Letting Agent left me homeless - HELP!

clutton_2

so how will you quantify your loss ? how much will you sue them for ?

Paddy_Charlie

clutton wrote: »

so how will you quantify your loss ? how much will you sue them for ?

I was thinking of just asking for the £320 which is money I have directly lost out on from van rental and time off work if I don't need to go to small claims court. Which is quite resonable cosidering all the hassle it has caused.

But if they force me to go to court I will seek legal advice on what I should seek compensation. So depending on what they say I will claim for stress and hassle it has caused along with the costs involved with going to small claims.

Would that be a resonable claim? As I'm not money hungry and seeing this as a way to make extra money for the hassle I just really want money which it has cost me for all this mess.

thepinkladez_2

I am sorry but i don't think you will get very far in trying to claim compensation. like others have said until you sign the lease it isn't yours, simple as that the same way until you complete on a house sale it can all still go very wrong.
It sounds as though you really have had a lucky escape though, although you don't see it like that! Take it from me some l/l are complete ba****ds! They don't give a toss about their tenants, all they care abou is the money in their bank. I have had this time and time again taken on a property worked my !!! of to let it, told the l/l and find they couldn't even be bothered to have the commen curtiosy to pick the phone up and tell me they have let it!i am left with an unhappy prospective tenant, no property and all my hard work lost for nothing! in my opinion if this is the type of landlord that owned the property you would have nothing but problems in the future, if the l/l cant even communicate with the agent on this what luck do you think the agent will have if problems arrise?
It is absolutly horrible for this to happen to you, and must be incredibly stressful, but not sure what you expect the l/a to do? you say find you somewhere else but unfortunatley they might not have anywhere else, particually if they are not a big l/a, the market is currently flooded with agents so either they don't have many on their books or they have lots, but they are the same poperties as all the agents.
as for letting you stay in another rented property until you get sorted....what:eek: are you serious?? what reputable agent would let you do that? the properties are not the agents they are the landlords ( in most cases) why should some oter l/l allow a complete stranger stay in their house?what if you trash it?stop other potential tenants from gaining access?refuse to get out?
i am not for one minute saying you would do it, but the l/a and the l/l can't be 100% sure you wont!It happens believe me!

Paddy_Charlie

thepinkladez wrote: »

as for letting you stay in another rented property until you get sorted....what:eek: are you serious?? what reputable agent would let you do that? the properties are not the agents they are the landlords ( in most cases) why should some oter l/l allow a complete stranger stay in their house?what if you trash it?stop other potential tenants from gaining access?refuse to get out?
i am not for one minute saying you would do it, but the l/a and the l/l can't be 100% sure you wont!It happens believe me!

Firstly I never asked the LA if I could stay in 1 of there other properties because that'd be just stupid. I asked my old LA if I could extend my stay in the falt I was moving out of. And if you think being made homeless and £320 out of pocket is being lucky I'd hate to know what your idea of unlucky is.

And I am not 100% certain exactly what went on between LL & LA so I am seeing LA on friday to try obtain all the facts before getting advice and possibly preparing a case. If LA was having problems with the LL surely she should have informed me before the morning I was due to move especially since she told me only an hour before that everything is fine.

CAB have told me to write a letter to LA/LL for compensation and if that doesn't work then small claims would be my other option so I think they'd have told me if I it would be pointless persuing it.

I understand what your saying but I really shouldn't be out of pocket for other peoples actions. I'm waiting to get copy of documents I signed before making final decision on what to do.

thepinkladez_2

sorry if i got the wrong end of the stick about staying in one of the other poperties i thaought that was what you meant when you said:
The letting agent has done nothing to help my find somewhere new to live or even somewhere to stay while I looked for a new flat.

i didnt say being made homeless and losing £££ was lucky i said i think you have had a lucky escape from a l/l that quite obviously doesn't give a toss about his tenants!sometimes i'd love l/ls to get their just deserts, there are far too may fat cat t**ts out there! I believe in everything happens for a reason, and although its hard to find anything positive out of this right now, i think looking at the whole picture you would have had nothing but trouble! ( hope that makes sense!)

maybe the l/a had no idea there was an issue until her phone call to the l/l, i have had it before sent letters left a/p msgs to say i have let property and all of a sudden been informed the l/l has let it, like i say it does happen! i dont think seeing the l/a will resolve much they will i imagine put full blame on l/l and say they did eveything in their power to help you, but if the property is gone its gone.i doubt they will even provide any of his details for you to do anything as that would be breach of dpa.(i think!)unless you have his details anyway?

i totally sympathise with you, you shouldn't have had this happen to you but i just can't see that you have a case, i am sorry. sometimes it just is better to just move on rather than waste all your time and effort and stressing yourself out futher.believe in karma! l/l will get some bad bits soon! good luck

Paddy_Charlie

I know exactly what your saying but maybe reason LA & LL get away with doing this is because people think it is better to just move on instead of standing up for themselves. LA & LL have been making large amounts of money in last few years so they should be responsible for there actions.

Maybe I am wrong for chasing this up and taking action about it but it will be worth it just to hassle them and give them a small taste of what I've been through.

thepinkladez_2

i hope that whatever you decide on makes you happy. maybe you are right maybe your not, who knows but only time will tell. good luck

kymmie_2

Paddy_Charlie wrote: »

CAB just got back to me about it and adviced me to write a letter asking for compensation and if it refused the only option is to take them to small claims court as the agent is not a member of Association of Letting Agents.

And I know it wasn't mine otherwise i'd be saying i wanted to still get into the property. But because of other peoples actions I am out of pocket and been put through a lot of stress while being offered no help at all so I deserve to be compensated as it was not my fault.

Congrats Paddy Charlie! I knew that they would be able to help you and that you would have a case at the end of the day as you did state the first time AND also again that you are out of pocket and that you would definatly be intitled to compensation! for stress moving costs etc... just hope they offer you a very generous settlement fee ( personally I would go for about £800 to cheer me up :rolleyes: ) but with all that they have put you through it would sound about right... we will just have to wait and see keep me updated I would love to hear your outcome! cheers!

kymmie_2

Paddy_Charlie wrote: »

I know exactly what your saying but maybe reason LA & LL get away with doing this is because people think it is better to just move on instead of standing up for themselves. LA & LL have been making large amounts of money in last few years so they should be responsible for there actions.

Maybe I am wrong for chasing this up and taking action about it but it will be worth it just to hassle them and give them a small taste of what I've been through.

How can you even start think that you could be wrong when obviously it it the LA and LL's fault? I can see that and the problem is that not many people go to town on them when they do f**k up and the communication isnt there. All thay are thinking about is the money at the end of the day and that is just wrong in so many ways. If you were in the wrong to justify how they treated you over all of this and made you homeless at the end of it with you kipping on one mates sofa while your possesions are at another mates across town then not many people in the world would be sucsessful now would they? Its our job as a socity who rent properties to not let them big sharks get to us and its about time to see someone acctually take a stand and say ''I dont like the way i have been treated and no one should be treated the way i have and i want a generous apology!''

Phatmouse

hope you get sorted soon, i would hate this to happen to us, i would be furious i thought a holding fee was just that, the second you paid it you had taken the flat subject to credit checks but nothing else.