Long story short, me and my family signed the contract for 28th Feb 2013 and all the money for the rent, deposit ect was paid before hand and only thing left was for us to get the key and move in. I went to the office located at Stratford and was hoping to get the key but to my surprise the agent said that he cannot give the key to me because the references from the our employers hadn't come back. But why was the contract dated for the 28th Feb and why did they take the money in advance and not give the key when the contract started. I understood their point of view and I asked if the contract would be changed on the date that we receive the key and they said the cost would have to be incurred from the date the contract was signed!! Meaning that if they get the references from our employer after 2 weeks then I still have to pay the rent for the house for that 2 weeks even though I still don't have access to the property!! The whole thing didn't make any sense to me. Not only I would be losing out money which was unnecessary but also would be losing money as I had signed the contract 1 wk prior to my move out date with my old address as the agent said I will HAVE to sign the contract on the 28th, otherwise they will get another tenants till 1 wk time. I was very lucky that I had 1 wk spare in my hands that I could afford to just sit and wait with my fingers crossed that the references would be received by my move out day, but I couldn't imagine this situation for people who have planned a strict deadline to move out of the property. 1 wk past the agent promised that he would give me the key on Fri the 8th March as the references were received and would make a new contract dated from the 8th. I was relieved and was sure that I would get the key on 8th. I arranged all of my bills for Internet, council tax, water, gas etc for the new address and arranged the loading van for 8th. On the Thursday the 7th I was thinking to call the agent and ask if the new contract which is dated from the 8th was ready and everything else was ok, but I received a call in the early morning and had a unbelievable news that the landlord had emailed the agent saying that the property was being refurbished and the work cannot be done if we move in the property on the 8th. The landlord will be able to give us the key Wed the 13th March instead. So, he gave me 2 options, 1. to wait some how till Wed 13th Mar or 2. get a refund. I was surprised and completely in shock because the property was supposed to be ready before the 28th of Feb when the original contract was signed and I thought so far reference were the problem and not the property. I don't even have the option to ask the money back because it is already too late and there was no way that I could find another property in 1 day. I don't even have option to wait till the the 13th because me and my family have no where to go. I explained my situation and asked if there was any other option and he said no. I said that I wouldn't mind to wait till the 13th if the landlords pays the money for hotel till the property is ready and he said that it is nothing to do with the agency and it was landlord's discretion which would most likely be no at the moment. I asked if I could have the landlords number so that I could speak with the landlord and explain my situation myself and he said that was against the policy. So now, I just have no where to go and do not knw what to do tomorrow. Ok, so first thing first I know ii sounds more like the landlords fault than the agency. But dealing with the whole thing I personally think that the agency and the landlord both are to blame. I am not happy with how the agency dealt with my situation. If the property was not ready, why was it not mentioned during advertisement? Why was I not notified of the renovation work any earlier? Why did they kept playing games saying that I have problems with the references?Why did they make me sign the contract on the 28th Feb when they know how long the references would take? Why did they give me false information that I would have to take the cost even though I still haven't got the keys?? This whole event with the agency, is something that I would never wish even for my enemy. My experience with them makes me wonder how many other people have faced and will face the same situation in future. I don't even know how they have even managed to open till now. I WOULD STRONGLY PLEA EVERYONE WHO ARE THINKING TO USE THIS AGENCY TO STAY WAY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!!!