A sales and letting agency in Birmingham has been ordered to pay £2,300 compensation and expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) for at least two years.

MT Properties Central, which operates two offices in the city, was censured by the watchdog after failing to comply with parts of the ombudsman's code of practice and not co-operating with its investigation.

TPO also said the company had not yet paid the compensation award of £2,300.

The agency has been under new ownership since June and its new name is MT Properties 4U.

In a statement, the body said: "The decision to expel MT Properties from membership arose following a complaint from landlords relating to a number of aspects of the agent's service in connection with tenancies at two properties.

"The ombudsman found evidence of poor record keeping and administration and upheld complaints about the collection and payment of rent to landlords, as well as poor service.

"Poor record keeping made it difficult to be sure what rent had been received and what had been paid to the landlords.

"However, the ombudsman decided that four months' rent was owed to the landlords in respect of one property."

Established in 1990, TPO runs an independent and impartial dispute resolution service to consumers who have been unable to resolve their disputes with a registered agency.

It has the power to provide redress to place the consumer back in the position they were before the complaint arose, achieving a full and final settlement of the dispute and all claims made by either party.

TPO criticised MP Properties for naming itself as the landlord on the tenancy agreement of a property, instead of the actual landlord.

It was noted that, if this prohibited the landlord from pursuing the rent arrears, the agent should do so on its behalf.

The ombudsman was also critical of the agency's poor communication with the landlords, failure to pursue one tenant for full rent payments and poor complaints handling.

A complaint about the handling of the termination of the contract with the landlord was also upheld.

The statement added: "Because of poor record keeping the Ombudsman was unable to reach a conclusion on a complaint about tenants being accepted by the agent without any referencing.

"But, the ombudsman said the agent should have clearly documented they had advised the landlords that it was not in their best interests."

Following the investigation, complainants were awarded a total of £2,300 compensation to cover the aggravation, distress and inconvenience caused, as well as outstanding rent.

The previous owners could not be contacted for comment