“NEVER EVER RENT WITH THIS COMPANY. After all the letting ......”
1 Star Review
Nov 08,2017
By:
'123pizza'
Nov 08,2017
Branch: Edinburgh, 61a Queen Street
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: EH9
Branch: Edinburgh, 61a Queen Street
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Postcode: EH9
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NEVER EVER RENT WITH THIS COMPANY. After all the letting agent horror stories I have heard, I feel that ours must be one of the worst. This company was nothing but awful from day one of signing our lease. They failed to inform us prior to our move in day that work in our bathroom would not be completed before we moved in, which was bomb drop number one. Thankfully my mum was inside the meeting with us, because they were going to make us go for over a week without a shower and suggested SHOWERING AT A LOCAL GYM... just one week after we moved in, the entire ceiling in our bathroom collapsed onto the floor - massive safety hazard and complete mould ridden disgrace. And so our saga continued, they at least provided us with a shower at the local convent!!! The supposed 'compenstation' we received amounted to abosultely nothing, which in our opinion was just a ploy for the company to con some students out of money and take us for fools. Following on from this, days after the bathroom was 'finished', we noticed that they hadn't asked for a new extractor fan to be fitted - so where did they think all the wet and damp air would go? That's right, back into the walls they have just replaced. And while we're on that subject, the workmanship in the bathroom was absolutely awful, never in my life have I seen such a mess. But then what would I know? I'm just a students, and The Flat Company like to make students feel like they know nothing. Their customer service is horrendous, their receptionist is a sarcastic nightmare and their 'director' once asked me on the phone 'and what do you expect me to do about that at 6pm'? Well, I certainly didn't expect to be spoken to like that. They messed us around with about 4 different property managers throughout our time in the flat - supposed managers who couldn't even manage to write an email reply, far less manage a number of properties and their occupants. Oh, and don't be fooled by their supposed professional cleaners that go into the flats prior to move in, I've seen a local dump cleaner than ours was! Thankfully again our parents came armed with cleaning products to assist in actually cleaning the property. And then, they have the cheek to tell you that you left it less clean than when you moved in... I dread to think the mess these people live in. So, overall, their vile attiritudes towards students, their over priced rent for flats that need more than just a 'lick of paint' and awful management left us having one of the worst years at university yet. I would not under any circumstances recommend this flat company to anyone.
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Thank you for taking the time to post this review and for speaking to us directly recently to explain why you have posted it as we were somewhat surprised believing we had resolved the situation, as best we could, to everyone’s satisfaction.
We can only apologise again that the bathroom had not been upgraded in time for your move in date as we were badly let down by trusted contractors who we no longer work with. However, this is the situation we were in the day before your check in.
At this point we offered you and your flatmates 3 options;
1. For The Flat Company to provide similar temporary alternative accommodation until the bathroom was completed.
2. For The Flat Company to postpone the bathroom upgrade until Christmas with all tenants paying a reduced rent and we would then complete the upgrade while you were all on holiday.
3. For you to stay in the property while the bathroom upgrade was being carried out and we would make alternative arrangements for the shower and bathroom facilities as well as offering a reduced rent for this period.
As you wanted to move into the property you chose option 3 meaning we had to find alternative means for you to have bathroom facilities. Admittedly one suggestion was to use gym facilities if you had found this acceptable. However, as you advised us this was not acceptable we rented B&B accommodation within a short walk of your property where you had bathroom facilities and could spend the night if you wished. I will reiterate at this stage we could have re-accommodated you temporarily in a 3 bedroom property but this was your preferred choice.
All of the above options would have been the same to any tenants in this situation irrespective of them being students of not. As this is not a situation which has ever arisen previously or since we tried to offer the best possible solution we could find.
I should also highlight that we now have additional checks in place so we cannot be let down by contractors again irrespective of how long we have worked with them or how good their reputation.
In regards to the ceiling coming down I am afraid this was due to a leak from the flat above and completely beyond our control, however, it was made good the same day of the incident.
Finally, in regards to the compensation we offered for the dates you were living in the property without a bathroom and had access to the B&B we received an email signed by all tenants in the property advising that the amount had been “extensively discussed between all tenants and guarantors” and that you accepted it.
We realise that then whole experience must have been extremely difficult but we have tried to address the situation as best we could. We have terminated our relationship with the contractors who let us down and while some of the staff members involved no longer work here we will be ensuring we offer the highest level of customer service going forward from all current staff.
All the best,
The Flat Company