Letting Deposit Return Following Death of Relative
Discussion
I'd like some advice, if I may, please.
My MIL died recently. She was living in a rented property, when my wife requested the deposit is returned the letting agent said that the deposit couldn't be returned to her as she isn't named on any of the letting documentation. To release the deposit, they require to see a will.
There is no will but my wife is named as next of kin on the death certificate but apparently this is not sufficient for the agent.
Any advice on how we can progress this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
My MIL died recently. She was living in a rented property, when my wife requested the deposit is returned the letting agent said that the deposit couldn't be returned to her as she isn't named on any of the letting documentation. To release the deposit, they require to see a will.
There is no will but my wife is named as next of kin on the death certificate but apparently this is not sufficient for the agent.
Any advice on how we can progress this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Pupp said:
If she is the next of kin and administering the estate, the deposit holder might insist that a grant of letters of administration is obtained to evidence entitlement to the funds. Often, banks and insurers etc will release money upon sight of a certified copy of the death certificate, particularly relatively smaller amounts, but I have known utilities and the like holding credit balances to want a formal grant.
If the estate value is below a certain threshold, obtaining the grant is free; above that, there’s a fee - which is a right PITA when the fee exceeds the refund due. Had just this with E.ON recently when administering my late father‘s affairs.
After repeatedly explaining that I was the sole beneficiary as well as the person administering the estate, and pursuing the issue through their complaints process (involving my MP and the company’s CEO, who wouldn’t come out of hiding and tell us how much dead customers’ money E.ON trousered each year by denying refunds due to it being uneconomic for the administrator to obtain a grant), they did, eventually and grudgingly, revise their bereavement policy to allow discretionary refunds of small credits in such circumstances.
If there are no competing or superior beneficiaries to the estate, it might help to rehearse the mantra that the money being withheld now legally belongs to the administrator and any contractual right to retain the deposit died with the deceased, so please return that money to its lawful owner… I was at the point of issuing a small claim in the county court when E.ON saw sense but that’s not straight forward as the court will be looking for a contractual right or tortious claim (like negligence) to exist in order for it to be litigated. Neither apply!
I eventually settled on a claim alleging ‘unjust enrichment’ as the basis for a letter before action, and added 8% statutory interest to the refund due, which seemed to unlock things when E.ON’s legal team were eventually asked to advise. The complaint handler initially asserted legal advice would only be sought if I sued as she had ‘researched the Gov website’ and was happy my father’s money did not have to returned.
Be prepared for a battle; good luck!
I'm sorry for your loss and thank you for taking the time to reply in such detail. We've found that some companies are great at dealing with bereavement and closing accounts. There are some, however, that are very insensitive, inefficient and downright obstinate to deal with.If the estate value is below a certain threshold, obtaining the grant is free; above that, there’s a fee - which is a right PITA when the fee exceeds the refund due. Had just this with E.ON recently when administering my late father‘s affairs.
After repeatedly explaining that I was the sole beneficiary as well as the person administering the estate, and pursuing the issue through their complaints process (involving my MP and the company’s CEO, who wouldn’t come out of hiding and tell us how much dead customers’ money E.ON trousered each year by denying refunds due to it being uneconomic for the administrator to obtain a grant), they did, eventually and grudgingly, revise their bereavement policy to allow discretionary refunds of small credits in such circumstances.
If there are no competing or superior beneficiaries to the estate, it might help to rehearse the mantra that the money being withheld now legally belongs to the administrator and any contractual right to retain the deposit died with the deceased, so please return that money to its lawful owner… I was at the point of issuing a small claim in the county court when E.ON saw sense but that’s not straight forward as the court will be looking for a contractual right or tortious claim (like negligence) to exist in order for it to be litigated. Neither apply!
I eventually settled on a claim alleging ‘unjust enrichment’ as the basis for a letter before action, and added 8% statutory interest to the refund due, which seemed to unlock things when E.ON’s legal team were eventually asked to advise. The complaint handler initially asserted legal advice would only be sought if I sued as she had ‘researched the Gov website’ and was happy my father’s money did not have to returned.
Be prepared for a battle; good luck!
As time goes on, tt's becoming more a crusade of principle than retrieving the money.
pork911 said:
With respect why do you think they should release the deposit on the basis of a death certificate?
If letters of administration are not gong to be obtained (why not?) then you might persuade them to release on the basis of a suitably worded indemnity such that the person they pay will be responsible to them if anyone else pops up asking for the deposit as well.
Thankfully I'm not well versed on dealing with affairs following death and this option hadn't occurred to me, thank you for your suggestion. I'll mention it to my wife and see if that will satisfy their request.If letters of administration are not gong to be obtained (why not?) then you might persuade them to release on the basis of a suitably worded indemnity such that the person they pay will be responsible to them if anyone else pops up asking for the deposit as well.
To answer your question, I think it's reasonable to assume that being named on a death certificate as the next of kin transfers all responsibilities to that person. As mentioned, I'm inexperienced at dealing with this so happy to be corrected and learn.
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