Letting Agents and Fees

stu_c_2

Letting Agents and fees.

A colleague has run into a bit of problem with a Letting Agency and could do with some advice.

The situation is as follows:

• He found a property he wanted to rent but it was above his price range.
• He approached the letting agency to ask if the rent could be lowered.
• The letting agency agreed to contact the landlord and discuss this.
• The letting agency then asked him to sign an agreement for a credit check/reference a document so they could start negotiating.
• The letting agency were very insistent he signed 'there and then'. (Which is where the problem arises).
• On the same afternoon the letting agency debit just over £300 from his account as a "negotiating fee", but he is unaware of this debit.
• The letting agency then approached the landlord and got a reduction in the rent but not enough to make the property affordable.
• He doesn't accept this revised offer nor the first offer.
• He decides to start again and look elsewhere.
• Later he realises around £300 has been debited from his account and approached the letting agency to get the money back. The letting agency were then only too keen to point to the clauses in the signed document.

"2iii. A non-refundable fee of £260 plus VAT to cover the cost of the tenancy agreement and administration is payable on agreement of an offer. The acceptance of this sum does not constitute an acceptance of the applicant by the owner of the property or his/her agent, nor the granting of a tenancy. The payment of this sum is by way of confirmation that the applicant wishes to enter into negotiations with the owner, via his/her agent, and is not refundable should the applicant withdraw. Should the landlord withdraw, the fee is fully refundable."

So from the letting agency's point of view;

• The document is acceptance of an offer.

From his point of view;

• He agreed only to a credit check / reference. Expecting £10 charge from his bank.
• He had not accepted the first offer and dispute's that an "agreement of an offer" as stated in the clause had been made.
• He should have been allowed to take the document away to read fully before signing, rather than being pressured into signing the form.

The consequences;

• He no longer has enough the money for a deposit to rent anywhere else and has to move out of his current property in the near future.

Has anyone else had similar experiences or advice?

yonk

It's a bit of a biggie so suggest to him to go to his local CAB or contact Shelter for advice. Shelter have a helpline. Also some councils have officers who deal with private tenancy problems and in this case, I may be tempted to contact the local Trading Standards Dept as well.

stu_c_2

Yonk,

Thanks, he has tried the CAB but said they could not help as the document he'd been led to sign was in effect a contract with the letting agency. Will pass this on all the same, and let you know how they get on.