Deposit Protection Scheme

I work in an estate agents, i've worked in the property industry for just over 4 years, I deal with the marketing and photography here, but i've had formal training on all the legal stuff, and obviously you get to know a few things after a few years working in the industry.

As a prospective landlord thinking it might be less of a ball-ache using an agent than going it alone...would it? Is the service worth my 7-11%?