thanks all

thanks but I can't claim from deposit scheme, I'm not the lead tenant - only they can raise a dispute. Hence my original question, if they don't dispute my claim and settle w LL, who do I sue, LL?

the AST was issued by an agent, I paid rent direct to agent for 60% of property, deposit split similarly. A vacancy was assigned to me, but there is no mention of it in the AST, standard 6 month contract terms. this lapsed into SPT, my notice was given to agent, was that wrong??? The lead tenant knew I gave notice. I thought this ended the SPT, does it? thanks for your help

here is the tenancy agreement in full: http://imgur.com/a/iC7qg#0 and here is the deposit protection notice (redacted): http://imgur.com/TpMgB many thanks for your advice

i have found the AST and here are the relevant parts of the tenancy agreement: Part A Part B Part C

Yes. no. since it was a joint tenancy, they only gave us 1 copy and the lead tenant has it. i could search the house for it if absolutely required. luckily the room was unfurnished. but no, i do not.

to be precise, i have no record of their statement as they are dealing with the lead tenant only. it is the lead tenant who is telling me that i needed to provide 2 months notice instead of 1, which is apparently in the (now expired) AST. but apparently the agency is 'willing to overlook that so long as i cover the rent until the new tenant moves in', roughly translated. i am however aware that periodic tenancy only requires 1 month notice as i pay rent monthly. as it happens i don't even have a copy of the AST, we were only given 1 and the lead tenant has it.

hello, i am in a joint periodic tenancy with another person who is the lead tenant on the deposit protection service record. i gave 1 month notice to quit to the letting agency, however they refuse to deal with me and have responded to the lead tenant saying that i am liable for the rent until a new tenant is found to take my place, beyond my 1 month's notice obligation as these are the terms in the assured shorthold tenancy contract which lapsed and became a statutory periodic tenancy and such terms are no longer valid. i foresee that they will withold my deposit for the 'due rent' and the lead tenant will agree to the deduction and not dispute the deposit deduction. what will my recourse be then? must i sue the lead tenant, or the landlord? perhaps if i threaten the lead tenant now they will agree to put the deposit into dispute. or i could send a letter to the landlord. regardless, this sounds like it's about to get messy... this is all down to the DPS not supporting joint tenancy deposits. if they had held my deposit separately, as they should have, there would be no problem. i would recommend another deposit protection agency than the DPS. their telephone support is great, but their claims system is a pain. i settled my last case with their adjudicator, they sided 75% with me, 25% with the landlord. i feel i should have received 80%-90%, i had the receipts to prove everything. thanks for your advice

makes sense. It certainly sounds awkward. it seems friendly touch is just too risky these days, which is kind of sad. They should go ahead and write in the company handbook - no physical contact.

OP asked if he should have spoken first, I agreed with that sentiment. I'm not saying full on conversation, but when Mr. Touchy put his hand on me I would have brushed it off / made it clear I didn't want it. but fair point - there's no gain blaming the victim.

fair point emmzzi. Easy to let emotion cloud my judgement. does anyone know if I lost, whether I'd be subject to other fees - court / legal fees (beyond my own)? deep down I'm pretty sure I'd lose.

@sidewinder - i have no idea about this stuff but it sounds like you completely nailed it there. i'll sleep easy tonight, thanks so much. @stu007 - the agreement i signed is as bad as you can imagine - they had it drafted by lawyers for this very purpose, so they could (attempt to) reclaim it if you left their employment within 3 years. it literally says "i agree to pay this back if i leave within 3 years... blah blah blah, signed / dated". they didn't really state the reason / company policy, they just referred to our agreement and demanded the money back. one further point (that i think works in my favour), they took *half* the money i owed from my final pay cheque. so the total amount i owed has already been reduced by half. they are now chasing me for the outstanding half. in my opinion these are greedy ****s, one of these executives was seriously involved in causing the financial crisis - i think there's a good chance a judge would side in my favour.

i think it would have been common courtesy to say 'stop it' before taking it to management.

when i accepted my bonus, i signed an agreement saying i would pay it back if i left the company within 3 years, (pro-rata per month). my now ex-employer has sent me an angry letter, vaguely threatening me if i don't repay the sum within 14 days. question: what can they do? can they send it direct to a collection agency, or does it have to be judged by a judge first? in my opinion, (and the reason i haven't repaid it) just because i signed the agreement (i had to or they wouldn't give me the money) doesn't mean they can reclaim it. that's my bonus - i earned it by working hard. that's a seedy practice to attempt to reclaim it, and i want this judged by a judge before offering back the money. on the other hand, i'm trying to buy a flat and i'm worried it might mess up my mortgage application. on the third hand, i think they're just trying to scare people and won't actually take action - it might be worth calling their bluff. advice?