Re: Re: Landlord wants to charge £20 to write a reference...

On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:23:59 -0700, whitely525 wrote:

On 28 Apr, 17:48, FriarTuck <a...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:19:26 +0100, Robbie wrote:
FriarTuck wrote:
On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:35:33 +0100, Robbie wrote:

FriarTuck wrote:
On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:06:09 +0100, Peter Saxton wrote:

On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 23:11:30 GMT, FriarTuck
<a...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 22:03:44 +0100, Pip wrote:

"FriarTuck" <a...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:pan.2007.04.27.16.13.32.277247@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Are they obliged to provide you with a statement for your rent paid?

Have they a right to charge so much for a reference letter?

Just spoke to a snooty agent for the lettings firm who said she would not
put up with my argumentative attitude and hung up on me when I asked how
difficult it was for her to write a one line letter "all paid up to
date:...."

I said she told me herself she knew I was paid up to date, so I said why
the problem....

She said head office have to write the letter, these "corporates" and
their self made moneymaking laws eh.
Subject access request for £10.

http://www.out-law.com/page-410
Thanks, thats an interesting angle, data protection request.... if they
can only charge £10 for that how can they claim its a fair price to
charge £20 for a simple one line letter confirming i pay my rent on time
up to this point in time....
£10 is an amount decided by statute.

What if a company pays wages and rent and buys equipment that means
£20 is the cost of writing a letter to you?
Pfffft...

A bank does not charge you for a statement.

A building society does not charge you for an annual statement

why should some corporate franchise lettings agency be able to charge you
for an annual statement.

Do they know you just want a statement of payments made or confirmation
you are paid up to date? Or do they think you want a reference, for
which they could charge a reasonable fee. The heading you gave this
thread is confusing. That's why you are getting differing answers from
people in the newsgroup.

Yes I had an argument (well I thought it was just a discussion but I was
told by the woman on the end of the phone it was an argument...) over what
was a reference and what I wanted them to which was one line "Paid in
Full up to dd/mm/yy no arrears" which is the truth.

They just want to charge me £20 +VAT for a "reference" because the
corporate franchise holder of the agency makes money from that section of
the business is my conclusion.

I would write to them asking them to confirm that you are fully paid up
to date. If that's all you require then all you need from them is an
(written) answer to that.

Yes, that seems a good course of action... Thanks...

Though they have not replied to previous letters I sent.... seems that is
also a standard practice/technique of theirs, admit nothing in writing and
then call me argumentative when I phone them....

Do you get a periodic visit from the agent? If so, in advance of them
calling ask them to bring a letter advising that you are paid up to date.

funnily enough thats exactly what I did, I phoned to arrange a visit date
for them and then asked them exactly that, could they bring a one line
letter that says paid up to date no arrears.... and thats when the
problems started...

I could not believe it...

What a fiasco. If you take another property from the same agent, you
shouldn't even need a reference. But this won't stop them charging
the new landlord top whack for finding a new tenant.

It looks like you may have to cough up. I assume you have a statement
on the property condition/inventory when you left (some agents also
charge for this).


seems the franchiser has hit on a profitable system, I wonder if they pay
the franchisee a proportion of the charge for the reference letter....

.

Relevant Pages

  • =?windows-1252?q?Re:_Landlord_wants_to_charge_=A320_to_write_a_reference=2E=2E=2E?=
    ... put up with my argumentative attitude and hung up on me when I asked how ... difficult it was for her to write a one line letter "all paid up to ... charge £20 for a simple one line letter confirming i pay my rent on time ... Or do they think you want a reference, ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Landlord wants to charge =?iso-8859-1?Q?=A320_to_write_a_reference...?=
    ... Its not a reference, all I want is a statement that I am paid up ... banks don't charge you for providing a statement. ... payments have been in line with what they may claim to have charged ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Re: Landlord wants to charge £20 to write a reference...
    ... They are not under any obligation at all to provide a reference ... I would have thought that if it was customary for letting agents to ... Reputable letting agencies should spell out such a charge in their ... Its not a reference, all I want is a statement that I am paid up in full, ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Landlord wants to charge =?iso-8859-1?b?ozIw?= to write a reference...
    ... Have they a right to charge so much for a reference letter? ... I said she told me herself she knew I was paid up to date, ... A building society does not charge you for an annual statement ...
    (uk.legal)
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