Hi there. Wondering if anyone can help. I moved into a flatshare living with landlady 6 months ago. I paid £400 deposit and £400 per month rent by standing order into her bank account. Several months ago there was an accident with a pan and the workbench that caused 3 tiny blisters next to the sink. I have offered to replace the segment of bench. The work top is from ikea and it is a small segment. However Ikea do not make the Hi Gloss Black worktop anymore. However I am sure many other suppliers do. Anyway she is keeping the deposit (I am moving out) as she does not want to be "rushed" into choosing a new work bench!!!!!!!!!I have offered to replace it but I know for a fact it will not come to £400. I do not have a tenancy agreement however can prove that money went from my bank accoount to hers on a monthly basis. Can anyone advise?

I have sent the In Dispute letter kindly given by Cebarusalert. I will keep everyone posted as to how this turns out as it seems there is a lot of us in the Crapbot boat!

Interesting thread. I think the point I was trying to make was that I wouldn't send payment until they had agreed to the terms of the F&F offer. We all know how honest and law abiding and trust worthy DCAs and banks are!!!! It is a grey area though and interesting thread.

I am worried about my credit file as its beginnning to look ok!! I have had two defaults removed due to legalites. Should I send a Subject Access Request to AK and ask them to prove that this payment was made my me?

I agree with wayoutneeded. They are the ones who need to offer you a F&F settlement before you send any payment. I really don't know what you can do know other than claim for a refund of the charges that they applied to the account. Good luck

The only thing is it was due to be stat barred and come off my credit file in 2 years. If they applied a payment that 6 years starts again doesn't it?

To briefly summerise. In June of 2008 I recieved a letter from AK saying I owed money. I sent a CCA with a postal order for a £1 and never heard anything back. I have had letters from a number of debt collection companies regarding the debt. On the 13th May I received this from AK Firstly I have never received CCA request I made in June 2008 and they transferred my details to 3 different agencies. Secondly I have never made any payment to AK or anyone. I did send a £1 postal order and I am thinking they applied this to the debt however the balance on all the letters is the same. They can't do this can they? Does anyone have any advice on how to approach this?

Just to update. I have received two letters from Cabot one on the 11th May and one on the 14th May. I am without a scanner at the moment so will briefly type the contents. Does anyone have any advice on what to do or any personal experience with these letters themselves. I will send the In Dispute letter. However does this mean in theory if they can't obtain the information from the original lender they should remove the default? Any advice greatly appreciated.

That has happened to me too! Three times! All history of Bank of Scotland Accounts have vanished and they had 3 years left to go before they dropped off. Its funny as Wescot were chasing me and I cca'd them and they sent me a wonderful apology regarding the BOS accounts and telling me that they had sent them back to BOS and now the defaults have disappeared!

Thanks for the template I am going to enjoy this!

I was wondering if anyone had managed to get a default removed from their credit file when negotiating a F&F with debt collectors. I have CCAd Cabot for a debt of £1500 and very much doubt they will come up with a CCA as this is the 3rd Debt Collector onto this debt. I just want them off my back but also want to improve my credit file. I was thinking of offering them 10% and removal of default for starters. Has anyone had any experience of this and do you have any template letters? any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I haven't sent the in Dispute letter as 12 + 2 days hasn't elapsed yet.

Thanks for your help I have uploaded larger images of the files. Took a while for me to work it out! I am off nightshift and havent been to bed yet!!

