By Ashley Young And Vicky Mckeown-
The Deposit Protection Scheme failed a Health Care Worker, after her ex fiancee claimed the deposit for a property she rented for 3 years.
Depressed health worker, Vera Ajoku, 29, wrote to both her landlord and the scheme, warning them that her ex-fiancee,
Jay Burley, 39 was about to claim her deposit. Instead of protecting her deposit, they gave the money to her ex- boyfriend, against the purpose of the scheme, which is to protect the deposit.
Ms Ajoku, who has been battling emotional and psychological mental health issues since the original split with her ex -fiancee, She says she feels insulted that her landlord and Deposit Tenancy Protection Scheme allowed Mr Burley to take her deposit of £250, despite her warning them in advance.
Worst of all, Ms Ajoku alleges he left her property with some of her belongings without her permission. She says she has been degraded by the scheme.
She fumed: ”This guy just walked out on me and claimed my deposit money. He went that low to exploit a loophole , not thinking I will fight. It has been a nightmare, she said. Can you imagine the embarrassment I faced?
Proposal Gone Wrong
Mr Burley proposed to Ms Ajoku at a restaurant in September 2019.However, that same year, he was not only walking away from their wedding, he was walking away with her deposit money.a
Falsely claimed deposit money: James Burley Image: Vera Ajoku
A number of factors built up to the wedding split, including failed arrangements for a traditional wedding to precede the big wedding to take place in Ireland, where her father is from.
The Deposit scheme told The Eye Of Media.com that the landlord authorised the former boyfriend to claim the deposit, because he was the nominated tenant, but this publication has seen evidence that Ms Ajoku was actually the lead tenant.
A spokesperson for the Deposit Tenancy Scheme said: Both parties names were on the tenancy agreement, and the nominated tenant can claim the deposit”.
Flawed
The framework of the rules governing the scheme in the case of multiple tenants has been found to be flawed at a first glance. The responsibility placed on tenants to allocate deposit payments to entitled parties opens up the strong possibility of tenants being cheated of money they paid with the reasonable expectations it would be protected.
In this case, Ms Ajoku was the rightful claimant of the deposit, having paid the money from her account, but making the mistake of moving in with the man she wanted to marry. The pair planned to tie the knot last year in Dublin, but the introduction aspect of the wedding, where the parents of the couple meet each other- was delayed when Ireland imposed a lockdown in Ireland
Violation Of Housing Act 2004
The Deposit Tenancy Scheme also violated the Housing Act 2004, which imposes a duty on the Scheme to protect the deposit of a defendant. It stipulates that:
The appropriate national authority must make arrangements for securing that one or more tenancy deposit schemes are available for the purpose of safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with shorthold tenancies.
(2)For the purposes of this Chapter a “tenancy deposit scheme” is a scheme which—
(a) is made for the purpose of safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with shorthold tenancies and facilitating the resolution of disputes arising in connection with such deposits, and (b) complies with the requirements of Schedule 10.
No resolution took place in this case, and the health worker was told to fight her own battle.
On November 3, 2020, she sent a mail to her landlord Euan Walsh, requesting he protected her deposit.
Her mail said: ”Can you please ensure that my deposit is sent back into my account and not James Burley as he did not pay the deposit nor did he contribute or pay rent during our stay at the property for the 3 years.
I am actually quiet shocked that he has claimed to collect this deposit from my account. I have been advised by the protection deposit team to notify you immediately to put a STOP to this transaction immediately ensuring that the money is sent into my Barclays accounts”.
A similar mail was sent to the Deposit Protection Scheme, but they ignored it.
The Deposit scheme failed Ms Ajoku by failing to ensure she received her deposit. It has a duty to ensure that the rightful people entitled to a deposit, actually receive it. In the absence of such assurance, the scheme is potentially not fit for purpose, and this particular aspect needs to be revamped.
Deposit Scheme
Vera Ajoku paid a deposit of £2o0 to move into the property in Essex and had every reason to expect to receive it back. Instead, her former partner, appropriated the funds for himself, knowing fully well he had no entitlement to it. The man brazenly exploited a systemic flaw in the system and both the scheme and the landlord failed to correct it.
Rather, they asked the scheme burdened the lady to seek legal advice, burdening her with all the tasks that poses, when it is clear they abdicated their duty.
Long Term Relationship
Mr Ajoku and James Burley were in a 5 year relationship, and planned to get married. However, he walked out of their wedding, and added insult to injury by appropriating her deposit for himself. When contacted by this publication to question him about the wrongly claimed deposit, Mr Burley declined to respond to text and email messages we sent him.
A report was sent to the Deposit Tenancy Scheme, outlining in detail where they had failed, and noting how to avoid a repeat of such situation. They acknowledged the error, and said they would review it.
There remains the question of how Ms Ajoku would get her money back. She could make a formal complaint against the landlord, or pursue a civil suit against them all.
P.S: This article was written by both authours.