“Where to start... Unfortunately I don't have several weeks to ......”
1 Star Review
Sep 06,2015
By:
'StrictlySmooth'
Sep 06,2015
Branch: London, 314 Upper Street
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £1500
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: N18
Branch: London, 314 Upper Street
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £1500
Postcode: N18
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Where to start... Unfortunately I don't have several weeks to write this review so I'll have to focus only on the particularly outrageous behaviour, since literally every single thing which could have been shambolic about their conduct came to sickening, disgusting fruition - nasty, rotten fruits made from deceit, unprofessionalism, and unaccountability.
Firstly, they LIE through their teeth from the very first day. We were told upon viewing a property that the leak in one of the bedrooms was just a stain, and that it would be sorted before we moved in if we accepted the flat. Of course not! Full-on leaking for the ENTIRE YEAR. They blamed the council, the council blamed them - round and round it goes, meanwhile my health is deteriorating in a damp, mouldy, smelly room. The only action we saw in response to our leak for the first 6 month of the tenancy was for them to send some cowboy contractor round with 2 huge sheets of MDF. He proceeded to build a new wall over the top of the other one, by loosely nailing these sheets of MDF over the top. Needless to say this buckled immediately and let the leak through anyway. Nice one guys. We did eventually get 3 months of half price rent as compensation (and that was only after MUCH complaining and being forced to sign a letter saying we'd never ask for or receive any more compensation after that)... thanks Hotblack, I've never seen such unabridged generosity.
Next, they hire INCOMPETENT MORONS to do their shady bidding. There's nothing wrong with a person being less intelligent than another, but when said stupidity starts making life very difficult for tenants, that's where I'd draw the line. We had the displeasure of having to liaise with a semi-literate sandwich for the whole of our tenancy regarding any problems we had. Fortunately for her we got along okay (all things considered), and I showed her mercy for the most part of the tenancy. I wish I hadn't been so kind. When it came to returning our deposits at the end of the tenancy, we were at odds regarding what was a fair amount to return. Considering the nightmare Hotblack had already put us through, and the condition of the property when we left, we were expecting every penny of our deposits back. They had other plans, and a discussion ensued regarding the nature of the charges. After about 10 emails from me to her asking for a detailed breakdown of how much we were being charged and why, I still had not been given a straight answer. Instead she sent over a series of confused invoices from various cleaners, inventory companies etc., along with a completely different and very non-conclusive figure each time. After literally months of this, my other housemate (who was not part of the discussion between me and Hotblack) decided he no longer cared, and needed the money back more than he needed a breakdown of what he was getting back. So, independently he contacted her and asked for his part of the deposit back into his account. Meanwhile I was still far from satisfied with the answers I was getting from Hotblack, and very much still in discussion about it. At this point I should point out that Hotblack had no idea what my relationship with my ex-housemate currently was, and for some reason they then decided to send the entire of our remaining deposit to him. A series of emails and about 2 months later, and I STILL haven't managed to get my deposit back from my old housemate, and Hotblack STILL refuse to accept responsibility or even apologise for this.
So, now I'm 800 out of pocket, with no prospect of that changing any time soon, and through literally no fault of my own. Hotblack won't do anything about it, and I'm going to have to take my old housemate to small claims court to retrieve it.
DISGUSTING ETHICS AND BUSINESS PRACTICES, NO ACCOUNTABILITY, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Too much, obviously - any amount would be too much to pay these cowboys.
Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
Too much, obviously - any amount would be too much to pay these cowboys.
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