We at Williams Lewis pride ourselves on our professionalism and our ethics and morals. We work for large corporate clients and we have always worked for them, over and above any commission we may earn. The tenant in this case were from the far east and could not provide a guarantor in the UK. It was the tenant and not ourselves that proposed paying 12 months rental in advance, to ensure they got the property as the property was moments from University College London and was proving to be very popular with prospective tenants studying in the local area. Secondly the tenant paid a holding fee and then went back home to Hong Kong for the summer holidays. It was while she was there that she withdrew from the transaction. Also, when the letting was agreed it was agreed with two tenants ONLY. However once back home in Hong Kong, the tenant said they wanted to introduce a third tenant which would have meant converting the reception in to a third bedroom. It was suggested to them that this may cause a problem with the client and that the client, not us ,may ask for extra rent or a larger deposit. At no time was this ever definitive as the tenants withdrew before we could get an answer from the clients. We are sorry the tenants did not like our service but we were acting in our clients best interests.

Williams Lewis pride ourselves on our professionalism and our ethics and morals. The majority of our properties are owned by large corporate clients who often take a different approach to individual landlords. The tenants in this case were from Hong Kong and could not provide proof of income, bank accounts or a guarantor in the UK. It was the tenants and not ourselves that offered to pay 12 months rental in advance, this ensured they got the property moments from University College London which was proving to be very popular with prospective tenants studying in the local area. The tenants paid a holding fee and returned to Hong Kong for the summer holidays whilst we started the referencing process. When the letting was agreed it was agreed with two tenants ONLY. However once back in Hong Kong, the tenants, presumably having told their parents who were financing their studies suddenly demanded the terms of the agreed offer to be changed including withdrawing the up-front rent and introducing a third tenant which would have meant converting the reception room to a third bedroom. We forwarded this request to our clients and before an answer was given the tenants decided to withdraw from proceeding with the letting. All phone calls, emails and correspondence was answered well within acceptable timeframes and we are at a loss as to why such a vindictive and untruthful review was posted. In fact once the tenants returned to Hong Kong, it was they, who did not respond when we tried to contact them. We are members of ARLA and NALS and have acted in accordance with the rules and regulations as laid down by these professional associations. Tenants should be aware that in the UK letting agents act for the Landlord, who pays their fee, and as such we must act in accordance with our client’s instructions.