Hi there I have been receving telephone calls from Cabot in realtion to the above debt that is 5 years old. I have been receiving as many as 4 calls a day. So I sent the telephone harrassment letter that is on this site to them. I also sent a request for a CCA and enclosed my £1 P.O. Which they have returned today. Today I received two letters and have some questions. Firstly why does Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act not apply to them. Secondly- in one letter they say they have taken over the debt from Argos and are responsible and in the next letter they state that they are not obliged to provide the CCA information request. If they are responsible for the debt surly they should provide the CCA Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Quick summary. Me and my partner took a 12 month Tenacy out in March 2008. We split up in August and she moved out then. She did not pay me any rent at all even though she was jointly liable. My parents were guarantors on the property and ended up having to pay her share of rent as they didnt want to have a CCJ against their name. Can I take her to Small Claims court even though tenancy has now ended for her share of rent. (I am a student nurse and she left me with nothing to live on). The rent came out of my bank account so I can show all entries into it. What would I need to take her to small claims. I want to emphasise that this isn't sour grapes. She left me with nothing and my parents had to help me with rent. My Dad is now in the process of doing an IVA partly because of having to pay £1000 for her share! Also she lives in Scotland is the process different if I am able to do this. Any help greatly appreciated

Do you have your LL address if so I would send the letter special delivery to her so you have a record that you have requested this information,because if it goes further then at least you will have proof. I don't think an email holds the same weight in court (but I am no solicitor)

Just to keep the thread updated. I received a cheque for the undisputed amount of £385 (Over 40 days after I moved out,) Still waiting to hear from mydeposit.co.uk regarding the £140

As a student nurse myself have you thought about the Access to Learning Fund for students in hardship. It takes a few weeks to process. I got over £1000 when I did it. Also try for employment in the Nurse bank as it gets your face known on the wards and helps to know where you would like to work when you qualify!!! I qualify in 3 months!

Update Spoke to mydeposits.co.uk today and as I haven't received a bean! They have stated that I need to dispute the whole amount.

I dont have any issue with paying for replacement chains or finders fee (although I would have liked it in writing) He is charging £90 for the rug though which was no way £90! and £40 for a broken rotary drier! In hindsight I should have drawn my own inventory up and sent a copy to the agents and landlord! I will be learning from this. Thanks to everyone who replied. I will keep this updated. I know £140 isn't much but when your a student nurse it is a lot!

Hi there. Thanks for your quick replies, mydeposits.co.uk said to put it on the dispute form. Which I have had to send to my former partner to sign as lead tenant. The agent hasn't been much help. i.e not returning calls etc , as they were trying to contact the landlord to discuss this issue as they agree as there is no inventory(as he didnt want to pay for one) he hasn't really got any right to make deductions, apparently he has changed his telephone number (not looking good). I personally think that the landlord doesnt have the money to return to me as he and his partner have huge debt issues and when we were living there we were bombarded with calls from credit card comapnies , baliff letters etc. I think I will contact mydeposits and ask for advice in this situation.

The landlord has not returned the undisputed amount of the deposit! Isn't he supposed to do that within 10 days?

Hi everyone I am hoping you can help me. I moved into a property on Feb 08 with my then partner. We paid £525 deposit. No inventory was signed at check in. We paid the rent on time and had no arrears. However in August my partner and I split up and I could no longer afford the rent on my own so I moved back in with my parents. I notified the landlord and he said he would release me from the contract when the agent found another tenant. So my Father kindly paid the rent until November when another tenant was found. We had to pay the agent a £300 finders fee this was at the landlords wishes although nothing was noted in writing. I received a call from the agents today stating that the landlord wants to deduct £140 from the deposit for: 1) A rotary drier that was broken when we moved in. I actually had to get the council to remove it. We bought a new £60 drier but when I moved out I took it. 2) A cheap nasty rug that the landlord said we could have. It smelt so we threw it out! 3) Plastic chains on the bottom of blinds that my dog broke! I realise that without an inventory he is on very shaky ground. But should we also have really had to pay a £300 finders fee to be released from the contract none of which is in writing. The deposit is protected so where do i stand with voicing a dispute. Also the agent has said they will send the remainder of the deposit to me but can I bank this and dispute the £140.? I am due to qualify in 3 months and really need this money. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there What was the outcome with this I am intersted as about to repay a "Provvy" loan early and wanted to know if i would be stung!