Parkers Lettings ( Totton )

*They have repeatedly demonstrated an extreme lack of knowledge about tenancy law, and manipulate the relationship between tenant and landlord in order to extract as much money as possible from both sides. This is demonstrated in a series of emails which I have uploaded in a thread on money saving expert forums, and you can read these emails and the other users' comments on them. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5282127 Criminality: Parkers refused to provide us with contact details for our landlord. This is a criminal offence and is prosecutable by the local housing authority. The address for the landlord on our contract is not the landlord's address, but the address of the Parkers branch in Totton. When asked to provide the landlords real address, they refused (emails in link above). You can speculate about their motives for not wanting tenants and landlords to contact each other, but undoubtedly it allows Parkers to occupy a manipulative position from which they can control the tenancy. More on this later. Section 21: Parkers issue the section 21 as a matter of course part way through the tenancy, whether the landlord is genuinely seeking to end the tenancy or not. This is a morally corrupt practice that leaves the tenant in doubt about their future in the property. Further to this, it allows Parkers to use the section 21 as a weapon to force the tenant into a contract that they are not happy with (see link above). We were threatened with immediate eviction unless we signed a contract that Parkers wanted us to sign (at a cost of £150 from us, and more from the landlord). They repeatedly refused to contact the landlord on our behalf and refused to provide the landlords contact details. Re-letting to generate income: We were given notice that our tenancy would not be renewed, and we left the property. We were not given any warnings about the condition of the property or asked to raise the rent. As soon as we left, the property was re-let. Now, it could be that the landlord genuinely wanted us out, and I'm sure Richard Parker will come on here and say we were terrible tenants. However, no money was taken off our deposit (the property was in good condition) and we were never late for rent. Furthermore, Parkers gave us a good onwards reference. Hardly terrible tenants. Remember the refusal to give us the landlords contact details? You have to ask why wouldn't Parkers want tenants and landlords talking to each other? For example, they could tell each party that the other wants to end the tenancy, and they are none the wiser. They could tell the landlord that we're trashed the place. Parkers make money each time the property is let. Whether there is truth to this possibility or not, the fact remains that we were removed from the property for no good reason and the property was re-let, which is a position I'm sure you don't want to find yourselves in. Lack of knowledge about tenancies: The emails published in the above link demonstrate an astonishing lack of understanding of tenancies for someone running a letting business. As one user says A contractual periodic tenancy can be/is still an Assured Shorthold Tenancy under the Housing Act 1998. They are either totally ignorant, or deliberately lying." Richard Parker does not know what a statutory periodic tenancy is, he doesn't know the difference between that and a contractual periodic tenancy, and he is under the false impression that assured shorthold tenancies must be at least 6 months long. He's made this assertion both in our email correspondence and by phone - his paraphrased words were if we let you stay for one more month then you would be legally entitled to stay for a further 6 months" which has absolutely no basis in tenancy law. You can look this up - it's completely fabricated. The possibility of a get-out clause for both parties was also refused. When Richard grew tired of our questions about the tenancy, he threatened us with eviction. That's right, were threatened with eviction simply for asking questions about the tenancy (remember that section 21?). What this means for you, as a tenant, is that you will find your tenancy to be incredibly inflexible. You will be locked into 6 month contracts (at a cost of £300 per year to renew!) and you will not be able to progress onto a periodic tenancy. You could try - after all there is no legal requirement to renew a statutory periodic tenancy - but remember the section 21 that Parkers will have issued you? That means they will stand a good chance of evicting you, simply because you want to exercise your right as a tenant. There is another very obvious possibility to draw from all this. It may be the case that Richard Parker does understand tenancies, but feigns ignorance in order to extract that lovely £150 from you - and whatever they get from the landlord. Parkers stand to make a lot less money from periodic tenancies and so it's in their interest to keep you on a fixed term contract. Additional costs: I'm sure Richard Parker will write a comment on here about how all the costs are laid out when you sign the tenancy, which is true. But that's hardly reassuring because legally they have to be. This doesn't stop the additional fees from Parkers being atrociously high. £150 to resign the contract (and remember you won't be able to progress onto a periodic tenancy, despite what Richard tells you when you're in the office, pen in hand) is an incredible amount to charge for simply printing out the contract and sticking it in an envelope. It's amongst the highest renewal fees in the country - clear cowboy territory. Another cost which stands out to me is the onwards reference fee of £30. I've been renting in the Southampton area for 12+ years and that's £30 more than I've ever had to pay before. One other oddity with Parkers is property inspections every 3 months. Apart from being a massive hassle, it's borderline invasion of privacy. After tenancy: We moved out on the 27th of December, and we finally got our deposit back on the 9th of March. That's over 2 months. During this time, Parkers were completely and utterly unresponsive. They didn't answer a single one of our repeated attempts at communication with them. In the end we had to visit a solicitor in order to claw our deposit back. With no deductons, all Parkers had to tell the DPS was that they didn't want to take anything off, and we could have had it back in a couple of weeks. This is pure, unprofessional laziness from Parkers. They also ignored all the communication from the DPS. If you're in this position, start the process yourself on the DPS website immediately. The bottom line: As a tenant you will find yourself in an inflexible, expensive contract without the means to contact your landlord directly when you need to. You'll be forever wondering if you'll need to find a new place to live because of the section 21, and you'll be threatened with eviction for asking questions about moving onto a periodic or other form of tenancy. As a landlord you will be subject to similar expenses as your tenants. You might also find your property vacant, and having to pay a re-letting fee, because parkers have told you your tenants wanted to leave. Meanwhile, your tenants will be unhappy and stressed because of the crap that Parkers puts them through, and are more likely to end the tenancy early or disrespect your property. When it comes down to it, there are plenty of agencies in the areas Parkers operate in. Do yourselves a favour and walk on, around the corner, and let with someone else.