Rogue landlord Thomas Flight 'still owes deposits' to renters

Thomas Flight pleaded guilty to several offences at Bristol Crown Court in January

In January, rogue landlord Thomas Flight was convicted of exploiting his tenants by withholding deposits, creating fake landlord profiles and harassing people who complained.

After articles about him were published by the BBC and the Bristol Cable, members of the public contacted the BBC alleging a similar pattern of behaviour with a luxury holiday mansion he owns in Somerset.

Thomas Flight's name only came to prominence after an investigation by Bristol City Council.

He pleaded guilty to four charges of misleading action, one of misleading omission and one of unfair commercial practice in January.

The judge at the trial said Flight had created a "web of deceit" for his tenants over a period from June 2019 to January 2021.

He was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs, but was not banned from letting property in Bristol.

Stonnwall Manor is now listed on AirBnB

Stonnwall Manor in Frome was formerly listed on the website ukgroupselfcatering.co.uk as "one of the most exquisite examples of an Elizabethan stone built manor," boasting nine double bedrooms with four poster beds.

It is owned by a company called Maxin, which Flight has significant control of. A local press cutting framed inside the house shows him and two others celebrating buying the property in March 2006.

Chris Grace booked a holiday there for his family for Easter 2018. From the outset they were hit with problems.

'Bitterly cold'

Mr Grace and his family paid £2,668.50 for a party of 19, including two toddlers and a nine-month-old baby to stay there from 30 March to 2 April.

He paid via bank transfer to UK Group Self Catering that also included a £200 deposit for damages.

The bank account he paid into was the same one used by a company called Cresley Management Ltd, which Flight also owns and is a director of.

Cresley Management Ltd has three county court judgements against it, totalling £1,646. Thomas Flight has two county court judgements against his name at a London address, totalling £2,737.

When Mr Grace arrived at Stonnwall Manor, he said the property was "bitterly cold - colder inside than out".

"I had to borrow three duvets off a friend because the bedrooms were so cold," he said.

Members of Mr Grace's party wore coats inside the property

When his party rang the emergency number to complain, they were sent abusive texts.

"It was the worst possible reaction you could expect, they were resentful we were contacting them to complain," said Mr Grace.

'Playing games'

His son Sam, who made the booking, said he received an email from "Phil Norman", who Chris Grace said he later discovered was an alias invented by Thomas Flight.

The reply from said "Mr Norman" stated: "I see you are playing games with me, just like you did with the support line people.

"We can solve this honestly and amicably or we can play games. Please think carefully before replying.

"You owe me a lot more than the deposit covered and I am in no mood to suffer further costs writing nonsense.

"Please think, I am willing to take you to court."

During Flight's trial in January, the court heard how his rental tenants would also receive made-up landlord information.

"We were told we had trashed a bedroom so they were taking our deposit. But we hadn't used the bed because the baby was sleeping in there," Mr Grace said.

Mr Grace said the dining room was too cold to use and they had to eat in the sitting room while wearing coats

Mr Grace complained, seeking a reimbursement of £1,645.66 for two nights' stay and his £200 damage deposit.

He won a county court judgement and a Writ of Control for High Court bailiffs to act, but bailiffs were unable to locate Flight to recover any money.

"Eventually he was found on a yacht in Bristol Harbour, but as the assets were in the home, i.e. the yacht, nothing could be done to seize anything to compensate the High Court and me for my claim," said Mr Grace.

Flight gave his address in court in January this year as the yacht "Miss Conduct".

The yacht Miss Conduct has been moored in Bristol's harbour since December 2021

"I spent £800 over five years on this claim," said Mr Grace.

"It is a nonsense that you can get a judgement in the money claims court, they find for you. You go to the Royal Courts of Justice, they find for you.

"It goes to the bailiffs who can't do anything because they couldn't track him down.

"The whole process of the law has delivered it and then at the final moment, nothing - and Thomas Flight knows this," said Mr Grace.

'Absolutely Baltic'

Jason Pacey booked to stay at Stonnwall Manor in March 2016.

"We had issues with the heating, when we called the emergency number they fobbed us off, saying the heating was fine.

"We were told that any calls to that number were chargeable. It was absolutely Baltic," he said.

"To add insult to injury, when it came to getting our pet deposit of £200 back, he insisted we complete the following agreement:

'I, the sender of the email, accept the deductions to my deposit and accept a £200 refund as full and final settlement in this matter and understand that neither party can make any claims, legal or otherwise, in the future regarding this matter. In addition neither party can discuss this matter with any third party or on social media or review sites or similar."

The BBC contacted legal experts at Shelter who did not believe this was binding in their opinion. After several weeks, the £200 was refunded.

Stonnwall Manor's AirBnB listing claims "it's not your usual cold draughty manor"

Another holidaymaker who received abusive emails was Louisa Loughborough.

She booked to stay at Stonnwall Manor in 2021 for her 40th birthday.

She paid her deposit, but then the lockdown rules changed. She was offered a chance to re-book, but asked if she could have her money back, declining alternate dates.

She was sent emails from UK Group Self Catering reading: "It is disgusting you are knowingly twisting matters to suit your narrative then using silly threats to pressure us...our customer service has been excellent faced with constant wrongs, criticism, inaction, repetition of questions, false claims.

"[The owners] have suffered huge losses, and selfish inaction by people like you serves to compound such losses."

Ms Loughborough said Flight was a 'scumbag'

"Reading it made me feel really anxious," said Ms Loughborough.

"They really gaslight you and it made me feel like I was being unreasonable and I did start to think 'Perhaps I shouldn't have pursued this, perhaps I was being unreasonable?'

"I don't know how [Thomas Flight] sleeps at night, I think he's a total scumbag that doesn't care about people's feelings and causing people stress," she said.

The BBC has made multiple attempts to contact Mr Flight but has had no response.