Former Rossendale landlord rapped by magistrates

Former lettings boss Wayne Saxton was being chased by dozens of angry landlords and tenants in the summer of 2008 after the collapse of his property empire.

Problems included rents not being paid to landlords on time and deposits not being refunded on a host of properties across the valley and rural Burnley.

Many of those affected complained to Lancashire County Council and also sought help from industry watchdogs such as the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

But it emerged that Saxton, who has lived in Barley Holme Lane, Crawshawbooth and Ilex Mill, Rawtenstall, was no longer a member of either trade body.

County council trading standards officials have now prosecuted Saxton, who ran Saxton (Residential Lettings) and Saxtons Residential Ltd and Saxtons (Burnley) Ltd from offices in Rawtenstall and Bacup.

He admitted 13 charges under the Trade Descriptions Act and Misleading Marketing Regulations provisions and was conditionally discharged for two years by Rossendale magistrates.

The court heard that the NAEA offered a money protection guarantee and the NALS had a similar system.

Saxton’s NALS membership had lapsed in 2006 and his NAEA credentials were terminated in 2008.

Speaking after the case, the county’s chief trading standards officer Jim Potts said: “Trade associations offer real benefits, not only to their members but also to clients who contract with them, and for this reason we take very seriously any complaints regarding claims of membership which are false.

“In this case a number of landlords lost money, including many who were not professional landlords but had been forced into renting out their property as they were unable to sell.”

Saxton’s three bankrupt companies were wound up by the Official Receiver at the High Court in May.

The prosecution was the first taken by the county council’s trading standards department using new misleading marketing regulations.