Terrible Letting Agents, Redstones, Walsall

bwals92

My sister rents a flat from a letting agents in Walsall called Redstones. She found a new property and told them they would be moving out, and they started to treat her very, very badly.

She had notified that she will be moving out, and asked for a reference. First, they said they would give the new lettings agents a reference, but they never received one. She called them up and enquired about it, but they then told her that she must pay £30 + VAT for it to be done. I know a lot of letting agents do this, but they didn't tell her when she asked first. She then called her landlord, who was shocked that they asked for the payment. He sent her one through email for free and even said 'I don't think I'll ever find a tenant as good as you again'.

They then sent her a 'end of tenancy letter' as it got closer to the moving date. This letter informed her that she must pay a check out fee of £60. She double-checked the tenancy agreement and no information regarding this was printed.

Then, they arranged an inspection and told her they would be there at 6:00pm. At around 6:30pm, nobody had turned up, so she started to cook dinner and put the TV on. At around 7:00pm, she noticed a piece of paper had been slipped under the door. It read something along the lines of 'we called for inspection as arranged by telephone, unfortunately you were not present and you will be charged a fee of £30 + VAT' - Even though they were 40 minutes late (and she was present, just didn't hear anybody knock the door or call through the intercom).

And finally, they emailed her to explain that a couple are interested in renting the flat after her, and she must arrange a viewing. This means they were advertising the flat while she's still living there. She wasn't happy with this but didn't want the stress, so she allowed the events to unfold. Today, she had an email to say that the couple were attending the viewing at 6:00pm. She confirmed the receipt of the email, and they sent her 'details'. She replied by asking them if an estate agent would be present, they told her that they wouldn't. At 6:00pm, she had to litterally do the letting agent's job, without being paid!

Is this all legal?! They seem to be taking the **** :mad:, and abusing the fact that she's moving out! I wanted to call them earlier, but suprise suprise, they have an 0845 number, and an alternative can't be found on saynoto0870. Please give any advice/opinions you can.

G_M

It sounds like she has a good landlord who probobly has no idea how his agents are treating his tenants.

I suggest she deal with him. He is the boss. He is responsible for returning her deposit. Put a letter in the post to the LL.

rafiki76

Hello I have been ripped off by this letting agency in Walsall. It is called Redstones in Walsall. I was asked the amount of £450 pounds for agency fees!!! I have been waiting for 2 weeks to get the flat I wanted and nothing has happened. I work full time for a very known company, I have been filling endless forms, and calling them on the phone.

Obviously now I had to look for other thing in the private sector because I need a place to live and they said they are not giving me back my money just like that they got my money for nothing and I cannot do anything about it.

My advice is to look for private landlords even if it takes longer to rent.