Rossendale letting agent under investigation

Date published: 05/09/2008

A STRUCK-off East Lancashire estate agent is under investigation amid claims he owes landlords thousands of pounds.

Twenty landlords who rent out properties through Rossendale businessman Wayne Saxton’s letting agency held a meeting after his office closed unexpectedly over the bank holiday weekend.

The landlords claim that they have not received rent paid to Mr Saxton for their properties and are owed up to £35,000.

Lancashire County Council’s trading standards department confirmed that they were investigating the allegation.

And Companies House, the official UK government register of businesses, said that Mr Saxton’s letting agency, Saxton’s Residential Lettings, was to be dissolved due to the ‘overdue’ submission of annual accounts, which is required by law.

A spokesman said that the action would be taken in the near future pending the resolution of an objection from David Stott.

Mr Stott said: “I contacted Companies House, so we get an extra six months to try and get our money back, but I doubt there is any left in the pot.”

Mr Stott said he was owed £700 in unpaid rent as well as a £700 deposit, which were paid by his tenant in July.

He said that once a letting agent has obtained rent or a deposit from a tenant and taken their nine per cent commission fee, by law they must not keep it in their holding account for any longer than 10 days before transferring it to the appropriate landlord’s account.

Mr Stott said he called the public meeting after the letting agency, in Burnley Road, Bacup, closed over the bank holiday with just a telephone number put up in the window for enquiries.

Another landlord Jackie Oakes, who runs Stacksteads Post Office, said she is owed around £1,000.

She said: “We’re small fry in comparison to some other people who are owed much more but we rely on that rent to pay our mortgage.”

Nadine Hardman, 38, of Wheatholme Street, Rawtenstall, who said she rented a property on Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, through the letting agency but had now moved out, claimed she had still not been repaid a bond.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council’s trading standards department said it was standard procedure for them to undertake the initial investigation into complaints of this nature in order to ascertain whether a criminal offence had been committed.

In the event of a criminal law being breached, he said they have the authority to either enforce the law or refer the case to police.

Sgt Chris Counsel, of Rossendale Police, confirmed that although a number of complaints have been received about Mr Saxton, the investigation would be carried out by trading standards officials unless they deemed it necessary for the details to be passed on to police.

Mr Saxton previously ran estate agents in Burnley Road, Crawshawbooth and Kay Street, Rawtenstall, which sold properties across Rossendale and Burnley.

Companies House said both estate agencies were dissolved due to the ‘overdue’ submission of accounts.

A Companies House spokesman said companies are bound by law to provide them with copies of their annual accounts, but Mr Saxton failed to do so and was consequently struck-off and handed a penalty of £500, which was due to be paid on September 30 2007.

Mr Saxton was a member of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) but an official said his membership was ‘terminated’ at the beginning of the year due to ‘unpaid fines’ following a disciplinary hearing.

Mr Saxton’s own residential address is listed as Holmefield Lodge, Barley Holme Road, Crawshawbooth, by Companies House. There was nobody at the property on three separate occasions and the house appears to be empty.

And despite leaving several messages on his business landline and personal mobile number over the past six days, Mr Saxton has not responded.