Six agents were excluded from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay fines awarded against them in the three months to September.
The Ombudsman says the firms were barred after rulings made by its dispute resolution service.
The excluded agents are:
Ivory and Hatton, a sales and lettings agent in Canary Wharf, London. TPO found that two rent payments had been retained instead of being transferred to the landlord.
The complaint was supported with an award made for the rent owed and avoidable aggravation, totalling nearly £4,500. Despite contact details for Ivory and Hatton not working, its website is still active and displaying properties for sale and rent, says the service.
Elite Property Management and Lettings, a sales and lettings agent in Liverpool. This agent failed to pay two outstanding awards, one of which was over £9,000 after funds were absconded and withheld from the landlord.
TPO does not believe that Elite Property Management and Lettings is still trading. It says there is no online presence and listings on portals have been removed.
Easy Lettings, a sales and letting agent in Finchley, London. A complaint against them came from a landlord when she struggled to get control back of one of her flats due to a binding contract in place that the agent failed to bring to her attention.
TPO made an award of £1,000. It adds there is no evidence to suggest that Easy Lettings is still trading, but it appears it could have rebranded as Easy Estates Group. The service has provided all information on potential linked companies to Trading Standards.
LS Lettings and Sales, a sales and lettings agent in Portsmouth. This agent has been excluded for the non-payment of a £550 award for the incorrect handling of a tenant’s deposit.
The body says there has been no online presence found for LS Lettings and Sales and Google street view suggests that the branch is closed and available to rent.
Shepherds Place Property Sourcing Services, a buying agent in Blackburn. In a complaint against Shepherds Place Property, TPO found that properties identified did not meet the investor’s criteria and a clause in the buying agreement which allowed a deposit to be retained was not made clear.
This resulted in a £3,000 award being made. TPO says it is unable to verify if this agent is still trading, but an online presence has not been found.
Ewemove Wokingham, a sales and lettings agent in Wokingham, Berkshire. This agent paid £1,800 towards a £4,872 award.
However, after ceasing trading it failed to make any further payments. £3,072 remains unpaid. Ewemove Wokingham failed to refer a sale back to an agent who was found to have introduced the buyer placing the seller in a position where they were potentially liable for dual fees.
The disputes body says all six agents failed to pay awards made and were referred to the scheme’s independent compliance committee, which ruled that they should be excluded from TPO scheme.
The body points out that 98% of awards made against agents last year were paid.
