Krisboats Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I've currently had a years tenancy with a company that specialise in student accommodation. It was a 52 week let, that commenced as of the 21st of september and as far as i was aware, ended on the same day a year later. I went to collect the remainder of my things from the house this evening in what i thought was the last day and they were all gone and the house is completely spotless.Having gone in a bit of a rampage tonight i read through the brief contract thoroughly and it doesn't state anywhere that the property must be devoid of belongings after the tenancy has expired. There is a little section on the website though here that stipulates that they will discard all stuff that's left in the house and will charge me for the privilege of doing so. Luckily i had most of my stuff out, but unfortunately there was still around £300-400 worth of my belongings in there, largely in the form of clothes and my expensive clothes and suits/shirts. My personal details were in there including bank documents and personal details as well as a variety of my own paintings and mounted large print photographs. Dvd's, computer software and even processors/sticks of ram etc .Now the office itself is closed all weekend, which means i had no chance to contact them on the saturday to let them know my parents couldn't bring the car over till sunday evening. I had no phone calls or emails to let me know they were going to do this, despite them having correct and current details.Is there any legal ground that i have to stand on with this? Especially given the fact that i had no warning from them. Is this theft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 The 21st of September will have been the first day of the 53rd (1st depending on how you look at it) week. So, technically you should have been 100% out by the stroke of midnight on the 20th.It does seem pretty ridiculous that they couldn't contacted you, but they will have a lot of rooms to sort out over this time period and maybe it's just easier to get rid of the stuff than to contact everyone and arrange for people to get their things, especially if people would be moving in later the next day. They couldn't really say "I'm sorry we can't let you move in yet as the previous tenants stuff is still in there".So really you are in the wrong, but I would think you'd have a fighting chance at getting some compensation if that wasn't mentioned in any paperwork. First step would be to get in contact with them as soon as they're open Monday, if your stuff is long gone you could always try going to your local Citizens Advice and they'll tell you what you should do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny@phatworks Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I have had similar issues with letting agencies, which is why I will generally lean towards private lettings now. I have no idea what can be done on a legal standpoint so as JT stated a trip down to the citizens advice is probably your best bet. However you could make an insurance claim on your possesions via the tenancy agreement you should have signed before moving in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Although if you are outside the date of the agreement then I would have thought it would invalidate any potential claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm pretty sure they acted unlawfully there.Do you have a signed tenancy agreement?I don't see how they can justify removing all yourself, even a day or two after the 52 weeks has expired (see JT!s post). I certainly wouldn't stand for this, anyway. If you were legally a tenant on the day you went to pick your stuff up (today), report it to the cops as theft then place an insurance claim (if you have insurance).If not, make it your life's work to ensure the landlords rue the day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pashley26 Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Check to see if he's done anything like this before aswell. If he's done it this time so easily he's got to have ripped off other students before ? Thus making any claims you have more substantial.My sisters going to court over her Ex landlord in 2 weeks time because he didn't put there deposit in a government scheme. So she's set to get back 3X her deposit and legal expenses ! She's guaranteed to win it according to a legal advisor because he's been warned and fined for not protecting deposits before Good luck dude, hope you can sort it out ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Blimey, must have been a bit of a shock.Clothing, DVD's, software/hardware may be replaceable on insurance IF you're claim is valid with that contract. However, I'm guessing that with this company you aren't the first person to have this happen to you, nore will you be the last - as a result I could pretty much promise you that the contact will be tight and absolutely flawless.Tenancy is very law based and they'd have made sure they can cover themselves; after all they wouldn't get any employee to enter the premises unless it was certainly legit.I'd recommend getting legal advice on this issue from someone in the know. Try your local citizens advice centre, if they can't help you they'll put you in touch with someone who can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny@phatworks Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Although if you are outside the date of the agreement then I would have thought it would invalidate any potential claims.Hmmm, good point - think you might find it catch 22 in most scenarios as a result of that which would really really suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Tenancy is very law based and they'd have made sure they can cover themselves; after all they wouldn't get any employee to enter the premises unless it was certainly legit.This isn't always the case. A lot of student landlords think they can get away with ripping off students, as a lot of times they won't make an issue when something like this happens.The first step here is to find out if you are a legal tenant today (21st) and then work out what to do next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nick Riviera Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Today is the 22nd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Check this.Under "Position of a tenant under a lease which has expired" I think you see it works both for and against you (kind of catch 22 as mentioned before). I can't read it fully as i'm at work, but it's something to consider and somewhere to start!Oh yeah, it's quite a useful website so I'd have a browse about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Even if they are in the right, keep hassling.If you hassle them enough they will sort it out. And if they end up being wrong, get every penny you can from them - even claim for distress and stuff.It's well out of order, agreement or not they could have given you a call - "Come and get your stuff orwe'll have to dispose of it" kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Has anyone seen my shoe? Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Generally telling them that you are going to get people in to look at the situation will put people off. A friend of mine bought a Jaguar X-Type and it wasnt as described (from a non-jag garage) got onthe phone and said I was going to get trading standards involved and they sorted everything out free of charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantham Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 call the police and report a theft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted September 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 call the police and report a theft?Ha ha, i like it. "So is there any sign of a forced entry?""No, the f**kers even hoovered up and bleached the sides down when they left!"Good news is i got to the office and had a stern word with them about it, which allowed it to go from "its all long gone" to something more along the lines of "its in wheelie bins down the road i'll drive you there now".Most of the stuff was poorly bagged in flimsy splitting bags and left in the wheelie bins. Good news is i have a large amount of it back... bad news is a lot of it was covered in shit or missing. We're going to the CAB tomorrow as i have to see a tutor at uni today and the CAB thing is supposed to be over half an hour for an initial interview.I've been pointed to this, which states that they most definitely aren't legally allowed to do that. So we'll have to wait to go to CAB tomorrow and find out where we stand.The landlord itself was a company called clubeasy, supposedly as well known and reliable company that owns loads of houses nationwide. The contract was as breezily lame as soemthing a child could have written. Doesn't cover anything about what happens after the tenancy is complete or leftover possessions. Fun times.Check this.Under "Position of a tenant under a lease which has expired" I think you see it works both for and against you (kind of catch 22 as mentioned before). I can't read it fully as i'm at work, but it's something to consider and somewhere to start!Oh yeah, it's quite a useful website so I'd have a browse about.I've had a brief look but with no sleep all night and tiredness setting in my brain is just seeing it as a mis-arranged dictionary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Glad you're getting things sorted.As far as pushing for more action goes - dig your heals in and don't take no for an answer. People like this need to be shown that they can't rip off students like this, otherwise they'll keep doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I will suggest, if you're going down the legal road, write down everything! Dates/Times of events such as meetings, telephone calls and letters always come in handy. Good luck with it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I swear Clubeasy were on Watchdog?May have been a similar company though - Clubeasy just rings a bell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BONGO Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I know it's kind of irrelavent, but why'd you leave it to the last second to get it sorted?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantham Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Ha ha, i like it. "So is there any sign of a forced entry?""No, the f**kers even hoovered up and bleached the sides down when they left.In criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent.sounds like theft to me forced or not they have stolen it. Would shit them up more to.They tried to make me pay for a bent key lol losers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted February 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Bit of a bump, but we received letters to each of us from our solicitors today. We've known for a while that clubeasy acted illegally in entering the house without a warrant as this breaks uk shorthold tenancy laws even despite the tenancy being completed as set out in our contracts. We just had a response from their solicitors this morning informing us that what they did was fine legally, which has mightily confused our solicitor as it clearly isn't and yet they've offered me £820 and stu £675. Now we have to decide as to whether we want to take it further or accept the settlement. Personally i'm inclined to think the latter, should be quicker, is pretty close to the amount i set out in my original complaint to them and it settles the matter once and for all.So, settle or hold out for more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Manual Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Out of principle, I'd do my best to screw them despite the added effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_travis Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 cut your losses and get out with the settlement payment.you mentioned above that you had £300 - 400 worth of stuff left in the house so you have doubled what it was worth and a little more? just get out now, its so much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robwalker Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Take what youve got and run. Its not like you need any more money right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted February 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 No i don't need more. Its just i currently can't get hold of stu as he's attending a funeral and i'm expecting a call from the solicitors any minute to decide. I know we just got a huge gas bill of £1350 between three of us. I had my share pretty much covered so long as i live off beans for a couple of weeks but this money will make paying the bill a breaze. Should have some left for my new monitor too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.