Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) - Hemel Hempstead

Charlotte G.

After a wonderful maternity leave spent on the isle of wight with my newborn & toddler, the landlord & I had come to prior arrangements to make good my toddler’s handy work across their apartment. Unfortunately, in the 11th hour having been coerced to leave a week early for this to be carried out, they rescinded their position because I wouldn’t agree to then new extortionate demands on already worn out second hand furniture. I paid in advance to replace certain items (nutella fingers) & rather than waste the items we agreed I’d take them - of course, they kept this money & didn’t let me have the items I had replaced for new. I’m interested to see how this will work out - they’re in over a million pounds worth of debt to creditors, so I am not sure how my deposit will really help them. The sad thing is the duplicity they deployed as soon as I had left - it’s amazing how some people behave in this world for the £££s over respect, honesty and integrity which of course is priceless. They also seem to have sold me out in the now rather than the potential I had not only to return but also advertise their holiday let to colleagues & friends. So far I have only spoken to someone on the phone here and they were really helpful to get this now arduous process underway. I think the landlord thinks because I have my hands full with two kids, as a single parent, I won’t bother. It’s the principle of sticking to our agreement, doing what you say you will do & not double crossing people that I am stepping forward to raise. I hope I get my full deposit back having already paid for a professional end of tenancy agreement on landlord’s instruction despite moving into a filthy dirty apartment in the first place. I would treat people differently to how they have done me - I’d even supply loo roll & hand soap, which is what I left for the next occupants, although the landlord probably stole these now 🙁 Why? Because they can.

Rimi M.

I am truly shocked at how this system works, how difficult it is to use and how long it takes for a decision. They do not adhere to time frames and after six months I have still not got a satisfactory outcome. I am a the owner of a property which had a tenancy for 5.5 years. The adjudicator put all my evidence under the umbrella of 'wear and tear ' ignoring the fact that there was broken plaster on the walls, scorched marks, broken and rusty sanitaryware, broken mirror cupboards, the list was endless. The deposit was a fraction of the total cost of repairs yet I got back less than 50% of the deposit despite the fact that the tenants were in major breach of their contract as they brought in extra appliances to the kitchen without my permission and they were plumbed so badly that it caused major damage to my kitchen work units causing them to subside. The adjudicator stated that leaks were my responsibility however, no leaks were reported by the tenants and in their dispute they claimed to have got a plumber over a holiday period ( no date, time or company mentioned ) who fixed the leak for a cash amount and it was agreed that no receipt would be given for the work. The tenants were in serious breach of contract as they failed to report the leak which then went on to cause extensive damage to the kitchen units and surrounding area. Their unsubstantiated evidence was given preference over my documented evidence, conclusive photographic evidence and conclusive report from the head of Lettings of a renowned company who was present during the repair work and took a report from the plumber. The same happened in the conservatory where a leaky gutter damaged walls inside and out so much so that they were saturated in water and had plants growing out of the walls in the area. Gutters are the landlords responsibility but they can only be dealt with if the tenants report them. Neither the leaky gutter nor the obvious leak were reported either by the tenants nor the management agents looking after the property.
It's not just tenants who suffer. This system is outdated and needs urgent reform. For a landlord repairs have to be paid for upfront so to wait over six months without a proper decision is crippling and hence more and more landlords will leave the property market thus providing less housing.
The photos are just some of the evidence given which was described as "wear and tear "
The people who are enjoying this fiasco are the letting agents who are sitting on the deposit and most probably earning interest!!

Jane

I don't have any faith in TDS or the agentthat put my deposit money into their care. First off I never received an email from them to set up my account. Secondly the lady I spoke to said that they had the wrong email address and was eager to get me off the phone. I had to ask her to wait to see if the email would actually come through. The second one did and she was off. The gentleman that I spoke to today was very patient and professional l, he told me that the women had not done her bit at their end. Now I have to wait another 3 to 5 days. Which will then be two months of waiting for my monies, whilst they are claiming interest on it lmfao

Donna G.

May I say that the man that dealt with my claim was absolutely amazing. He guided me through every single aspect of the information that I required and he waited patiently while I tapped my way through on my keyboard and the Internet to every single page that I needed. He didn’t rush me and he took it very slowly. I could not have got where he guided me to without his help. He was truly amazing and I am very grateful. If only everybody run their business like This and employed staff like this man.

MF R.

Online facility is good and it is easy to establish an account and initiate a claim. However the software needs update to change the misleading announcement window which tells the user a link to the claim will be ready but may take a few minutes. Twenty four hours later and no link! This prompted me to call the telephone helpline only to be told that actually this is an inaccurate glitch and in stead there should be a message to say you have to wait for two days for an email instructions with links to complete the claim. The person on the phone was very knowledgeable and courteous.

I strongly recommend TDS admin to correct the message/advice that pops up after initiating a new claim. This will save time and money and improves proufor all!

Elaine P.

Everyone I've spoken to in the support team have been really helpful, professional and courteous listening to me and answering my queries. This process has been worring & to a degree distressing so THANKS to everyone who has so far helped me. Up to the adjudicator now.

Wayne W.

Very happy with how quickly I was able to register but I am having problem with paying the deposit because I did something wrong when registering, so unless I register myself again then it will work apparently. I am not to that so I am trying to do the deposit payment through my Lloyd's bank account which is proving to be a problem with all the fraud that's going on. Other that that overall I happy.

Toni L.

I contacted TDS after becoming concerned that my deposit might not have been protected properly. I hadn’t received any paperwork or confirmation from my letting agent, so I rang TDS directly to check. Unfortunately, they had no record of my deposit being protected.

Although this was disappointing and stressful to discover, I was very reassured by the way TDS handled my call. The person I spoke to was understanding, clear, and helpful. They explained my rights and the next steps I could take, including how to raise a complaint or dispute if needed.

While my situation wasn’t ideal, I really appreciated the support and guidance TDS provided. It’s clear they take deposit protection seriously and want tenants to feel confident about their rights. I would encourage all tenants to check directly with TDS if they’re unsure their team made a difficult situation feel much more manageable.