high agent fee

userman

hello
an estate agent asks "reference fee" of 250 pounds for a 400 pounds rented property
is this reasonable?
ofcourse they can charge whatever they want, but I suspect that this agent charges me so much because I wanted a discount
how can I find out and request my rights as a consumer?
thanks!

Werdnal

You have no rights as a consumer in these circumstances!

The agent is providing you a service and if you choose to take them up on that service they will charge you £250 - they have confirmed the fee in advance so you are aware what this service will cost you. No-one is forcing you to use this agent or pay their fee (which TBH whilst on the high side of average is still average).

If you do not like the charge, walk away and find another agent, or a private landlord who will only charge his costs for the checks, rather than the overheads that come with an agent.

Note: The agent's fees bear no relation to the cost of the rent for the property - rent is usually set by landlord, fees by the agent.

AlexMac

Yes; shameful - that's why the housing Charity Shelter are campaigning for an end to these fees to tenants- especially as more cynical agents use multiple non-returnable fees and deposits as an income source; http://england.shelter.org.uk/news/june_2013/letting_agency_fees_force_renters_into_debt

userman

Werdnal wrote: »

You have no rights as a consumer in these circumstances!

The agent is providing you a service and if you choose to take them up on that service they will charge you £250 - they have confirmed the fee in advance so you are aware what this service will cost you. No-one is forcing you to use this agent or pay their fee (which TBH whilst on the high side of average is still average).

If you do not like the charge, walk away and find another agent, or a private landlord who will only charge his costs for the checks, rather than the overheads that come with an agent.

Note: The agent's fees bear no relation to the cost of the rent for the property - rent is usually set by landlord, fees by the agent.

My problem is not the high fee.
My problem is that they might have charged me more than they usually charge.


I d

_Andy_

Not hard to find out, surely? Ring them up pretending to be interested in another property and ask how much the fees are

Werdnal

userman wrote: »

My problem is not the high fee.
My problem is that they might have charged me more than they usually charge.


I d

Then get someone else to ring and pretend to be interested in renting and enquire about their fees.

Smith_007

Learn to negotiate old bean.

Get in touch with the landlord directly (details on the land registry website. Cost £3).

Tell him/her that you want to rent the property (and that you pass all the relevant criteria), but that the letting agent is taking the p1ss. Tell him how much they are charging ALL his prospective tenants (I bet he doesn’t know this), on top of deposit costs etc, and that this is acting as a barrier to him renting out his property.

With a bit of luck, the agency will call you back having 'magically' reduced their fees. :-)