That's good news. I'm glad it all worked out OK in the end. Good luck car hunting. (Be cautious as to the V5 [problem], needs a proper check although the real chance of being caught out is minimal.)

First point, Recovery. You have the right to choose who does the recovery. You have already paid for this in your policy.The police get a throw back from their police contract recovery scheme for every vehicle they get recovered. They state this not profit as it goes towards policing costs. Bet they didn’t tell you that. You were already on the phone to your own breakdown service so should have continued. If you were advised otherwise by the attending police then ‘Make an official complaint’. You might find your recovery costs disappear or reduce dramatically. The Police Recovery Scheme is only supposed to be used if a), you do not have recovery/cover, b), your own agent will be excessively long in arriving causing danger to other road users by your vehicle being in a dangerous area/position. Ask your own breakdown service provider for name & address of the contracted garage that would have attended. If it’s same as the police contractor, as is very often, then no extra time was gained in using the police contractor. A good point to mention in complaint. Request all times as recorded by police on their PNC system too. Second point, Claim for damage or fire. Any part that is on fire is a claim covered by fire. Any part involved in any collision is damage. You have said the sump hit something by the report. Ask for a copy of the report. Do not let the insurance company fob you off, you have a right to all reports including notes made call handlers. In hitting the sump this is a claim for a road traffic accident (RTA) causing damage. Or RTI as the police now call it, (Road Traffic Incident). Did you make a claim over the phone? If yes ask for details recorded by the call handler for the insurance company. They may have recorded it on tape but written things down wrong. Make sure they have it reported correctly that you were travelling at 70mph, so stopping sooner was not an option. The assessors were not at the scene of the ‘accident’ so their assumptions are not acceptable, only the facts. Be prepared to take your insurance company to court for all costs involved if they try to remove things from the claim like recovery & storage. It's all one claim. Do not interfere with the removal of the car to a breakers yard or chosen place of storage by the insurance company, but put in writing to your insurance company that the claim is not yet settled so the car remains your property until it is settled in full. That the car will remain available for inspection by an independent assessor if need be so will not be destroyed until settlement payout agreed. If the insurance company start to be difficult make a request in writing for the ‘Whole file’ to be copied and passed to you by return post. This request generally gets some attention of a senior employee. You have a right to this information and will need it to sue your insurance company. The courts do not like insurance companies not honouring their obligations. I won my claim back in ’98 with full costs too. (Privilege ins, Leeds). Most times the insurance company sees sense before you take it to court. Good luck.

OK, this from a civil case back in the 80's. Yes showing my age here now. A friend of mine (A) lent his TV to another friend (B), not one that I knew by the way. It went wrong & he took it somewhere to get it fixed. Then comes the big bill from person © that he is not willing to pay. My friend asks for his TV back, then finds out it where it is. So he went asking person C for it back who was now demanding money for repair. Mine friend tried the police who were reluctant to take any interest. So he took a civil action against person C. And won. The court ruled that the debt was owed to person C by person B. This being the case already recognized and the property was owned by Person A. Person A was granted immediate access to their property. Person C was informed to take appropriate measures against person B to recover their costs of repair. Cost of civil case was awarded to person A leaving person C in a worse position for trying to with hold goods for payment when there was no contract between A & C. I don’t think anything has changed since this case. It appears you fall into person A category where the Estate Agency are person C. Their claim, if any, is against your friends being person B Good news is that a court should rule in your favour, so long as you are definitely not on the contract. The estate agency will have a copy of the contract which will not include you so therefore they must return your property. As Steve M Has already said I believe. Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (c.32) Good luck.

Sorry to hear about your problem. You get £349.28 per 4 weeks from HB paid to the agent. Last payment was not for 4 weeks as it was only until the 18th, being a day short. So I am going to presume the HB will be using a Monday as the final covered day of the 4 week period. At a daily rate of HB being £12.47 to the nearest penny, this being 1/28 of £349.28. Total number of days in your agreement is 181 days. That is 6 lots of 4 weeks + 13 days. Your HB will pay the 13 days to the LL/Agent so you will not be short on this, so don't worry. Your total HB payments for the 181 days should be £2257.84 at £87.32 per week. Your rent is £2520.00 Your shortfall is £2520.00 - £2257.84 = £262.16. That is £43.69 a month (almost). 6 X 43.69 = 262.14 leaving you 2pence short in six months time. I would explain what the actual shortfall is, that you have no control on when the HB is paid, but you will agree to pay the shortfall of £43.69 per calendar month. Remind them of the 13 month year made by the HB's 4 week payments period and that they will get the full 181 days in HB. Hope this helps, sorry if the number crunching is hard to follow. P.S. Not sure how the HB worked out their first payment as £342.87 is £6.41 short of what you should get for 28 days and £6.07 more than 27 days at your weekly rate.

