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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Agent facing legal bill after charging landlord over £600 to fix light

Foxtons could be facing a hefty legal bill after charging a landlord over £600 to change a light fitting.

In 2013 London landlord Dr Chris Townley was billed £616 by the agency for the replacement of a light fitting carried out by a subcontractor.

On Saturday, The Daily Mail reported that Leigh Day Solicitors has served the agency with a letter of claim, which is sent prior to legal proceedings.

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Leigh Day believes that Townley and thousands of other landlords could be entitled to compensation from Foxtons, a claim which it says could amount to over £40m.

Foxtons used subcontractor Maintenance 1st to carry out the work on Dr Townley’s rental property, which had been managed by the London agency since 2011.

After requesting a refund for the work – which he believed to be substandard – the landlord was put in touch with Maintenance 1st.

The firm informed him that its charge for the work amounted to £412.50.

Townley then challenged Foxtons on the difference in costs and found out that the agent had charged 33 per cent commission, equating to an additional fee of £137.50.

The landlord then also liable for an ‘ad hoc management charge’ of 10 per cent plus VAT, which was incurred after Foxtons’ commission had taken the invoice over £500.

This means that Dr Townley ended up paying £200 over the subcontractors’ original fee for the work.

Solicitors Leigh Day believe that the agency was wrong for failing to declare a conflict of interests as it earns commission from subcontractors and landlords.

The Daily Mail reports that Foxtons says all its charges were made clear.

The highly-successful agency was in the news last week over its intention to move into an historic pub in South London.

  • Jon  Tarrey

    Good old Foxtons! As if their reputation wasn't dismal enough.

  • Robert  McKechnie

    Their PR team must always be on overdrive, constantly having to deflect bad press and negative stories like this. I don't envy them!

  • Algarve  Investor

    They really don't do themselves any favours. You can see why they're arguably the most hated agency in Britain. Everything about them, from the Minis to the shop fronts, screams brash, in-your-face excess

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