We recently paid a letting agent a holding fee to secure a property that was not immediately available for viewing. We paid £360 by debit card and were issued with a holding fee receipt. We did not sign any documents nor did the letting agency provide us with any documents stating the terms and conditions of the holding fee. On the receipt, tick boxes stating the amount paid was non-refundable were not ticked. When we were able to view the property we expressed an interest in the property but stated to the letting agency that we would like them to approach the landlord with regard to a rent reduction as the photos published online were not a fair representation of the current state of the property and had been taken before the previous tenants had moved into the property. We subsequently received reference forms to complete online but never completed the final page which required our signatures.Our guarantor was also sent a reference form to complete but he did not complete the form as the landlord at this stage had decided not to let the property through the letting agency, and it was no longer available.When we asked for a refund of the holding fee the letting agency stated the fee was now a reference fee and there would be no refund as they had already proceeded with reference checks and other admninistrative activities. The fact the landlord had pulled the property was out of their control and not a reason for providing a refund.Unlike previous lettings we had undertaken, at no point were we advised of the letting agent fees for reference checks etc and we had expected that these would of been detailed before any reference activity was performed so it was clear what we were to be charged. I would appreciate the views of other forum readers, as I feel the letting agency has overstepped the mark on this engagement, especially changing their interpretation of what the original fee was for from a holding fee to a reference fee.