referencing with RENTSHEILD via CHEFFINS ESTATE AGENTS

bassett111

I was asked this question from a friend of mine which I could not answer and hoped others would have a better idea.
My friend went to an estate Agents called CHEFFINS in Saffron Walden. She found a place to rent but told them she had 3 CCJ's adding up to about £7000 but these were to be paid off as soon as her house sale completed. An agreement was made to put 6 months rent up front to bypass the credit check. She met the Landlady and all was fine.No mention of the amount of debt just a thankyou for being honest with her.


She was sent a link to fill out from RENTSHEILD. She was a bit confused as she was under the impression that paying the 6 months rent upfront meant she did not need to go through with this. They were all aware it would fail so what was the point?
I said to her that most likely it was the fee CHEFFINS wanted not the actually report but they needed to be seen to be doing it. So reluctantly and at great financial risk she paid £220 to CHEFFINS.
The report came back saying she had failed. It claimed 5 ccj's and a total debt of £18000! This was too much for the Landlady CHEFFINS told her.



On reviewing their report it appears to be pulled from at least 3 year old records. just over 3 years previous one of these debts was changed to a 2nd charge on the house (which will automatically be paid of after the sale) and is recorded on the land registry.

Another was withdrawn by the Court (set aside).


she got her own credit report through CREDITEXPERT.CO.UK and it shows the 3 CCJ's she thought she had.


Secondly she was told once she paid the £220 it was off the market and all she had to do was meet the Landlady. On meeting her the Landlandy told her there were other looking and that it was the first one to give a date. My friend did that as the Landlady was in agreement.



Not only did she lose the house, it looks like she will not be able to complete the sale and I feel terrible for advising her to pay CHEFFINS and RENTSHEILD the £220.:sad:


She was totally mislead and taken advantage of in her vunerable position.


How do RENTSHEILD credit reference?
Why are their records so out of date.
What can be done regarding the clear lies that CHEFFINS told my friend regarding it being off the market and hers subject to meeting the landlady?

OscarFoxtrot

Uhm no; she misled the landlady.


She has 5 CCJs totalling £18,000.


Not surprised they said no thank you.

csgohan4

Who 'forgets' the other 11K debt lol. I think your friend is not telling the whole story and your naturally taking her side.

Look at it from the LL point of view, she lied, and now she cannot trust her, can you blame her?


We all have to live with our mistakes and learn from them, has your friend?

System

Rentshield don't hold any credit information so their records aren't out of date. They will do a search with the credit reference agencies and it is that information they will use.


Credit expert is part of Equifax I believe and they are one of 3
agencies, lenders don't update all 3 credit reference agencies hence why the other CCJs didn't show on the report

eddddy

bassett111 wrote: »

she got her own credit report through CREDITEXPERT.CO.UK and it shows the 3 CCJ's she thought she had.

CreditExpert is part of Experian, so it will show information theat Experian hold.

However, Rentshield say they use a different credit reference agency: Callcredit - which is now renamed TransUnion.

So your friend should check their CallCredit/ TransUnion /Noddle report, to see if contains incorrect info about their CCJs.

Here's what Rentshield say:

We’ve been told that an applicant has a CCJ, but they aren’t aware of this. What should they do?

We use CallCredit for all our credit searches, and any queries about credit results should be directed to them. CallCredit can be contacted on 0330 024 7574 or you can complete an online enquiry here https://www.callcredit.co.uk/contact-us/consumer-enquiries.

If an applicant would like to check if they have adverse credit before they apply, they can do so by using Call Credit’s free tool, Noddle, to get an accurate picture of their credit file (noddle.co.uk).

Link: https://www.rentshielddirect.com/letting/faqs

[Deleted User]

You and the LL were acting on one set of information. The credit check found another set, making your friend look unreliable. To be honest, it is a lot of debt to incur, whether the CCJ's were set aside or not (they were still lodged originally which infers quite bad money management problems, not good for a tenant).

Any reasonable LL will think again. 6 months rent up front only covers the fixed rental period. The LL could still quite easily end up having someone in their very valuable property refusing to pay rent, and having to go through the eviction process which can take months with no rent being paid at the end of the six months.

Your friend can contact Noddle with proof one of the CCJ's was set aside, but try and appreciate, having these debts, some of them for three years plus without them being paid is not going to look good to anyone.

Its not easy but your friend might have to wait until the sale has happened and move in with a friend temporarily whilst looking for a property to rent, once her credit listing is up to date and can show the CCJ's have since been paid.

bassett111

OscarFoxtrot wrote: »

Uhm no; she misled the landlady.
How exactly?



She has 5 CCJs totalling £18,000.

No. read the post.



Not surprised they said no thank you.

Very helpful and informative. Thank you.

bassett111

csgohan4 wrote: »

Who 'forgets' the other 11K debt lol. I think your friend is not telling the whole story and your naturally taking her side.



There is no 11k read the post again.


Look at it from the LL point of view, she lied, and now she cannot trust her, can you blame her?


Lied about what? she had her credit reference to show her but the LL did not want to see it as she had already told her about her 3 CCJ's.


besides,, 6months upfron means zero risk on getting the rent. As agreed on by the LL and estate Agents.



We all have to live with our mistakes and learn from them, has your friend?

What mistakes are you refering to? Trusting CHEFFINS or paying for a false credit reference through RENTSHEILD?

bassett111

Simonr66 wrote: »

Rentshield don't hold any credit information so their records aren't out of date. They will do a search with the credit reference agencies and it is that information they will use.

Credit expert is part of Equifax I believe and they are one of 3
agencies, lenders don't update all 3 credit reference agencies hence why the other CCJs didn't show on the report

So rather useles then? If they are supposed to be doing a search and not using all three then it makes their search worthless doesn't it?
not only to th LL but to the person paying for this third rate service.



As proven by the 3 year old data they supplied and the withdrawn CCJ by the court.

bassett111

deannatrois wrote: »

You and the LL were acting on one set of information. The credit check found another set, making your friend look unreliable. To be honest, it is a lot of debt to incur, whether the CCJ's were set aside or not (they were still lodged originally which infers quite bad money management problems, not good for a tenant).
There are many many reasons for debt and I don't agree it infers bad money management.

Fraud, Extortion and Government !!!!! spring to mind ( I know all about that).
Actually I would argue in my freinds case it shows the opposite. Dispite normally illegal things being done to here legally she has managed to survive against all odds. But that is another story.


Any reasonable LL will think again. 6 months rent up front only covers the fixed rental period. The LL could still quite easily end up having someone in their very valuable property refusing to pay rent, and having to go through the eviction process which can take months with no rent being paid at the end of the six months.

She offerend the LL a further 6 months in 4 months time. the LL said it was not neccesary apparently and was happy for her to go onto monthly payments.


Your friend can contact Noddle with proof one of the CCJ's was set aside, but try and appreciate, having these debts, some of them for three years plus without them being paid is not going to look good to anyone.

Its not easy but your friend might have to wait until the sale has happened and move in with a friend temporarily whilst looking for a property to rent, once her credit listing is up to date and can show the CCJ's have since been paid.
There in lies the problem. She has no one. She has two children so she can't make herself homeless. The local authourity will not help either if that was the case.

So she is trapped basically?

bassett111

eddddy wrote: »

CreditExpert is part of Experian, so it will show information theat Experian hold.

However, Rentshield say they use a different credit reference agency: Callcredit - which is now renamed TransUnion.

So your friend should check their CallCredit/ TransUnion /Noddle report, to see if contains incorrect info about their CCJs.

Here's what Rentshield say:

Thanks eddddy i'll pass that on.