Investigation into collapse of estate agents with £1.3 million debts

Homepoint Estate Agents Limited, which had branches in Wolverhampton, Stourbridge, Walsall and Birmingham, is being put into liquidation, owing £118,145 to tenants who had lodged deposits with the company – and £459,553 in rent which the company had collected from tenants, but not passed on to the landlords.

Dudley trading standards is now investigating the collapse of the company and tenants were sent letters from insolvency experts Moore giving them notice that the company was filing for liquidation.

The letter revealed that Homepoint, run by Ajit Singh Pooni, of Ilmington Drive, Sutton Coldfield, owed money to 328 creditors, including a large number of tenants who had submitted deposits for properties they were renting. But while it is a legal requirement that deposits are placed into a government-recognised deposit protection scheme, the report to creditors revealed that in many instances this had not been done. It also said that the company had collected rent money from tenants, but not paid it to landlords.

'Hitting the poor'

The case has been taken up by Dudley councillor Ian Kettle, who said he was concerned about how it had affected some of the most vulnerable members of the community. He said for many people, renting was the only way they could afford a property.

“It is hitting the working poor, and that is not where we want to be going,” said Councillor Kettle, who represents Pedmore and Stourbridge East.

One of those affected, Sean Cook, of Morvale Gardens, Lye, deposited £600 with the former Town & Country estate agents in Stourbridge when he moved into his property in 2013. The money was initially placed under a deposit protection scheme, but in 2016 Town & Country Property Services (Stourbridge) Ltd was taken over by Homepoint, and his money is no longer protected.

In January this year Mr Cook received a letter from Moore insolvency telling him his deposit had not been secured with an appropriate deposit protection scheme, and that he would now have to pursue his claim with the liquidators. Mr Cook was also informed Homepoint’s client base had been transferred to a new company called Point to Home, which was being run by Mr Pooni’s wife Charnjit Kaur Sidhu. The new company is trading from Homepoint’s former office in Bridge Street, Walsall.

“When I first heard my money was gone, that I had lost my deposit, I wasn’t best pleased,” said Mr Cook. “My money was supposed to have been protected.”

Creditors

Mr Cook said he had tried to contact the new company by email, but had received no reply. He said Homepoint did not inform his landlord about the situation.

Another tenant, Amber Grayston, from Walsall, said she had also lost the deposit she had paid when she moved into her property in 2016, despite being told that the money would be placed in a protected scheme. She said: “This was hard-earned money that was very well saved. Luckily my landlords are brilliant and very understanding but I want my deposit.”

She added that despite paying her rent in advance, the company continued to chase her for money.

Major creditors include HM Revenue & Customs, which is owed £72,078 in unpaid VAT, and Lloyds Bank, which is owed £160,347, which includes a £50,000 loan through the Government’s Bounce Back scheme. Mr Pooni himself is also seeking the repayment of a £287,924 loan he gave to the company, and a further £107,520 owed to himself and his wife.

A report to creditors blamed changes in government legislation in 2019, which prohibited letting agents charging fees to tenants. It said the first coronavirus lockdown resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in fees received by the company while it could not carry out viewings or valuations. It said that after reopening at the end of May last year, the company’s income remained substantially reduced.

Councillor Nicolas Barlow of Dudley Council said: “Our trading standards officers are currently investigating concerns raised in regards to this company and we are therefore unable to add anything further at this stage.”

The Express & Star tried to contact Mr Pooni through Point to Home, but was unable to do so.

Laura Pickering, insolvency manager at Moore, confirmed that Homepoint Estate Agents Limited was being put into liquidation. She said: “It is our job to recover assets for the benefits of creditors, and to help people see if they can get some money back.”

• Have you been affected by the collapse of Homepoint? Contact Mark Andrews on 01952 241491 or email mark.andrews@mnamedia.co.uk