Dear Alastair, We are sorry to read your comment and understand that you have contacted the team to discuss this. The deposit is going through the refund process at the moment. Please get in touch with myself or my team on 0131 622 4160 for any further assistance. Best regards, Karen Turner, Lettings Director.

Accepted a lease from Rettie for a property in Dumfries. Paid the deposit to them before we where allowed to view the property. When we viewed the property they also showed someone else round the property we had been given at the same time of our viewing...not very professional I thought. The property seemed fine on viewing and we signed the lease. We waited what seemed like a long time to get the keys as they said property was ready upon viewing. We then had to pay another some of money once they told us what day we could meet the agent and collect the keys. We arrived at the house to collect the keys from a different company. The lady tried the keys in the backdoor which wouldn't work, she said these would be posted out to us ASAP, so again I ignored my instinct that something wasnt right. The keys never arrived and Rettie said that we had the correct keys? I then had to give notice on my current property, but because they couldn't confirm a date we could collect the keys I had to pay 6 weeks rent instead of 4. I paid a cleaner to give the house a deep clean to allow us to start moving our things in. 2 days after getting the keys however we noticed dampness in 2 of the bedrooms and the bathroom. We reported this the same day and awaited a call for access. We where contacted 2 days later and had to send pictures as proof that the dampness was there. We did this and they then advised it was not urgent so would be 7 days. I was not willing to put my property into a house that was damp, so we held off moving in properly. Baring in mind I was paying rent during this time. When my husband queried the length of time taken to contact, he got an email saying that we didn't have to move in if we where not happy and they would refund any monies paid. I just think the attitude of the agents in general was horrendous and they put us in a position we could have been homeless. Luckily I was able to stay in my current property. I have heard some other stories and would advise to avoid at all cost. Glad to say I now have my money back and we can move on after the stress of the last few weeks!

They are notorious among the Solicitor/Estate Agent community in Edinburgh for this type of behaviour, in lettings and property sales. They manage to circumvent the fair Scottish Law property rules as they are exclusively estate/letting agents. I know of two people who have been gazumped with Retties handling the sale without being kept in any kind of loop far down the process of buying/selling properties, needlessly causing stress and hassle just so they can get the money for the listing a bit faster. Actions that solicitors are not allowed to undertake in Scotland due to law society rules. This type of behaviour seems to be even more marked in lettings where they get consistently poor reviews.

Dear Jody, My name is Gillian, I am the Director of the Mid Market Rent team that look after the properties in Dumfries. I would like the opportunity to discuss and look into your comments for you. I can be contacted on 0131 243 3853. Or please email btr@rettie.co.uk and confirm you are happy for me to contact you. Kind regards Gillian McLees

Dear Stuart, I would be very happy to discuss any concerns you have regarding our service in either sales and lettings team. Rettie & Co is regulated by both the RICS and The Letting Agents Code of Practice and we adhere to their professional standards and codes of practice. As the Chief Operating Officer I would welcome the opportunity to hear more about any specific experience you have had so we can learn from your feedback. I can be contacted at becky.lindsay@rettie.co.uk or 07881 905775