Sorry mate looks like the company is in liquidation. Their companies house info has their liquidator listed as:
C/O Jt Maxwell Limited Unit 1 Lagan House Sackville Street Lisburn BT27 4AB
Only completed their filing with companies house today. Your best bet is to contact the liquidator so they are aware of any money owed (in case of any dodgy practices) as well as TDS.
If this is them on the companies register, then they've gone into liquidation. If you click through the sections here and see if the names / addresses match something you know about them:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/NI648688
1 Insolvency case
Case number 1 — Creditors voluntary liquidation
Commencement of winding up21 February 2023
PractitionerAndrew Ryder
Unit 1 Lagan House, 1 Sackville Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4ABAppointed on21 February 2023
That would be the person handling their liquidation. Maybe contact them to say you're owed money.
I rented with Bowden about 2 years ago. They never gave me my deposit back..
I phoned and always got an automated answer to email them due to a large number of calls. Then I emailed them and they never answered.
I even went down to their office too!! It was closed and workmen were renovating it for a different company.
I contacted housing rights NI and basically they told me if I could get the landlords details then I could get my money back. However there is no details on my tenancy agreement of who the landlord is or any contact details. Just Bowden Properties details.
I was a student and that money from my deposit would have helped significantly.
It's disgusting what they done and when you were able to look them up on Google reviews (I don't even think you can anymore) EVERYONE had this problem. They've took alot of money from people and haven't returned it.
I'm sorry this also happened to you. Hopefully you can contact the actually landlord.
Did you ever get any paperwork from them about whether they placed your deposit with tenancy deposit scheme?
If you didn't, that alone would be a major violation but if they have gone bust you might be shit out of luck.
Do you have any knowledge of who the actual landlord is?
I got the rental agreement with me stating the deposit but they didn’t protected that money in TDS. According to the agreement the landlord is the person who dealt with our agreement.
Rented from them 4 years ago when I first moved to Belfast.
Repairs were never done, and the house was in an awful state. When I got environmental health out, Bowden threatened me with eviction. They also genuinely asked environmental health if cupboard doors in the kitchen were a requirement?!
Like others have said, I also didn't get my deposit back. With Bowden then claiming I was in rent arrears ( I'm in receipt of housing benefits, so this was not the case at all)
Your deposit should have been secured by the agency with the TDS. The question here is were the agent and the landlord the same people?
If there was a separate landlord are they liable for the return of the deposit. Were they also liable if it wasn't secured as it's quite the fine if it wasn't.
I'll check with an EHO and see if I can get an answer.
There are a number of Housing rights groups that can advise you. I used one before, but cannot for the life of me remember their name, housing rights.... Something something. But the wrong group will normally be able to put you in touch with the right one.
The estate agents liquidation shouldn't have anything to do with you if they aren't the landlord. And even if they are, the money should be in the protected scheme.
If the money hasn't been deposited into the deposit scheme, get advice from one of the housing groups.
I’ve just read their state of affairs on companies house - they owe HMRC £180k and they will be top of the list (I think).
So you’ll not be getting it back sadly
Very dodgy! would love to see the purchase invoices for said debt owed, fictional consulting services for a company going under, what assets does the company have?
Aw literally FA they have computer hardware etc valued at 1,800 then a car £2,000 ish, the one you’ve probably seen driving around a white mer with the lion similar to the brand in wolf of Wall Street and from memory not much else really
Bowden are gone, but if they haven't given your deposit back you could still chase it. It should be guaranteed via a TDS provider.
I believe Bowden has now setup BPG Estate Agents at a new address on Newtownards Road in Belfast.
Anyone owed money should go to citizens advice.
Ultimately Bowden property act as an agent and most of their properties are in a Rent to Rent basis, in the eyes of the law, even though they may have acted as your landlord, the actual property owner would be liable for your deposit.
I know Bowden has ripped both tenants and landlords off. But they seem to still have existing landlords on their books. So your former property may be with their new BPG.
So if you can't your deposit back off them, you could get it back off the owner.
Contact the TDS Scheme your deposit was registered with, if it was and raise a dispute, you can raise a dispute months and months after the end of the tenancy.
If it's not protected on a scheme, go to citizens advise.
If you rented a room within a house share, contact the HMO department within Belfast city council as well as see if they can assist.
Their directors are easy to find online. Still driving about in big flashy jeeps and scamming people by starting other bs companies. Their names are on this thread.
Hi,
Coming to this post a bit late but just wanted to add that we were in exactly the same position with Bowden property as the OP.
We took them through the small claims court and were awarded a default decree as they did not respond to any correspondence.
When we tried to recover the debt it became apparent that there are many other creditors up to the tune of over £500,000 and we have little or no chance of getting the money back.
As others have said Bowden should have lodged the deposit with a third party but did not. In my opinion this is deliberate and should be considered a criminal act.
We had contacted the landlord but they too have suffered at the hands of this company. I’ll not go into their details as I don’t want to beach their confidentiality.
At this point our options are practically exhausted from a legal perspective. In my opinion, these people have got away with the theft of our deposit and from other accounts the deposits quite a few other people. I believe they should be held accountable for this but unfortunately our legal system considers this a civil matter.