1. I think it would be good to point out the problem being a noise (that was not known as to how serious it was) which was not realised by the maintenance man or found on his visit. 2. You're absolutely right about who is responsible for the maintenance. Also the fact that the noise was not noticed by the maintenance man asks the question of what he did on the visit. I personally think it was a quick visit not addressing any point you have mentioned here. Was the noise actually pointed out when contacting the agent? If so then it should have been found by the maintenance man. I would make sure she points out what the issue was & that it has been fixed & how it was found & fixed. Point out the noise was not discovered by the maintenance man. Good luck. (By the way, I am a landlord. Just one flat so far. Just wish all LL's were fair like me & took responsibility for there properties & duties. Especially where safety is concerened).

Did the boiler make the noise when the maintenance man was there? Did she report back that she has found out what the problem was & sorted it herslf with the help of a colleague? I can see where the agent is coming from in sending the bill if no fault was found, often there is a fee payable when no fault is discovered. Not that it's right as you have said that you & a colleague have identified the fault & fixed it.

Hi there, I'm assuming you moved out, nothing broken or needing cleaning, and this is your letter before action LBA. Try this bit added to it replcing your last line. 'I now formally request the outstanding balance of deposit held being £1500.00 to be returned within 14 days of this letter. Failure to do so will leave me no option other than to bring county court action to recover this sum.' I think your letter plus a bit added at the end like I have suggested would be the start. My understanding is that the court award the 3x amount, not that you claim it. I believe bedlington83 on this site could lead lead you in the right direction here to be more precise. Am I right that you have been trying to get this money back for 8 months? By telephoning, email and letter? Any replies? Have aread around as there is plenty of information on this site that will help steer you in the right direction. Good luck.

Pubno1, There is currently a claim going through the courts and you are obviously not in the loop of people who are entitled to such knowledge or are considered in need of being informed by your employers. At no time was there any intention of not having the data recovered. The data recovery was offered after disposal of the computer so please explain how it could be done? Time machine perhaps? The computer remains my property while the claim is ongoing, so when asked for it to be returned, then why did iVal not do so? The offer had not been accepted. It was still very much in dispute. The claim was with my insurance company Aviva who had agreed the return of the computer. iVal were asked repeatedly by phone and letter for the return. iVal are Aviva's agent not mine, my insurance claim was with Aviva not iVal. iVal are to do as Aviva requests, which includes return of the computer when requested. Return it does not mean dispose of it. Aviva only paid out (the value of the computer only) after it had come to be known by Ricky Maddox, I beleive is how his name is spelt, at Aviva that the computer had been disposed of. This disposal was before claim was settled. There is more information available but I will not be posting it here until after the case has been heard. Feel free to make enquiries where you work as to the case number. It is real. Your bosses are hiding it from you if they have told you otherwise. I'm not sure but I think you can also request the information yourself from Southampton county court of the ongoing claim involving iVal as you work for them. This might not be the situation, but I'm trying to let you find out the truth. At linkedin it clearly shows who the parent company is and the addresses are the same, Exactly the same. It would be helpful if you could give the names of the top people at iVal. I'm not asking for you to do anthing illegal or that may put your job in jepardy, so I understand if you can not. By the way I am not sure if the names given by the people answering the phone are even their real ones as this is hard to get a full name to ensure you get to speak to a person that has been spoken to before. My understanding is that people are employed and overworked at iVal in the repair dept. Too many computers for allocated time. This could be false but was posted by an employee as being the case on this site. I also note you mention calls are recorded. Thanks for that, I will now make a request for those, and print this off as I may use what is quoted for the court case. Some of what you have put is not what iVal employees have said to me. I note you are saying "you are not having a go" and I believe that is true. Thanks for the feedback & all the best to you too.

Please don't quote me out of context. I clearly stated "this is an assumption" from what is shown here as I am not able to read the exact contents of the contract, nor how the deposit is affected by the contract terms, if at all. If notice is given to remeove the tenant if no longer wanted due to breach of contract I fail to see the advertising costs are non-existent. As said before do not quote me out of context, as this is what I am gathering from the previous posts. What I have put is intended to help, but I have not had the opportunity to have reviewed the contractual terms. Causing a conflict between members does not serve to help those here in need of help and advice. If you know something more please supply that help to those who need it without mis-quoting anyone. I'm assuming that is your intentions anyway, so don't take this reply the wrong way.

