Estate Agents vs Landlord

anselld

SouthLondonUser said:

This is precisely why I find it bonkers to pay any money without holding a countersigned contract, and/or to wait till the moving date to actually get the contract. I raised this point a while ago, in a separate thread in which I dared say that I wanted to pay the first rent only after receiving a countersigned contract, and loads of people had a go at me saying that I was unreasonable, that I was paranoid, that no landlord should want to deal with me, etc. Yet this is precisely why I said what I said, to avoid situations like this.

Nobody said unreasonable, paranoid etc.  And in any case you were talking about a contract renewal where there was zero risk of you losing the property. 

SouthLondonUser

I was referring to another thread, a couple of years ago, about starting a new tenancy from scratch, not about the most recent thread on renewing an existing tenancy. 
The agency refused to give me a contract before receiving a payment. I reluctantly accepted that only because I was in a rush, I needed a property in a very narrow area, the contracts had been signed digitally (even though I did not have a countersigned copy yet) and it was with a large nationwide agency - had it been with an individual I would have never made a payment without a contract in my hands.
My comments about it being bonkers to make a payment without holding a countersigned contract in your hands, documenting all the terms and conditions, were not received well in this forum.
Many people said I was trouble and most landlords should not want to deal with me, or something like that.