Can I reclaim admin fee if I passed credit checks but Landlord refused application?

Strategy

Guest101 wrote: »

How do they know what your payslip would look like? Surely it's a simple phone call to your employer, with your permission, to state you do work there. Also surely you could show them a bank statement with the money going in.

Don't accept it, they talking gardage.

Stop playing their game, and start playing yours, threaten to expose and sue them.

Totally agree, they just talked rubbish. Just wanna take money and don't care. They even said that an arrangement to move was the deal between me and current tenant. That was absolutely rubbish for me as we did everthing with their acknowledgement.


Also, for current tenant, he already emptied the room, making it ready for me to move in. Can you imagine what could happen to current tenant? He can just leave as this will breach the Tenancy Agreement. At the same time, he probably won't be able to live in the flat as he had emptied the room and prepared to go back to his country.

Then when I contemplated everything through, is it possible that agent hold everything until last day so that Agent will just take admin fee. LL don't lose out the rent and may even sieze deposit while advertising for new tenant at higher rate.

I just felt it was a plot all along. What do you all think?

Strategy

i will call Alan Harvey for refund first. If it doesn't work, i will file a complain with Trading Standard and Ombusman service.

rpc

Did you receive a [STRIKE]deposit [/STRIKE] receipt for the admin fee? Were you given any written terms? Normally, this covers you pulling out and should be refundable if the LL withdraws.

Send them a letter before action stating that they declined to grant the tenancy despite passing the credit checks. You require full repayment of the holding/admin fees within 14 days. On day 15, raise a small claims action through moneyclaimonline.

dodger1

rpc wrote: »

Did you receive a deposit for the admin fee? Were you given any written terms? Normally, this covers you pulling out and should be refundable if the LL withdraws.

Send them a letter before action stating that they declined to grant the tenancy despite passing the credit checks. You require full repayment of the holding/admin fees within 14 days. On day 15, raise a small claims action through moneyclaimonline.

I think you mean receipt

rpc

grumble grumble monday morning grumble grumble

GDB2222

The admin fee will not be refundable. It's a fee for getting the references etc. Then the LL makes his mind up. Apparently, at that point, he wasn't happy with the payslips submitted.

Is there something wrong with the payslips, btw?

rpc

GDB2222 wrote: »

The admin fee will not be refundable. It's a fee for getting the references etc. Then the LL makes his mind up. Apparently, at that point, he wasn't happy with the payslips submitted.

Is there something wrong with the payslips, btw?

But if you allow this, then you can set up a business where you charge nice admin fees to many tenants and then refuse them a tenancy because their shoes were the wrong colour (for example). Easy profit.

If the credit check failed, I would agree that a portion of the fee should be retained. But still the admin fee covers tasks that are not carried out if a tenancy is not granted.

GDB2222

I have a nasty feeling that some agents make a lot of money from these fees. As a LL, it's not something I support. Obviously, the extreme example you gave would be fraud. The problem could be proving it, though.

Oh, and I agree that the fee ought to be split up into different chunks according to how much work has actually been carried out.

However, realistically, as things are, I don't want to get the OP's hopes up of getting any of his money back.