Estate agency closes branch temporarily over disputed utility bill
Ainsworth Lord says debt collectors visited its Darwen branch and, until the matter is resolved, it cannot keep the office open.
Matters at a well-known estate agency in Lancashire have taken a turn for the bizarre after one of its branches was closed following a dispute over an unpaid utility bill.
The debt is for a commercial property that the Darwen branch of Ainsworth Lord Estate Agents manages on behalf of a client.
But the disputed bill has led to the branch being closed after bailiffs attached a note to the office on Market Street (pictured) saying that ‘goods are hereby secured under Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013’ and that ‘no unauthorised persons are permitted entry into these premises and in any attempt to do so will result in criminal proceedings being instigated against you’.
In light of this statement made by Commercial Rent Bailiffs Limited, the branch has been closed until the dispute has been resolved.
Shut up shop
The estate agency told the Lancashire Evening Post that they were unable to resolve the issue during the bailiff’s visit, which meant they were forced to shut up shop temporarily until payment is made.
It says the large debt arose after a tenant put the utility bill in the firm’s name, rather than their own. Ainsworth Lord has reassured it clients and tenants, saying the matter will be “resolved in the next day or so”.
The firm is a well known name within the regional property market with branches in Blackburn and Darwen but also several appearances on Channel 5 TV show Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords which, ironically given the fix the firm finds itself in, features case studies about residential market debt collection.
