Shameful case of agent who cheated elderly landlords out of rent ends in expulsion by Ombudsman

An elderly couple living in sheltered accommodation were ripped off by the agent they used to let and manage their properties.

The agent failed to pay awards to the couple ordered by The Property Ombudsman, and has now been expelled.

Lawrence Property Consultants, in Coventry, are now unable to register with a redress scheme, meaning that they will be unable to trade legally.

The elderly couple, in declining health, instructed LPC to manage their properties, impressing on the agent that one property must be let to a maximum of two people, as specified in their insurance policy.

LPC introduced two student tenants but failed to prepare an inventory or provide the complainants with any terms of business, despite being frequently asked. Three months later, the complainants discovered that the property had been let at a higher rent than they were receiving and that four tenants were living at the property, not two.

The four tenants had been provided with tenancy agreements in Chinese by a woman said not to be part of LPC but another letting agency not registered with a redress scheme.

The relationship between the woman and LPC was not explained by LPC but, according to receipts, the tenants had paid the woman £21,500 upfront for rent and deposits.

Some deposits for the property were later lodged by LPC with a registered deposit scheme. The Ombudsman concluded, in the absence of other information to the contrary, that there was a link with LPC which was acting as the complainants’ agent for the property.

The Ombudsman awarded the complainants £7,516.43 to account for the additional rental income they should have received and for unexplained deductions made, for over-payment of agency fees, together with a refund for the complainants’ insurance, which had effectively been voided due to overcrowding.

They were also awarded additional monies for the aggravation and associated risks of not having protected the tenants’ deposits and for failing to deal with the complaint.

In a second property with the same landlords, a number of issues were raised concerning LPC’s management, relating to producing a copy of the tenancy agreement, failing to respond to requests for repairs and not supplying a Gas Safety Certificate.

LPC failed to respond to the complainants during the complaints process and is said not to have co-operated with TPO. An award of £1,067.20 was made, with a direction to produce a statement of the rent account.

Neither award was paid.

The Ombudsman referred the agent to the scheme’s independent Disciplinary and Standards Committee which ruled the firm should be expelled from TPO.

In an unrelated case, an Exeter agent has also been expelled.

Bower & Bower was the subject of complaints by two landlords relating to non-payment of rent.

In the first complaint, the Ombudsman made an award of £2,700.33 for the money owing and an amount in compensation, which the agent then paid. However, she was also critical of the agent for not responding to the complainants’ request for the deposits relating to two properties to be transferred over to the landlord. The Ombudsman directed Bower & Bower to forward the deposits, but the agent did not comply.

The second complainant said that the agent had failed to pass over rent paid in a timely manner and to provide monthly rental statements.

The agent, after explaining to the complainants that problems with their bank had led to monies which should have been transferred being frozen, did eventually pay over rental payments of £3,150. However, the Ombudsman was critical, saying that, if this had been the case, the agent should have said so at the earliest opportunity and not several months later.

The complainant then terminated his agency agreement and requested payment for the rest of the outstanding amount for rent paid. He received no response, despite chasing several times. A copy of a letter was provided by the agent, which requested details of the complainant’s new managing agent, so the agent could send on a full statement of account and make necessary arrangements to clear the outstanding balance. However, this letter had not been received by the complainant.

On reviewing the information provided, the Ombudsman agreed there was outstanding rent to be passed over and directed Bower & Bower to pay £1,250, along with a statement of account. She made an additional award £500 for aggravation and inconvenience.

The agent is said not to have responded further or paid the second award, and has been expelled.

x

Email the story to a friend



2 Comments

  1. PeeBee

    In respect of the first case (or cases against the first company) then surely there will be Legal actions forthcoming in respect of their conduct.

    In respect of the second Agent, I note they are today displaying the PRS logo, and stating a transfer of ownership in May.  The Office Manager has apparently taken over the company.

    Report
  2. PeeBee

    I would have thought that dom-boy would have been all over this article like a rash – dodgy lettings Agents being his pet hate and all that…

    Report
X

You must be logged in to report this comment!

Comments are closed.

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter, we have sent you an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Additionally if you would like to create a free EYE account which allows you to comment on news stories and manage your email subscriptions please enter a password below.