£192 for someone to move in!

[Notters]

Big shout out to Countywide and Ancells, my two previous letting agents, neither of whom charged a fee for contract extension.

 

[thejackal]

You got off quite lightly. My Gf just moved over from Canada and got stung for six months rent in advance because income earned overseas doesn't count. Six weeks as a deposit. Despite having had to pay all of the rent in advance and having no uk credit history, £360 for a credit check and then a fee for handing over the keys. The agents were Leaders in Brighton. All told, in excess of £6000 up front. Absolute vermin.

How lightly?

I rented my place (not small, 5 beds) out with Leaders whilst I was out of the country for a coupe of years and they failed to collect rent for the final 6 months. I had to threaten them with legal action in order to pull their incompetent fingers out of their incompetent asses, and even then had to pursue the actual tenant ourselves because Leaders did such a poor job of chasing it up.

Also, whilst I was away, they managed to replace my combi boiler with one that was too big for the cupboard it sat in.

Incompetent cretins, every last one of them. That said - and apologies in advance to any estate agents on here - their 'profession' is about the lowest of the low, IMO. Right down there with your parking enforcement monkey.

 

[trueblue]

This is one of the biggest scandals in Britain today. They're leeches. Just found this. Worth signing:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37757

 

[glasfryn]

I am now thinking our letting agents and landlady are angels but that maybe because we are in Eastbourne
problems in Brighton are because it is that Brighton has always been the place to live and while you can sell a double garage in the centre of Brighton for a lot more than a 4 bedroom house in Wales then its always going to be like that
Brighton is a very nice place to live and it will always cost you a nice lot of money to do so.

 

[thejackal]

this is one of the biggest scandals in britain today. They're leeches. Just found this. Worth signing:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37757

signed

 

[Biscuit]

Letting Agent in total dickhead shocker!

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Gumtree + short term contract available online = never dealing with those con artists again.

This, this and this again ! Letting Agents are absolute scum and the quicker landlords do the work themselves ( and it isn't difficult ) the better for all concerned.

 

[danielson81]

This is one of the biggest scandals in Britain today. They're leeches. Just found this. Worth signing:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37757

Signed also.

Thanks for everyone's responses, seems its common practice !

 

[Wints]

They are all C****$ I rent properties out and we do it ourselves now, the amount of fees they can charge is ridiculous!! All they do is try and b******t you daily!!

 

[surlyseagull]

I have a mate who owns a carpet cleaning company ,and a letting agent charged him a 10% fee when he sent in his invoice for him doing jobs for them ,they then charged the house owner or tenant twice as much as he invoiced them for,so not only were they making money from the tenant or owner but stung my mate also .I have no time for these individuals and it is about time something was done about them .

 

[nwgull]

For any landlords out there, don't ever use an agency. An ad can be put on rightmove via an online agency for £40, and all the legal info and documents are available to download from various websites. A couple of hours work at most certainly beats the £500 + VAT that I was asked to pay last time I let my flat. The twankers then had the cheek to send me a bill after the tenant's initial 6 month AST had expired in order that they could 'process' the transfer to a periodic tenancy.

And definitely don't use an agency to 'manage' the letting for you. The agents definition of manage is to have the tenant pay the monthly rent into their account before taking off 10% (+VAT) and sending the remainder on to you. If anything goes wrong and/or needs repair, they'll use there own approved contractors, but it'll cost you about twice as much it would to have the same work done by the same contractor.

Scum in shit suits.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

 

[Nottseagull]

Then there was an incidence where flat I rented in Hove and the first time I used the washing machine it leaked into the flat below. I checked the plumbing and there was a jay-cloth holding the waste in place. I repaired it over the weekend and informed the agents. They sent a plumber round a week or so later who had one look at what I'd done confirmed it was fine, had a cup of tea and a ciggie ............ 2 days later they billed me £150 + VAT for the 'emergency call out' and 'penalty clause'.

I've had no involvement in renting since 1981, so I really don't know what's going on in the market. If you own this washing machine then what business is it of anyone else if you get repaired? If it is part of the property you are renting, then surely, surely it can't be the responsibility of the tenant! Have you agreed to pay the owners' building insurance too?

 

[desprateseagull]

what charges are in your contract? need to have notice of any changes, before they start hiking fees..

 

[Phat Baz 68]

Credit checks cost £2/3 and tenancy agreements can be bought from any stationers for about £2 too

 

[fataddick]

Guess I've been lucky. Won't say who my agent is (they've been mentioned in this thread) in case other people with them complain about me being treated differently. I had to pay a £15 or so fee when I moved in (nearly twenty years ago) and haven't had to pay the agency anything apart from the rent since. Each six monthly/annual tenancy extension contract I've had has a clause in it mentioning a contract fee (which has steadily risen over the years to £50 or so now) but they've never actually asked me to pay said fee. Guess I'm quite a rare case renting the same place for so long, so maybe they're just being nice!

 

[Nottseagull]

Guess I'm quite a rare case renting the same place for so long, so maybe they're just being nice!

No, to be in the same place for 20 years you must be a model tenant; you are what every landlord seeks. The agency have virtually nothing to do yet are still creaming off a proportion of the rent. Why don't you ask the landlord to ditch the agency and split the resulting monthly savings between you? You don't need a parasite between you!