“At the beginning of the tenancy, it was actually going ......”
2 Star Review
Oct 13,2015
By:
'TheSleepingVictim'
Oct 13,2015
Branch: Newcastle upon Tyne, 101 Percy Street
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: NE2
Branch: Newcastle upon Tyne, 101 Percy Street
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Postcode: NE2
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At the beginning of the tenancy, it was actually going really well. I didn't mind that one week in we already had people coming in to view the property for the next year as we were in a heavily student populated area. The first issues arose when things were not as they should have been, the house must have been recently refurbished and the builders had left a lot of there stuff about. Even left some of their mouldy food. This wasn't Walton's fault though.
The oven didn't have a front glass panel, they sent someone out to fix this and replace the hob spark as it was missing. Someone did come out and told us they would need to order the parts and would be back. This person never returned and Walton told us we'd be fine to use the oven with just the internal glass panel, they never mentioned the hob until we left and then tried to charge us for not reporting it... Several other things that were broken and we reported either took months to fix or just never got fixed. We eventually got sick of even chasing them up as they took a while to reply.
One time there was a viewing due, they turned up early and I was in bed with an ear infection. Couldn't actually here anything, one of the people I lived with let them in and let them know I would likely be asleep. The person showing these new tenants around proceeded to shoulder barge my door and break the lock. I doubt they reported it so we were probably charged for that too. The guy just laughed and continue about his day.
The only god send for this company is Paul Jones, one of the people I spoke to. He's competent and genuinely seems to try and get the job done. As for the rest of the people I spoke to, i'm pretty sure they're just part time students who do this to earn a bit on the side, with no care for the tenants at all.
It's over a month since we left the property, they told us we need to replace some things we reported broken when we moved in. We still don't have our deposit or any real new about what's going on. We got quite lucky with the price as well, they're quite expensive. Which is probably down to their location in town, I'd honestly suggest looking about for another agent or just getting property directly through your university instead.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Reply to enquiries within a few days, not a week.
Record what's been done, reported and has not been done. It seems you have no internal communication.
Hire full time staff instead of part time students. I get this from a business standpoint saves you money, but I can bet that most of your complaints are generated because of them too.
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I apologise that you experienced some difficulties during your tenancy with us.
In relation to the state of the property when you moved in, it should have been cleaned by the contractors after the refurbishment works were completed. Once you informed us that this had not been completed to a satisfactory standard we asked our cleaners to attend to those areas not cleaned, and this was completed shortly afterwards.
Unfortunately our contractors were unable to source a replacement outer oven door at the time of the initial report and due to the age of the item could not repair the spark plug to the hob. However, a lighter for use with the hob should have been provided by the contractors. As the spark plug degradation was due to the age of the appliance you will not be charged for its repair.
As for the viewing, I will look into the circumstances as we try to be as flexible as possible when conducting viewings and can leave rooms out if necessary. If you are referring to one of the two rooms that has an internal bolt lock it could have occurred that the viewer had not realised the door had a lock and only thought the door was stiff. Regardless, you will not be charged for this damage if you have not caused this.
I have discussed the deposit return with my colleague Terry, who is now organising its release. He should be in contact with your spokesperson shortly to give you an update regarding its return and any potential charges.
If you have any further concerns or questions about the deposit or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
Paul Jones