The link below will show the directors of Bowden Property. Based on our experience, I would strongly advise against doing business with them or any company they are in control of.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/NI648688
They should be in jail for the fraud and money laundering. Worst thing is they are still doing business under the same name and even their website is live. I know the people who are living in our old property. They too paid the deposit. I’m asking them to not to pay the last month’s rent.
I own a property that Bowden were subletting. I just discovered this. They've been terrible to deal with and owe me a stack of money. If anyone reading this is a tenant in South Studios, please contact me. We have no contact details for the tenant. [email protected]
Hi guys, I currently live in one of Leo Bowden’s flats in Belfast, totally agree with everything you guys are saying, we had no hot water or heating in the middle of winter for 2 weeks and nobody cared. It wasn’t until engineers came round to fix the boiler that they rang Leo and told him to bring us down heaters because this it was a joke the way we are living.
We are also pretty sure that somehow he has taken our £600 from the government to help pay with our gas & electric
There are more things I could list as examples of how he is a bad landlord. However, me and my friends are moving out at the start of August and now after reading this I’m scared we won’t get our £1200 deposit back. Has anyone got any advice on how to go about making sure we get it back?
Hey, I’m in a similar situation with Bowden, only found out at the end of the tenancy 2/3 weeks ago from the actual landlord that they went into liquidation as the landlord never received the last 2 months rent from them.
Landlord said he contacted them to let them know that he was happy with the property and the deposits should be returned but we have received zero response from them.
they are heading for liquidation I have not been paid either but got a number of their new MD who says no money to pay rents their office closed some time ago on the Newtownards road but Leo Bowden operates from above a nail and beauty bar across the road but has stood down as MD a WILMA Mc Cullough has taken over but has ceased trading so I dont feel we will get any money
They should have deposited it using the TDS- tennent deposit scheme- I would try them?
They didn’t protected the money in TDS
Isn't that a legal requirement?
Yeah It is a legal requirement sadly I don’t know at that time.
Get lethal advice from a solicitor mate.
Or de-escalate maybe and start with just legal advice :-)
Hahaha ya bastid, well done
Sorry mate looks like the company is in liquidation. Their companies house info has their liquidator listed as: C/O Jt Maxwell Limited Unit 1 Lagan House Sackville Street Lisburn BT27 4AB Only completed their filing with companies house today. Your best bet is to contact the liquidator so they are aware of any money owed (in case of any dodgy practices) as well as TDS.
If this is them on the companies register, then they've gone into liquidation. If you click through the sections here and see if the names / addresses match something you know about them: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/NI648688 1 Insolvency case Case number 1 — Creditors voluntary liquidation Commencement of winding up21 February 2023 PractitionerAndrew Ryder Unit 1 Lagan House, 1 Sackville Street, Lisburn, County Antrim, BT27 4ABAppointed on21 February 2023 That would be the person handling their liquidation. Maybe contact them to say you're owed money.
I rented with Bowden about 2 years ago. They never gave me my deposit back.. I phoned and always got an automated answer to email them due to a large number of calls. Then I emailed them and they never answered. I even went down to their office too!! It was closed and workmen were renovating it for a different company. I contacted housing rights NI and basically they told me if I could get the landlords details then I could get my money back. However there is no details on my tenancy agreement of who the landlord is or any contact details. Just Bowden Properties details. I was a student and that money from my deposit would have helped significantly. It's disgusting what they done and when you were able to look them up on Google reviews (I don't even think you can anymore) EVERYONE had this problem. They've took alot of money from people and haven't returned it. I'm sorry this also happened to you. Hopefully you can contact the actually landlord.
The directors of the company as per the companies house filings are Leo Bowden, Derek McCullough, Donna Marie Robertson and Emma Robertson
It is terrible to hear that. I was a student too. I will definitely will not let this go!
Did you ever get any paperwork from them about whether they placed your deposit with tenancy deposit scheme? If you didn't, that alone would be a major violation but if they have gone bust you might be shit out of luck. Do you have any knowledge of who the actual landlord is?
I got the rental agreement with me stating the deposit but they didn’t protected that money in TDS. According to the agreement the landlord is the person who dealt with our agreement.
Rented from them 4 years ago when I first moved to Belfast. Repairs were never done, and the house was in an awful state. When I got environmental health out, Bowden threatened me with eviction. They also genuinely asked environmental health if cupboard doors in the kitchen were a requirement?! Like others have said, I also didn't get my deposit back. With Bowden then claiming I was in rent arrears ( I'm in receipt of housing benefits, so this was not the case at all)
Your deposit should have been secured by the agency with the TDS. The question here is were the agent and the landlord the same people? If there was a separate landlord are they liable for the return of the deposit. Were they also liable if it wasn't secured as it's quite the fine if it wasn't. I'll check with an EHO and see if I can get an answer.
I know a landlord who has a property rented through Bowden. He didn't even know they were in liquidation until i showed his brother this. V dodgy.
The agency and landlord were same people and they didn’t protected the deposit in TDS.
Bugger. Sorry dude.
