A letting agent has been banned from business for six years and could face a police investigation over missing rental money and deposits, a local paper has reported.
Elizabeth Tomlinson, who ran First Choice letting agents in Great Harwood, Blackburn, Lancashire, apparently declared herself bankrupt last November and admitted ‘misconduct’ by failing to protect at least £8,250 worth of tenants’ deposits.
The Insolvency Service launched an investigation and found she had retained a further £21,041, representing rent money collected for landlords.
This month, the Insolvency Service secured an undertaking in court which means Tomlinson, 48, cannot be a director for six years, borrow more than £500, or do business with another party without declaring her bankruptcy.
A statement by the Insolvency Service said: “Elizabeth Tomlinson was made bankrupt on August 8, 2013, and given a six-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
“The Insolvency Service can neither confirm nor deny that an investigation is ongoing, planned or completed.”
However, a spokesman for the service said that bankruptcy is usually discharged after one year and that a six-year restriction is “serious”. The spokesman added: “The imposition of restrictions in no way means this is the end of the matter.”
Just one Google review appears for First Choice Lettings, describing the firm as “totally incompetent … in short, a landlord’s nightmare.”
More here from the Lancashire Telegraph:
http://tinyurl.com/ps7xz2o
.jpg)
Comments