St Andrews students owed £42,000 in unclaimed deposits

Forgetful St Andrews students are failing to reclaim deposits from rented accommodation as the end of term approaches.

Almost £42,000 remains unclaimed by 103 students in the town – more than half of the unclaimed deposits in Scotland.

In total 188 tenancy deposits have not been claimed by students from Scottish colleges and universities, worth almost £62,000.

Students at Scotland’s oldest university top the table with £41,872.16 owed, which means they are missing out on an average of £406 each.

In second place is Aberdeen University where 16 students are owed £3,770.87, followed by Dundee University where 14 students have failed to collect £3,932.15 worth of deposits.

The figures were revealed by SafeDeposits Scotland, which carried out research by identifying all tenants who have a university email account registered against their name on the deposit account.

It found, however, that students at some institutions have perfect records on reclaiming deposits, with those studying at City of Glasgow College, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Queen Margaret University leaving nothing unclaimed.

Victoria Nixon, operations manager at SafeDeposits Scotland, said: “It’s interesting to see the disparity in rates of deposits left unclaimed by students across the country and the reasons behind it may be complex and varied.

“Some people may simply forget, some might think they won’t get it back and others might think it’s an inconvenience.

“But in reality, the process is straightforward and should disputes over deductions arise, an independent adjudicator will work to find an amicable resolution for all parties.”

She added: “Tenancy deposit schemes like SafeDeposits Scotland were introduced to help tenants and landlords get a fair deal at the end of a lease agreement and claiming your deposit is straightforward.”

Safedeposit Scotland holds deposits and can act as adjudicator.