Hi,

We have moved out of our last house two months ago and since then have not been able to get he deposit repaid back to us. It has been close to impossible to get the guy on the phone to let him know that we wanted to go and we have proof of us trying to get him on his mobile time and again.

Finally we got the guy on the phone and he then invoked the fact that we left a wardrobe in the place not to repay the money back. Since we were back to France we offered him to retain £200 from the deposit to have the place cleared by someone. He accepted on the phone but then it became again impossible to reach him.

There was no deposit guarantee scheme offered to us when we moven in in Nov 2007 and we were not aware of this possibility anyway.

So my question is what should I do next?Go to the dispoute service? get a lawyer?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Olivier

Yes, if there is a disputes service you can explore that option. Otherwise I would be inclined to send a letter or two stating your position (just to get the situation recorded on paper) and then, if/when that didn't get a result, take legal action. Depending on the amount concerned and your preferences, you may employ a legal professional or you could do it yourself online at

http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/

With a judgement in your favour, if payment was still not forthcoming, you can consider petitioning for the landlord's bankrupcy.