7th Oct 2026 (8 days ago)
Very disappointing and exhausting experience when leaving our Headingley property.<br>We gave our required two months' notice and were told we could end sooner if they found a replacement tenant. During those discussions, we said we could return the keys on 14 September. This was a provisional date (never formally confirmed.)<br>We were then sent formal checkout instructions explicitly telling us to return our keys by 28 September. Naturally, we planned our move and cleaning around this.<br>On 16 September, I received a call at work saying we should already have returned the keys and that they needed them ASAP or we could face additional rent. This was initially presented as though we had become confused about the dates. Though, we had simply followed their instructions. They later admitted they had sent us the wrong date.<br>Despite their error, we rearranged everything to accommodate them. I left work early to clean and we returned the keys with around 24 hours' notice. We warned them that we might therefore not finish all the cleaning we had planned. They acknowledged this was a “last-minute change”, thanked us for our flexibility and said this would be considered during checkout.<br>They then attempted to deduct £126 for “light cleaning”.<br>When challenged, their responses were generally polite but often condescending, framing matters as though we were confused or didn't understand our duties rather than acknowledging their own error.<br>They eventually claimed we were liable because we had signed a document agreeing to vacate on 14 September. We asked them to provide it, as our copy contained no such agreement.<br>They took considerable time to respond and never produced it. Instead, they called me (again while at work) and tried to push a 50/50 split of the cleaning charge, despite still not providing the requested document.<br>I refused and again requested the supposed agreement in writing. Their response then came very quickly:<br>“There has been an error.”<br>Only then was the £126 cleaning charge removed in full.<br>We accepted the remainingdeductions, which we considered legitimate, and provided our bank details so this process could be concluded...<br>The following day, (today) after we had accepted their revised figures and supplied our bank details, we were suddenly informed that their accounts team had identified another £41.10 allegedly outstanding for an additional day's rent, increasing the deductions again to £190.<br>This is despite their accounts team having previously calculated and refunded our rent overpayment based on liability through 28 September – the same date their formal checkout instructions had told us to return the keys.<br>We have now disputed this latest addition too and have asked for supporting evidence of how they suddenly discovered this new charge at the last minute.<br>At the time of writing, we have not agreed to this new deduction and are awaiting their explanation, so I will update this review when they respond.<br>Frankly, Linley's conduct in this matter has been pathetic. We have repeatedly been made to feel that we made mistakes and then faced potential charges, only for errors on Linley's side to emerge when we checked the correspondence and insisted that claims were substantiated.<br>Had we simply trusted what we were initially told or accepted their 50/50 cleaning offer, we would have paid towards a charge they subsequently withdrew after admitting a documentation error.<br>We are fortunate not to urgently need our entire deposit back. Other tenants may be in a very different financial position and could feel pressured into accepting deductions or compromises simply to get the remainder returned.<br>My advice to prospective tenants is: keep every email, get everything in writing and insist on seeing evidence when you're told you've signed, agreed to or owe something.<br>Based on our experience so far, I could not recommend Linley & Simpson. I sincerely hope they learn from this.... Read more