I rented a 1 bedroom flat for 2 years until March 2013 when I terminated the tenancy and checked out with no problems. The property is managed by a letting agent and they informed me that my full deposit of £650.00 will be refunded within 10 working days. I have never met my landlord as she is living overseas and all dealings and transactions were carried out by the agent. When it was closer to the 10 days and I have not received my deposit I contacted the agent to find out what was the situation. They told me that the landlord has not registered the deposit so they cannot refund it to me so I need to contact the landlord overseas to get it back. My shorthold tenancy agreement clearly states that the deposit have been registered so I was very surprised to know that it wasn't when I moved out. To date all I have received from the landlord is £135.00 and she claimed she sent the balance by wire transfer but this amount has not turned up at my bank. Now that the property has been relet I have asked her to instruct the agent to pay me but she refuses to do so claiming that she has already paid me and the money has left her bank account. I even sent her copies of my bank statement but she won't budge. During this time I written several letters to the landlord and the agent threatening to sue them for my deposit but the agent said I cannot join them with the landlord as they are not liable and only the landlord can be sued. The problem I'm facing is the landlord lives overseas so it's pointless to sue her. However, the property has been relet by the agent and she is still running a viable business here. My question is: Can I sue her business via this letting agent? If so can anyone on this forum advise me how to go about this?
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