Landlord Credit check without my permission

G_M

You gave him a 'deposit'. Was this a security deposit on a tenancy or a holding deposit against a potential tenancy?

I'm afraid transferring money to a stranger found via gumtree without any paperwork or receipt is naive in the extreme. Hopefully others reading this will be more sensible.

I'm not sure what your problem is though. You landlord, like most landlords, is vetting you as a potential tenant. When LLs post here for advice that's what we advise them to do.

What exactly are you afraid he might find on your credit record (assuming this mudcompany has provided credit info), and what loss have you suffered?

There are now 3 possible outcomes:

If a tenancy is forthcoming, there's no problem.

If he runs off with your money, then the credit search issue is irrelevant - you've been scammed.

If you fail the credit vetting, then whether you get the deposit back depends what kind of deposit it was.

stator

Mudhut tenant credit checks are produced instantly using data sourced from the credit agency Equifax.

You may be able to sue in Small Claims track at the County Court but I would put this asside for now and concentrate on getting somewhere to live.
Some people have claimed data protection breeches relating to parking tickets and were awarded £400 see http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/

Cakeguts

There are scams that go like this. Someone copies the details of a property off a legitimate site like Rightmove and then advertises it to let on somewhere like Gumtree. This is why you have to be so careful of not sending money like you did. Have you seen the inside or only the outside? It can go either way either you don't get to see the inside or the "owner" uses the key of an ex tenants or copies one that they have got from a neighbour or some other person. The problem is that the landlord that you deal with doesn't own the property or have the right to let it. You can usually tell if it is a scam because the house will appear to be cheap for the area that it is in and you will be asked to send money be transfer before you get a tenancy agreement.

Contact the agent who has the house advertise to let to see if the person you think is the landlord actually is or not. If he isn't then this is fraud and you need to contact the police.

FBaby

It's not so much a matter of compensation for me - it's more the absolute intrusion of privacy - and the illegal method that he used to get this data without my consent.

What he did wrong was not seek consent. What if he did though as most Letting Agencies request now? Would you have said yes (so outcome the same, no loss), or would you have said no (in which case, he would have said no tenancy, and the outcome would also be the same).

You made the error not to ask for documentation as to what that deposit related to and what would happen if you didn't move in on the agree date -due to his turning you down - due to you turning him down.

You are acting very outraged for something that is common practice, except that normally, you would be asked permission.

worried_jim

Yep-

http://www.mudhut.com/patron/reference/landlord

£12 for a credit check. I'm amazed.

bris

Did you really expect anyone giving you a house without a credit check? If he says you gave him permission to do one the courts would believe him as it's standard procedure.


Move on some battles are just not worth fighting.

DoaM

IAmWales wrote: »

What losses have you incurred? That's what a court would look at.

DPA breaches are a matter of damages not losses, even though the claim is in the county court. (Same as for damages for harassment).

I'm not saying OP would win any such claim - I'm just correcting a common misconception.

RedRocket2017

He had keys and showed me the inside of the property. Twice. He said he is a property developer.
NO ONE has the right to do a credit search on someone without expressly seeking their permission first. This is set in law, called the Data Protection Act, and is there to protect the citizens of this country, sorry to some of you who don't agree with it. He has intruded on my privacy without my permission. He had no right to do it. I doubt it's the first time he's done it.
He was also very confrontational with my employers - he didn't believe my income confirmation letter, so he rang them to have a go at them as well, also he did not believe them, and then rang me to have a go at me also. Then he has illegally run a credit search, and received a copy of my personal history WITHOUT my permission.

I was looking for help, not an argument.

Thanks to those of you who are providing helpful answers.

G_M

RedRocket2017 wrote: »

...
NO ONE has the right to do a credit search on someone without expressly seeking their permission first. This is set in law, called the Data Protection Act, and is there to protect the citizens of this country,.... He has intruded on my privacy without my permission. He had no right to do it. .....he has illegally run a credit search, and received a copy of my personal history WITHOUT my permission.

Given the above, I don't really understand the OP:

RedRocket2017 wrote: »

What is the name of the law that has been broken by doing a search without my permission?

I was looking for help, not an argument.

No one's arguing - just giving opinions. That's what happens on internet forums....

stator

It's not 100% certain from the website of mudhut whether they are doing a proper credit search or if they are simply doing a search of public information like the electoral roll and CCJs etc. If they are doing the latter then you have no grounds for complaint. If they are doing the former then you do have grounds for complaint, but don't act or make threats whilst you are still angry. You don't have to make a claim straight away. Concentrate on getting your deposit back and getting somewhere to live. Then calmy consider your options.