Estate agents want to charge fees

[ChloeJane]

Hi,

I went looking at a property today as my partner and I are splitting and I want to keep the puppy and didn't realise how hard it was to find a home for a puppy!

I found a lovely place and I have to pay a pet deposit of £200 which is fine, but the estate agent wants to charge £150 for a fee for checking on my credit score and for references.

I questioned this as I have a copy of my credit file and it is dated only 2 weeks ago and also have two written references.

Can they charge this amount and then charge an amount for doing the lease? It just is a lot of money really for what appears nothing. Can someone tell me if this is a fair amount for costs and charges by an estate agent for organising a lease and its not gauranteed just part of the application?

[barracad]

Yes they can charge for it. There's no such thing as a standard credit check - credit scoring is done differently by different companies so the copy of the report you already have may not be of any use to them. This would be especially true if the estate agency is part of a large chain where they have to follow their in-house procedures or else "computer says no".

How much can they charge? Realistically they can charge whatever they can get away with charging.

What is a fair charge? How long is a giraffe's neck? I don't know really, but if you're not happy with the charge then look elsewhere. £150 does seem excessive to me but then if this is potentially going to be a long-term home where you will be staying (and therefore spending a great deal of money on) then £150 is a small investment in that respect.

Personally I wouldn't expect to pay any more than around £60-ish + VAT, but as I said, they can pretty much charge what they like.

[ChloeJane]

Thankyou.

It was only the first property I have seen so will keep looking. I appreciate the advice. I have two more to look at tomorrow afternoon with another agent.

Do you know if the pet fee charge is reasonable? They said it is non refundable and can't find any information about pet deposits.

Thanks.

[barracad]

It's nothing I've come across before but it does make sense - a puppy could potentially cause a lot of damage, over and above what the normal deposit would cover.

[ChloeJane]

Ok thankyou.