An agent whose two previous firms went into liquidation has set up for a third time with a similar name, the Property Ombudsman has alleged.

The second of the two firms had an estimated deficit of nearly £200,000, it said. TPO has expelled that firm.

Miaisa Ltd, which traded as Gallery@HD1, a sales and lettings agent based in Huddersfield, was directed to pay £2,312 in rent due to a landlord as well as an additional award of £300 made by the Ombudsman, who upheld all complaints about the company.

The firm was also directed to transfer £975 of tenant deposits. At the time the case was referred to TPO’s disciplinary and standards committee (DSC), the company was in a voluntary arrangement with its creditors but is now in liquidation, says TPO.

At one point it had an estimated deficit of nearly £200,000. Another company with the same director had previously traded as Gallery and also gone into liquidation, says TPO.

TPO says it now “understands that the director has now set up a new company which is also trading as Gallery.

“Contrary to what it has been saying on its website and on Rightmove, it is not a member of TPO.”

At the weekend, a Huddersfield agent called Gallery was displaying TPO, NAEA and ARLA logos.

However, NAEA and ARLA said the agent is not a member of either organisation and should not be displaying their logos. They are now investigating.

Gallery@HD1 is one of four agents to have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman.

All failed to pay awards made by the Ombudsman or to comply with parts of the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents.

The decision to expel the companies follows complaints by landlords and tenants.

In three of the cases, rent totalling over £9,000 had not been passed to the respective landlords.

The complaints were independently reviewed and upheld by the Ombudsman, who ordered payment of the money to those owed, together with compensation in all the cases.

To date, all four agents have failed to make any payment.

The other three expulsions are:

Winchester Lettings was referred to the DSC after failing to pay an award of £750 made to a landlord who had complained about poor service in a number of areas. This agent, based in Bromley and Fleet, Hampshire, does not appear to be trading any more, says TPO.

iBuild Property Management Ltd (which trades as iLettings UK), based in Hull, was ordered to pay an award of £350 in relation to its behaviour towards the complainant and its handling of a complaint. It is not clear whether or not iLettings UK is still trading.

Clapham Lettings Ltd (which traded as Nelsons). Clapham Lettings covered only one of the three offices under the Nelsons brand, and no longer seems to be trading. The other Nelsons branches are operated by separate companies with separate TPO membership which is not affected by this decision.

Clapham Lettings Ltd failed to pay awards in two separate cases. The first complaint was by a tenant who said Clapham Lettings had not passed on his deposit or initial rent payment to the landlord.

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered the company to pay over £4,000 to the landlord as well as £250 to the tenant in compensation.

The second complaint was from a landlord owed over £2,800 in rent, which tenants had paid to the agent but the agent had not passed on. As well as ordering Clapham Lettings to hand over the rent, the Ombudsman made an award of £350.

Without registration these companies cannot legally trade as letting agents, and other redress schemes will not allow previously expelled agents to join.

Since all or most of the companies in question appear to have ceased trading, the decision by the DSC to expel them from membership is unlikely to have any direct effect.

However, the cases against them would affect a decision to allow any other company with the same director to join TPO in the future.

Two of the agents have already made an attempt to register as another company. All the agents have been referred to local trading standards departments by TPO.