MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I normally pay my rent when I get paid on the last Friday of the month, which puts my rent in credit until the rent charge is applied on the 1st of the month. On the 1st of January my rent statement showed that my account had been charged twice. When they returned to the office on Monday they issued a statement to say that anyone affected shouldn't worry and that it would be amended.
Yesterday I received an anonymous email sent from their office with a copy of my rent statement, the figures had absorbed the error retrospectively applying the double charge to my account going back years. I checked my online statement again and it still showed the double rent charged and the balance previously. I took 6 months worth of screenshots as I don't receive a paper copy and didn't want to have to sign in to my account each time I wanted to view them. Just as well I did as the figures have now changed online too!
I went in to complain and they are saying that there must have been a previous error in my account and the charge still stands. I showed them my screenshots but they say my account must have been in arrears prior to July, despite having never notifyed me and my account not having previously shown the arrears.
I know I need legal advice, I just can't believe that they could make such a catastrophic mistake with someone's finances and then alter any evidence.
You need to simplify that.
I'm sure it makes sense to you, but if you're looking for comment it must make sense to others.
I’d start by asking them to show you when your account went into arrears.
Can you get bank statements showing the payments as well?
Try CAB for advice; if it’s a letting agent, other people in the area will probably have had the same problem so CAB will probably be aware. Even if you’re the only person, they should be able to advise you.
Too much detail? Sorry.
In short my landlord has double charged for rent and then altered my online statement to show that I've been in debt for years. I'd opted for paperless statements which are viewable in my online account, I thought these were as reliable as paper copies for verification of previous charges and payments. I wasn't aware that they could be altered in retrospect and without notice.
I can prove all my payments with my bank statements and having gone through a year's worth each one matches on both the original and the new statements, however the agent has asked me to prove where the error has occurred in their statement which involves paperwork going back to 2012. They won't accept 6 months worth of screenshots of their original online statement, which says in bold that they've made an error and to ignore the extra charge.
I think you need pro advice on that
you could collect paper statements from your bank detailing all payments to the agent
Do you have it documented elsewhere what the monthly rental charge should be and if so is that what you've been paying? This could either be them genuinely correcting an under-charging error (but in a bit of an underhand way) or fraud so you need to be clear on what you had contracted to pay vs what you've been charged
Tell them you will go to the police and report it as a fraud. Which it is if they are amending records to try to charge you more than you are contracted to pay.
The contract and your bank statements are the key documents here, their system is their problem.
You can go to your bank and request paper statements going back 6 years, they can charge a small fee for this but it's usually around £10. Once you have those look at what you have paid, correlate that with what the agent has on record. If this doesn't solve it then go to CAB for advice.