Drake & Co

I would like to share my experience and advice of my 2-year tenancy with Drakes. Their website states: efficient, personal, professional, local. From my personal experience I can only fathom "Local" is the only applicable word. I shall explain how I have come to this conclusion. Drakes uses it stance as small business to its advantage. They lure you in with affordable rates and promises that will leave you in awe. You will receive the whole standard estate agent treatment '' I have some other clients viewing this after you " - “ Spare room - let it out, we don't mind " - Make sure any promises you receive are in writing because their memories do not extend over 2 years. What they fail to mention or publish for the matter is the extensive delays you will incur if you are unfortunate enough to have problems i.e. with security, appliance issues. My advice is record the first initial date you contact them, use this for your own protection. In my case waiting over 3 months to have an alarm fitted, if you can fix the problems yourself. Do it and keep the receipt and bill them. Please note that and they will intrude on your property without prior consent, they will use a series of excuses that they tried to contact you: they have a wrong email? – Wrong number? – Please see other reviews that support my statement. You have rights. Something rather important they fail to see is that you are a tenant and with that comes the Law. Do not stand for any unacceptable behaviour. I incurred several intrusions for appliance checks, meter readings and viewings. This is your home and no one should be allowed in without them arranging prior consent and they should not then believe it is acceptable to turn up, if you have not agreed. Beware the wrath of Drakes. My advice is be smart, collate all your evidence and then approach them face-to-face. They are very good at using the tenancy agreement against you however you can use this against them. Any infraction is breaking the agreement and if this broke by them, i.e. no providing you with adequate and legal lodgings for a shared-house they are liable. The agreement is void and you may walk away from the property. They will of course, be very petty and unhelpful and even leave in a position with no other choice but to accept the terms they make up from their database of bad ideas. Blackmail? Who said that? They are very good at being accommodating, but when you are seen to be inconsiderate to their “good nature”, they will instantly take a dislike to you and therefore be as unhelpful and unprofessional as possible. They cannot see they have to be fair and provide a level of service that is unbiased and agreed them must have some horrific tenants but this is coming from a tenant who never missed any payments and was always willing to allow for certain delays, something I actually have evidence for. Even their reply to the reviews above gives a glimpse into their nature, calling tenants inconsiderate? Once they quoted to me personally as ‘ungrateful'. I would not expect any company that advertises it self as professional to lower itself to inappropriate treatment. Their reply did not even address the said concerns above! If they are so many happy tenants why aren't they besieging sites giving commendations? I can inform you clearly why, there are none. Every single site that has the function to leave reviews, gives Drakes horrible reviews. At the most you will leave satisfied, satisfied you have left the property and do not have to liaise with the so-called professionals at Drakes. Oh, but make sure when leaving the house, you thoroughly clean everything to a high standard, as this has been a proven problem (From other reviews) with Drakes, there are no cleaners who are paid to visit your vacant property. It is Drake employees. Please note, I am not suggesting they are charging tenants and gaining profit from the stupidly obscene cleaning rates, but I do challenge to see who cleans the properties and the invoices and cleaning bills to which they have pulled these figures from? Overall please take these main points from my review above: -Everything in writing. – No promises -Record and note every time they have entered your property with out 24-hour prior notification and remember you can say no and you can rearrange, it is your property! -Make notes on when you ask for assistance or call-outs and if you are experience a silly delay or they do not even remember you asking them, kindly explain to them they have to complete the said job within a month or you will have someone fix them and you will charge them. - Before your move in date, make sure every problem or issue you raised on the viewing has been amended; remember you have paid a hefty deposit. My experience tells me that you will move in and they will take over 4 months to fix all the initial issues. Refuse to pay your rent until the jobs are complete, they have no excuses! Most of all is be respectful. Do not steep to there below –par attitude. Make it known; if you were to enter their homes without permission they would not be happy. Explain in simple terms this had made you not happy and it is unacceptable. You are a student but that does not make you an idiot. They need to be reminded that you are a legal tenant in a shared accommodation and that bending the rules of the tenancy agreement is wrong and backed by Law. Remember all students' houses are not luxury, but you should expect a level of service, which is of a high standard. I highly anticipate what extensive rebuttal Drakes and Co will return to this review but I assure you, if they can produce documentary evidence and independent reviews that denounce my comments and my experience, I will more than welcome this to enable a prospective client to gain a wider picture. Good luck.