Problem letting agent took deposit for non-existant flat

princeofpounds

Due to the short time scale. I don't believe they put our money into a TDS, will this count for us, against us or is it irrelevant

3. I should have checked before anything happened, but having done so now, I cant find them on the FSA register, should they be registered if they are taking deposits?

As the rent is below £25k, it should be an AST and the deposit legislation should apply if it was truly an AST deposit. Timescale is irrelevant, there is still £40 of deposit retained anyway. Courts are divided on whether return of the deposit negates the need for protection, and there has been no precedent-setting case yet. However, because there will not be an AST in place I do not know if the legislation will apply.

3. There is no requirement to be on the FSA register to handle money and in any case it is not technically the agent who took the deposit but the LL the agent was acting for (and this is who you would address in case 2. above).

Enfieldian

They should be passing on any costs incurred to the landlord, provided that the LL actually knew that you had agreed to rent the place before they changed their mind.

Alternatively the agent may have decided to ask you for you for the first month's rent and the deposit without speaking to the LL on the assumption that they would be happy, then contacted them and found out that somebody else had already taken the property.

In any event you should not be responsible for any fees.

CranfordLass

Dear Jayne,

So sorry to hear you are having exactly the same problem as my daughter did. This evil agency in Croydon took her very hard earned cash as deposit and the flat then disappeared off their books - she actually was in the removal van with all their stuff when we found this out, so deeply distressing. Then to make the whole thing worse, they refused to refund and over the past 4 months I have been through the whole court proceed, bailiffs etc., with still no refund. I cannot believe they are still in business but they have lots of properties advertised so must be ripping others off - I would recommend a bailiff company directly - I spent a lot of money going through the courts online to no avail. Good luck and my advice to everyone is beware of Exclusive.com, Morland Road Croydon managed by Monique Smith and go through a reputable agency with an accredited EA membership. Good luck Jayne x

tbs624

Jayne - Write formally requesting the return of the £40 balance reminding them that you had acted in good faith and that it is not acceptable for you to be personally out of pocket because *they* were unable/unwilling to produce what you had signed up for. Add that you are forwarding a copy of your letter to the Private Sector Rentals Officer & the Trading Standards Dept, both at the local Council. Send by Rec Delivery, keep a copy of the letter ( send a 2nd copy with just a cert of posting in case they refuse the RD)

If you really want to push for the full return head the letter "Letter Before Action", & state that you are giving them 5 working days to cough up, after which time you will begin court proceedings for recovery via the County Court and will also be seeking repayment of your court costs.

From their website it doesn't appear that they are signed up to any Code of Conduct via ARLA, NALs etc

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