Can someone please help.
Myself and wife applied for the tenancy of a property.On the application form for the letting agent it asked if you have any bad credit,arrears,defaults,ccj's etc to which I acknowledged I did.
Had a call from letting agent who said we had been awarded the tenancy.We were told that we had to pay £200 for them to get the references,this was incorrect it transpired that the £200 was for them to carry out a credit check.I had already declared past credit problems as per their form,I also had a call from the letting agent and explained what this was.She said it would be ok if we could get a guarantor.This was done and all paperwork completed.Today I have had a call saying no you can not have the property,presumably due to my poor credit and the £200 is non refundable.
I have spoken to another agent who says that they do the credit check first and then ask for the payment if you are successful.Can anyone advise if this company is legally entitled to do this as it's a good money making scheme.I've checked their website and there is nothin on there detailing this as a process.
Thank you (Mr No house and £200 out of pocket)

£200 seems to be a bit over the top even to obtain references. As far as credit checks are concerned, they cost nowhere near this amount. If I were you, I would ask the agency to provide you with their reasons for refusing you tenancy and copies of all the paperwork incl credit check request and invoice. Under the Data Protectio Act, they have to provide you these docs. Once you have their reasons and know how much they paid for their credit check, you can decide on the next course of action.

My understanding is that an agency can charge you for the extra services they provide only if you request these services or agree to the agency to provide you with extra services. You seem to not have agreed for the agency to undertake credit checks, you did not even know they were to undertake these. As such, you should be asking for your money back.

Think your letting agents are being unfair and i would be challenging them if i were you. As far as I know, a letting agency can charge you a fee once they have found you accommodation and you have agreed to take up the tenancy. They can ask you tp sign smth to state that you'll pay this amount, but should tell you in advance what the fee is and what it's for.

Thought the agents could get away with any fees they want to charge, especially that this area is not regulated.