[kirklancaster]

There is need now for the Government to clamp down very harshly on a corrupt, money-making practice which has been perpetrated for almost a decade now, by rogue Agents and Landlords against unwitting people who are desperate to find rented accommodation.

Not only is this bent practice fleecing often young couples who can ill afford to be conned, it is also exacerbating the accommodation crisis.

The scam works like this:

Say that the Agent or Landlord has a 3 bedroom terrace to let at £500 per Calendar month. Upon ascribing the tenancy, he can expect to receive around £1,000 by way of one month's rent in advance, and a Tenancy Deposit of say, another £500.

In this 'Housing Crisis' hit market, it should take no more than a week to let a decent house.

However, it PAYS some unscupulous Agents and Landlords NOT to let the property.

All thanks to a grossly over-priced little 'invention' called - variously - a 'Documentation Fee', an 'Administration Charge', or a 'Credit Checking and Document Processing Fee'.

The cost of this mandatory 'service' ranges from £50 to nearly £200. depending upon the Agent/Landlords greed, and the prospective tenant pays it when he makes his tenancy application, to be told that he will be notified if his application is successful.

Now the thing is; the Agent/Landlord will probably determine a suitable tenant within days, but if he continues to advertise the property and collect as many additional 'Documentation Fees' as possible, over just 4 to 8 weeks, it is possible to 'process' as many as 100 applications in an averagely busy locale - that's 100 x say £100 on average fees.

That's £10,000 - YES, £10,000 for nothing, and this average can increase sharply in London and the South.

It costs less than £10.00 to credit check a tenant - even less on a Company or Landlord 'member package' - and carrying out confirmation checks with tenant's 'referees' costs even less, so so as can be seen, it is a lucrative old business.

Once the Agent/Landlord feels he has made enough 'easy' money, he notifies his chosen applicant, ascribes the tenancy and lets the property.

And there is FECK ALL anyone can do about it.

What do my Agents charge - £35.00 - on my instructions.