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Misled over application to rent

2

Comments

  • picklepick
    picklepick Posts: 4,048 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    This might help you:

    http://www.reclaimyourfees.com/
    What matters most is how well you walk through the fire
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    dohadeer wrote: »
    I'm very surprised that I've not heard of a company of this size before, having searched for flats to rent on so many previous occasions. It seems strange how a company with an application process that is so wrong could be successful enough to have this massive office and employ so many staff.

    Perhaps they provide a better service to LL's.

    £200 to show an expressed interest in renting a property is not excessive.

    As others have said weeds out timewasters and sets the bar for the type of tenant they are looking to attract.
  • picklepick
    picklepick Posts: 4,048 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Perhaps they provide a better service to LL's.

    £200 to show an expressed interest in renting a property is not excessive.

    As others have said weeds out timewasters and sets the bar for the type of tenant they are looking to attract.

    Everyone seems to be missing the point that the OP is in Scotland. Charging holding fees is ILLEGAL in Scotland!
    What matters most is how well you walk through the fire
  • dohadeer
    dohadeer Posts: 25 Forumite
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Perhaps they provide a better service to LL's.

    £200 to show an expressed interest in renting a property is not excessive.

    As others have said weeds out timewasters and sets the bar for the type of tenant they are looking to attract.

    Again though, as I said earlier, a holding fee does this. A holding fee which you take from ONE applicant.

    That is the system which works, the market wouldn't work using a system where letting agents took this fee from multiple applicants.
  • dohadeer
    dohadeer Posts: 25 Forumite
    picklepick wrote: »
    Everyone seems to be missing the point that the OP is in Scotland. Charging holding fees is ILLEGAL in Scotland!

    How else do you secure a property then?

    Surely a holding fee is ok as long as it then becomes part of your deposit and isn't an extra charge? Is that what you mean?
  • picklepick wrote: »
    Charging holding fees is ILLEGAL in Scotland!

    I would assume refundable deposits are lawful.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    A shabby way to expect people to secure a basic need.... shame on them.
  • Thrugelmir wrote: »
    £200 to show an expressed interest in renting a property is not excessive.

    It can get rather excessive when 20 odd people have stumped up the cash.
  • picklepick
    picklepick Posts: 4,048 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 23 August 2012 at 5:59PM
    Sorry yes non-refundable holding deposits are illegal. This can't possibly be classed as a holding fee though, since they take it from every applicant!

    Sorry, I was under the impression that the OP was not being given the deposit back. Still, I'd ring Shelter and investigate further.
    What matters most is how well you walk through the fire
  • dohadeer
    dohadeer Posts: 25 Forumite
    picklepick wrote: »
    Sorry yes non-refundable holding deposits are illegal. This can't possibly be classed as a holding fee though, since they take it from every applicant!

    Sorry, I was under the impression that the OP was not being given the deposit back. Still, I'd ring Shelter and investigate further.


    Just to clarify though, the £200 is (supposedly) returned to all the non-successful applicants and the successful applicant's £200 becomes part of their deposit.

    It's still a crazy method to use and completely unfair to go taking £200 off people without explaining the process clearly (or at all) to them.
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