We had agreed with a landlord, through one of the letting agents, for the full asking price on a rental property. With this in mind we were invited to referencing. The letting agent we was dealing with went on holiday, (Friday), so we was asked to go to the branch and his colleague, Tom, would deal with us (Monday). We arrived at the branch, and although we called ahead to confirm our appointment with Tom, when we arrived to branch he was busy on a phone call. Nevertheless, another gentleman took copies of our IDs and we passed on all documentation, we expected to pay the deposit but the gentleman told us that Tom would be in touch as he is busy. The next day we got a call from Tom, saying someone else had shown interest, which was strange, because as far as i was concerned the deal was done, we were paying the asking price, the landlord agreed and we were just waiting for Ashtons to take the deposit. Tom then called to try and hint that the other party had made a higher offer and asked what our final offer would be, we offered £150pm over the asking price, and actually we said we would pay what ever it costs to take the property but Tom said its not about the money, the landlord wants the other tenants and at that we lost the property. The original letting agent came back from holiday and we tried to figure out what went on. In the end we found out Tom stole the letting from the agent we was dealing with so he could earn the commission for himself. I understand it is a sales industry but there should be some integrity between peers as this looks bad on Ashtons. I own several business's in the area and we pride ourselves with integrity. To ask a client to take important time out of their day knowing that you are not going to let to them because you want the commission is appalling. I feel sorry for the first agent as i feel he served us well and if it wasn't for him being on holiday we would be in that property.NegativeProfessionalism