Urgent Help Please! Holding fees, reference checks etc

sgtpepper_2

Hi this is my situation.

me and my friend have filled in applications and have given an agency all the required info and admin fees/holding fees etc around 2 weeks ago, hoping that we would be moving in tomorrow.

I have had all my reference checks cleared and so has my friend apart from his job reference as his boss gas gone on a 2 week holiday and is unreachable. We have asked if there were any other possibilities in passing the check. They suggested geting the contact details of the accountant for the company or providing documents, but this is beyond the means of an employee and my friend doesnt have access to such info or can find the documents. So the process has been on halt for some time.

The worst thing is i go on holiday on sunday for 2 weeks in which i wont be around if there's a chance to sign a tenancy agreement.

The agency has failed to contact any of us about the problems even once and i have had to do all the work, surely it is their job to chase these things up and we just provide them with the required information.

Im really scared that they will say we can't have the house as i will be homeless when i come back from the holiday.

Can they cancel it? even if we have provided everything they asked for?


....I will be giving the agency a call tomorrow and have written out a draft of what i need to say as im quite bad at these things. here it is;


"today I'm supposed to be moving into a property after completing our application forms, paying substantial fees and providing all the requested information almost 2 weeks ago and would like to know why it hasn't gotten to this stage."

When they mention the job reference problems. . .

I will say

"if they have had problems in contacting the references then why haven't we been directly contacted about this and that i have had to use my own time to constantly try and provide additional support which wasn't even requested from me or the other tenant. Especially at this late stage."


"I'm now due to go away on holiday on the 7th until the 21st with as of now without a property to return to and would like to know how you will rectify the situation and process this application whilst I am away."

"If we can't get to the position where I can sign the tenancy agreement before I go then I can give you possible means of faxing the tenancy agreement for me to sign and fax back at the hotel where I will be staying."


what do you think? can anyone offer any advice please?

AJ

sgtpepper_2

its just that i need to call them first thing tomorrow morning.

50plusabit

You can sign the agreement before you leave for your holiday, and as soon as you friends work reference goes through, he can sign the final time. Just make sure this is all that is outstanding.
Can your friend not get somebody else to give a work ref, a partner of the firm, firms pay roll clerk, hr dept?

sgtpepper_2

I think i suggested something like that but they said that they couldnt progress with the contract until this is cleared.

The hard thing is my friends job is in a 2 man company! and he's only recently started and knows very little. He's tried finding details but probably because its such a small operation is more difficult than if it was a big company.

sgtpepper_2

can anyone else chip in their 2 cents?

are they likely to keep it on hold for me or wait for the reference whilst im away for the 2 weeks?

tbs624

Frustrating though this must be for you, I think you are being a tad unfair blaming the LA for the delay.

As you are intending signing a joint contract, if you did sign up prior to going away, as 50plusabit suggests, and then your potential housemate decided not to go ahead, or couldn't because his credit check wasn't appropriate, then you could be left legally liable for the whole rental.

Unless you are very well paid it is likely that credit clearance is needed for both of you for this all to proceed: your income alone may not be enough to cover the rent.
Instead of getting in a strop at the LA give your potential housemate a prod - it doesn't augur well for you if you have to do all the work from the start. Guess who 'll be sorting out the utility bills etc & any other problems once you're in?

You obviously need to sort this out directly with the LA - much of it will depend on the terms under which you paid that holding deposit.

N79

Honestly, the LA is waiting for references. It is not their fault that your potential housemate failed to make arrangements for his employer to provide a reference. From what you say it has only been two weeks since you applied - far to early for the LA to be doing any chasing. Many companies can take over a month to provide such a reference.

Finally, the LL can decide to not offer you a tenancy up to the point where you have both signed the contract (LL and Ts).

If you get difficult during the application phase and start blaming LA and LL for things which are your fault then, if it was one of my properties, I can guarantee that you would not be offered a tenancy. For this reason I suggest that you tone down your accusations.