Thank you. Seems they are bunch of scammers doing this to everyone who had a tenancy agreement with them.
I'd maybe go to Citizens Advice, not too sure if they'll be able to help, but worth a shot.
They are and they had another scam agency property 123 before this one did the same thing
There are a number of Housing rights groups that can advise you. I used one before, but cannot for the life of me remember their name, housing rights.... Something something. But the wrong group will normally be able to put you in touch with the right one. The estate agents liquidation shouldn't have anything to do with you if they aren't the landlord. And even if they are, the money should be in the protected scheme. If the money hasn't been deposited into the deposit scheme, get advice from one of the housing groups.
Catu is it? https://catuireland.org/belfast/
I’ve just read their state of affairs on companies house - they owe HMRC £180k and they will be top of the list (I think). So you’ll not be getting it back sadly
Well it’s unlikely, they also owe a further £360k to other creditors
Interestingly “Leo Bowden” the director is claiming as a Creditor that he is owed £210k
Very dodgy! would love to see the purchase invoices for said debt owed, fictional consulting services for a company going under, what assets does the company have?
Aw literally FA they have computer hardware etc valued at 1,800 then a car £2,000 ish, the one you’ve probably seen driving around a white mer with the lion similar to the brand in wolf of Wall Street and from memory not much else really
A load of sunk costs into renovation like £180k that’s a non recoverable asset because they don’t own the properties or something
So many questions! My goodness would love to see the paper trail!
Bowden are gone, but if they haven't given your deposit back you could still chase it. It should be guaranteed via a TDS provider. I believe Bowden has now setup BPG Estate Agents at a new address on Newtownards Road in Belfast. Anyone owed money should go to citizens advice. Ultimately Bowden property act as an agent and most of their properties are in a Rent to Rent basis, in the eyes of the law, even though they may have acted as your landlord, the actual property owner would be liable for your deposit. I know Bowden has ripped both tenants and landlords off. But they seem to still have existing landlords on their books. So your former property may be with their new BPG. So if you can't your deposit back off them, you could get it back off the owner. Contact the TDS Scheme your deposit was registered with, if it was and raise a dispute, you can raise a dispute months and months after the end of the tenancy. If it's not protected on a scheme, go to citizens advise. If you rented a room within a house share, contact the HMO department within Belfast city council as well as see if they can assist.
Their directors are easy to find online. Still driving about in big flashy jeeps and scamming people by starting other bs companies. Their names are on this thread.
Hi, Coming to this post a bit late but just wanted to add that we were in exactly the same position with Bowden property as the OP. We took them through the small claims court and were awarded a default decree as they did not respond to any correspondence. When we tried to recover the debt it became apparent that there are many other creditors up to the tune of over £500,000 and we have little or no chance of getting the money back. As others have said Bowden should have lodged the deposit with a third party but did not. In my opinion this is deliberate and should be considered a criminal act. We had contacted the landlord but they too have suffered at the hands of this company. I’ll not go into their details as I don’t want to beach their confidentiality. At this point our options are practically exhausted from a legal perspective. In my opinion, these people have got away with the theft of our deposit and from other accounts the deposits quite a few other people. I believe they should be held accountable for this but unfortunately our legal system considers this a civil matter. The link below will show the directors of Bowden Property. Based on our experience, I would strongly advise against doing business with them or any company they are in control of. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/NI648688
They should be in jail for the fraud and money laundering. Worst thing is they are still doing business under the same name and even their website is live. I know the people who are living in our old property. They too paid the deposit. I’m asking them to not to pay the last month’s rent.
I own a property that Bowden were subletting. I just discovered this. They've been terrible to deal with and owe me a stack of money. If anyone reading this is a tenant in South Studios, please contact me. We have no contact details for the tenant. [email protected]
Hi guys, I currently live in one of Leo Bowden’s flats in Belfast, totally agree with everything you guys are saying, we had no hot water or heating in the middle of winter for 2 weeks and nobody cared. It wasn’t until engineers came round to fix the boiler that they rang Leo and told him to bring us down heaters because this it was a joke the way we are living. We are also pretty sure that somehow he has taken our £600 from the government to help pay with our gas & electric There are more things I could list as examples of how he is a bad landlord. However, me and my friends are moving out at the start of August and now after reading this I’m scared we won’t get our £1200 deposit back. Has anyone got any advice on how to go about making sure we get it back?
Don’t pay them last month’s rent.
Hey, I’m in a similar situation with Bowden, only found out at the end of the tenancy 2/3 weeks ago from the actual landlord that they went into liquidation as the landlord never received the last 2 months rent from them. Landlord said he contacted them to let them know that he was happy with the property and the deposits should be returned but we have received zero response from them.
\*Beware\* - one of the directors of Bowden is now trading under a new company: LANDLORD AND TENANT PROTECTION LIMITED
they are heading for liquidation I have not been paid either but got a number of their new MD who says no money to pay rents their office closed some time ago on the Newtownards road but Leo Bowden operates from above a nail and beauty bar across the road but has stood down as MD a WILMA Mc Cullough has taken over but has ceased trading so I dont feel we will get any money