Help with Letting Agencies.

[Moo1984]

Hi,

 

Can anyone help me on a wee problem.

 

I moved into my current property last November on a 12 month contract with the company let's call them RR.

 

The guy I deal with isn't very nice, I got a bad feeling about him from the off.

 

When I paid last month's rent - He got in contact with me saying how it was late, there was no money in the account - I informed him that I had paid & could prove this.

 

I then get a txt asking if future rent could be paid into another company, & there was a new account number & sort code.

 

My question is this:

Is my contract valid?

I have had no written correspondence regarding a change of company - The website of RR is still up & running with no mention of a change.

 

Also to be notified of this by txt?

 

My rent is due on Monday, paying is not a problem but I'm wary of handing over £610 to a company I did not sign on with.

 

 

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Edited March 13, 2010 by Moo1984

[NewSAHD]

A text?

 

Curious, although he could just be very busy, what with the booming economy.

 

More seriously and as a (former) Agent I would have written in advance to tenants formally advising them of the change of name and would have included a letter of authority from the landlord too.

 

The "text" approach sounds either a) dodgy b) slapdash or c) all three

 

You should have the landlord's name on the tenancy agreement, do you have their address, or is it a "care of" address (ie c/o the agent)?

 

Please advise, so can consider.

 

Once CAG posters have responded to your subsequent message(s) then would look to simply email the agent (with a copy to the landlord if you can), politely, along the lines of your initial message here.

 

We can all help draft a suitable email, if you wish.

 

As for Companies House records they do show a R****** Residential. I will PM you the details so you can check we are talking about one and the same.

 

Haven't yet traced a B**** & W**** though. Once that is done there is a way of checking if there are any connections between the two (associated Directors and so on). It's a nominal cost, but should be hopefully no need to go down that route, not just yet.

 

R******* were only incorporated in March 2009 and have yet to file accounts, so, personally, I would be a little cautious if they are giving you a new name so soon - ie March 2010 is their accounting reference date and the clock is now ticking for them to submit their own accounts (admittedly they have many months still to do this!).

 

Would also suggest remove reference to the R*******'s name from your original message, so that your post/comments do not show up on google!

 

Best to stay one step ahead if you can and not tip them off (yet).

 

Hope that helps.

Edited March 11, 2010 by NewSAHD
typo

[zingy]

A text?

 

Haven't yet traced a B**** & W**** though. Once that is done there is a way of checking if there are any connections between the two (associated Directors and so on). It's a nominal cost, but should be hopefully no need to go down that route, not just yet.

 

 

 

If you search just B**** & W**** lettings on google, the first one to come up is their website. You'll find their company name on the contact us page (incorporated in 2007).

[NewSAHD]

If you search just B**** & W**** lettings on google, the first one to come up is their website. You'll find their company name on the contact us page (incorporated in 2007).

 

Zingy, cheers, what did we all do before the intraweb and google - apart from get ripped off from time to time .

 

The registered office for B*&W* is in Birmingham though, whereas R* is in Doncaster. Without spending, oh, all of a quid or two, are they really the R* and B*&W* we are talking about?

 

Just a thought, cheers for checking it out too, as missed the link first time around. Left a PM for the OP earlier, so no doubt should get to hear soon enough.

[zingy]

Zingy, cheers, what did we all do before the intraweb and google - apart from get ripped off from time to time .

 

The registered office for B*&W* is in Birmingham though, whereas R* is in Doncaster. Without spending, oh, all of a quid or two, are they really the R* and B*&W* we are talking about?

 

Just a thought, cheers for checking it out too, as missed the link first time around. Left a PM for the OP earlier, so no doubt should get to hear soon enough.

 

I wouldn't look into the registered office thing too much tbh. I have a couple of companies (not in this industry) and I have them at different registered offices - mainly due to branding issues, etc.

 

They might be related, but a quick look at the return for B & W and the incorporation/director details for the Residential company should shed some light.

[NewSAHD]

Zingy, agreed, hence the comment for "all of a quid or two" and that it's easy enough to see if any direct connections between the two.

 

Will wait on the OP coming back to us as have sent a PM with regards s47 & s48 (L&TAct1987) and s1 & s2 (L&TAct1985) requirements, which may go some way to help too. Oh, as well as asking some other "useful" questions !

 

Thanks again for the input though, always appreciated.