BBC Watchdog: Wintrust lettings agency

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
Wintrust Residential is a lettings agency which ran two offices in East London. It claimed to provide the "most honest and professional service possible".

But we've heard from a number of landlords who*say that, without telling them and without their permission, the*business has moved*people*into their*properties*- and then changed the locks on the front door.*On top of that, Windtrust Residential*then didn't*pay*landlords the*rent*the*business*collected*from those tenants.*

Devinder Chauhan*is owed £1,400 in rent money which his tenants told him they'd paid to Wintrust.

Excuses
He's rented a flat through the agency for the past four years. He was informed that tenants were moving in and received most of his rental payments for nearly four years. But in November 2008 the payments*stopped. He has no idea why. When he approached his tenants, they provided proof that they'd paid Wintrust. But when he spoke to the*business*itself, he was given a*variety of excuses.

Watchdog has spoken to several other tenants and landlords who've not received money they're*owed*by*Wintrust. Some of them have*even taken the agency to court*- and won. But Wintrust hasn't paid up.

Lisa Davis gave keys to a couple of local letting agents in July 2008 when she was thinking about renting out her flat. One of them included Wintrust Residential.

Locks changed
She left her*keys with*Wintrust*and signed a receipt. When*a second*agency found tenants first, she gave those new tenants*keys and waited for them to move in. But*the tenants called her and said the keys wouldn't work in the locks.*When she went to the flat to help,*she found her*own keys wouldn't work either. The front door locks had been changed.
*
Lisa*managed to*force her way into the flat, and found someone else's belongings,*which neither she nor the tenants*recognised. She*also found a phone number in the flat,*and phoned it.*It belonged to tenants that Wintrust had moved in that afternoon, without*Lisa's knowledge.

Lisa was able to move this tenant out but some other landlords weren't as lucky. Keeley Andrews and Darren Sharp gave keys to Wintrust Residential for their flat in Barking. They too found that*the business had*moved*tenants*in without their permission.

Despite being angry, they let the tenant stay because they'd been assured by Wintrust that the rental income was secure. But soon afterwards Wintrust stopped*passing on the rent to Darren and Keeley. The couple has lost out on five months of rent, totalling around £3,000.

Closed offices
But they*haven't been able to*get their*money*back from the company*- Wintrust closed both of its offices in November.

However, another agency called Morgan Cromwell opened right next door to one of the Wintrust branches in Stratford, East London in January. It had some of the same staff, the same boss, and some of the same clients as Wintrust Residential.

Morgan Cromwell even sent a letter to some existing Wintrust clients saying they'd taken over Wintrust Residential. It promised them a "seamless transfer" and improved service.

Watchdog researchers went to Morgan Cromwell with another landlord*also owed money by Wintrust Residential. They met a man who wasn't the owner, but who did claim he was in charge. He told the researchers that he'd never heard of Wintrust and that Morgan Cromwell had nothing to do with*that business, even though Morgan Cromwell had sent out letters*to the contrary.*
*
However, when the employee was shown*one of these letters, he changed his tune and admitted that Morgan Cromwell had taken on some Wintrust clients. A colleague, who used to run one of Wintrust's offices,*claimed that Wintrust Residential had gone bankrupt.

But that's*not true.*Official records show Wintrust hasn't declared itself bankrupt, and neither has its owner. We wrote to the owner*of Wintrust, Mr Ahmir Khan,*at his new business, Morgan Cromwell. A few days later that office closed down too,*and*to date Watchdog has received no response from Mr Khan or his businesses.



Wintrust lettings agency