Letting agency fees - do I have a claim?

tsolrm

According to Consumer Rights Act 2015 the letting agency must clearly state the fees that they are charging.

Last year I was under pressure time-wise to find a property to rent and ended up paying £300 Admin fee/reservation fee (which wasn't stated as non-refundable). Looking back on this now (turns out that agency didn't carry out their duties at the beginning of the tenancy appropriately) I feel like I have a claim against them to have that refunded on the basis of the following:

- Vague definition of the fee. Admin fee doesn't explain what I have paid for (which goes again the Consumer Rights Act 2015 Chapter 3. Have they doubled charged me and the landlord?
- They failed to ensure that the landlord sends them a deposit protection certificate. At the start of the tenancy I have sent them the deposit and they apparantly forwarded that to the landlord. The contract does state that the landlord should have sent the proof of protection which obviously hasn't happened.
- Admin fees/reservation fees were not stated on their website in 2018, only an 'application fee'. One would argue that this is not the same thing. Also the fees their are not stated inclusive of VAT which is against the law.

Should I try reclaiming the admin fees?

G_M

tsolrm wrote: »

According to Consumer Rights Act 2015 the letting agency must clearly state the fees that they are charging.you would do better to look at the relevant ombudsman's code of practice

Last year I was under pressure time-wise to find a property to rent and ended up paying £300 Admin fee/reservation fee (which wasn't stated as non-refundable).
please quote how you know it was an 'admin fee'.

Looking back on this now (turns out that agency didn't carry out their duties at the beginning of the tenancy appropriately) I feel like I have a claim against them to have that refunded on the basis of the following:

- Vague definition of the fee. Admin fee doesn't explain what I have paid for (which goes again the Consumer Rights Act 2015 Chapter 3. Chapter 3 = 'digital content' Irrelevant. Please quote the sectionof the Act you wish to rely on.
Have they doubled charged me and the landlord? How do I know? Do you know if they charged the landlord? If so, was it for the same service?

- They failed to ensure that the landlord sends them a deposit protection certificate.
At the start of the tenancy I have sent them the deposit and they apparantly forwarded that to the landlord.
presumabky that is what their contract with the landlord required them to do.

The contract does state that the landlord should have sent the proof of protection which obviously hasn't happened. Yes, the landlord has a egal duty to send you the 'Prescribed Information' within 30 days. If he did not, you can claim a penalty against the landlord.

- Admin fees/reservation fees were not stated on their website in 2018, only an 'application fee'. One would argue that this is not the same thing.
So what makes you believe you paid an 'admin fee'?

Also the fees their are not stated inclusive of VAT which is against the law. I may be wrong, but I don't believe this is required. I think if no mention of VAT is made, the assumption is that the price quoted is inclusive. Happy to be corrected though.

Should I try reclaiming the admin fees?

I doubt you will succeed on the admin/application fee.


You will succeed against the landlord on the penalty for non protection and/or lack of PI for the deposit. See


* Deposits: payment, protection and return

Simby

Deposit claim against landlord yes you would have a case and legislation is clear

Admin fee claim on agent... no just no..

tsolrm

Nope, the contract quite clearly states that the landlord has to provide the party that paid the deposit on my behalf with written proof of protection. That party charged me for services and didn't carry those out? If the fee isn't for this then what is it for?

Simby

Every response has told you the same op..

You have a watertight deposit claim and could be awardees quite a bit more then the value of your deposit if it was not protected correctly

The admin fee against the agent every one has told you the same ... no

tsolrm

I don't want to pursue the deposit claim as that is not my issue. I have paid an admin fee to a letting agency. If it's not their job to check up on what happens with the deposit or whether the tenancy agreement is complied with then what is the admin fee for? Consumer Rights Act 2015 clearly states that they must give explanation of the fees that they charge

diggingdude

So you mean you have been given good advice and wish to ignore it

tsolrm

I have never posted on this forum before but I can see that you do not understand the legislation that I am quoting so I will feel quite happy to ignore this advice.

need_an_answer

Best of luck with your claim.

It does seem that respected posters have given you their opinion on whether it is worthwhile you perusing the matter.
Of course it is entirely your prerogative to chose to not take that advice.

Although if you do pursue we always ask in this type of situation that you return to update the thread with the answer of whether you were successful or not.

It gives you the opportunity to say "I told you so" and other posters can structure their advice going forward to others who may raise similar questions in the future

tom9980

tsolrm wrote: »

I have never posted on this forum before but I can see that you do not understand the legislation that I am quoting so I will feel quite happy to ignore this advice.

I can think of no more than 5 occasions when G_M has been wrong in the past 10 years. I dont think this is going to be one of them.

Your option is to sue for the deposit not being protected, your Landlord will then have a case against the Agent and be able to sue them for his loss for not providing the service. The thing to remember is that it is the Landlord who employs the agent not you.

Please feel free to update us when the outcome is clear.

G_M

tsolrm wrote: »

Nope, the contract quite clearly states that the landlord has to provide the party that paid the deposit on my behalf with written proof of protection. That party charged me for services and didn't carry those out? If the fee isn't for this then what is it for?

The contract is between you and the landlord. If the landlord has breached the contact, you sue the landlord.

But since there is an Act of Parliament that dictates what a landlord must do regarding a deposit, far better to use the Act than a civil case of breach of contract.

'The Party' (agent?) did not 'charged me for services' regarding the deposit. They took the deposit on behalf of the landlord and passed it to him.

The admin fee/reservation fee that you paid was nothing to do with the security deposit.

I can see that you do not understand the legislation that I am quoting so I will feel quite happy to ignore this advice.

You've not quoted any relevant leglislation. You have simply referred to an Act.

I notice you have ignored my earlier request for you to quote the relevant part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I am always open to correction and learning more, but the chapter you referred to relates to CHAPTER 3 Digital content which does not seem relevant.

I also repeat my advice that you check which ombudsman scheme the agent is signed up to, and then check their code of practice:

* The Property Ombudsman
* Property Redress Scheme

https://www.gov.uk/redress-scheme-estate-agencies