Philip James Rental hell for students??

Don't let them view this one if it's raining, put it in the "sunny day" book.

Students protest at usual delay in returning deposit!!

Jailed letting agent case highlights lack of controls in industry

A letting agent has been jailed for two years after stealing £140,000. The 43 victims included people who were his friends.

Robert Stagg pocketed rents and deposits paid by tenants which should have been handed over to landlords.

He had earlier been spared jail after promising to start paying the money back. But he had failed to do so and has now been sent to prison.

The case highlights the fundamental lack of controls on letting agents, which allows them to handle client money without having to ring-fence the amounts in separate accounts or to have client money protection insurance. There is also nothing to stop Stagg re-entering the lettings industry and, should he do so, he would not have to sign up to an ombudsman scheme.

Estate agent faces jail after masterminding property scam

Wednesday 14th September 2011

An estate agent who was an undischarged bankrupt is awaiting sentencing after masterminding a property scam worth over £1m.

One of his accomplices was a mortgage adviser.

Both Raymond Abramson, 68, and Mark Jopson, 52, who ran Mark Jopson Financial Services, admitted conning investors into buying 21 homes in Lancashire.

The values of the properties being sold were inflated on the promises of guaranteed tenancies, rental income and refurbishments that didn’t materialise.

The investors were from Ireland, with the frauds taking place between January 2005 and September 2008.

The two men, together with a third accomplice, John Edwards, 43, were originally charged in October 2009 after an investigation by Greater Manchester Police’s fraud unit, and had been due to face a lengthy trial but changed their pleas at the last moment.

Prosecutor Andrew Nuttall QC told Manchester Crown Court how investors from Ireland were tempted with the promise of purchasing properties with guaranteed rental income. The offences related to 21 properties out of 31 on the defendants’ books.

Abramson masterminded the scam, using the pseudonym Trevor Smith so that he could prevent investors from finding out that he was trading illegally as a bankrupt. He recruited Jopson to arrange the mortgages, bringing in Edwards to help.

The three men all admitted conspiracy to defraud, and are due to be sentenced on November 28.

Medical reports will be sought for Abramson, who is said to have a number of medical difficulties, and a psychiatric report will be compiled on Edwards.

The defendants will also face Proceeds of Crime Act hearings following their sentencing.

Jeffrey Samuels QC, defending Abramson, said it was understood by the defendants that they were at risk of receiving custodial sentences.

Considering a rental from Philip James Lettings Didsbury?? BEWARE!!

Considering a rental from Philip James Lettings Didsbury?? BEWARE!!

You should always choose your letting agent with care. My experience with this company has been horrendous. Trying to extort money for "admin" (£150) this was to ring someone to clean a cupboard, although they haven't replied to my letter.


The staff in Didsbury - namely Danielle Beswick and her angry sidekick Nadia Fortune appear to be in control of the illegal withholding of deposits.

This story will continue until they repay my stolen money.

There is  much more to come and leaflets are being prepared as a handout at their offices and through the doors of their available properties. In the meantime, choose you rental with great care.


Students in Manchester are particularly vulnerable to poor practice. If you have had a similar experience with this firm please post comments or contact me.

Here is some advice from shelter:

What if there is a dispute about getting my deposit back?
Your landlord or agent is only entitled to keep all or part of your deposit if they can show that they have lost out financially because of your actions, for example, if you have caused damage to the property or you owe rent. Ask your landlord or agent for a breakdown of the specific costs that they are taking out of your deposit. Your landlord or agent cannot keep your deposit to cover putting right normal wear and tear. There are rules on what costs can be deducted from your deposit.
if you cannot agree, the dispute will usually go to the county court.

How to get your deposit back - WITHOUT proof of bills

Miss-Fortune and Danielle Beswick from Philip James will try to insist you provide proof you have paid all your bills (probably a delaying tactic) to hold on to your cash. However you should !! Click Here !! to down load the full booklet from the TDS who hold their deposits. In particular, section 8 deals with this issue.

The complaints keep coming in about Philip james Didsbury

Even over the holidays we have been amazed by the number of people who have contacted us. Because of the sheer volume we are dedicating more staff and resources to assist you all. We are in the process of designing two brand new websites: trottersville.co.uk and philipjamesrentals.co.uk.

We aim to get these live as soon as possible, but in the meanwhile, please keep coming back here and using the "comments" section to get in touch. Some of your complaints have been forwarded direct to the relevant authorities.
For those of you with problems with Philip James, we hope to be having a "surgery" with our solicitor shortly.

