“Even though they have been a reasonable agent during our ......”
1 Star Review
Mar 15,2013
By:
'TRW'
Mar 15,2013
Branch: Edinburgh, 21-23 Church Hill Place
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: EH7
Branch: Edinburgh, 21-23 Church Hill Place
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Postcode: EH7
8
people found
this helpful
Even though they have been a reasonable agent during our tenancy for over 4 and half years, the extremely disappointing treatment at the end, made us believe that their effort is just another trick to save their business, they have no respect for their customers, and very unprofessional. When we first moved into their flat, it was date and all items were old and used. There were many faults in the flat like broken floors, broken doors, faulty electrics, and very dirty items (mop and bucket, toothbrush holder, toilet brush, rusty saucepans etc.). Since the check-in inventory did not describe its true state, we noted all the faults in details and submitted a copy to ALBA, although, being very considerate, we never complained about any of these faults. We took care of the flat like our own throughout the tenancy, and at the end we cleaned it perfectly, it was much cleaner than how we received it. Despite our efforts, the inspector (Dale Hornidge) wanted to bring their cleaners as one of the radiators needed dusting. Also said he need to charge damage for the mattress which was clearly wear and tear. I was agreed to all that even though I felt our consideration and loyalty towards them was taken for granted. Moreover he hardly shared his thoughts or asked questions during the final inspection. I felt that he wouldn't have even discussed any issues if I didn't ask specifically. I also realised that he didn't have a copy of the up-to-date inventory or the one with our remarks. fortunately I kept a copy of it, but he wasn't interested in discussing it with me, instead said he'll find their copy and send me the final report. after several weeks I received an email (so called final checkout report) with a list of missing/broken items and repairs needed. most were mentioned in our check-in inventory. others were never missing, they were already there when we checked out. Also noted a repair of the toilet handle, which was working perfectly. When I called Dale to discuss this email, I realise how careless he was at the final inspection, and he didn't even give a damn about it. After that, we never heard from ALBA until I called them after 2 months to ask when we will get our deposit. Then I got to know that they've spent ridiculous amounts to replace the toilet handle and to a tooth brush holder which was never mentioned as missing before. I was very unhappy but I tried to explain it to Dale politely, but he never really cared. I then wrote to Mr Callum Macgregor (who handles complaint as I was told) but that was another waste of time as he only emailed me briefly quoting Dale's excuse and not going to do anything about it. They have also charged us an admin fee, which I later found out is illegal to charge from tenants. I had to specifically call them to find out what deductions they made for what reasons. We never received any formal document about their charges to date, which make me wonder if they have actually done any of those jobs, or whether they have unethically stole money from us. Moreover, it doesn't matter how well you cleaned the property, they will be cunning enough to find the slightest bit of dust to charge for further cleaning, and unprofessional enough to lie to cover their careless mistakes. They wasted our time and money, most importantly they lost our trust. The only star goes to Mr Lennie (very friendly and attentive) who did the regular inspections during our tenancy and the happy lady whoever picks up the phone.
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