I need some advice please

[fraggie]

Hi,

I moved out of my last flat on the 30th of June, and am still waiting for the agency i was with to return to me my security deposit, ive phoned them up today and asked whats going on and they said that ive only paid the bills up to the 24th of june ive taken in the bills already and they've taken a photocopy which says on every bill at the top in bold writing "FINAL BILL"

its getting to the stage that i need that money and im getting rather irate with waiting. Who can i threaten them with if at all??

What can i do

Cheers Guys (n gals)

Fraggie

[Dougal]

Citizens advice bureau.

They know who to call and what to write. Makes it easier on your part.

Did you ask them what the outstanding amount was? Becuase if you were there for 6 days more then the final bill you will have money to pay.

[fraggie]

no i didn't but the fact is the final bills are up to the 30th! even though i moved out on the 26th, the citizens advice bureau are closed

[Dougal]

In your post you said you moved out on the 30th and the bills were dated 24th.

What you should have done is requested the final bills when you were leaving. The companies would have then taken meter readings and had it accurate.

Whats the dates on the bills and when you actually left?

[TiG]

So you left the flat, did you phone up electric company, gas, water, etc etc and give them the final reading, ask them to settle and close the account etc?.

Just trying to understand if you just need to sort out 6 days worth of payments of utilities. Which wont be much at all, and will help you get your security deposit back.

TiG

[shelley bda]

I'd still say citizens advice is the best way to go, try ringing them you may get a reply, i know when our local CAB closes there's still someone there to answer the phone...

Or maybe give your local council a ring... they'll prolly only suggest talking to CAB



Really hope you get this sorted soon

[fraggie]

right, just got the bills out and had a look, the bill is stated the "final" bill and is up to the 24th, now thats when i got given the reading from the agency (because they refused to give me access to the meters) and they refused to give me a meter reading after that.

the final bills for everything else is dated the 30th and even into july so thier not the problem.

im getting fed up of these monkeys taking me and my money for a ride

[Andy]

I've been screwed over twice by agencies that have ended up conning me out of my deposit in the end. Just make sure that you go over the contract with a fine tooth comb if they give you any grief, then if it comes to it, find a cheap lawyer.

[TiG]

Simply sounds like you've got a few quid to pay to settle the difference between 24th and 30th of July then.

Sorry if thats not what you want to hear but it appears to be the case from what you've said. Surely better to just ask how much they think you owe, because if its £5 etc surely its better to just get it paid and get back your ~£1000 i'd guess?

TiG

[shelley bda]

Fraggie have a look at this site, may be able to find something on there, there's a freephone number also somewhere to you can phone for advice

[fraggie]

tig yeah sounds like it, but surely they should have told me this when i took in the final bills! also its nearly a month after ive moved out and they havent sent any bonds out yet, tbh, im gunna phone them up and tell them that its paid, give them an account number to check that its been paid, and then tell them that they have 2 weeks to refund my money before i seek legal advice

[fraggie]

right phoned up the place, got the "new" meter readings and have phoned up my provider and they "havent moved at all" thier sending me a bill stating the new dates now so in a couple of days ill get that.

Now i told the agency that if they didn't refund the money to me within 2 weeks of me handing in my final bills (again) then id seek legal advice and all i got was "theres no need to take that tone" and "as you can appreciate we have over 2000 properties to deal with not only yours" to which i replied "well its not my fault, you should be sufficiently staffed for such occurances"

arggg!!!

[5lab]

they have 28 days (i believe) to give yer money back.

[herulach]

Ive seen contracts for houses where it stated it could take 5-6 weeks, needless to say i steered clear of those.

[iranu]

I'm afraid that this practice by agencies and landlords is so wide spread it's not true. I cna think of 4 separate occasions where this has happened. Luckily I realise this is almost standard practice and have only once been burnt.

As a matter of policy I never pay the last months rent. I leave without a trace. I always give a false address on the original agreement because they never check. They simply keep my deposit.

I hate to do this I really do but losing £300 just because of someones greed is worse. I always leave the property in tip top condition and have never had a problem.