Thinking of taking ex-landlord to court

[The Convincer]

Right, after my girlfriends ex-landlord forced her out of the house she was living in, he still hasn't given the deposit back; which is £220. He said he would get in touch about returning it, but he never did. This was on October 31st. That was the last we've heard from him. Being a naturally terrible little man, we expected that he would make all sorts of stuff up as an excuse to keep some or all of the deposit (like he did for harrassing her out of the house), however we've simply heard nothing from him. We've since sent two letters to him; one at the end of January asking why he hasn't been in touch about the deposit and when/if he intends to return it. No reply. A month later, we sent another, asking yet again and that if there was no reply, we'd take him to court to get it back. Having sent this requiring a signature, it was not recieved as no one was in to sign for it. The Post Office did leave a card for him to collect the letter, but he has not done so.

 

What I need to know is, does my girfriend have a good case to get this money back via the courts? I think she does, but I'm a bit scared of going down this path and hoped it wouldn't come to this.

 

Additionally, my girlfriend wasn't given a code for a deposit, which is also illegal, apparently. Can we use this? Also, what's stopping him insisting he gave her it, even though he didn't?

 

Lastly, how much would the fees cost?

 

This is pretty scary territory, if I'm honest, but we're both adamant that he shouldn't profit, let alone get away with his behaviour.

 

Any advice, short or long, would be appreciated,

 

The Convincer

[rebel11]

Heres some info:-

 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/deposit_protection_schemes

 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/getting_an_unprotected_deposit_back/going_to_court

 

Keep all the documentation safe, write down all the key points.