Estate agent refund?

chocolatepickle

Sorry for the long post but want to give all info;

My sister (21yrs) and her partner are staying on the sofa of my 2 bed maisonette as she has recently found herself homeless through domestic violence (long story).

So, they both work- shes employed, he's newly self employed.

They found property they'd like to rent, have managed to get the funds together so went to the estate agent- abbotts, to get the ball rolling.
Abbotts took a fee of £525 at the start of last week (tuesday), then on thursday told them that as he has no credit history her boyfriend does not pass their credit check and her wages alone will not meet their renting criteria- they would need a guarantor.

With this being incredibly difficult for them they asked if there were any alternatives and Abbotts said they would contact the landlord to ask.
On Saturday they phoned Abbotts to see if there was any news and to ask if they would consider allowing them as tenants to pay for landlord insurance instead (they are homeless so kind of in limbo waiting) only for the estate agent to quite rudely say if they would stop ringing then they would do their job and tell them when they speak to the landlord.
This afternoon there is still no word so they phoned to say that my husband would go guarantor (we are the only people they have that can offer but really didnt want to as we are not well off ourselves and its a big commitment, but we need them off our sofa- we have 2 young children and its just too cramped) .

The estate agent was incredibly uninterested and said they would not allow them to rent even with a guarantor because they have no record of my sisters partners earnings (isnt that the purpose of a guarantor??)

So they have asked for their money back and the agents have agreed- but will only send a cheque in the post- can they do this?

The estate agent hung up on them when they asked how long it would take!

This means they then have to wait for the cheque to arrive and clear before they can go for somewhere else now, we just want the money back in the same way it was paid so we can find somewhere asap.
Where do we stand with this?

Guest101

chocolatepickle wrote: »

Sorry for the long post but want to give all info;

My sister (21yrs) and her partner are staying on the sofa of my 2 bed maisonette as she has recently found herself homeless through domestic violence (long story).

So, they both work- shes employed, he's newly self employed.

They found property they'd like to rent, have managed to get the funds together so went to the estate agent- abbotts, to get the ball rolling.
Abbotts took a fee of £525 at the start of last week (tuesday), then on thursday told them that as he has no credit history her boyfriend does not pass their credit check and her wages alone will not meet their renting criteria- they would need a guarantor.

With this being incredibly difficult for them they asked if there were any alternatives and Abbotts said they would contact the landlord to ask.
On Saturday they phoned Abbotts to see if there was any news and to ask if they would consider allowing them as tenants to pay for landlord insurance instead (they are homeless so kind of in limbo waiting) only for the estate agent to quite rudely say if they would stop ringing then they would do their job and tell them when they speak to the landlord.
This afternoon there is still no word so they phoned to say that my husband would go guarantor (we are the only people they have that can offer but really didnt want to as we are not well off ourselves and its a big commitment, but we need them off our sofa- we have 2 young children and its just too cramped) .

The estate agent was incredibly uninterested and said they would not allow them to rent even with a guarantor because they have no record of my sisters partners earnings (isnt that the purpose of a guarantor??)

So they have asked for their money back and the agents have agreed- but will only send a cheque in the post- can they do this?

The estate agent hung up on them when they asked how long it would take!

This means they then have to wait for the cheque to arrive and clear before they can go for somewhere else now, we just want the money back in the same way it was paid so we can find somewhere asap.
Where do we stand with this?

They've got a refund of the fees and are complaining?! Crazy...

And without being funny, how long has she been with this partner if she recently moved out due to domestic violence??? Because if u say a few months, DO NOT ACT AS GUARANTOR.

chocolatepickle

Domestic violence was not him- they were living with another family member who was a violent alcoholic.

They are entitled to the refund as the estate agent should never hve taken it in the first place due to the circumstances- they have not done anything to warrant keeping any money.

The complaint is that they paid in cash which was taken immediately, after being messed about they are getting a refund but are expected to wait firstly for it to arrive in the post, then for the cheque to clear- meaning they cant put it towards anywhere else in the mean time- meaning longer sleeping on the sofa in my 2 bed maisonette.

The estate gent are refusing to return the money to the card it was paid on so they can access it immediately, what im getting at is can they do this? Do they have any right to get it back immediately?

Guest101

chocolatepickle wrote: »

Domestic violence was not him- they were living with another family member who was a violent alcoholic.

They are entitled to the refund as the estate agent should never hve taken it in the first place due to the circumstances- they have not done anything to warrant keeping any money.

The complaint is that they paid in cash which was taken immediately, after being messed about they are getting a refund but are expected to wait firstly for it to arrive in the post, then for the cheque to clear- meaning they cant put it towards anywhere else in the mean time- meaning longer sleeping on the sofa in my 2 bed maisonette.

The estate gent are refusing to return the money to the card it was paid on so they can access it immediately, what im getting at is can they do this? Do they have any right to get it back immediately?

Maybe. Take them to court and find out. A court date takes approx 6 weeks.

They've got a refund, I'd leave it there tbh- and I don't even like letting agents.

hcb42

Yes, stay on their good side, as at least it sounds like they are getting the payment back quickly.

they might have took cash, but no (or few) business will have procedures to pay it back in cash unfortunately.

[Deleted User]

I think some of this is due to rental nievety on all of your parts. Questions should have been asked about credit checks because of your sister's partner's self employment.

Now imagine.., her partner has problems with earning.., it can easily happen and you get stuck with part of the rent. How will that affect things at home?

I'd encourage them to do what a lot of people in this situation have to do and look at house shares that will accept a couple (affordable renting on the basis of her earnings only). It may be the only way you'll get them off your sofa. A room in a house share is better than a sofa.

Or they could look on Gumtree etc for a private LL who might not have an earnings formula (or figure out a way to pay six month's rent up front). However this will carry its own risk, as they've already found out.

chocolatepickle

Thanks for all input, house share is something they are looking for too though difficult as we've yet to find one to accept couples.

I have let them get on with things themselves up until now and tried to keep out f it however seeing the way this EA has treated them has infuriated me- I feel the company has preyed on their naivety and despite juggling my own business and two children have no choice but to deal with this as well now.

We dont want to go guarantor (does anyone!?) but if is the only way then may have to be so until they can provide the information required themselves.

It was never so difficult when I rented! It seems private landlords are practically non existent around here!