By Victoria Mckeown-
A landlady has today been exposed for wrongly authorising a deposit payment to the partner of a woman with whom he had split.
Vanessa Walsh(pictured) and her husband Euan Walsh, from Kent, rented out a property to 29 year old Vera Ajoku, who moved in with her partner, James Burley, The pair had been dating for 2 years when they decided live together, with both of them added to the tenancy agreement.
Ms Ajoku paid the deposit of £200, and also paid the rent throughout the four year period the pair lived at the property. According to Ms Ajoku they were carving out a life together, but Mr. Burley did not contribute to the rent of the property at all.
When the pair moved out of the property, the Walsh’s authorised the payment to James, even after they were alerted not to do so. Mr Burley left some 3 weeks before Ms Ajoku.
Ms Walsh told The Eye Of Media.Com that the responsibility for allocating deposits back to tenants was that of the deposit protection scheme.
However, a spokesperson for the Deposit Tenancy Scheme contradicted that position , saying that: ”the landlord authorised the return of the deposit to the nominated tenant, and that the case was closed”. Ms Walsh has not negated that statement.
Venessa’s husband, Euan Walsh did not respond to any of our calls.
Ms Ajoku, a health worker suffering with low level mental health issues as a result of her misfortunes, wrote to her landlord the moment she caught wind of news that her former partner was about to claim the deposit she paid. She asked them to stop the deposit. A copy of the email dated
Vera Ajoku paid a deposit of £200 to move into a Westcliff On Sea address in 2018, and had every reason to expect to receive the deposit back, in consistence with her contractual arrangements.
Instead, her former partner, James Burley, appropriated the funds for himself, knowing fully well he had no entitlement to it.
He exploited a systemic flaw in the system, and both the deposit tenancy scheme and the landlord did not address it. They said it was against their procedures. Procedures are not always without failings.
Ms Ajoku alerted both the deposit tenancy scheme, and the landlord , the moment she became aware that her former partner who lived with her, was about to claim the deposit.
Her email on November 4, 2020 reads: Please do not give my deposit to 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”.
It adds: ‘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 account’.
Despite this note, the Venessa Waslsh and Euan Walsh did nothing to resolve the situation. They asked the health worker to seek legal advise, allowing her ex partner to walk with her money.
The tenancy deposit protection scheme also, Tenancy deposit protection imposes on landlords to give tenants the name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme, and its dispute resolution service.
The above landlords failed to do fulfil their obligations in this case
Despite the alert of Ms Ajoku, the landlord failed to address her complaints, and handed the money to her estranged fiancee, James Burley. The pair also asked the lady to seek legal advice.
Mr. Burley walked out a planned wedding with Ms Ajoku last August, after 4 years, leaving her very distressed.
Vera Ajoku Image: Victor Guidini
But Ms Ajoku made the mistake of registering his name on the property as a joint tenant, and Mr Burley took advantage of the technical flaws in the system.
Mr Burley allegedly left with her belongings and also claimed her deposit of £200, because he believed he could get away with it, given it’s civil nature. Her complaint was investigated , and included speaking to some members of Mr Burley’s family, while others refused to engage.
There was no satisfactory explanation as to why Mr Burley brazenly took her £2oo deposit, and escaped without questions, except that his name was on the tenancy agreement.
We made Ms Ajoku, Britain’s unluckiest girl for 2020. She split up with her fiancee of four years, was defrauded of £5. 000 by fraudsters, defrauded again of £1600 by a pay pal fraudster, then had her final blow when her fiancee who left her, claimed a deposit for a property she paid for , but in which he lived.
A friend of Ms Ajoku told The Eye Of Media.Com: ” she would have to be cursed to have so many things happen to you in a short space of time. She feels desperately unlucky.
Mr Burley, who is on the hot seat, has not responded to any of calls or texts, but his father expressed no knowledge of the allegations.
James Burley (left) and Vera Ajoku(right) Image: Vera Ajoku
Landlady Venessa Walsh was told she was responsible for the confusion and the failure of the Deposit Tenancy protection Scheme, but she unashamedly pointed to the scheme itself.
The response of the Deposit Tenancy Protection Scheme to the lady is also being closely examined. They have put the weight of responsibility on the landlord of Ms Ajoku, who authorized the release of the deposit, and also conclude by saying they followed their procedures. which they did. But are the procedures up to scratch, when it comes to domestic violence?
Domestic violence are not easily detectable, but occur with potentially dangerous effects for the victims of the violence, sometimes physically, and most times mentally. A wedding plan aborted with lots of hard feelings, ill treatment, and allegations.