Agency faces £90,000 court order in high profile tenant dispute
Starkings & Watson is disputing an order to pay the money to sex therapist Patricia Ramshaw, also known as 'Lady Pea', after she was evicted.
An estate agency is facing a £90,000 court order after being dragged into a bitter dispute between a tenant and their landlord that has been rumbling on for months.
The order against Starkings & Watson, based in Norwich, has been made amid claims the firm had not properly established whether a property had a valid energy performance certificate, a claim it strongly contests.
The court order came after The Property Ombudsman ruled the agent was at fault when the property was advertised in November 2021, the Eastern Daily Press reports.
Sex therapist
The tenant, Patricia Ramshaw (main image, inset), a former actor and more recently sex therapist also known as ‘Lady Pea’, had already been battling with the owners of the house (main image) in Ranworth, a village in the Norfolk Broads.
She was evicted in June last year by the aristocratic Cator family who own the property.
Ramshaw claims she suffered a debt as a result of the rental not being handled correctly, and made a claim through the Civil National Business Centre.
Contested
The order states that Starkings & Watson failed to respond to the claim. But Christopher Starkings, MD at the firm, insists it did respond and that the claim would be contested.
“SWEA Ltd submitted everything within a timely manner, had confirmation of receipt from the courts and heard nothing more until the request for payment came through. Documents have since been submitted to have the order set aside,” he said.
Pic credits: Starkings & Watson/Amazon
