Problems With Letting Agent

[Halty]

HI,
I rent a property via a letting agent who has proved to be a nightmare, he has reguarly delayed paying my rental money for no reason ( tenant is great ) and becomes rude and defensive when questioned why he holds on to my money. It says in the contract he would pay monies to the landlord within 15 days but in some cases i've had to wait 34 days! putting me overdrawn.
His staff have given him messages to call me but he denies getting the messages and then blames other people for the late payment, ie he blamed a girl being off sick, but i found out she was off only 2 days and had nothing to do with my account.
So i told him i'd had enough of his poor service and as he had broken the contract i would only give him 1 months notice but he has kept £280 as a termination fee in lieu of 3 months notice! unbelivable, he fails to provide what i am paying him for and he charges me! Does anyone know how i stand getting my money back?
I have also discovered the gas safety check due 15 Jan 06 was not carried out until 8 Mar 06 this i believe is not only a breach of contract but a breach of the law, is this true? i would be grateful for any help or info on how to proceed. many thanks, Halty

[dhphoto]

Welcome to the world of the letting agent. This is normal and exactly what you can expect.

Manage it yourself or put up with them, that (sadly) are the only choices.

This property-owning lark is no free lunch.

[Paul_f]

The previous poster's advice should be completely ignored on the basis that he doesn't know much! If he sat down then he would find it difficult to talk!

You're quite right in that if your agent is in breach and you have written to him then you have every right to teminate the contract without giving any designated notice period.

Also he can't charge you a "penalty" under the UTCCR's and if you should take him to court you would undoubtedly stand every chance of winning. If he is a member of one of the three main bodies then write to their compliance officer too!

These agents need taking off the streets frankly.

[Halty]

Thanks for the reply Paul F
I will be seeing a solicitor on Wednesday to take action against him, unfortunately he is not a member of any professional bodies ( i wonder why ) He just gives a bad name to the good agents out there! Halty