Stay safe and take care

Philip James Lettings - The letter from miss fortune - complain and you go to Prison

You can click on the letter to enlarge it, I intend to take you through it as well as an open reply to miss fortune.
In Para (1) miss fortune refers to a campaign of harassment and abuse. She means - I have had the cheek to issue a summons in the civil court to obtain my deposit back.
In Para (2) miss fortune confirms that she has once again wasted Police time pursuing what they told both of us is a civil matter. The first time she claimed I was stalking her. I have never met her or been anywhere near the Didsbury office. I wouldn't know her if I fell over her!
In Para (3) If she is confident she will defeat me in the court, why doesn't she leave it to the Judge?
In Para (4) miss fortune really goes to town. Here she tells me that if I continue to publish my blog and distribute my leaflets, I will be sent to Prison for six months.
In Para (6) She strongly advises me to drop my court action and my public broadcast of their unlawful withholding of my deposit.
Finally, in para (7) she claims to have been nothing but professional with me - This includes (in her own words) reporting me to the Police twice, the first time for stalking. Threatening me with six months imprisonment for using my right to free speech and peaceful protest. These people are probably used to getting their own way with their bluff and bluster. If they are going to prosecute and imprison me DO IT!! Please stop your threats and intimidation IT WON'T WORK!!  Give me my money back!!

Otherwise, leave it to the courts as the Police advised you!!

And to all you nice readers, be very wary who you deal with and keep coming back.

Considering a rental from Philip James Didsbury?? BEWARE!!

You should always choose your letting agent with care. My experience with this company has been horrendous. Trying to extort money for "admin" (£150) this was to ring someone to clean a cupboard, although they haven't replied to my letter.

I have now had to issue a County Court summons to try and get my deposit back. They keep relying on tiny clauses in the contract to delay repaying me any money.

Their staff in Didsbury - namely Danielle Beswick and her angry sidekick Nadine Fortune appear to be in control of the illegal withholding of deposits.

The directors seem unwilling or unable to intervene.


This story will continue until we reach trial, or they repay my stolen money.

There is so much more and leaflets are being prepared with the full details. In the meantime, choose you rental with great care.

Students in Manchester are particularly vulnerable to poor practice. If you have had a similar experience with this firm please post comments or contact me.

Here is some advice from shelter:

What if there is a dispute about getting my deposit back?

Your landlord or agent is only entitled to keep all or part of your deposit if they can show that they have lost out financially because of your actions, for example, if you have caused damage to the property or you owe rent. Ask your landlord or agent for a breakdown of the specific costs that they are taking out of your deposit. Your landlord or agent cannot keep your deposit to cover putting right normal wear and tear. There are rules on what costs can be deducted from your deposit.
if you cannot agree, the dispute will usually go to the county court.

How landlords rip off tenants: deposit scam that means one lost pan can cost a fortune

After years of leaky roofs, dodgy heating and other Rising Damp horror stories, students seemed to have stumbled into every available pitfall when moving into rented homes.

After years of leaky roofs, dodgy heating and other Rising Damp horror stories, students seemed to have stumbled into every available pitfall when moving into rented homes.

But yesterday the costly scandal of disappearing deposits, which sees hundreds of millions of deposit money disappearing each year into landlords' pockets - and reappearing (if at all) after months of delays and obfuscation - was laid bare.

A fifth of private tenants complain that all or part of their deposit has been unreasonably withheld, according to a report by the housing charity Shelter and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

The organisations said £800m of tenants' money was swilling around the system without stringent controls on how it was controlled. They have compiled a catalogue of abuse by landlords who have taken advantage of the relative powerlessness of tenants and refused to return deposits for spurious reasons.

Tenants are often unwilling to pursue cases through the courts because of the cost, the time it takes and the need for a landlord's reference to secure sought-after new properties.

Tenants, often among the less well paid and unable to get a foot on the property ladder, can be forced into crippling debt or in extreme cases forced to become homeless.

Students are among the worst hit, with 35,000 facing a summer cash crisis because of the difficulties of getting their deposits back from landlords, according to the study.

Verity Coyle of the National Union of Students said: "The arbitrary holding back of students' deposits are unfair, done with very little accountability and adds to the financial pressures students are under."

Among the cases charted in the study is a tenant who was charged £850 for "cleaning carpets and curtains and a missing saucepan". A Methodist minister who relocated with his wife and three young children was landed with a £1,346 bill that included £1,000 for cleaning and redecoration. The bill was eventually withdrawn but there was no evidence that cleaning or redecoration was needed or had happened.

Two students, aware of the problems of dodgy landlords took photographs when they moved in and arranged for the flat to be professionally cleaned before they left. Five months were needed to get their £700 deposit returned. Other stories have included a £55 bill for a broken plastic towel rail and a £250 deposit withheld because of a hole in the wall made by a drawing pin.

"Too many landlords treat rent deposits as their money, instead of money handed over to them in trust," David Harker, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said. "Many do not even bother to give tenants a proper reason for failing to pay it back."

Scrooge in Didsbury, Philip James Partnership, Student letting Withington

Jingle Bells are not ringing if you want your deposit back from these guys. Clause 3.12 was again (wrongly) quoted as a reason not to give me my deposit back - in another letter (from yet another) employee at this place. 

At least I have not been arrested and imprisoned by miss-fortune or her colleagues yet.

Jingle Bells, give me my cash back