Letting agents have suffered a great deal of bad press over the last year and 2007 seems to be continuing in the same vein, as yet another agent is found guilty of malpractice.

The latest scandal involved a lengthy investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of The Insolvency Service, which led to a whole string of associated companies being exposed.

The CIB's inquiries discovered five associated companies were offering services as letting and managing agents, but were conducting their affairs in a dishonest manner and were found seriously lacking in commercial probity.

Also, the main company's registered office proved to be non-existent and the postal address was a bare strip of land in West Bromwich. It had failed to pay tax, national insurance or VAT and there were amounts owed and disputed in excess of £55,000, money that belonged to landlords and tenants.

The company had failed to honour contracts between landlords and tenants and had unjustly charged late payment fees on monthly rents. It had also refused to reimburse deposits or had made unwarranted deductions.