14th Dec 2023 (21 weeks ago)
Elite Estate lettings took £250 from my son as a deposit on a flat - the referencing agency they used was flawed - my son lost the flat and Elite Estates (Janet) refused to give him his deposit back telling him that they had to pay it to rightmove referencing agency.
This is a lie - and not returning his deposit is illegal:Beth McGuire (from Rightmove referencing) wrote:
“We as Rightmove Landlord and Tenant services do not take any fees or deposits from applicants for the use of our services. Therefore we have no funds to refund your son in this instance, this is taken and held by the letting agent as the person managing the property for the landlord”.
This is illegal:
From the Saturday Times Money - Charges for viewings and reference checks:
Charging for viewings, reference and credit checks have been illegal in England since the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and they are also banned in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Some letting agents are still getting this wrong, though. There are also multiple examples on social media of tenants being asked for “application” or “viewing” fees once they inquire about a property.
Tsuman said: “An application fee will most likely be a prohibited payment. My advice is to not pay this and instead register with a reputable agent who will not charge you any fee to find your next home.”
Anyone who has been asked to pay to view a rental property should report the listing and agent to their local Trading Standards team. If applicants believe that the listing is a scam they can report it to Action Fraud and contact the online platform hosting the advert, such as Facebook, to ask for it to be removed.
This insinuates Elite letting agency, Durham is a disreputable letting agent.
I want my son’s deposit returned immediately.... Read more