UK Landlord Forum / Life

Easy for me to say, but stay calm and don't rise to their bait.  Hope you get the incorrect amount sorted, that is really unjust.

Well there rejecting it.  This was the reply:

Good afternoon

We have taken our client's instructions in relation to the offer you had proposed, and we can confirm our client is not prepared to accept your offer to settle for the sum of £690+ Court fee.

Our Client disputes your views that the deposit was £690, and once again refers you to the tenancy agreement in relation to this matter, and our previous correspondence addressing this issue.

We would also like to bring to your attention that, as the matter has been issued at Court, legal costs have been incurred beyond that of the Court fee alone, and therefore any future settlement offers, should take this into consideration.

We note that you have requested a further copy of the tenancy agreement, as you believe the one provided within the statement of our client is not the full tenancy agreement; our client has informed ourselves that they are not in possession of any further pages to this tenancy agreement, and believe this to be the entirety of the tenancy agreement. Nevertheless as a Landlord, you ought to be in possession of the full document yourself; therefore if you are in possession of a document which differs from that we have provided, we request that you supply ourselves with a copy of this.

Given that the matter is listed for a hearing in March 2017, we invite you to propose any further settlement offers for our client to consider.

Guess will go to court then

Right the plot thickens and its still going on.

In the end I more or less proved the tenant was lying so he was accepting £690 less 40% he pays his lawyer but the lawyer wanted a lot of money.  The grand total was £2140.20

So all this week iv'e said look its way to high and your client is accepting the £690 compensation so Ill give you £1500 total and you can fight over who gets what.

They said no and it got heated but they said if there client accepts a lower offer he has to pay us the fees we lose because he lied.  So he wants me to pay for his lies.  But they said if the judge does believe its £1380 deposit then your paying the legal cost in full which they say is £3500 plus court costs.

Would you go to court or pick up the tab?

The difference between what you're comfortable with (£1,500) and what they're demanding (£2,140.20p) IIRC appears to be £640.20p.

So... how does that number jive with your life?

Is it a monthly salary? Or is it a good night out? Only you can decide what that's worth to you. For me, I like certainty of outcome. But, also for me, any time before it reaches Court, a counter-offer can be made and accepted... so maybe £1,750 or the exact mid-point between the two figures - £1,820.10p - and get it all on the record so you can show you've been eminently reasonable in your negotiations (to bring a swift and final conclusion to this) and it was the other side who was unreasonable in fighting over paltry amounts. 

I cannot see that a Court would look kindly on someone who brought a case over £2,140.20p minus £1,820.10p, £320.10p. But I've never been to Court.

I accepted there offer.  And now there rejecting it asking for £3500.

I said no either you accept your last one or jog on.

Thanks Hippograff.  Sorry for throwing my toys out the pram in the past

Just document all of this... it will look interesting in Court. Especially offering something and then retracting it.

The hell is almost over. Just a couple of minor issues still but iv'e told my wife just write it off and will put it down to experience. See wants a VAT receipt and wants to try and claim the VAT through her business.

So the final total is £2260.20 including this Tomlin order so the T can't try this on again.

After talking to the T Lawyer (tho do I believe them?) the T is paying them money to settle this. There not happy because this idiot has lied to them and they thought the deposit was £1380 and the idiot T has convinced them I kept over half. So all this time of me arguing with them and then managing to find evidence that it was actually £690 and then there conduct its put them in a awkward position (but why is this my problem?)

My letting agent friend thinks I should of gone all the way but at the end of the day I broke the law and there was a risk of the judge saying none of this would of happened if I had registered it in the first place. Its all ifs and buts, But apparently the T has had to pay his lawyer some money so in the end all this trouble he has caused he has ended up with less then nothing.

I think the lawyer would have come for me regardless as we have assets and if they won there guaranteed to get something out of me where as if they sued there client for breech of contract he is worth nothing. Even if I had won or got it chucked out my lawyer said you could sue him but he wouldn't pay you or I would get £5 a week for the next 100 years so its not worth it.

Its cost me my holiday I never took. But i'm just glad the T has got nothing. Hopefully he will stop talking about me on social media otherwise he will get a visit from me.

I don't see how you could claim the VAT back, unless you're charging VAT on your rental income, which would be very unusual with residential property. You certainly couldn't legitimately claim it back through an unrelated business.

It does bring it home that the only party that stands to win in a dispute is the Lawyer.