Property Match London

Property Match London Rooms agency review: If you expected (like I did) that renting a room through an agency would save you stress and would provide a more professional service then please stay away from Property Match London Rooms based in Bermondsey. I am relieved that my tenancy ended and I could not wait for the 12 months contract to end. 1. The man Jay (?) who showed me the room lied that a non-smoker lived there previously. That was when I asked him why there was a smell of cigarettes there. He said that the smell must be coming from him – a smoker, as the woman did not smoke. I found out from another flatmate that the woman was a heavy alcohol addict and a heavy smoker. They asked her not to, but she continued. And they complained a lot about it to the agency so they knew she smoked. 2. There was no bed in the room when I was viewing it. It was delivered later with the most yellow stained mattress I have seen. It smelled of urinating. I could not possibly sleep on it on the night I moved in. It was later changed but the urine stayed on the wooden frame and carpet even after washing it. The carpet clean was not a diligent service and many various stains remained and nobody believed it was cleaned. 3. The flatmate next door was loud. She placed her TV set, radio, bed next to my wall. She was a TV addict/couch potato. The agency claims their tenants are “professionals”. I could hear the audio equipment all the time I was at home, till late. She got quite aggressive when I asked her to let me relax at home. She was a bully. The agency said it was to sort between ourselves. There was no living room, no other place where I could go to relax. My room was my home and I paid £825 each month for it. 4. The flatmate also invited her lover to live in her room. After one month I was very tired of this as I could hear every detail of their shallow conversations through the plasterboard wall. They fried minced beef using ventilator, playing music and talked loudly to be heard on top of it. My room shared the wall with the kitchen as well. The agency said they could send her a warning but she may get angry when she finds out who complained. I do not think it was handled in a professional way. I thought that agency staff had some sort of training and preparation to work with people and disputes. Now I do not think so any more. They simply did not want to get involved. 5. It got to the stage that on the last Saturday morning she brought her radio to the kitchen. She played it loudly from her room previously when she was cooking. I came in and asked to stop the noise. She laughed. I turned the switch off. She pointed a long sharp kitchen knife towards my neck shouting: “Do not touch my things” Which I did not in the first place as I touched the electric switch on the wall. I locked myself in my room. I rang the agency phone number. No answer. I rang their emergency mobile. No answer ever to the message I left. I rushed to the agency office for help as I was scared to stay at home. Mo said: “Come back on Monday when there is more staff as not many people work here on Saturday noon. When I asked if he could offer me a replacement room for a couple of weeks he said he did not have any spare rooms. I know from another worker there that not all of their rooms are occupied. On Monday someone from the office responded to my email that Jennifer claims that she only pointed a finger at me. I sent them the pictures of the big knife in an email. No reaction from the agency whatsoever. No shelter, no assistance at all. They only repeated twice when the crazy Dutch told them. And that her contract ends in a week so she is moving out soon anyway. Her contract ended on Thursday 20 March. I thought I could relax at least. I was locking my door since the beginning in the flat. How surprised I was that she was in the flat till Sunday and the agency even let her stay longer that the contract. How irresponsible, given how dangerous criminal inclinations she had. 6. On the repair side: When I moved in I discovered that one of the windows could not half open to leave it in a secure position over night or during the day when I am not at home for ventilation. I sent several reminders. They send a Portuguese speaker, who did not know English and he was claiming the window was not faulty. They even recorded a movie to prove it to me. They opened the window 45 degrees and called it half open. I sent pictures from window producers to show what I mean but no reaction from the agency. When the handy man was replaced by another one and was called to repair something in another room, I showed him the problem. He said: you need to send the request via email. I cannot just repair it like that. When I said I sent several already he responded it needs to be a fresh one and he would come another time. Also he mentioned that if we request calls often the agency may charge us. It put me of completely. 7. In the advert they describe other flatmates as well-mannered even thou one of them wanted to call all TV stations to show the conditions and kicked the previous flatmate out. She basically threatened them with third parties but she was still described as well-mannered in the room advert. They just repeat it in every advert you come across. 8. When a letterbox key went missing during May 2014 bank holidays I was hold responsible for the loss. It took months for the agency to deliver a copy. They said they delivered one to the flat after a month of sending emails to the agency. Nobody could locate it thou and there was no proof for it. I offered to collect it and even to get the second copy myself. But they were not able to advise how to do it. Only on 21st July I was informed that the key was located. Almost three months without a key. 9. Initially when they were not responsive to my request for a copy I went to the office. Katy was new and said she would need to ask Christina, her manager. I offered to wait till she comes to work. They Mo came and advised there was no point and she does not come till midday. This is how dedicated the staff is. 10. Generally I felt treated as an intruder and someone disturbing them. They cannot link that their salaries as paid from tenants rents. Once after querying my deposit for a long time and no response I went to the office at 2.30pm and Katy, the only person in the office, played music vary laud and reading a book. My query was obviously not sorted for weeks. She got very offensive when I told her she has done nothing to solve my situation i.e. sitting weeks on my deposit because she was confused. There was an error in the inventory but she was not actively sorting it. 11. The inventory man – Scott- stated in the final check out that a scatter cushion was missing. I have never seen a cushion in that room. He probably confused it with the previous tenancy or another room. Yet, the initial count could not be confirmed as the check in was missing. After several attempts of questioning it Katy realised it must be in their old office and she could not go there. Strange as when I started my tenancy I signed the contract in the Bermondsey office, same as when I was checking out. 12. The man who came to the property to take the checkout said he would send the report to the agency in two days' time. I waited two weeks sending emails to the agency before I went to the office on Monday. Katy said she did not have it. After my surprise and her searching her inbox for few minutes she announced. Oh, they sent it last Friday. When I said what the other team promised her response was: “Things happen”. Surly, but in this office things happen all the time with the most straightforward task. 13. I was meant to receive the inventory repost. I do not have the check in or check out till today, even thou Katy insists she sent it. She never could find it in her outbox though. 14. One day when I was at home 30 May 2014, and unannounced handy man knocked at the door. I refused to let him in as per security note downstairs in the block of apartments. I said that the agency would need to confirm it. He called Mo and I heard the discussion through the door calling me a crazy one. Then it appeared in the conversation he needed to go to another flat. 15. I noticed lack of communication between the office workers. They sit next to each other but yet I receive emails from them asking about the same things even when I responded to the other one long time ago. Worse they act without consulting each other even thou they tell the tenants that the agency agreed sth or sth. 16. For instance, they struggle to fill in the rooms. (a note to the landlords here). When one room was empty they put a Swedish woman there. When I saw her I expressed my surprise as I though they agreed the room to rent to a French woman. They said the Swede was to stay there for a couple of days and then they would move her to another flat. They did not inform exactly when and where so she kept worrying. They took her one morning to show the other place for her next week. In the meantime Mo and the French woman came with her luggage. The Swede had her things in. The inventory man Scott also came to the check in. It was such a mess. Mo said it was all arranged for the French to move it. Sadly his colleagues from the office did not know that and kept the Swedish in. The check in could not be performed. In the end her stuff was moved to a storage which only upset her when she arrived later on. 17. Mo said to the French lady she could keep her car in the garage downstairs. She went to France to drive the car over. Few days later we received an email form the agency asking whether the car was ours as the landlord is renting the space to someone else. Crazy. She was on holiday at that time so could not move the vehicle. 18. Generally they were so hopeless at sorting the smallest query that I felt like going to the office to push them to do something. Even then I got an impression they have no clue what they are doing. I wish companies like this to go bust for the benefit of the whole society.