A letting agent has been accused of failing to return the deposits of more than 100 tenants, according to a BBC investigation.

Tony Singh, whose company Morgan, Payne & Knightly has branches in Birmingham, Telford and Wolverhampton, also faces accusations from landlords who say he did not pass rent on to them. Singh - who goes by Tony, but whose full name is Amun Singh Judge - has been reported to Trading Standards.

The BBC says it has uncovered evidence that tenants and landlords are between them out of pocket by hundreds of thousands of pounds. It has tried to contact Singh by email, phone and social media and has also hand delivered letters to his home and workplace. He has not replied.

Landlord Mike Heighway, who owns four houses in Telford, tells the BBC that from July 2024, there were months when he didn’t receive any rent through Morgan, Payne & Knightly, so asked the tenants to pay him directly.

Owed

“I'm owed around £16,000 and, despite numerous attempts, I haven't been able to speak to Tony Singh,” says Heighway. “I've been trying to contact him for two years now, and I've instructed a debt collection agency. I think the chance of me receiving any of that money is negligible.”

Its investigation found that individual sums that are owed range from £700 to £16,000. One family who rented a house until September 2025 are still waiting for their £900 deposit to be returned and have discovered the money was not put in a registered deposit scheme.

The BBC has spoken to six people who previously worked at three branches of MPK. They say they never saw Singh place tenants’ deposits in a regulated scheme. One former employee, who asked not to be named, told the BBC: “There are hundreds of tenants who'll never see their deposits again.”

Cannabis

The BBC says three of the seven staff left after a landlord discovered that his property had been let to tenants who were using it as a cannabis farm.

It has seen evidence that Singh is still trading as Morgan, Payne and Knightly, is still receiving money from tenants, and is still being contacted by numerous landlords chasing their payments.

The BBC has also seen eight county court judgements made against him and the company for not returning tenants’ deposits, not paying rent to landlords and not paying staff, with the former employees saying they are owed tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid wages, pension, sickness and maternity pay.

Instances

Wolverhampton Trading Standards confirmed it had found instances where the agency had not put deposits into a regulated scheme, but a spokesperson said no action had been taken as properties advertised for rent by MPK were in neighbouring council areas.

Telford & Wrekin Council said it had seen no evidence of offences committed under Trading Standards legislation, and advised people with complaints about landlords or letting agents to report them to the council. Birmingham City Council said it would not comment.

Sandwell Council, which covers West Bromwich, said both Singh and MPK were no longer operating in the borough. Singh and MPK continue, however, to operate elsewhere in the West Midlands, the BBC can confirm.

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