Advice needed urgently about agency fees

emoscotty28

Hi everyone,

Back at the end of January, my friend and I decided that we were going to rent a house together. I contacted a company called Bentley Residential Lettings based in Blackpool to view a property that seemed ideal. I went to view the property and decided to go for it. The forms were completed and references sought etc and I paid fees totalling £200 (£50 administration fee & £150 deposit to move in). A moving in date was arranged as well as the some work that needed completing beforehand (ceiling needed plastering and carpets were to be changed) for the 14th February and everything was good. Unfortunately, when I returned the forms to them I sent the original copy of the receipt. Approximately a week before the move in date, I decided to contact the agency as none of the agreed work had been started (I live around 15 minutes walk from the property in question.) I was told that there had been a delay and that the move in date was now going to be the 15th February which I agreed wouldn't be a problem.
On the date we were supposed to be moving in I contacted the agency as they were supposed to be meeting me while I was on my lunch at work to handover the keys and so I could pay the first month's rent upfront as they had requested. The agency stated that my appointment had been deleted from their diary as the owner of the property (which was a private landlord) had decided to pull out of the agreement. Understanding that these situations can happen I asked for a full refund and was told that they would only refund me £150 as £50 was non-refundable as an administration fee for processing my application.
I contacted consumer advice to discuss whether this was legal and was told to write a letter to them headed "Breach of Contract" asking them for a full refund of the £200 I had paid and giving them 7 days in which to refund this to me. By the time the 7 days had elapsed, I checked on the Royal Mail website to see if my letter had been signed for, it still staes on the tracking that the item is still at the post office I sent it from so in other words they have not signed for the letter (which by the way was sent to their registered address from company houses website.)
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what course of action to take next? I have contacted them since on several occasions and all they seem to tel me is that they will not refund the full £200. They have recently when I have been speaking to them on the phone just shouting over the top of whatever I am trying to say and basically being really obnoxious, putting me on loudspeaker so everyone in their office can hear me and laughing, imitating someone of an ethnic origin in every response they give.

What can I do?

CloudCuckooLand

Get some big mates and go into the office and start laughing at them....

At the busiest time of the day/week, preferably.

emoscotty28

Quote:
Get some big mates and go into the office and start laughing at them....

At the busiest time of the day/week, preferably.

Haha, thanks for the advice but I doubt that would help the sitution although it would certainly do wonders for the stress relief that they have caused both me and my friend! I have had to move back in with my parents (I am currently sleeping on the floor) and my friend has had to give back-word on his notice for his current flat costing him another £300.

Any useful advice would be appreciated

tbs624

Do you have any other proof of the full deposit amount paid over? How did you pay- by cheque/CC/DC? Any emails from them?

Next step is Letter Before Action( these words should appear at the top of your letter) and send two copies from separate POs , using cert of posting.

Note in the letter the attempts you have made to date to obtain reimbursement ( keep only to facts - no "I am angry that....." tell them that unless they return your money in full within the next 5 working days you will (a) report them to Trading Standards and (b) pursue them to the Small Claims Court.

emoscotty28

Thanks for your reply tbs624.

I dont have any receipts or any proof that I have paid the money unfortunately and I paid in cash so no transactions for record. Surely seeing as they have my details on their records this would be proof enough that I have paid them? If they dont have my details on their records that would be tax evasion wouldn't it?

I will send them another letter though as you described and send them both via recorded delivery from seperate PO's and see what response I get. Can I charge them for costs incurred due to their negligence? After all they didnt tell me until the day we was supposed to be moving in that the landlord had pulled out of the agreement. Surely any costs incurred by them for this should be sought after from the landlord and not the tenant?

edit:
I have recently found out that the house now has been rented out to another tenant who had similar issues regarding them witholding the deposit. I spoke to them briefly and apparently they contacted trading standards who forced the company to allow them to rent the house as they were the first applicants.

zappahey

emoscotty28 wrote: »

I will send them another letter though as you described and send them both via recorded delivery from seperate PO's

Don't use recorded delivery as they can simply refuse to sign and accept. First class post and proof of posting from the Post Office is sufficient.

princeofpounds

If you didn't retain proof that you paid them then you kind of sunk your own situation. You can try to threaten them with a letter before action but if you went to court it would not be an easy case for you. Maybe you can lure them into an email admitting that they took the money? Ask them if they consider the admin fee non-refundable and hope they reply? But given they are sharp enough not to accept recorded delivery then they might not fall for this.

The other tactic is simply to make such a nuisance of yourself that they pay you it back to go away. report them to trading standards. go and sit in their offices at busy times asking for your money back fairly loundly. They might kick you out but it's not illegal to try once. etc.

kingstreet

Did you sign an agreement concerning the payment of the fee and the deposit? If so, do you have a copy? What does it say about the fee?