The three Oxford Brookes University undergraduates claim they are owed more than £1,000 for deposits they paid when they moved into the house in Union Street, east Oxford, in September 1998.

They say the letting agency which rented them the house, Runyard's Residential Lettings, is refusing to give back the cash, even though the house was in perfect order when they left.

One of the students, Sandy Chadwick, said: "When we left the house we were expecting to get the deposit back in the summer, but they have just kept fobbing us off. "They are just not taking us seriously and it is getting to the stage where it is beyond a joke. We have written to them stating the facts and are now thinking about legal action."

She added: "I have spoken to lots of other students and they say the same sort of thing has happened to them.

"I'm sure they think they can get away with it because we are students and won't take any action."

The students have the support of staff at the Oxford Brookes who are helping them in the dispute. A university spokesman said: "We can confirm that the students are considering legal action Runyard's Letting Agents over a disputed deposit and that they have the support of the university.

"A common problem with the return of deposits is that landlords and letting agents retain the deposit for excessive amounts of time after the tenancy ends, without a reasonable explanation."

Runyard's, which was based on The Plain, Oxford, has since been taken over by Hampton's.

A spokesman for Hampton's said they were doing everything they could to help the students and chase up their claim with the ex-director of Runyard's.

Story date: Saturday 05 February

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