Vishal, Having read the contents of your recent review, I felt compelled to reply personally due to the seriousness of the allegation made against our Company. You have suggested that our staff have discriminated against you due to your race and also ‘scammed’ you out of money. Having personally reviewed the contents of the related file notes which are recorded chronologically, there has never been any reference made by you to any form of discrimination over a considerable period, whilst you occupied a property as tenants which we manage on behalf of a private landlord. Therefore, can I please urge you to provide me personally with a detailed explanation and examples of how you believe our staff have discriminated against you on the base of race so they can be investigated further. My email address is sb@beresfords.co.uk. As a Company we deal with hundreds of different landlords and tenants every single month who are of various nationalities and faiths and always treat every single one of them with the same level of respect. Furthermore, we also employ many people ourselves from similar backgrounds who do a fantastic job for our Company and customers alike, which is why I treat such an accusation with the seriousness that it deserves. In terms of the money that you suggest we have ‘scammed’ from you, I reply as follows as I feel that it may also help others reading this response who may be in a similar situation linked to the return of their dilapidation deposit. When a tenancy comes to an end there is a standard process all letting agents should follow by law. Prior to moving into a rented property, tenants pay a dilapidation deposit which is registered by the agents with an independent scheme provider (in your case this was The Tenancy Deposit Scheme TDS). Providing that the property is looked after throughout a tenancy and there are no issues which are deemed to be beyond fair wear and tear, then this deposit is returned in full upon expiry of the tenancy term. Agents or an appointed third-party Company will conduct a ‘check out’ inspection just prior to tenants moving out and if issues are discovered, then the deposit must remain registered in full, and no element of it passed on to either the tenants or landlord. Estimates are then requested from contractors to rectify the areas of concern and once received, negotiations begin in the hope of securing a mutually acceptable compromise between landlord and tenants to cover the associated costs of putting things right. Up until an agreement has been reached and the agent is in receipt of written confirmation of this from both landlord and tenants, the agents cannot by law release any funds to either party from the deposit. Unfortunately, in your particular case issues were identified which have been deemed beyond fair wear and tear, hence why we are unable to return any of your deposit at this stage. We are currently awaiting quotations from the contractors and once received, negotiations can commence. If a mutually acceptable arrangement cannot be agreed, then as tenants you can appeal directly to the TDS to any proposal being made by the landlord to retain a certain amount of money from your depos. The TDS would then appoint one of their own independent Adjudicators to review the matter and make a decision in terms of what amount, if any from your deposit, should be awarded to the landlord. My understanding is that all of this has been very clearly explained to you. We fully appreciate your frustration at not having had your deposit returned immediately but the legal process dictates otherwise, if issues such as those mentioned above are experienced. Rest assured that once quotations have been received, we will play our part in a professional an unbiased manner to help conclude matters as quickly as possible, but of course much will depend on the willingness of both you and the landlord to reach a sensible compromise. In our view, to suggest openly that Beresfords have discriminated against you due to race and also ‘scammed’ you out of money is unfounded, untrue, and quite honestly very distasteful. Nonetheless, I look forward to receiving clear examples from you in due course to support your claims that in some way we have acted inappropriately and I will then undertake further investigations.