Help at hand for Letting Agents In Deposit Protection Disputes

Help is at hand for letting agents driven to distraction by the deposit protection schemes. A deposit protection adjudicator has set up an online service to help save agents the time and expense of a failed claim.

In a twist on the poacher turned gamekeeper scenario, Tom Derrett, formerly a deposit protection adjudicator, has set up ADR Solution, a specialist online service giving legal advice to letting agents on how to maximise their chances of winning deposit protection disputes. Now, rather than enforcing the rules against the industry, Tom is giving landlords and letting agents the benefit of his unique insider knowledge.

“As an adjudicator I had to decide claims based on the evidence in front of me,” said Tom, a qualified lawyer, “but I was concerned that agents were losing disputes unnecessarily. Seeing an obvious gap in the market, I set up ADR Solution, a unique service for outsourcing deposit disputes that takes time consuming work away from your senior people and demonstrates to your landlords that you are giving them the best service."

Since the introduction of the controversial deposit protection legislation in 2007, agents have struggled to claim money through the deposit protection schemes. If the landlord and tenant cannot decide how much of the security deposit should be retained by the landlord, the deposit protection schemes run their own ADR (alternative dispute resolution) departments, to resolve the dispute free of charge. Figures released by My Deposits last year show that landlords only won the full amount they claimed in 8% of cases, whereas tenants were awarded all of the money in almost half of the disputes. Tom Derrett intends to even the odds.

“Having been an adjudicator, I understand the process of deciding claims. We ensure that your claim is drafted in such a way that it is difficult for the adjudicator to decide against you. All you have to do is send the information relating to the dispute to us. We will perform a systematic data analysis of your claim and request any additional evidence required. Once we have all your evidence, we prepare your statement and a pdf of evidence to meet the legal standards required by the deposit protection schemes. You then submit the statement and evidence as normal."

ADR Solution will act on behalf of letting agents in exchange for a small fee per let. Agents looking to add the ADR Solution service to their business should contact ADR Solution direct on 0845 519 4597, or email info@adrsolution.co.uk