10th Sep 2024 (27 days ago)
A long, sorry story of disappointment.
3 years ago I appointed Your Move as my letting agents and initially everything seemed to be okay. A tenant was found, contracts were signed, and we were delighted. The day the tenant moved in, the problems started. She had not viewed the house, only a friend had, and she had rented on the friend's recommendation. As it turned out, the house was unsuitable. It was agreed that the tenant would move out ASAP and after long negotiations with Paul, it was agreed that all fees upon reletting would be waived as it was Your Moves error. As luck would have it, a new tenant was found within a month and we were set to go.
On the day that the tenants were set to move in, I recieved a call telling me that they actually had a pet, despite me stipulating no pets were allowed. Apparently the new tenants had vacated their property and were virtually standing in the agents with their removal van. No due dilligence was done on Your Moves part to check this wouldnt happen. The first year went quite smoothly, although I was amazed when I was asked if I would like to purchase 2 new smoke alarms at over £40 each to replace the working and suitable alarms already in the property. When I checked on Amazon, the same detectors were under £20 so I declined Your Move's "Kind offer." Contracts were renewed and when the 2nd year inspection took place 6 months later, it was obvious that the house was not being looked after. At that same time, my job situation changed, so I needed to move back into the house anyway. I issued a Section 21, giving them 4 months' notice.
Your Move assured me when I initially approached them that they would deal with any issues at all when it came to the end of the tenancy, how wrong was that. The tenant moved out 2 days later than she was supposed to, left the house full of possessions, took the keys and sent me threatening emails - the communication should never have been directly with me. I informed Your Move, they did nothing. I got emergency locksmiths in and suggested that I pack up her possessions and that she could collect them from Your Move, due to the threats I had recieved. Your Move suggested that she pick them up from me, despite the fear she had caused. A week after this, I discovered that some personal belongings which had been stored in the loft (family photo albums, family heirlooms) at Your Move's suggestion, had been destroyed and vandalised as the tenant was annoyed that she had been asked to leave. I contacted Your Move, who said that it was nothing to do with them, I could try to claim back from the deposit, however, they had not taken inventory of the loft before the tenants moved in, despite the tenant having access and telling Your Move they would be using it.
I fought for repayment in December, paying extra money to Your Move (£120), although I was told initially they would do anything they can to help fight the deposit. No one returned phone calls, but each time I managed to get through to someone, I was told there was no movement and that they were handling it. I chased them in January, February, March, and by April was told it would be another couple of months. I called in June to be told that the matter had been settled and agreed in April, and it was too late to appeal. Following threats of formal complaints, they finally agreed to give me a small amount of compensation to say sorry. My money was sat in their bank account for months, and they didnt tell me. I firmly believed that I wasnt notified because they knew that there was room to appeal but they could no longer be bothered because they were no longer recieving an income from me.
The whole thing is an experience I would never repeat, I will never use Your Move Abbey Wood again and would advise caution. Make sure you double check and get everything in writing, because if they can go back on it they will, in my opinion.... Read more