Three estate agents face prosecution for printing misleading information about the size of a garden in a property they were selling – even though they included various disclaimers. In the brochure they described the house as a “charming period, detached family house…set within superb gardens of approximately three-quarters of an acre”. The gardens were actually
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued new guidelines explaining how it will set tougher penalties for breaches of competition law. The maximum starting point for penalty calculations will increase from 10% of relevant turnover to 30%. The OFT says the change gives it the ability to set penalties which better reflect the gravity
A firm has been fined £10,000 after making a slight change to its name without telling HM Revenue & Customs. The firm, which doesn’t want to be identified, was originally a partnership but then decided to restructure as a limited company. It added Ltd to its name but didn’t realise that it was suppose to
The number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) against businesses rose by nearly 10% in the first three months of this year. The Registry Trust, which compiles the figures, says there were 34,602 CCJs against businesses in England and Wales in the first quarter. That was a rise of 9.8% on the final quarter of 2011.
Employers need to be careful what they say to staff during informal meetings, as one firm found to its cost recently. The firm, which carried out services for a large banking group, was about to be taken over. During an informal meeting with staff broadcast over the internet, it announced that a “guaranteed” minimum bonus
Landlords risk losing hundreds of thousands of pounds if they fail to consult tenants properly over service charges. In a recent case, Daejan Investments Ltd had to forfeit £270,000. Now Stenau Properties Ltd have fallen into the same trap. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that landlords go through a thorough consultation process before
Since 2007, landlords of houses and flats have been legally obliged to “protect” their tenants’ rent/security deposits. Deposits must either be paid into an authorised scheme or be registered and insured with such a scheme. Landlords are also obliged to give tenants full written details, including the scheme reference number. The requirements initially had to
Landlords need to ensure they comply with tougher new tenancy deposit rules which came into effect on 6th April. If they fail to do so, they could face fines and find it harder to evict tenants. The new rules are part of the Localism Act, which redefines the way landlords should protect the deposits given
A letting agency has been fined for illegally obtaining information about tenants while chasing up rent arrears. The offence took place in 2009 when the agency became concerned about overdue rent payments. One of its directors approached a local authority customer service adviser and asked him to obtain information about certain tenants from housing benefit
A developer of a block of flats has been ordered to return deposits to purchasers because the building was not completed on time. However, it was not the delay itself that caused the problem, but the lack of due diligence in failing to get the work done as quickly as possible after problems arose. In