No deposit 6 weeks after moving out. Advice?

Just give her a call. You do have her number, don't you? It's easier to get an answer like that, an email could've easily been overlooked.

If she doesn't answer or call you back later in the day then take it up with TDS

She already responded to an email from my housemate a while ago ago quite rudely saying she doesn't have time as she's working her way through houses. However it's been 2 weeks now since she said that and still no sign of deposit

I would call her and tell her that you have waited way longer than it should take her to give you your deposit and if she does not do so by the end of the week, you will contact TDS. Things like that spur them into action and if you still don't get the deposit, open a dispute.

"If you do not receive your deposit within this time (10 days) frame, talk to your landlord or letting agent first. If you still haven't received the deposit, you should consider raising a dispute with TDS."

She chose to work as a landlord and agreed to how deposits work. She should have planned it in a way that would fit the 10 days or at least given you a proper time frame

She still hasn't responded to my email. I called today and it went straight to voicemail. I left her a message earlier this morning but she hasn't called back. Shall I email now to tell her I will take it up with TDS?

Yes, send her an email and say that if she doesn't send you the deposit back or at least give you a timeframe for when you will get it back, by the end of the week, you will take it up with TDS on Monday.

Have you done a Googly Woogly on the subject? There are lots of useful articles offering advice. Here is one from Which?

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/my-landlord-wont-return-my-security-deposit-what-can-i-do

Good luck!

Thank you! Yes I spent many hours doing a Googly Woogly haha. However I wanted to get some advice from humans as well to make sure I'm doing everything correctly - it's the first time I've been in a situation like this!

Hang in there but play smart. Give her a ring and tell her she has 10 working days to pay. If she agrees say you will confirm the call in writing. Then write a letter confirming what you discussed. Also state that if the matter is not resolved you will go to arbitration and or small claims court. If your contact states she deposited less than you paid, you may need to pursue the balance through the small claims court.

Good luck.

Thank you so much! I've actually just called up Citizen's Advice Bureau as well - they said they'd call me back with some guidance after they consult a supervisor. I think after I get that guidance I'm going to send her an email giving her a time frame as you said, and if she doesn't respond then I'll let her know I spoke to CAB and will go to court.... It's not unreasonable to request deposit 6 weeks after the end of tenancy right??

You've got the right idea now. Check to hear back from CAB before taking action but give her a very short timeframe and then take it up with the TDS. I would avoid having any conversations over the phone as you have no proof of anything she says and she can say she'll give you the deposit then deny it later.

As far as the differing amounts of deposit - legally she had to protect the whole deposit and if she hasn't she could be liable for large fines and so on if you choose to pursue it so I would imagine you won't have trouble getting the whole deposit back (assuming you can show bank statements demonstrating the amount paid) as you can just threaten to take it to court and tell her the possible outcomes. Next time though read your contract carefully!

I was in a similar situation only a few years ago.The landlord took ages to get back to us about our deposit and then when he finally did he was only willing to give back £340 out of the £1050 total deposit we paid. He made various absurd deductions for things like finding one hair in the cupboard (there was a picture of this) and finger print marks on the door handle?! Yes I agree the house wasn't as clean as it was meant to be but there was no way we would accept such a low amount. We obviously disputed and after a few emails backward and forwards he completely ignored us.

First thing we did was contacted CAB who told us we had more than just a claim and should raise a dispute with the Deposit Scheme provider we were with (the landlord hadn't provided us with this at all which is a legal requirement in itself. We could have gone to court on this basis solely but we're students who has money for that. So instead we contacted the landlord/agency who provided it immediately). Then we raised a dispute with our deposit scheme provider within the relevant time frame. We actually studied Law so that came into handy here and wrote 7-8 pages worth of reasons why we were being unfairly treated here. The landlord didn't even raise any claim of his own. Didn't bother to reply to the dispute raised. So after exhausting all options we paid the bailiffs, who in the end couldn't trace him but left him a note saying that if he didn't give us our money they would file a CCJ (County Court Judgement) against him.

Immediately that night in fact, we get an email from him saying he's sent the money but when I checked he only paid £600 which didn't include our legal costs i.e. bailiff fees and court proceedings (£100). Told him to pay up or deal with the court. He paid it immediately and asked me to confirm in an email that all money due had been paid so that he wouldn't get penalised.

The whole process took around 5-6 months so it wasn't quick by any means but we were left with no other options.

He'd probably got away with treating other students this way so thought he would get away with it again. Hope we taught him a lesson.

I was in a similar situation only a few years ago.The landlord took ages to get back to us about our deposit and then when he finally did he was only willing to give back £340 out of the £1050 total deposit we paid. He made various absurd deductions for things like finding one hair in the cupboard (there was a picture of this) and finger print marks on the door handle?! Yes I agree the house wasn't as clean as it was meant to be but there was no way we would accept such a low amount. We obviously disputed and after a few emails backward and forwards he completely ignored us.

First thing we did was contacted CAB who told us we had more than just a claim and should raise a dispute with the Deposit Scheme provider we were with (the landlord hadn't provided us with this at all which is a legal requirement in itself. We could have gone to court on this basis solely but we're students who has money for that. So instead we contacted the landlord/agency who provided it immediately). Then we raised a dispute with our deposit scheme provider within the relevant time frame. We actually studied Law so that came into handy here and wrote 7-8 pages worth of reasons why we were being unfairly treated here. The landlord didn't even raise any claim of his own. Didn't bother to reply to the dispute raised. So after exhausting all options we paid the bailiffs, who in the end couldn't trace him but left him a note saying that if he didn't give us our money they would file a CCJ (County Court Judgement) against him.

Immediately that night in fact, we get an email from him saying he's sent the money but when I checked he only paid £600 which didn't include our legal costs i.e. bailiff fees and court proceedings (£100). Told him to pay up or deal with the court. He paid it immediately and asked me to confirm in an email that all money due had been paid so that he wouldn't get penalised.

The whole process took around 5-6 months so it wasn't quick by any means but we were left with no other options.

He'd probably got away with treating other students this way so thought he would get away with it again. Hope we taught him a lesson.