You need all signatures on the same document for it to be legal. Worse case for you is that you have no right of abode and can be evicted immediately. Get a copy of the original with all names signed. Do it now.

Yes it would appear you have to meet your contractual obligations. However it appears your tenant has gone against the terms of the contract so liable to lose their deposit. This is an assumption on the information here, but check your AST they signed before doing things wrong. If they have broken the agreement then you have rights of compensation. Make sure you issue the section 21, giving only the legal required notice, and verify the condition upon leaving date. Most probably if you have provided a new washing machine and are in a position to retain the deposit from breach of agreement/contract this most probably cover expenses of re-advertising etc. Keep receipts. Be fair, as this will be considered if any court action is needed or taken by either party.

Hi Crow, Regardless of how long the LL takes to do repairs you are entitled to claim the costs you incured from the leaks. Including your policy excess. Just make sure you document it all, photos of water damage and note the date and time. I would send a letter to LA every time you get a problem, keep a copy for youself and email the landlord as well. By always informing the LA you have done your best. Good luck.

I really can't help as to whether you can report it, but I would phone and say you are only willing to pay the original £200.00 per week based on market value - take it or leave it. Then ask for your documents back and remind them of the data protection act. Make sure you get them all back. I would never have agreed to go higher in the first place, just said no thanks I'll find somewhere else that is within maket value. It's a sad some people act like this but try to remember who it was and avoid them in future. Even ask who the landlord is then state you will never rent from that person/company after this saga. Good news is that by posting it here I am sure it will help someone else avoid this potential [problem] when somebody is interested in a flat at a decent rate (that suddenly increases daily).

For BarrieP, Rotting floorboards take longer than 12 months to happen. Wood is actually long lasting. As for the curtains they have been exposed to the damp but I would put the blame on the landlord not sorting out the problem. It was obviously known about for a long time and the main problem was identified as rising damp. That is entirely the landlords responsibility to fix and any problems arising from it. Ask the landlord for a copy of the surveyors notes. State that if you need to take this to the county court you will apply for this information, at which point the landlord will have to comply. It's bad landlords that are trying to rip people off for maintenance that is their responsibility. Also approch whoever did the repairs and state why you need the information. At some point I believe the landlord will see sense at the risk of costing money to defend with holding your £200.

Hi MerryMaid, Firstly I think you did extremely well with the cleaning if it's as you say. I think they are trying it on and would ask that they visit again with you present to explain it all. Do not give them a lot of time. Most landlords or agents put a 24hr notice in the contract to visit, if it's now occupied you may have a chance to get a visit there with the new tenants present. This will allow you ask a question infront of the new tenants. A lie will make them uneasy about their situation too. You will be able to dispute any redecoration needed, only DAMAGE is your esponibilty, not wear and tear. If they say you cannot go there with them as it's occupied try visiting anyway without notice and explain you need some pictures of the place to send to the letting agent/landlord. Explain you forgot to take them. Don't be pushy or they might not let you see inside. Most people are willing to help. Even if they do not allow you in bring the paint colour into the conversation, they will most probably not know what colour it was if it has been painted. They'll probably remark on the condition of how it was when they viewed. Good luck with your court case. Sorry to hear of your problems in the new place. I would report those problems to relevent authourites, especially about the gas certificate and wiring. And take some photos even if they are only digital, it does help.

Hi, I own a flat in Redbridge, Southampton that I let out. This I bought as my pension investment. It is managed by Solitaire/Peverel/Consensus group. They issued an insurance policy document photocopy last year and their own costs for insurance through one of their owned company brokers Kingsborough. The difference was £4,600.00. I have queried this but yet to receive an answer. They also did not finish the decoration work to the flats and had painted primer on the edges of the front door. This was in 2005. I held back part of the service charge in 2008 until the work was finished. They never finished it so I got my own cotractor. That was 3 1/2 years later & many phone calls & letters. They refuse to give full names when asked who is answering the call unless it's a temp worker. They had not finished the work but instead threatened court action. I went to court with my documents last year and they did not even show up. I had my costs awarded and the amount of the dispute was ruled in my favour. I had asked for copies of their accounts in full but this was never sent to the court or to me. This year they have asked for service charges, plus what they had ruled against them last year and another £63.55 with no refernce to what that is for except the comment 'brought forward' by it. I have written to them stating to show me the accounts as there accounting is somewhat ficticious and they have gone against the court ruling of 3 months ago. I have said I am willing to return to the courts again. I also stated that until I receive the copies of the accounts clearly showing the corrections and all other information asked for I will not send a penny. They have messed about for too long. As yet no reply. I find it hard to beleive they have the cheek to go against the court ruling or add additional amounts without reason. I make sure my accounts are paid up and now I am looking into getting them removed from managing the property. This is going to be a fight as the land owner is Estates & Management, which is part of the same outfit. Anyone else with info or looking to rid Solitaire of their flats please help with any info you have. In Redbridge, Southampton I will soon be knocking on other flat doors trying to find out who the owner/landlord is in order to start removing this bunch of crooks. I will do my best to keep you all informed on the action.

