Holding Deposit

[Sup007]

Hi,

 

Just wanted to know if anyone had any advice on this -

 

I found a property that i liked but had reservations about. I was told that i would have to put down a holding deposit in order to continue. I called up later that day to pay this holding deposit over the phone which i must admit was hasty. However its been only a few hours and i do not want to take the property any longer. I can appreciate that holding deposits are there to cover any loss made by landlord through taking properties off the market. But as it has only been a matter of hours (by time of agency re-opening, still less than 24hrs) and no paperwork being done, is likely that i would get some or even all of the deposit back?

 

Cheers!

[Just4Let]

Just spotted this one and I hope this reply is not too late.

 

I wonder what the holding deposit is FOR exactly!!

 

You could argue that it is a DEPOSIT on the property and therefore SHOULD be protected, although there are some that argue that if no AST is signed or entered into then of course a bond / deposit CAN'T have been taken.

If it's for administration charges then it is highly unlikely that they would / could have started this process if you paid by phone and hadn't yet filled in an appliation form.

 

Did the agent state that this "holding deposit" was non refundable when you paid it?

[Sup007]

Hi there, thankyou for the reply!

 

The agent did not state that the "holding deposit" was non refundable. I was with a friend who can also vouch this.

 

The case so far is that i called the agency and spoke to a member of the team. He at first said to me that i wouldn't be able to get my deposit back as stated in the terms of the agreement given to me/signed. I explained to him that i was not given any paperwork, i had signed no documents, and was not told this by the agent who did the viewing. I was then told that as this was a 'different situation' that he will need to get a member of the accounts team to give the go-ahead. I heard nothing back form them all day. I called again before the end of the working day and was told that no-one in the accounts team has been in (?) and that i would need to leave it until tmrw. Please note that the property has now been put back on the market for about 7hrs.

The following day i called and was put through to the agent who did the viewing, who said that i wouldn't be getting my deposit back and "that was that". He did not deny the fact that he did not tell me it was non refundable, or the fact that i had not signed the usaul agreements to indicate i understood and agreed with the terms to which i was handing over money. He instead said "its general knowledge, everyone should know...".

I said i will be seeking legal advice and will be sending a legal letter through to which he went on to say that it would cost me more than my deposit to do so but if i did i should address the letter for his attention.

 

What do you make of this?

[Absit_Invidia]

Sorry to hear you are having such problems?

 

Do you know, is the agent a member of ARLA? If so you, should definately complain to them. If not, then that should have been a warning signal to begin with

 

As you've paid over the phone why don't you just start a chargeback against them via your bank credit card company. Tell the your bank that it was mis-selling. Services not provided as agreed.

 

Finally, a claim through the small claims court is not a kings ransom..

 

The fees involved in making a small claim | lawpack.co.uk

 

Might be worth the bother. Sometimes just faxing a completed copy of the claim form is enough to get them to cave in. Say something like, 'Today is xxxx if I don't have my money back by xxxx I'll be going to my local magistrates court and submitting this. Don't forget to add on to the claim form an amount to cover a day of your time, say £100. Unfortunately, you are NOT allowed to claim expenses in this way, but it is highly unlikely that the agent will know this.

If you do decide to actually use the process, just make sure you use a new form and drop the claim for your time.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers