Hi all, it’s my first time of starting a thread so apologies if this is wordy…
First of all, is it ‘legal’ for a letting agency to send a letter claiming rent arrears without stating a date to which it refers?
I received a letter saying I owed £5 rent arrears with no date. When I called, the manager was unable to tell me when it was for. As the rent has always been paid by direct debit/standing order and updated annually (it’s a periodic tenancy) I was confused.
It crossed my mind it could have referred to 2016’s rent increase (notified in April 2016 – the new rent would be £695). My ex set up the standing order for the first new payment at the correct amount (from May 2016 as instructed in the letter).
We were in the process of splitting up and he then decided to move out so I had his name taken off the tenancy (at a price), reapplied for the tenancy (at a fee) and then set up a new standing order. However, I made a mistake and set up the standing order at £700 so subsequent payments were £5 more than the annual increase.
I think I mentioned the £700 amount to the lettings manager when going through admin stuff.
I didn’t realise I’d been overpaying until May 2017, when I received notification of the annual rent increase, and saw that the 2016 amount was actually £695, £5 less than I’d been paying.
So after getting this recent £5 rent arrears letter I also called the credit control administrator but my explanation wasn’t listened to. I was sent a spreadsheet of payments and went through them on the phone with her. She pinpointed the May 2016 payment and said it was from then that the £5 was flagged up. However, I then quoted her the amounts from the letters I’d received in April 2016 and May 2017.
She said she’d get back to me. But in the meantime I emailed her and the lettings manager scans of letters, and referred them to the spreadsheet.
I have heard nothing back from either of them, but I have received a subsequent letter stating an administration fee of £30 has now been applied to the £5 owed!!
What do I do?
The spreadsheet does state the (correct) April 2016 rent in one of the columns, but did my mistaken overpayment override the formal letters I received? (I didn’t think to even try and claim it back, as, well, letting agents aren’t known for their generosity of spirit are they…).
But thereagain, surely I can’t be charged a back-dated £5 for the May 2016 payment when it is clearly the correct payment!
I know it’s ‘only £5’ but we’ve all seen how these things can escalate, and I am feeling incredibly anxious…