end of tenancy (not 10 days after formally requested). Today agent sent final schedule (18 days since moved out) with deduction of £48 for oven clean, and £35 for agent admin fee to arrange clean. This seems unreasonable on 2 counts : 1. They agreed the oven was clean, with 'minor oversights and burnt on marks' (potential fair wear & tear?) 2. An admin fee of nearly the same amount to arrange a clean that isn't strictly required? With regard to admin fees, our tenancy agreement only states : "To pay to the Landlord all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Landlord, or awarded by the Court, in: • recovering or attempting to recover any Rent or other monies in arrears • the enforcement of any obligation of the Tenant under this Agreement" So under that clause they're trying to claim an admin fee of £35. That clause doesn't make it clear to me that the agent can charge an admin fee, and that the admin fee can be whatever they decide to make up. We have never received any schedule of admin fees from them. Anyone have any advice or insight? We're asking for the undisputed amount of deposit to be paid out in the meantime, but considering disputing entire proposed deduction as well. I know it's not a lot, but it's money for old rope - there was such a minor amount of marks, and I honestly can't remember if they were there to start with. Appreciate any input, thanks.

Hi Hoping i can get some advice on this as its quite distressing for my wife. Apologies in advance for the length but it might help to give the full picture. We rented an unfurnished property in Jan 2011, paying £1200pcm and £1200 security. The property was owned by an elderly couple (70s), and managed by a local agent. The couple assured us they weren't going to sell for at least 3 years. We signed up and had paid 6 mths rent in advance every 6 mths. We never received an Inventory on check-in. However one was presented to us after 1 year inspection, i didn't sign it as it wasn't something i'd seen before. The inventory has no notice of outside spaces condition. From the off, the property was on the market for sale. The owners were very awkward about numerous things, for example they didn't change addresses and so i had to sort mail and leave theirs in the porch for weekly collection. This was an opportunity for them to snoop, in the end i had to get blinds for the front lounge and porch. We were served section 21 notice on the third 6mth AST, but were told that we could revert to a month-to-month after it expired if they had not got a buyer in place as they needed the income. We accepted that in good faith, paid again, and then were told no it will be enforced. All of this is verbal via the agent. In addition, the owners wanted to provide a gardener for the external spaces, i guess they wanted it to be mint for the viewings. We agreed and i have texts to prove ccommunication about gardener access. The owners claim they have the house on a bridging loan to pay for their new house (i know, crazy). They claim unless they can sell by end of 2012 they may be repossessed. On top of that i accidentally opened a mail to them (window envelope, not clear who it was for) - they have a company with 50k+ debt being wound up. Our troubles really started when we we left. I was concerned about getting the deposit back as they acted very weird, were not proper landlords, had massive debt issues, and had acted unreasonably about a number of issues (haranguing my wife on the doorstep because a sales viewing had to be rearranged when we didn't get the message - long weekend break. One of numerous things). So i arranged for a week overlap - starting a new tenancy on the 20th Aug, ending old one on the 25th Aug when i handed over keys. This was to give a week for us to thoroughly clean the house, including hiring a chemical carpet cleaner so the carpets were beyond any reproach. The house was in better condition than received. On the Saturday 25th Aug when i handed in keys, i had arranged to meet the agent and go through the property and agree the condition as i had real concerns the owners would make a grab for my deposit. The agent couldn't make it but i dropped of keys to their office and had a signed letter acknowledging handing over the keys. I rearranged for Tues to meet the agents and go through the property, agree the condition, and take photos. This took place but the owners turned up midway through and were so belligerent about perceived problems (such as smudges on windows or dust behind a unit), the agent suggested i leave and discuss with me later. I did so, and wrote an email to the agent (one of several which went unanswered but were acknowledged by phone). I asked for the opportunity to come back and take photographs of condition before any works were carried out, of any disputed issues, so i had evidence. As the house was unoccupied and on the market for sale, i asked for the opportunity to examine any quotes and if something was reasonable, to seek alternative quotes, as there was no urgency. To cut a long story short - the owners haven't even submitted a claim for the security deposit yet as they are chasing down invoices. But they have done a lot of work including £600 odd for gardening (actually re landscaping by appearances), total claim of just under £1000. Really folks this house was left in great condition and verbally the agent agreed it was all fair wear and tear if anything. Yet now they are going to support the owners claim, i think because they want the sales instruction. Its now 25th Sept and a claim has not even been put in yet. Its with the DPS, and i guess after a month or so it will be referred to their arbitration scheme. I have no proof of the condition of the house as i left it as thats what the agent visit was for. I paid for a big overlap of tenancies so my wife and i could make the house immaculate, yet there is now no proof of this. I think the owners are compromised in any case due to their debts, but is this relevent. Add to the fact they are claiming for things (like the garden) which they verbally agreed to take on themselves, but are now saying they didn't. there's nothing in writing and although i have texts it doesn't explicitly say there was an agreement about the garden. On top of that i never signed the inventory, and the inventory never noted condition of the garden prior to moving in. Basically - i think they are making me pay for stuff they perceive will help the house sell - i am expected to pay so they can have the house in showhome condition. Where do i stand here? Is there anything that stands out? In any case, its already caused hassle as we had to borrow for our next deposit, and we probably won't see this old deposit returned for several months yet (if at all), so we had to cancel Christmas holiday plans due to the uncertainty. Anyway sorry for the boring story, hope someone can help.