Fake estate agents

fumken · 12 December 2009 at 1:47AM

I recently let a house through fake agents who are a couple probably using a virtual office but registered with Rightmove. I found them by sending emails to some agents listed on Rightmove with properties within my area, after having challenges to let the house. I did a bit of due diligence by confirming that they indeed used to work for and are known by my good old agents (who could not find tenants).

I got taken. They found a LHA tenant and based on advice from here and a legal adviser, I accepted the tenant provisionally gave certain conditions, including meeting guarrantor. They kept myself and tenant apart for almost a month and just when I was about to pull out they brought in sentements of the tenant being a single parent, having her hopes on the house, etc. The tenant and I discovered a whole load of lies that they told to each party just to get the deal.

Now they have failed to give me the tenancy agreement, all I have is the copy I took from the tenant of her signature (having had mine). Failed to give inventory , which means I have been unable to deposit money.
They failed to provide a deed of guarrantor and messed up the one I drafted.

Failed to meet me, each time we agreed to meet and always claim they are not in the office.
They forced the tenant to pay them cash (lied to them that I insisted on cashand that I was threatning legal action and told me they paid by draft and so it will need some time to clear) and we panicked that they had disappeared, but eventually paid the deposit and a little into my account and charged me way above what they promised in their terms.
They told tenant I would remove all property, they did not tell me and that caused a lot of inconvenience and money as the first I knew was when tenant emailed to aske when I would remove my stuff. :rotfl:
Now they do not respond to emails.
They are independent but a Ltd liability company.
I have asked the tenant that I will have to come in and undertake an inspection of the property and take inventory, based on the current state. (it is now a month). I am aware that I should have done the DPS, but all the delays of the agent have kept me, but I have kept the money aside.
Please what do I do? and where do I stand? Should they be named and shamed? Does rightmove have a responsibility to determine the quality of their listed agents?
Do I start a fresh tenancy, with proper forms and assume I never had an agent, or just continue.
Please be gentle with me. I am already very fragile.
Thanks.

clutton_2 · 12 December 2009 at 10:38AM

what a mess.... i was similarly conned a few years back.. its not nice

i think you must write to the agents, sack them immediately, and move on with managing the property yourself.

do an inventory with the tenant, get her to sign it

deposit her deposit with a Deposit scheme immediately

make sure you give her the "Prescribed information" about the deposit scheme

make sure you have a Landlords GAs Safety Certificate in place

If you have a copy of her tenancy agreement, with both her and your signatures on it, that should suffice

help her claim Local housing alllowance, if she has not already done so, and suggest that she sets up a separate bank account just for this, so that a standing order can be set up to transfer the LHA to you when she receives it.

if she has a guarantor, meet them, get them to complete the Guarantor form which you can find on www.landlordzone.co.uk

good luck

tbs624 · 12 December 2009 at 11:09AM

Fumken - you use the term "fake agents" but as the law currently stands, absolutely anyone with no experience, no training, no qualifications, no checks made etc can set up in business as a Letting Agent, dealing with thousands of ££'s worth of other people's property, rent and deposit monies.

There is already a tenancy in place - the tenant has possession of the property and she has paid rent & a deposit. If the LA has not passed these onto you you have to pursue them - they were acting on your behalf in accepting the monies from the T..

There is no excuse for not getting the tenancy deposit scheme registered and giving the tenant the "prescribed information".

The T does not have to agree to sign a belated inventory, nor does she have to get a guarantor to sign up after the Tenancy has effectively been granted.

A T in receipt of LHA is under no obligation to open up a separate bank a/c because a LL asks him/her to - she can arrange an SO from her usual bank a/c.

Join a national LL association, or a local affiliated one and read up on your legal obligations as a LL. If you don't personally understand lettings how will you know what your LA is supposed to be doing on your behalf? Membership fees are tax deductible and will get you a reduction on your LL insurance premiums.

Gas Safety Cert also has to be a priority, as already mentioned by Clutton.

DVardysShadow · 12 December 2009 at 1:28PM

Describing them as 'fake estate agents" is about as accrate as describing fake Ugg boots as 'fake boots'. Plainly these people are genuine estate agents. It is just that they are extremely poor at the job.

You should pay the deposit into a deposit scheme immediately. I cannot see that the lack of inventory will stop you doing this.

fumken · 21 December 2009 at 3:08AM

Dear All,
Thanks. I do not even know how much the tenants paid. They clain they paid 5 weeks deposit, agents mentioned they paid 6, while they were still communicating. Tenant claims she will let me know how much was paid and they have kept me waiting for 2 weeks on that.
Cheers.

Fake estate agents

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