Students have been told to stop their rental payments after a letting agent closed down after apparently hitting trouble.
Joseph Newman Letting and Estate Agents in Canterbury shut up shop last month. Telephone callers hear a recorded message saying that the firm has ceased trading and has appointed a firm, Fisher Partners, to take it into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
According to ‘The Canterbury Times’, the closure prompted the University of Kent to issue an urgent warning to students.
The statement said: “Be aware that we believe the above agent has ceased trading. Do not make any further rental payments to Joseph Newman. If you pay by direct debit or standing order with your bank, please cancel these immediately.
“We advise you to seek clarification on the status of any refundable monies paid up-front on signing your tenancy agreement, ie deposits.”
There is no mention on the Joseph Newman website of membership of any bodies such as ARLA, NALS or the Property Ombudsman.
The site does, however, set out its charges of a non-refundable holding fee of £150 plus a holding rent of £200, and a deposit requirement of one and a half times a month’s rent.
The firm describes itself as one of the largest in the area, and says it has a reputation for being friendly, professional and approachable.
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Comments
Do you really think a £5000 fine will deter someone from running off with £100,000 of deposits?
CMP is 100% not the solution, all CMP does is spread the cost of crooked and an incompetant agents across the whole industry.
Client Cash Accounts are not being controlled or policed by anyone. There is no appetite to do anything different so cases like this will simply keep happening
The simple solution, surely, is to make it a legal requirement that all letting agent must have CMP. If a company is caught with out it by trading standards (or even the local authority) then they are closed with immediate effect, handed a fine of (say) £5k and only allowed to re-commence trading once suitable CMP is in place. Should an agency go bust with out it then any and all company directors/shareholders/etc should be personally liable for any and all company debt relating to rent and/or deposits. To avoid unnecessary claims insurers will come down hard on companies not trading in a professionala and scrupulous way.
Could it be much simpler?
when will the public learn that is not how it works.
According to the great and good at TDS from a few weeks back this chap won't have done anything wrong. It is not just the public that are confused.
Lets re open the when is a deposit not a deposit debate and get it sorted once and for all
They had a bunch like this on Watchdog or whatever its called taking up front money etc etc etc.
When will the public learn that this is not how it works.
Regulation is all very good but if there is money taken up front plus a letting fee plus a management fee in about 1/3rd of the deals how can they not be making money?
Someone ran off with it or as the man in Oh Brother Where Art Thou said "she AR AH EN EN OH EF TEE".
Here comes another one
Here it comes again
Here comes another one
When will it ever end?
I know whatever it is
We've seen several of them before before
But here comes another one
And here comes a bunch of 'em
Here comes another one
Thank God I'm not having lunch with them.