Whilst not quite in "*" another agents league…….. I thought it would be useful (for DJ Alexanders predominantly) to be given a clear and concise breakdown of the key issues that people experience when renting a property from the company. I would hope that both Ben Alexander (Customer Service Manager) and ultimately Proprietor David Alexander acknowledge and take advantage of this research below gathered from feedback on allagents.co.uk. Ordinarily I would not do this however based on my own experience of the company as a tenant (which was poor at best) I would hope that David Alexander either considers a review of the customer service provided across the entire lettings side of the business (with the aim of improving the areas highlighted below) or, potential tenants take heed of this and consider another agent to use. I do intend to be fair and I will name names. Pre-Contract - personally no issues at all met by Peter Thomson (who stepped in at the last minute) to show us round the property. Through no fault of his own he was not aware that the property was only intended for rental for a fixed period with no extensions (we were only made aware when we were about to pay the deposit). For others below the pre-contract phase was more painful! Lost the keys to access the property, lost details of the appointment, shown the property and made an offer only to be told it wasn't on the market, tardiness of letting agents reaching appointments. Inventory – personally inaccurate, a number of issues not noted including significant damage not recorded and items of electronics equipment incorrectly identified. TENNANTS BEWARE this and CLEANING is where you could fall victim to the minor factotum and jobsworth Andrew Thompson on checkout (never before have I met a man who derives so much joy from checking the number of teaspoons left by a tenant and coming to the conclusion that they do not match the number listed on the inventory). Other reference is made to similar issues regarding inventory accuracy so it would appear that our experience was not a one off unfortunately. Cleanliness - personally the biggest issue we experienced and one that features regularly in reviews for DJ Alexander. The property was filthy on arrival despite assurances that the property would be professionally cleaned prior to entry. I will spare the details but suffice to say that the bath and shower needed significant bleaching before we used them! Little else to say beyond that really other than it is inexcusable either the spot checks on contractors are inadequate or contractors are rarely (if ever) checked (please prove me wrong with supportive evidence DJ Alexander). For others below cleanliness reared its ugly head as follows…… Having paid extra for a professionally clean flat, it was extremely disappointing to find the property barely touched….. We moved into our property last November and we did have a lot of initial problems. Our flat had been missed off the ‘cleaning list', which didn't start us on the right foot……. Right from day one we have had problem after problem, ranging from our flat not being clean when we moved in…… I spent 9 hours cleaning the place to their "professional standard". However, at the checkout appointment they still decided to charge for cleaning, which I reluctantly agreed to…….. Maintenance - not unrelated to our communication issue and in support of another individuals comments regarding lying the one issue we did experience resulted in the maintenance team sending out the water board for no reason it transpired that this was due to conversations with the DJ Alexander's maintenance team and the landlord's strange mother (who had a disconcerting propensity to linger around the property at check out and check in) the blame was squarely placed on her for the cock-up. Fair enough it cost me nothing I guess! For others dealing with the Maintenance team has been a sorry affair from the get go….. we had a variety of problems with the property that have needed looking into. DJ's have been slow to respond, and for most issues I as the tenant have had to chase DJ for an update on what has been going on Maintenance dept and Gregor Fortune are full of false promises and when they say the words 'I will go investigate that for you' expect silence for weeks and then call to chase! I was willing to overlook the fact that the work that should have been carried out before we moved into the flat was not done despite promises to the contrary The external side of the front windows needed repainted and the glazing sealant redone. This was reported within days of getting the keys and 4 weeks later nothing had been done. I have been waiting 4 months for some minor work to be done. Maintenance team dont no there arm from there elbow! Been left without a washing machine for over a week now The maintenance department were terrible, never called you back or kept a record of your calls or issues and never updated anything in the 3 year tenancy. The maintenance team are useless - there have been so many problems in our flat and I have spent days and days waiting around - they never return phone calls and all the work is substandard Right from day one we have had problem after problem …….. our front door not being repaired so we were locked out the property for a number of hours and not having any hot water through the winter months. The issues were reported since the second week we moved in and as we are approaching out due out date they are slowly getting repaired. Communication and administration – Personally communication in general hasn't been great and seems again to be a common complaint. Please don't be misled by the professionally taken photographs of the staff on the phone. The evidence indicates that whilst Stage 1 (holding the phone up to the ear correctly) is being practiced successfully by all. The issue here seems to be at Stage two (the dialling of the number and the speaking is what is letting the Maintenance/administrative and checkout teams down). These vital further steps were either omitted from the manual or they have only just successfully achieved stage 1. In addition to poor external communication the internal communication between teams and even between team members in the same dept isn't great. For others below communication breakdown went like this…….. • The communication has been rather terrible throughout, always being kept in the dark when work is due to be done on the property. The team also make you feel like you are nagging them, having called them up for the 3rd/4th time regarding the same issue…………. • I have been waiting 4 months for some minor work to be done. In that time I have received one phonecall from DJ Alexander to give me an update while I have phoned and emailed them at least twice a week to try and get this work started……… • Any way was told i would be contacted today between 9 and 9.30 and of course im still waiting never have i been called back from this shambells of a company its always took me to phone and find out what is happening!.........(feedback to maintenance issue) • 3 weeks later, the week before I was due to move in, I was told that the landlord was selling the property!........Then, I got a call the night before my (now cancelled) move in date, from their own internal team from the same office, wanting to arrange the move in date! They don't appear to talk to each other internally - a pattern I've seen throughout my dealings with them. It seems entirely plausible they didn't speak to the landlord early on either…….. • Took 2 months and 12 phone called to arrange a lease extension and after 6 months still waitin fo meter readings. • In addition to the maintenance department being useless, the 'property assistant's' are just as bad, they will quite happily ignore emails and phonecalls (your number shows up on the phone and they have openly admitted to me that they ignore calls if they know who it is) Checkout - Be aware that even if your property was filthy on arrival a checkout cleaning list will be sent out and the expectation will be that the place is spotless regardless. Dispute things early and be prepared to argue or what will result will be a cleaning bill! If after all of this you still decide that you will use DJ Alexander as your agent then I would advise the following; 1. Go through the inventory with a fine tooth comb – I did and still go stung for a few quid. 2. Photograph everything and I mean everything (photograph the photograph if you must) these guys are slippery! 3. Return the inventory in time with clear comments of your own and insist that this is the one to be used at checkout (again gives Mr Thompson less to hang his hat on) 4. If the house is dirty/windows need cleaning TELL THEM! And photograph it. Windows as well as cleaning are a nice little earner for them or their ‘contractor'. 5. Try to avoid older properties (less likelihood you will need the maintenance team)! 6. Do not call to report anything EMAIL them –you may need to fall back on those emails when the check out debacle begins!