The Company
Lone Hubbard and Kathy Hawes, the joint Directors of the company, worked as managers in the lettings industry for many years and experienced poor service from many referencing companies. They felt that references weren’t checked properly, ID and proof of address wasn’t collected, nothing was cross-checked, LetRef do things differently.
We appreciate our clients’ position and the need to deliver high quality reference reports.
Unfortunately, there has been a vast increase in fraudulent applications, using fake ID, bogus employers, fake bank statements and sub-letters. We offer an exceptionally thorough referencing service and work differently from the big corporate insurance companies, providing a far more individual and investigative service.
As part of the process we always obtain photo ID and proof of address, as a credit check would be useless without these and we discover many irregularities this way, we do not do automated credit checks, this is very important as we can ensure people are checked at the correct and most sensible address. We can carry AML (anti-money laundering) and passport checks and include Right to Rent ID Document checks in all of our reports, so the report clearly shows what documents you hold on file along with any immigration documents required by the applicant (you obviously need to check the originals in person or by video call). The landlord will always receive a detailed report along with all supporting documents - no tick box reports from us.
Many of our letting agents/landlords, choose the service we offer which includes collecting three months’ bank statements from applicants as this is a very effective way of verifying rental payments and salary.
We have vast experience dealing with many different scenarios and are happy to offer agents advice when they are considering potential applicants. We have found that our agents/landlords really value our personalised service.
Turnaround aims
We aim to turn all references around within 48 hours. We charge a flat rate and do not charge extra for urgent cases, every report is started immediately, as soon as an applicant completes and submits their application emails are sent to their referees.
The applicants have a dashboard that they can log into, we send them text alerts to check there for notes, requests for further info/documents, they can also change their referee details there if necessary and resend requests in real time.
Rest assured, we often get urgent reports back to the client on the same day, and if this is not possible we will always be able to give useful feedback, to keep you informed. Landlord/agents can log into the portal and see who is working on each file, contact details for the reference handler and updates.
We have a large team of experienced reference-handlers ensuring no-one is over-burdened. Our experience in the lettings industry gives us the edge over other referencing companies as we totally understand how it is at the other end and that the landlords are anxious to see the final reports
Common Problems Solved
“The reference reports have come back and they are not complete, they have just said ‘Unable to contact’”
LetRef does not send back incomplete reports, we will call the applicants and get them involved to make sure everything is complete, after all it is in their interest. We always contact a character referee even though many others do not, we have found that it gives the new landlord a better understanding of what kind of person their new tenant is."
“I can’t ever get hold of the person who is dealing with my applicants”
Agents/landlords will be able to see on www.eletref.co.uk which reference handler is dealing with their report and have an email contact. You can also always call Kathy or Lone (the directors) on their mobiles, they would be happy to help you.
Letref’s reports are detailed, well designed and clear, they are downloadable in PDF format. We will always include any supporting documents, such as written employment references, with the reports. These will all be available from our secure website www.eletref.co.uk
"I’ve called the referencing company to ask advice about a potential client and they don’t seem to know what I am talking about"
You can contact the LetRef directors on their mobile for advice at any time and we will be happy to help you. Kathy & Lone are used to dealing will all types of applicants and are happy to give advice regarding the best approach.
“The referencing company have failed my applicants but they are only £100 below the required income amount”
LetRef use their common sense and if an applicant is a little below the required amount but has been paying a similar rent level for a good period of time we will pass them if we are confident that they can meet the commitment. Our job is to assess the risk for the landlord, we always look at the whole picture, we are not a tick box company.
“The applicants are borderline and they have just failed them”.
LetRef will advise in the conclusion what the landlord needs to consider when making his/her decision. We will give an indication as to whether we consider someone high or low risk.
My reference company has no idea how to deal with HNW individuals
Kathy & Lone deal with high-net worth individuals on a regular basis and know how to approach this.