“I rented my property through this agency for over 3 years. ......”
1 Star Review
Oct 10,2014
By:
'Vivek'
Oct 10,2014
Branch: London, 187 Lower RoadSurrey Quays
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Rent PCM: £1300
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SE16
Branch: London, 187 Lower RoadSurrey Quays
Lettings (as a Landlord)
Rent PCM: £1300
Postcode: SE16
5
people found
this helpful
I rented my property through this agency for over 3 years.
If you have a lot of spare time, and love chasing people, love dealing with pure incompetence and rudeness and love tearing your own hair apart this is the perfect agency for you.
All Normal people, life is too short, stay away!
Consider this, I have still not received the Feb 2014 rent into my accounts!! :-O We first raised this particular issue in April, and Jo! initially told us that she had searched all the accounts, but could not trace this rent payment at all.
I managed to contact the tenant independently, and got the full details of the payment, which I passed on to Burwood Marsh, and still no payment.
THIS is NOT an ISOLATED case. This is the 4th time in 3 years that the "Burwood Marsh pattern" has been repeated :
1. They send you wrong accounts, it is up to you to check everything, and discover issues.
2. Once you discover an issue, it takes another 20 emails for them to even acknowledge their mistake.
3. You have to do a lot LOT OF CHASING to get your own money back from these people.
4. Weirdly, the staff at Burwood Marsh are usually unable to trace payments in or out of their own accounts!! (on 3 separate occasions, I have had to do the legwork and provide the payment details! In one case, only way to get them to acknowledge they never paid us was to actually send them a copy of our bank statement for the month!!)
5. Instead of an apology, THE VERY RUDE staff will actually blame you for all their incompetence and mess.
All this while, they keep pocketing a significant chunk of your rental income for doing nothing apart from frustrating you.
In the past they have also
A. lied to our tenants,
B. withheld invoices from us,
C. claimed to have made payments that mysteriously failed !(and they did not take note even when we enquired!),
D. messed up our checkouts, by delaying communications.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Done their basic job with diligence, investigated issues promptly instead of stonewalling, owned up mistakes instead of blaming the landlord.
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5
people found
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Thank you for your comments, however reviews should be honest and constructive and we welcome accurate reviews. Indeed we have managed your property for many years now and it has been met with difficulty at times for us working with you as a Landlord who.....:
• Did not feel it necessary to offer Tenants heaters when boiler was condemned and in the middle of winter with snow on the ground felt it was ok to leave them 3 weeks without heating / hot water except by our insistence.
• Damp has been raised a problem more than once pre offers, noted on inventory reports and each tenancy the past 3 you said you were going to deal with it and despite tenants raising this issue you have not, in fact a former tenancy you tried to make issue upon the exiting tenant deposit despite the Check-in clearly noting the incoming damp problem in the bathroom on their entry.
• When tenants were provided with heaters after our insistence when no heating in winter (which we arranged for them and you compensated ) and their bills increased whilst waiting the boiler repair due to electric not gas, we had a difficult time getting a small rent reduction in compensation for this inconvenience also from you, you feeling it was never your fault but understanding that the tenants could not be expected to pay full rent and incur higher running costs when it was not their fault. Burwood Marsh at time of boiler were the first to get you quote in but delayed for you shopping around which took some weeks.
• Oven was reported not working on last tenancy (as also Damp which was never sorted as promised) and rather than agree to Manufacturers call out which the tenant agreed to coordinate and being our advise as it was late Nov/Early Dec (concerned for xmas), after instructions you gave were passed and tenant confirmed trying all necessities which you insisted, and after weeks later you you made arrangement to visit property but didn't show on time and the tenants waited an additional hour, which was just before Christmas....the tenants went the whole of xmas period without an oven. When a manufacturer call out we offered being the solution could have been resolved much earlier, and it transpired in January was necessitated. The tenants waited extra hour for your visit despite their own busy period pre-xmas, and then you got cross when you were late and they were not there. They were left without an oven despite our fervent chasing to get manufacturer out weeks before xmas, therefore having their family over, had to eat out. Additionally when it was we who arranged your appointment, in your episode of being so cross that you felt inconvenienced, you called the office and shouted at a staff member and then swore at another staff member. You never even offered any compensation nor apologised to staff members. The call out that we recommended in early December, finally was done in January and indeed a fault with the oven as expected which was repaired.
• The accounts enquiry you mention was when you initially contacted us asking for an Invoice from 2 years prior. We noted no invoice was seen raised and must have been an oversight but that this fee would become due. You were updated. You then you later stated you were missing a rent for a particular month again nearly 2 years prior. With the tenancy already ended we explained that being nearly 2 years prior, having given back the deposit (you authorised) and not stated missing rent before, that it would be difficult to pursue rent, had we known sooner. As it transpired you established the tenant that month paid rent to us and this nornally not the case we investigated emails and noted that in fact that period prior you knew and in fact negotiated a discounted fee which was given, for an invoice which was raised manually at that time and issued, and therefore the rent was fully accounted for against fee accordingly. Communication was prompt in return to emails, however raising it nearly 2 years on, made it less easy to see and asking for invoice then a rent, to the see they coincided fully resolved the situation. Had the matter been coherently raised not as invoice and rent 1 separate periods, then there would not have been ongoing confusion.
• Indeed we have a current query which we are looking into reference rent payment by tenant again potentially in error to us as the rent is normally paid to the Landlord.
• Recently ended tenancy also our outgoing Tenant cites that you made contact with them searching them out via 'linked in' and agreed to give their deposit back in full when you liaised with them. Despite this you have never mentioned to them your liaison with us recently claiming (and despite our asking for your proposed value a number of times still awaiting reply) that you have issue with them damaging the flooring and you have shown photos, which the inventory clerk does not support and nor the tenant now with whom we've mentioned.
Unfortunately, there are always 2 sides to a story. The main point is we’ve let your property successfully for a number of years gaining you good rental despite your property being one of the most difficult to manage with the largest file compared to others simply when liaising with faults / repairs it proves difficult to get matters dealt with and it is good we’ve rented it with good paying tenants even with a damp noted bathroom years over and kept you paying tenants despite no oven for a month and at xmas and despite even no heating/hot water for weeks. We have actively managed the tenancies at a low rate which does not equate to value.
We will continue to endeavor to resolve the deposit when all final bills and proof of payments are in from the tenant and you liaise this wood flooring issue you have clearly, unless it gives rise to go to arbitration which most of our Landlords follow our advise and avoid (and our thoroughness on deposits is far above other agents whom we've had Landlords complain give back the deposit without question even).
Our part is we have worked very hard on a property which despite difficult to manage, and Landlord who continually seems unwilling to promptly fulfill repairing obligations (the above are but a few incidents), and gained an ongoing rental income with min to no gaps for you. We as agents don't benefit 'Landlord' reviews beforehand so we work with all in good faith, respecting any business.
However, we wish you and any future agent all the best and look forward to concluding all matters accordingly. We have no prejudice and welcome any Landlord's business, trying as always our staff respectfully to work with Landlords even when the management is difficult.
Burwood Marsh.