Estate agent legal action for unpaid fee - will this affect credit file etc?

itwasntme001

Hi,

My partner lets out her home in East London and used a local estate agent to find the existing tenants last year.  After the initial 1 year term was up, the tenants decided not to renew the tenancy and let it lapse to a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT).  The agent she used is asking for a renewal fee to be paid.  We are 99% sure (can never be 100% sure as you never know who a judge will side with) no fee should be payable because the terms of the contract states fee payable on renewal and nothing about a SPT/ new tenancy.  A SPT is not a renewal but a new tenancy.  The agent does absolutely no work at all since the end of the fixed term.  My partner has so far refused to pay and now the agent is demanding payment within 14 days or legal action will be taken (the fee demanded is for less than £1k).

- By legal action i am assuming this is through the small claims court?  Should she get a solicitor?

- Will this in anyway result in a CCJ or other mark on my partner's otherwise unblemished record?  If she loses and pays on time, would a CCJ or anything be marked on her record even if it says its paid?

- My partner is unemployed and looking for a job (in financial services) and worried if she will need to declare anything on employment checks if a record is placed (even if paid on time if she lost).  She can easily afford paying the £1k.  But she feels she shouldn't have to given what I have said above.

- At what point would a record be placed, would it be placed even if it does not go to court etc and she pays just after she receives the initial small claims papers (assuming the agent is not bluffing)?

Thanks

Browntoa

If she lost the case but pays then no record. Ccjs only happen if she refuses to settle the judgement.

If it's in her contract with the agent then she needs to pay before fees are added at small claims stage

itwasntme001

Thanks.  So if she lost and she pays on time, she would not have ever had a CCJ against her name?  I ask because some employer checks questions ask whether you have ever had a CCJ even if settled.

sourcrates

If judgement is obtained against her, it is applied to her credit file at the next update.

Assuming the debt is paid in full withing 30 days, the entry will be removed, and it is treated as though it never happened.

itwasntme001

Ok, so if she was ever asked if she had a CCJ, she can simply answer no?

Yahoo_Mail

itwasntme001 said:

Ok, so if she was ever asked if she had a CCJ, she can simply answer no?

The CCJ is "cancelled" if the debt is paid within 30 days so essentially never existed. I'd say that yes if you were asked that question you could truthfully answer no.

[Deleted User]

I would suggest she offer the agent the fee if they get these (or other Tenants) to sign up for another year or more.
She could offer them say 1/4 of the fee for the existing rolling arrangement on a goodwill basis.
This should also strengthen her case should it go to court. 

GrumpyDil

Probably better if you asked this on the house selling board.
However first thing you need to do is read through the small print of her contract to see what exactly it says about renewals. 
My own view would be that charging a renewal fee is only relevant where a renewal actually takes place, which as you say didn't happen as the tenancy rolled onto a periodic ( either CPT or SPT) as the exact type will depend upon what the tenancy agreement says. 

itwasntme001

GrumpyDil said:

Probably better if you asked this on the house selling board.
However first thing you need to do is read through the small print of her contract to see what exactly it says about renewals. 
My own view would be that charging a renewal fee is only relevant where a renewal actually takes place, which as you say didn't happen as the tenancy rolled onto a periodic ( either CPT or SPT) as the exact type will depend upon what the tenancy agreement says. 

Yeh I read the contract myself and it explicitly says fees charged on renewal and from what I read a SPT is not a renewal.  So it seems my partner has a strong case.

itwasntme001

dahj said:

I would suggest she offer the agent the fee if they get these (or other Tenants) to sign up for another year or more.
She could offer them say 1/4 of the fee for the existing rolling arrangement on a goodwill basis.
This should also strengthen her case should it go to court. 

Why should she offer anything on a goodwill basis?  She does not think she owes any fee and the agent did no work at all to deserve any such fee.

[Deleted User]

itwasntme001 said:

dahj said:

I would suggest she offer the agent the fee if they get these (or other Tenants) to sign up for another year or more.
She could offer them say 1/4 of the fee for the existing rolling arrangement on a goodwill basis.
This should also strengthen her case should it go to court. 

Why should she offer anything on a goodwill basis?  She does not think she owes any fee and the agent did no work at all to deserve any such fee.

1 - It's called a settlement? They are obviously concerned that they will have the hassle of legal proceedings - even if they believe they will win.
2 - They are very vague about the actual contract wording - it's possible since the tenants are still in property (using the existing tenancy agreement without a break) it could be deemed to be a type of renewal.