As the end of the academic year approaches, one deposit protection scheme is urging student tenants to reclaim their deposits.
SafeDeposits Scotland says that its research shows that some student tenants are more forgetful than others when it comes to unclaimed deposits.
The organisation reports that it is currently holding 188 unclaimed student deposits £60,000.
Scotland’s oldest university, St. Andrews, is the biggest contributor, with over 100 students from the institution owed an average of £406 each.
Students at some institutions, however, have perfect records on reclaiming deposits. City of Glasgow College, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, UWS, and Queen Margaret University all have no deposits unclaimed.
“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,” says Victoria Nixon, operations manager at SafeDeposits Scotland.
“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.”
Last month, SafeDeposits Scotland reported that one Edinburgh tenant left a deposit totalling £5,250 unclaimed for over a year.
It said that at the time that it held £604,513.86 in unclaimed money from 2,440 deposits.