Deposit protection problem

[Plymouth]

Hi,

Sorry I'm sure that this has been complained of a hundred times already on here.

I am on an assured shorthold tenancy which started in 2009 and ends in 2010.The landlord has never given me any idea of whether or where the £900 deposit is being held. I have phoned the providers/put my details in their websites and as far as possible I can't see that it is actually protected.

I havn't said anything to the landlord about it as yet, as I am not sure of what the legal situation would be? Should I?

Is there any chance of my getting some sort of compensation? From what I have read its a bit of a no-goer??

He is now starting to be difficult as the tenancy is in its last few months and I am a bit concerned about what is going to happen with the deposit.

Any advice gratefully received,

Plymouth

[Snorkerz]

Give this a go:

letter before action

Dear Mr XXXXXXXX

RE: 123 High Street, Anytown, AT1 2AA

On the XXX of XXX 20XX I/We paid you a tenancy deposit of £XXX in respect of the above property.

The Housing Act 2004 introduced the concept of "Tenancy Deposit Protection" and obliges private landlords to protect/register all tenancy deposits with one of 3 approved schemes.

I/We have verified with all three schemes that the deposit you hold was NOT protected by any scheme. This is unlawful.

You must refund the outstanding balance of my/our deposit IN FULL within 14 days. If you fail to do so, I/we shall sue you for the balance due PLUS the statutory penalty for non-protection of deposits, which is three times the value of the deposit.

Yours sincerely

You are correct thet sueing for the deposit PLUS the 3x penalty is full of hazards, but claiming for the deposit alone is relatively straightforward via www.moneyclaim.gov.uk. Although the letter threatens the 3x penalty, no one can make you claim it!