LETTING agencies may be overcharging their clients by hundreds of pounds according to a landlord.

Paul Trenfield, 41, from Cricklade, has won a rebate from the Swindon branch of Allen and Harris after it overcharged him on stamp duty.

Mr Trenfield owns seven properties, all on Thetford Way in Haydon Wick, for which Allen and Harris previously acted as the letting agents. He now runs his own property-letting business mLettings.

It mistakenly charged him £5 stamp duty on each, making a total of £35.

Although Mr Trenfield admits the sum involved is not huge, he is concerned that others are making the same mistake.

He said: "I only realised they had made a mistake when I did some research into tenancy agreements because I was setting up my own lettings business.

"I found the legislation changed in March 2000 and I had been over-charged by £5 per tenancy agreement."

He said that when the rent on a property is less than £5,000 per year, the stamp duty charge of £5 for the landlord is waived and also for the tenant who normally pays one per cent of their annual rent.

Mr Trenfield said it is worth tenants double-checking this as it could be a hidden administration charge

He added: "If my experience is a one-off, then I have just been unlucky. However, if landlords and tenants in similar positions around the country are being mistakenly over-charged, then that £35 could multiply into tens of thousands of pounds."

Allen Harris admitted its mistake when challenged by Mr Trenfield and also gave him a goodwill payment of £15.

A spokesman for the Allen and Harris, which has offices in Regent Circus, Swindon, said it had run a full check on all its properties and found this to be a one-off error.

Mr Trenfield said he plans to donate the £50 to a homelessness charity.