#AskTDS: “How can TDS help you switch?”

How can TDS help you switch? blog image

Nick Markou, Business Development Executive at Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), answers the question: “How can TDS help you switch?”

A large part of my role is to ensure TDS offers letting agents a tenancy deposit protection service that meets the requirements of the TDP legislation, which is both easy to use and reliable.

Sometimes potential customers may think it’s ‘not worth the hassle’ of switching to our Insured or free Custodial scheme but in reality, it’s incredibly simple and offers many key additional benefits:

  • Our online service is easy-to-use, so tenancy deposit protection can be quick and efficient.
  • We’re really proud of our customer service standards, ensuring that the majority of telephone calls are answered in around *30 seconds and email responses are delivered within just a few hours by a person, not an automated response.
  • Our new APIs connect letting agency CRMs, used by agencies to manage tenancies and property portfolios, to the TDS database and transfers deposit registration details at the click of a button.
  • TDS has recently been re-accredited with the Customer Service Excellence award for the 9th year running, the only Government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme to have received this.
  • Unlike other schemes that only allow tenants to raise disputes, we appreciate that there will be occasions where you will need to start the dispute process. As a customer of TDS, you will be able to raise a dispute, not just respond.
  • Our customers have access to industry-leading training led by TDS Academy, including the TDS Foundation and the Adjudication workshops.

To make switching even easier, we have a dedicated team to guide you through the process and ensure we make the transaction as seamless as possible.

Don’t just take our word for it…

“We found the switching process easy from beginning to end thanks to the guidance from the TDS Client Relationship Manager. They kept in contact with regular updates and helped to smooth out potential issues. We would definitely recommend TDS Custodial to other letting agents.”  Adrian Mason, Managing Director at the Letting Centre Carlisle

What if I want to switch to TDS Custodial?

To switch to TDS Custodial from another scheme, book a free demo.

We liaise with your current TDP provider (with permission) and manage the transfer on your behalf.

The tenancy deposit details will be added directly to your new account using a ‘Bulk Upload of Deposits’ tool to facilitate making the process even quicker. The funds then get transferred to us, and we allocate them to the relevant tenancy.

Emails will arrive with pre-populated prescribed information so you can issue these to the proper parties and you can sit back and relax; you’ve switched!

As a letting agent, what do I need to do to switch to TDS Insured?

To start, we help you decide if a switch is needed for individual tenancy deposits or a larger amount in bulk. Both options are simple for us to manage with key protection dates maintained. For agents joining TDS Insured, we require the completion of an online application form for our compliance team to accept you into membership. We can then begin the action of any transfers.

Next, we will need to have an export of your tenancy deposit data from your current provider, and then our specialist technology team will complete the switch into your new TDS Insured account.

The key Tenancy Deposit Protection documents will need to be issued to the relevant parties, but then that’s it – the switching process is now complete, and the deposits are registered for protection with TDS Insured.

Want to find out more, or need help starting the switching process? Book a demo with one of our Sales Executives to start your switching journey today!

*DLUHC data sharing report September 2021

About Nick Markou:

Nick Markou headshot

Nick is a Sales Executive at TDS within the Business Development Team. Over the last two years he has assisted many agents and landlords in transitioning from alternative providers to TDS. Nicks’ focus within TDS is membership, business development, and CRM integration; this encompasses all aspects of new business across both the Insured and Custodial schemes.

About TDS:

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government-approved scheme for the protection of tenancy deposits; TDS offers both Insured and Custodial protection and also provides fair adjudication for disputes that arise over the tenancy deposits that we protect.

We provide invaluable training in tenancy deposit protection and disputes for agents and landlords through the TDS Academy as well as joining with MOL to provide the Technical Award in Residential Tenancy Deposits.

TDS Custodial Scheme: where TDS holds the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.

TDS Insured Scheme: where a TDS member can hold the tenancy deposits as stakeholder during the term of the tenancy.

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