Shoreditch Estate & Letting Agent expelled from The Property Ombudsman for owing a landlord £8,319

Landlords, tenants, house buyers and sellers in Shoreditch, London, are being warned that a local estate agent Chase & Co UK Ltd, (trading as Chase & Co UK) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid. A complaint was brought to TPO by a landlord who said Chase & Co UK owed him a fee refund and rent which had been paid by the tenant but not passed on. The landlord paid an upfront fee to Chase & Co UK but his tenant vacated 7 months early and so it was agreed that he was entitled to a refund of 7 months’ fees. The landlord provided evidence that he had not received the agreed refund of the agent’s fee. The landlord also provided evidence to demonstrate that the tenant had paid rent for the 8-month period and that it had not been passed to him. Chase & Co UK also failed to demonstrate that they had carried out their advertised service of informing the council that the tenant residing in the property (a student) was exempt from paying Council Tax, leading to the landlord incurring court fees of £246.41. By failing to respond consistently to the landlord’s communication (by email and telephone prior to the formal complaint raised with TPO), The Ombudsman said Chase & Co UK had failed to provide a service consistent with fairness, integrity and best practice. By not responding to both the landlord and TPO with regards to the formal complaint, the agent failed to meet their obligations which requires them to acknowledge and respond to all written complaints and to issue a written statement expressing their final viewpoint. The Ombudsman supported the complaint and awarded the landlord £8,319.41 to cover the return of the agent’s fee, the missing rent (less the Let Only fee of 12% + VAT, because the agent had met their obligations to source a tenant who was currently occupying the property), the court fee, and an additional £800 for the avoidable aggravation caused. Chase & Co UK failed to pay the award and The Ombudsman referred the agent to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which ruled the firm should be expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme. Chase & Co UK is not currently registered with a redress scheme, which is a requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade legally.   They also do no not appear to be a member of a Client Money Protection scheme, also a legal requirement, do not have any professional memberships or advertise on the any of the main property portals, Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket. Chase & Co UK has been referred to Trading Standards. Gerry Fitzjohn, Non-Executive Director and Chairman of TPO’s Finance Committee: “As a member of TPO, agents are obliged to comply with awards made by the Ombudsman, which Chase & Co has failed to do. We have been unable to verify that the agent is still trading. There is no active website and no active Rightmove or Zoopla accounts. There do appear to be listings on OnTheMarket, however, they appear to be outdated. We want to make consumers aware in case they appear to start trading again. It is also a reminder to consumers to ensure they use an agent which is a member of a redress scheme.”