Singing Pig

My lettings agent has proved to be a complete rogue.  He has lied about the cost relating to fees and he has not set up the rent collection service. I would like to end the agreement.  I have asked him to send me the terms and conditions of which he claimed I signed but I only signed an AST.  The last straw was when he said that the £60.00 I gave him for a gas safety certificate was an admin fee and the engineer should recover the cost from me.  Although the company has agreed to charge the initial fee.  I cannot trust them.  I would like some idea of the cost of ending my agreement. Can somebody help.  

If you are certain that you never signed an agreement then he will have little chance of persuing you for ongoing fees. Contact your tenant and instruct him to pay his rent directly to you. You may well have to write off any moreys that the agent has already collected. Is he a member of ARLA, NEA or other professional body? If he is, they have a disputes resolution service.

P.P.

Thank you for your speedy response Pilcher. I have complained through their in house complaints procedure through their Chief Franchisor and they are registered with the ombudsman too. I was going to stay with them once they agreed to reverse the fees but this was followed by the incident regarding the £60 as well as the tenant informing me that the rent was still sitting in her account. Thats when I changed my mind.  Perhaps this is why the agent did not collect the money because he knows that I haven't filled in the relevant documents.  But I was thinking that I need to pay the agent fees for finding the tenant and the work involving the AST which I think would be a fair resolution.   

First, ensure that your new tenant is paying you his rent. Then, wait for their dispute resolution service to suggest to what you have suggested then negociate but it doesn't appear that they have done much resolution yet - i.e. they don't know what to do!

I always use well established high street estate/letting agents to find my tenants. It is strictly on a find a tenant only basis with the agent charging me a one off fee when the AST is signed. There are no ongoing fees, no renewal fees and I always read any agent's agreement carefully, striking out any such clauses before signature. If they don't like it, I find another agent, but they are usually happy to accept my business.

 P.P.

I was not sure how to make a fresh post so I am hoping that I will get an answer..  I told the agent (through the written resolution process)  that I wanted to take the case further to the ombudsman because I felt that the process favoured the estate agent in that there was no penalty for their failure to provide the rent collection service.  I requested that the estate agent send me a copy of  the terms and conditions which he did with my signature on the back.  I had denied ever seeing this document until this time which remains true.   Frighteningly, the signature bar one letter and the date look very similar to mine and I believe that they have forged it or copied it from a letter I have sent them.  On page 3 section B of the doument there is a place where I should have initialled - this is blank.  Also on page 10 there is another place for my initials - this is also blank.  Also there is a place for the address of landlord and vendor this has not been filled either.   I suspect that the reason these places are blank are because they did not have anything with my initials to copy on to this document. Or a handwritten copy of my address.   

I am uncertain of my next step to prove that this signature is not mine or that it has been super imposed and how if so?   The agency has not tried to hold me to it but it is a matter of principle.  Could somebody also let me know if this document is usually numbered at the bottom of the pages.

Finally, they have said if I do not pay the reversed fee by the end of the month they will retract to the normal fee despite the resolution process.  They have also said that they have witness's to say that I did not give the agent £60 for a gas boiler certificate but in their last letter they apologised and said this had been a misunderstanding and they sent me the certificate.  They have also said that it was only a letting service not a rent collection service.  Those in lettings, could I have imagined that the agent said that he would visit the property 2x year and  provide a rent collection service. The agent never contested this in my previous letters nor when the tenant contacted them as to why the standing order was never set up for the rent to be paid into my account.  Please explain the lettings process in this instance. why would they say it was a rent collection service if it wasn't why would they take both the tenants and my bank details on this pretext and what are the difference levels in service between lettings service and letting and rent collection service because now they have left me unsure.

Anyway, I am really angry about the lies that they have told particularly about the £60.00 and the signature on the document. I still intend to have the case forwarded to the ombudsman but I would appreciate any advise.

Many thanks in advance for your help -

 

This is getting very confusing, and the lettings agent is certainly the source of most of the confusion. Now - are you now receiving rent for your property directly from your tenant? Have you recovered any arrears of rent from him and is his rent account with you up to date or does this agent still owe you some rent (less commission)?

If so, have you wriiten to the agent advising them that you no longer wish to avail yourself of their services?

If you are certain that their contract with you bears a forged signature then they will have little chance of making a claim against you in court, so I should wait for them to try this and defend their action. It appears from what you say that they will have little chance of success as they are so disorganised.

P.P.

Hi Pilcher,

Thank you for replying to my post.  It is a lengthy post and I am aware that there is alot to take on board.  The tenant set up the standing order herself and I have been paid all rent monies due. The agency sent me a copy of a standing order with the tenants bank details on as evidence that they set this up.  But it never was, the tenant rung them soon after the first months rent was due and they said it would take a few more days for the standing order to go through.  But, when I queried the rent, the agents said that the tenant should approach the bank herself . The agent has also said that a rent collection service was not part of the agreement and that that the fact that they took mine and the tenants bank details was proof of this.  I am confused about this because under the let only which they claim I have.  There is no requirement for bank details so why then did they take them if this is the case.   

I must add that they are not trying to hold me to the contract in that they have said that under a let only basis there is nothing to terminate.(they want their fee of course)   But I wanted them to accept responsibliity for the rent being delayed (8 weeks) because the standing order had not been set up and this was the incredible response I got.  They said they dont see what more I have to complain about!  because they reversed the fees. Please note this was only after I had used the complaints process.  Under the rent collection service I believe I have some redress.   Now they say that if I do not pay by end of month they will charge original fee. This is all being over seen by their resolution process but I am going to say that I will pay when I am satisfied that a fair resolution has been reached which I believe is my right.   If only to have their ill practice on record. I will keep you posted though Pilcher. Thanks again and keep talkin to me.

 

 

Hope3:

...I must add that they are not trying to hold me to the contract in that they have said that under a let only basis there is nothing to terminate.(they want their fee of course)   But I wanted them to accept responsibliity for the rent being delayed (8 weeks) because the standing order had not been set up and this was the incredible response I got.  They said they dont see what more I have to complain about!  because they reversed the fees. ...

I cannot help but think how confusing all this is, and must be for you. You have clearly recognized that this is an agent you mustn't be dealing with. They have provided a service you're not happy with and have even tried to forge your signature on documents, which is an extremely serious offence.

I somehow feel that you must move on as swiftly as possible to create the space and opportunity to focus on more positive things in life such as moving your business forward, or even enjoying your life itself without such aggravation.

If they're not holding you onto to any extra fees, why not simply pay them what they're demanding for finding you a tenant and just get on with. Otherwise you're simply allowing their ineptitude to negatively affect you and virtually creating a blockage for you.

In this life, you win some you lose some! Often, you're lucky to realise losses early enough to make space for other things.

I've personally had more than my fair share of dodgy agents, which is one of the reasons I choose not to deal with most of them. Most of them are like vultures seeking to benefit from LLs. But don't let them affect you in too negative a fashion. Move on. Don't even contact them and if they were to contact you delay your response to them as much as possible.

Of course, if you are not near your properties, or for any other reason you might need to work with agents. Simply, seek one that you can create a win-win relationship with and strike this one out of your books.