Small Claims court again

[applepie]

Read an earlier post about this, in a similar situation which is complicated. legal advice wanted.

1) A friend owes me money from sale of communal items which we purchases sometime ago. Originally was offered the money back but I was busy and said will sort it out later. 2 months later and several emails (which I got no replies to) still no money although I have given details on how to repay me etc clearly in emails.

2) On a similar vein, I moved out of my previous place several months ago and only recently received my deposit back which I have been charged fees for cleaning the place but I had not been living there for the past 4 months. I was charged because, the others (whom retained tenancy) used their deposit to pay their last months rent and the agency instead of issuing bills decided to charge me via my deposit. I personally feel I am not liable for the fees as I left 4 months ago and cleaned the place before I left as well.

Questions regarding each case:

1) I have copies of the emails I sent but I did not receive replies. Are emails acceptable evidence?

I will issue a formal recorded letter via post detailing the intention to take to court if not responding within 14 days.

If I brought a tape recorder and spoke to her about it and got it recorded on tape is this sufficient evidence as acknowledgement of debt? Assuming I get no reply to the letter.

There was a witness whom was there when she said she owed me money, can I present witnesses (assuming they are willing to do so)

The money is not alot, but I would do it for the principle of it since that is effectively stealing IMHO.

2) Am I liable to pay for these charges?

The agency says to sort it out amongst ourselves which I feel is not the right way to do it as quite simply the others will not pay me back. Which will then lead to more arguements and headache.

I am not 100% sure I have proof of leave of tenacy ( I forgot to copy the letter I sent that terminated my tenancy) but I am sure the agency will accomodate me in that matter as they should have records.

This one is worth a fair amount of money to me.

[Fiji Dave]

Regarding the tenancy thing - you probably need to check your contract to see whether you are jointly responsible. I seem to remember from my "renting with friends" days that if someone hadn't paid their rent then the rest of us would be liable for it. Regarding the cleaning and the deposit - when you moved out did you inform the agency then? Was your part of the contract terminated at that date. If you move out but don't give the agency sufficient notice, or don't tell them at all then if you have a signed contract you may find you are still bound by it. If you did tell the agency when you moved out then you should have got them round for an inspection and had your deposit returned then I think. However, if no one else moves in then the rest of the housemates may have been responsible for filling the rent/deposit gap left by you moving out.

Regarding the agency saying to sort it out amongst yourselves - I'm not sure they can absolve themselves of responsibility like this. If you have a signed contract with them then they are under obligation to honour that contract, that means any deposit discussions must be between yourself and the agency, not you and your mates.

Contact the agency and ask for a copy of the letter. Then get a copy of your contract and go over it with a fine tooth comb.

Don't take what I've said as gospel, I may be talking cobblers. If you're unsure then try your local Citizen's Advice, they may be able to help.

[applepie]

thanks will look the CAB up,

yes I sent a letter and finished my tenacy with the agency. however, i had an agreement with the landlord that I could keep a few things till i returned to the UK.

when I removed the items, I wasnt in a rush for the agency to do an inspection and told them to just do it whenever they were in the area. since i was out of the country anyway.

originally the agency said it would be fine, and they wont charge me (no proof of this as it was over the phone). then again they say alot of things and never did them.

[Scuby]

Going in random order:

I don't think you could record your conversation with your friend without him/her knowing, its kinda dodgy anyway and almost certainly wouldn't be accepted as evidence.

For the stuff you bought together, problem is that its hard to prove anything to say it doesn't all belong to your (ex-)housemate. Your emails wouldn't be enough, at the very least you'd need them to have responded in some way acknowledging that they did owe you the money... and it would be difficult to argue against them if they said "I gave you cash". No proof either way.

With the deposit, agencies will take whatever they can from deposits - too much hassle for them to do it any other way. Unless you can prove both that you ended your tenancy 4 months ago, and more importantly that the house wasn't already in that state when you left, it might be hard to fight against. What I believe we were told was that if there was a problem between us then it was a private matter, and that we could sue each other if necessary if the costs weren't fairly divided. However, for you I think it will all depend on proving when your tenancy ended and whether or not the damage occurred before or after you left - the agency might be reasonable, or they might not.

David

[applepie]

right thanks, so doesnt sound too good then....

rubbish.

a) must learn to be less trusting

b) keep documents

[Scuby]

Originally Posted by applepie

right thanks, so doesnt sound too good then....

rubbish.

a) must learn to be less trusting

b) keep documents

Yeah, very sad if you can't trust friends, especially those you've lived with! Don't give up so soon though - its worth a try. Even a letter to your friends telling them you're considering the small claims court may be enough for them to cough up what's fair?

David

[B]

send a pm to us (which sounds crazy but it wil be for steve who is at home) he is well hot on legal stuff...

Berit