Agency fee paid but no flat offered

Tonya_2

Hello to all the members of this forum. I have always visited this site and i have just noticed the forum section. Better late than never.

I would very much appreciate any advice on this particular issue. A few months ago, i contacted a few property agencies, i was looking to rent.
I first got in touch with the biggest ones, unfortunately, the didn't have anything that i liked.
I came across a much smaller agency, which i got in touch with, fortunately they had a flat that caught my eyes. I was asked to pay £300 agency fee before they could get in touch with the landlord. They made the call while i was there, the landlord agreed to go ahead with me and i was asked to bring the usual 6 weeks deposit, the 4 weeks rent and the documentation the following day, which i did.

Two days before i was meant to move in, the agency called to inform me that because i was self employed, i needed to provide more information, which i again provided. Later that day, the agency called again to inform me that my references were not good enough.
My references were good enough for the larger agencies which i have used in the past.
I was given back the deposit and the rent but not the £300 fee.

What i can hardly understand is that i have been renting for 3 years and paid more or less the same amount via a standing order. I was asked to provide my landlord contacts as part of their verification and they all supported me.
So, i do not understand on what basis the agency concluded that i was not fit enough to pay the rent. And why do they refuse to refund my £300?

Is there anything i could do to get my money back?
Should i go to a small claims court and sue them?

lemontart

agency fees are usually non refundable - you should have been told this at outset, also it should be stated in writing somewhere too.........so it is unlikely you will get your money back.

Beth
xx

clutton_2

did you sign anything ? if so read it carefully before going to court.

Tonya_2

lemontart wrote:

agency fees are usually non refundable - you should have been told this at outset, also it should be stated in writing somewhere too.........so it is unlikely you will get your money back.

Beth
xx

What i do not understand is my credit checks were fine with other bigger EAs i have used in the past. On what basis is their conclusion based? I was not given any writen documentation showing this.

I did sign an agreement when i paid the fee. I never thought some EA will come bact to tell me what i can afford or not. I have properties abroad and earn 7 times the rent i was going to pay.

I am somehow baffled by the whole thing.

rosysparkle

For some reason, you have "failed" the reference check. You could ask the agency what you failed on.

Admin fees are generally non-refundable if the reference doesn't come back as an accept.

A_Nice_Englishman

What does the agreement say about the admin fee? If you've signed to say you agree it's non-refundable then I don't hold out too much hope of you getting it back.

Didn't being asked to pay this much up front ring any alarm bells with you?

On the other hand, it could be a scam to trick potential tenants out of their Admin fees. Four of five 'unsuccessful" applicants for each successful one would be a nice little earner.

rosysparkle

Agencies earn a great deal more money (from fees charged to landlords) for a tenancy than for a failed application. The fee still has to be paid to the referencing agency, there's the time and administration involved in dealing with the application, readvertising the property, doing more viewings etc. We don't charge anything like £300, even now that the referencing agency has put its charges up, but it's still better to progress an application to a tenancy if at all possible.

If the references come back as a failure, there may be the option of a guarantor or six months rent in advance, but it does depend on the reason for the fail. An unsatisfied CCJ will be a straight decline and a guarantor won't change that.

A_Nice_Englishman

I didn't pay anything up front when I rented the place I'm in at the moment. Once I'd decided on a property,agreed terms and gone through the various checks I paid 1.5 months' deposit and a month's rent to the landlord plus a fairly nominal fee (£25?) to the letting agent.

This was with one of the most respectable agents round here.

rosysparkle

Different agents have different policies I suppose. In the area where I work, all agents charge an admin fee of anything from £100 to £200 to apply for the property, and some charge further fees later in the process. We don't charge any sign up fee, and we don't charge to renew the agreement, but some agents do.

Tonya_2

A_Nice_Englishman wrote:

Didn't being asked to pay this much up front ring any alarm bells with you?
QUOTE]

I appreciate the question but i am used to paying high agency fees; however £300 is the highest i have paid and the worst service by far. The only reason why i went for them was because of the emergency situation i was in at that time.

The cheek of the story is that i came across the landlord i spoke to and met a few months later. He withdrew his property from the agency after letting him down following his encounter with me. I was told the EA listed the property for both sales and letting. He was happy to take whatever option came first as long as he had some money flowing in.
After a long coffee, i told him i was looking to buy, he told me he was still looking to sell, we agreed on sales price and i should be moving in very shortly.

Here is a business that could have gone to this EA if they had been any good.
I saved a few ££££
The landlord saved a few ££££
EA lost a few £££££ by playing games :cool:

Tonya_2

ts_aly2000 wrote:

Personally I would serve papers on them just for the hell of it, instead of going out tomorrow night for a £30 meal.

That is exactly what i intend to do. £300 is peanuts to me but it is still my hard earn peanut :mad: Now that i know the whole story, i realize they had taken me for a big tour of London.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I should keep you all updated with the paperwork program i've planned for them.