18th Oct 2024 (26 days ago)
This agency is extremely pro-landlord and seems to overlook the fact that tenants are a key part of their business. I've had two very frustrating experiences with them in just the past six months, and I feel compelled to share them. This won’t be a glowing Google review, that’s for sure but just a caution for prospecting tenants.
(i) I found a new rental through them, made an offer, had it accepted, signed the agreement, and paid the deposit and advance rent six weeks before the move-in date. Then, less than two weeks before the move, I received a call informing me that the landlord had changed his mind. The agency had security measures in place to protect the landlord but none for me. I later discovered that the landlord hadn’t even signed the contract initially, and the agency didn’t bother to follow up with him. I escalated the issue, only to get a call from a local manager offering nothing but apologies.
(ii) Fortunately, I found a new place through a more reliable agent and moved in. Ironically, the property I vacated was managed by this same agency, and the landlord made a claim for my entire £3200 deposit plus an additional £600, despite a very positive checkout report. The agency’s deposit officer pushed hard for me to pay, but when I counteroffered £485, communication suddenly stopped. I had expected the agency to mediate negotiations, but the officer ignored all my emails. I ended up filing a dispute with the TDS just three days before the deadline, and it’s now been nearly four months since I moved out. The case is still unresolved, with the landlord's claim (now reduced to £485, which I had originally offered) sitting at the shelf-resolution stage of the TDS process. If I take this to resolution, I’m confident they’ll get only a fraction of what they’re asking. This is a clear example of how this agency sides with landlords to the detriment of tenants.... Read more