Tenancy Deposit Claims

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Tenancy Deposit Claims

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Did your landlord fail to protect your deposit?

Landlords have a responsibility to protect the deposit of tenants who rent under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement. They need to do this within 30 days of receiving the deposit, using one of the three government-approved protection schemes.

If a landlord fails to protect your deposit correctly and on time, you might be entitled to compensation. This compensation can be up to three times the value of the deposit if you’ve already left the property or four times if you haven’t yet received your deposit.

If your tenancy has been renewed but your landlord still fails to protect your deposit, you may be entitled to bring additional claims and seek additional compensation.

Government-approved Schemes

These schemes are authorised by the government and are the only schemes your landlord can use to protect your deposit.

If you started or renewed your tenancy in the past 6 years and your deposit wasn’t protected using one of the schemes mentioned above, you have the right to make a claim. Additionally, you can make further claims for any subsequent breaches.

Who qualifies for a tenancy deposit claim?

When you sign an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, your landlord will request a deposit. This deposit cannot exceed the cost of 5 weeks’ rent. After receiving the deposit, your landlord has 30 days to protect it using one of the three approved schemes. Once the money is safeguarded, your landlord must notify you where the deposit is being held and provide a reference number for the account. This ensures that your deposit remains secure throughout your tenancy and that your landlord cannot make any unreasonable deductions.

Your landlord is only permitted to access your deposit and make deductions under specific conditions. To do this they must inform you beforehand and provide evidence that the deduction is reasonable. Should your landlord neglect to do so, you have the option to bring a claim. You do not need to still be a tenant to do so.

You can claim if:

You know or believe your deposit was not protected
You were not issued details of the deposit protection scheme used
Your landlord didn’t protect your deposit within 30 days
You have since ended your contract, but your deposit has not been returned

How much compensation can I get for a tenancy deposit dispute?

Awards for tenancy deposit dispute cases can reach up to three times the deposit amount. This means a £500 deposit could be worth £1500, plus a refund of the initial £500 deposit.

If your tenancy has been renewed but your deposit still wasn’t protected, you can claim for each renewal. This further increases the amount of compensation you could receive.

Do I have to pay anything upfront?

No, at JPL Lawyer we operate tenancy deposit claims on a no-win, no-fee basis. This means you have nothing to pay unless and until you are successful. If your case is unsuccessful, you won’t pay us a penny.

Our fees are recovered from the defendant (your landlord) when we win, along with a modest success fee from your compensation. This gives more people access to justice without worrying about funding what could otherwise be an expensive legal case.

How do I know that JPL Lawyer is genuine?

If you’ve been targeted by sophisticated scammers, you will naturally be cautious when choosing a professional advisor. We would always encourage you to check the credentials of anyone who offers to help you recover your money. Unfortunately, scammers are known to retarget their victims with offers of help, for an upfront fee, in an attempt to steal more money. We work on a no-win, no-fee basis and would never ask for money upfront. Put simply, if you win, we win. To reassure you that JPL Lawyer is genuine, we’d like to share our company and regulatory information with you. JPL Lawyer is a trading name of Cheshire Estate and Legal Limited (company number: 10370954). We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number: 633955). The quickest way to check this is to click on the SRA badge at the bottom of this page. Regulated law firms must register their website with the SRA in order to display this clickable link, to validate they are genuine. If you would prefer to visit the SRA website directly, you can find us on their ‘Solicitors Register’. You can also visit the Law Society, which is the independent professional body for solicitors. Look us up on their website using their ‘Find a Solicitor’ tool. This is a free service for anyone looking for information about organisations or people providing legal services that are regulated by the SRA.

What types of fraud/scams have JPL Lawyer dealt with?

Investment scams

Investment scammers convince their victims they have a sound investment opportunity in order to get them to send them money. This could be a ‘brokerage firm’ that offers to help you trade in foreign exchange, binary options, cryptocurrency and other valuable commodities. These scammers often appear incredibly knowledgeable and have websites, testimonials and marketing materials to convince you that they are legitimate. Investment scammers are so sophisticated, they’ve been known to trick professional investors, so if this has happened to you then you should never be embarrassed to get in touch.

Impersonation scams

Impersonation scammers pose as well-known organizations in order to get their victims to send them money. They impersonate trusted organisations such as the police, banks, HMRC or well-known utility and service providers. They might tell you that there has been fraudulent activity on your account and that you should move your money to a ‘safe account’, that you have an unpaid bill that you must pay immediately or face legal consequences or that your account has been hacked and access is required to rectify the problem. Impersonation scammers are very convincing, so if this has happened to you please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Romance scams

Romance scammers convince their victims they’re in a serious relationship in order to get them to send them money. They’ll typically pose as people living and working overseas, which is why they say they can’t meet in person. They don’t always ask for money straight away, instead spending a lot of time building up trust. Then, when they’ve established a good rapport, they’ll create an emergency and ask for temporary financial support. Romance scammers are very manipulative, and play on the kindness of their victims.

Purchase scams

Purchase scammers convince their victims to send them money for high-value items such as cars. In these scams, the goods won’t be received and the listing or seller will disappear after the bank transfer has been made. Purchase scammers know all of the tricks to deceive online shoppers. If you have lost money to a purchase scam, we can help you recover your money.

Can you really get my money back?

Yes, we have a team of financial recovery experts who specialise in getting back money lost to scammers. We will review all of the financial transactions in relation to the fraud and if we believe that more could have been done to protect you from fraud then we will complain to the relevant financial institution and seek redress. Where a scammer with assets can be identified, we can also pursue them through the courts.

How do you recover my money?

Through a range of techniques, from financial complaints to legal proceedings, we can seek recovery from either the financial institution that should have detected and prevented the fraud to the scammer themselves, providing they have assets that we can seek recovery from. Where necessary, we use specialist forensic accountants to help trace funds and we have a network of law firms worldwide that can assist recovery of monies hidden in offshore tax havens and foreign jurisdictions.

What if I think or I've been told that I was at fault?

You may believe that you were at fault for authorising the payment and, that as a result of this, there is nothing you can do. You may have also been put off by your bank if they’ve refused to refund your money. However, we’re experts in financial rules, regulations, codes of conduct, banking laws and legal processes that will assist in recovering your money. This is why our fraud recovery success rate is so high.

Could I recover my money myself?

Yes. You can contact the relevant financial institution to try to recover your money yourself. You can also make a complaint if you’re not happy with the response you receive. However, if you would like us to do this for you, we will use our technical knowledge and legal expertise to give you the best chance of success. We’ll also be able to represent you in the event our advice is to pursue this through the courts.

Do I have to pay anything upfront? What will this cost me?

No, we work on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis. If we are unsuccessful in recovering your money then you won’t pay us a penny. We also offer free initial, no-obligation advice so you have nothing to lose by getting in touch with one of our friendly advisors today. We can start working on your case as soon as you formally instruct us, and our paperwork has been signed. Additionally, you have a 14-day cooling-off period, after you’ve signed our initial documents if you change your mind.

Can you trace cryptocurrency?

Yes, we can trace and recover lost to crypto scams. Using Chainalysis Reactor software, our experts will attempt to trace cryptocurrency through the blockchain to an endpoint which is usually a crypto asset exchange provider.