Hi Big Rob, I currently have a claim going through the Southampton County Court against IVAL as they took my laptop for repair and disposed of it before the claim was settled. I had asked for it back to get my own independent engineer to check the problem as thay said it was beyond repair. They also offered me a replacement one, of poorer quality and low end spec. This I refused, having talked to a few pc repairers explaining the problem, they had all said it was getting too hot and was a simple fix. Anyway I had a letter offering data retrieval for approx £70.00, whether successful or not. I declined this offer and again stated to return it, the claim was not closed and I would instruct my own engineer to inspect it. This company, iVal, had been arranged through Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, so I contacted them asking if they would get in touch with iVal and get it sent back as my requests were ignored. I then received a letter from Aviva stating that iVal had disposed of the machine. Great. All my documents were on there, letters, electronic invoices, pitures and videos, all of which were not backed up. What is really annoying is that they were offering a data retrieval service even after they were awre the laptop had disposed before the claim was settled. Aviva promptly issued a cheque for the full value of the laptop, Sony with extra bright screen etc, with a letter of appology and clearly stating iVal were responsible for any lost data as they could not destroy or dispose of the machine before the claim was settled. So I have taken this matter to the courts and I am claiming £1500.00 for lost pictures, videos, letters and programs. The true value of the programs purchased by download is over half this, and my lost holiday pics will never be replaced. In future regardless of insurance company requirements I will send my pc to my local engineer explaining why I will not let them use their own. As far as I'm concerned, their strive for cost cutting leads to more costs than are really neccessary. iVal are owed by Powerplaydirect.com. They also trade under BeValued & Laptop-PC-Spares (on Ebay). Click the about ME icon on ebay for address, it's the same as the others. Apart from the Ebay username the rest can be found on Linkedin.com. Check headquarters address and each linked company to find it's all the same. I will update as soon as the case has been heard. Hope this helps someone.

From my own experience with letters arriving from Moorcroft/Midas (citicard) it will dwindle to nothing or just the odd one now and then. I have even requested they start court action in my replies but only ever get more draft letters just like the ones you have posted. If you just wait for the court action without replying the time span between letters gets longer. I think they ony keep chasing if they have your immediate attention. Once you just wait for the real court one their eagerness dries up to just sporadic nonsense. Keep us informed just in case they put themselves out and take the court route. As with posts 133 & 135 I think it's all a bluff on their part now, with no original CCA as backup evidence.

Hi, With reference to the above comment I had paid my account, including the wrongfully added charges, as advised by the call centre staff. So the money taken back was always mine. I wnder how many people have actually given up when they are just repeatedly ignored?

Hi, I had a problem with Citicard back in november 2007. They made charges to my account wrongly. These were for late payment even though it showed the payments clearly on time on the same statements. I telephoned the call centre several times before I manged to speak to someone that understood the problem. Then I telephoned the UK complaints number to get my money back. Boy it's hard work. After writing in as requested they just ignored my letters. I eventually got shouted at over the phone by a manager when I pointed out the original mistakes were theirs. After months of writing and being ignored I requested a copy of my CCA. No reply. Three weeks later I sent them an invoice for the loses. Still no reply. Now Citicard had sent me some creditcard cheques as I'd stopped using their card, so I sent them another letter requesting my money and finally used a cheque to withdraw the amount owed. Guess what? Still no reply. But now they used this to send notices of failed to make payment. I contacted the FOS and included this point in a letter to Citicard. They promptly closed my account but still refused to acknowledge their mistake. The sad thing is that the FOS investigating it has failed to obtain the recordings from Citicard and said I had no right deciding how much was due to me. They even said it was my fault so I have asked for their documentation too. I'd like to see what Citicard have sent to them. Still waiting. It does seem that any attempt to get regulators to query this bank is with it's problems. It's been over two years now. The good thing is that I went about recouping my lost money, by taking it back, before they closed the account. It might not be the right way to do it, but it was obviously the only way I was ever going to get back my money. I'm still waiting for FOS to send the copy of the investigation. It has taken ages for them to get this far as they have said repeatedly they are waiting for documents from Citicard. It does seem that they refuse to answer requests even from the FOS. Good luck to all trying to get your CCA and your money back.