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May 13,2012
May 13,2012
3
people found
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this helpful
at the end of January 2012, Entwistle Green showed me a property in Blackburn where I am still (unfortunately) living. The flat to rent looked apparently fine, so I signed a 6-month tenancy contract. After a week of stay in the flat, I found the house flooded as there was a water leak in the ceiling of the bathroom never properly fixed.
The water leak occurred the first time at the beginning of January and I moved in the property the 30th of the same month.
I called the Countrywide Property Management based in Manchester to report the issue and they left me in that house without repairing the leak. Any time I was calling some agent in charge for the Maintenance, they would say to wait for the caretaker to come and sort the problem.
I had to call the Blackburn City Council Housing Department to have something partially done as they and the neighbour owning the property below insisted for the problem to get sorted (the water was dripping from the ceiling of my bathroom and got through the floor, hence reaching the ceiling of the flat below mine).
After fixing the pipes draining water from the ceiling of the bathroom, I remained with the carpets soaked in water and with stains of mould for 2 months. The agents from Countrywide in Manchester (La HaƒÂ§ienda is the name of the building where they work) said they would remove the stinky and smelly carpets but they never did so.
I filed an official complaint against Entwistle Green for not informing me about the maintenance issues when required and for the lack of service showed by Countrywide toward the same matter.
The response to my complaint was due by the Countrywide by the 19th of April but they have never given an official answer, either disclosed the Internal Complaint Procedure of the Company as they are required to.
I tried to call the Management Dep several times to have a written response but the Manager in Charge (Ms Nugent) is always unattainable. Through some emails sent by the agent who was personally in charge of taking care of my flat stated that they stopped dealing with the property from the same date he called the contractors to come and dry the carpets (not remove them as they had previously said), but they still ask for the money of the rent (how could the agent in charge Mr Turner manage to call the contractors if the Countrywide stopped dealing with my flat since the same date???).
I asked for some clear proof about this, as it all sound impossible (if they do not deal with the property any longer, how can they ask for the money of the rent?), but nobody in the Manchester office has been able to give me a concrete and reliable answer.
I stopped paying the rent awaiting for some clear answer but they still denying it. By contract if a tenant wants to conclude the tenancy prior to its official end, either the landlord (which I have never seen, and never given his phone number until a few days ago) or the letting agency may decide to charge you for the remaining month until the natural end of the tenancy.
On the other side, another term states that if a house is inhabitable, the tenant may stop the payment of the rent and then terminate the tenancy immediately by giving a written notice.
Which term prevails? Now they partially fixed the problem but the carpets are still smelly and in need of a replacement. I want to go away from this property asap without any consequence! I tried to speak with Fairtrade, Citizens Advice Bureau and Shelter (the latter, if I want to arrange some appointment I have to wait for a month at least) but with no concrete result. I wanted to speak with some private lawyer but they discouraged me from having a chargeable legal advice, because expensive for me for the type of problem, so they overtly dropped my request....
I need help/advice. We should all unite against these dodgy companies in order to stop them from working in these conditions.
Countrywide and Enwistle Green illegally abuse of our money without being warned/punished as they should.
The water leak occurred the first time at the beginning of January and I moved in the property the 30th of the same month.
I called the Countrywide Property Management based in Manchester to report the issue and they left me in that house without repairing the leak. Any time I was calling some agent in charge for the Maintenance, they would say to wait for the caretaker to come and sort the problem.
I had to call the Blackburn City Council Housing Department to have something partially done as they and the neighbour owning the property below insisted for the problem to get sorted (the water was dripping from the ceiling of my bathroom and got through the floor, hence reaching the ceiling of the flat below mine).
After fixing the pipes draining water from the ceiling of the bathroom, I remained with the carpets soaked in water and with stains of mould for 2 months. The agents from Countrywide in Manchester (La HaƒÂ§ienda is the name of the building where they work) said they would remove the stinky and smelly carpets but they never did so.
I filed an official complaint against Entwistle Green for not informing me about the maintenance issues when required and for the lack of service showed by Countrywide toward the same matter.
The response to my complaint was due by the Countrywide by the 19th of April but they have never given an official answer, either disclosed the Internal Complaint Procedure of the Company as they are required to.
I tried to call the Management Dep several times to have a written response but the Manager in Charge (Ms Nugent) is always unattainable. Through some emails sent by the agent who was personally in charge of taking care of my flat stated that they stopped dealing with the property from the same date he called the contractors to come and dry the carpets (not remove them as they had previously said), but they still ask for the money of the rent (how could the agent in charge Mr Turner manage to call the contractors if the Countrywide stopped dealing with my flat since the same date???).
I asked for some clear proof about this, as it all sound impossible (if they do not deal with the property any longer, how can they ask for the money of the rent?), but nobody in the Manchester office has been able to give me a concrete and reliable answer.
I stopped paying the rent awaiting for some clear answer but they still denying it. By contract if a tenant wants to conclude the tenancy prior to its official end, either the landlord (which I have never seen, and never given his phone number until a few days ago) or the letting agency may decide to charge you for the remaining month until the natural end of the tenancy.
On the other side, another term states that if a house is inhabitable, the tenant may stop the payment of the rent and then terminate the tenancy immediately by giving a written notice.
Which term prevails? Now they partially fixed the problem but the carpets are still smelly and in need of a replacement. I want to go away from this property asap without any consequence! I tried to speak with Fairtrade, Citizens Advice Bureau and Shelter (the latter, if I want to arrange some appointment I have to wait for a month at least) but with no concrete result. I wanted to speak with some private lawyer but they discouraged me from having a chargeable legal advice, because expensive for me for the type of problem, so they overtly dropped my request....
I need help/advice. We should all unite against these dodgy companies in order to stop them from working in these conditions.
Countrywide and Enwistle Green illegally abuse of our money without being warned/punished as they should.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Agents from Entwistle Green should have told me the house was in need of maintenance prior to my tenancy; the agents from Countrywide in Manchester (the HaƒÂ§ienda building) should have fixed the problem when required, instead of leaving me in disgusting conditions for 2 months and still ignoring me. They should be all prosecutedAttached Filesnbsp;
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7th Oct 2014
reviewed by 'Walthamstow'
13th May 2012
reviewed by 'Fanscensu'
Opening Hours
Address
Countrywide Residential Lettings
760 Leabridge Road
Walthamstow,London
Greater London
E17 9HD
020 8556 5740
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettings | 0% | 0% | £925 | £925 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Oct 07,2014
Oct 07,2014
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Do not use Countrywide. They are incompetent in handling the simplest of tasks and have a habit of over-charging. As a landlord of numerous properties, with various agents, they are without doubt the worst I have experienced. You have been warned....
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Comment on agent fees
Lots of hidden fees with add up over time.
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May 13,2012
May 13,2012
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
at the end of January 2012, Entwistle Green showed me a property in Blackburn where I am still (unfortunately) living. The flat to rent looked apparently fine, so I signed a 6-month tenancy contract. After a week of stay in the flat, I found the house ...
read full review
read full review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Agents from Entwistle Green should have told me the house was in need of maintenance prior to my tenancy; the agents from Countrywide in Manchester (the HaƒÂ§ienda building) should have fixed the problem when required, instead of leaving me in disgusting conditions for 2 months and still ignoring me. They should be all prosecutedAttached Filesnbsp;
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
No fees information available
Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.
Complaints Procedure
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