Dear Katie.
Many thanks for writing your review and I am sorry that you feel you have reason to write such comments. We certainly do not believe we are above anybody else, albeit we have reason to be proud of our high levels of service. We treat all clients with respect and appreciate that it is our tenants as well as our landlords that keep us in business. We do have thorough record keeping processes and as a result I am able to provide you with a direct response to the points you raise.
When you moved in you called to ask us a question on 10th May and we duly tried to get back to you the very same day. Unfortunately the phone appeared to cut out and there was no option to leave a message. This was followed up and we advised you of the outcome on 12th May.
You are correct that there was a deduction for cleaning the property after your departure. I am sorry to read that you had been unwell during that time period. However, we have a duty to our landlord clients to ensure that matters such as insufficient cleaning are addressed at the end of a tenancy regardless of the circumstances that surround the individual case. We did write to you just over a month before your tenancy was due to end to provide a check list to help you with preparing the property handover. Unfortunately various items required extra attention. We are always very courteous when communicating such points.
The landlords were also very reasonable as they opted not to make a claim for marks and damages to d©cor which were over and above what would be reasonably expected from a relatively short 6 month tenancy. The proposal for the total deposit claim, which I understand to be £194.00, was not disputed by you. Had you felt it was unfair or unreasonable you would have been able to take advantage of the free arbitration process offered by DPS and we would have respected your right to do so. That said, we were satisfied the claim was very fair and held sufficient evidence for us to feel confident that any dispute would have resulted in a positive outcome for the landlord. Please understand that managing end of tenancy handovers and disputes does not present us with any opportunity to make money. It is a lengthy and therefore costly process to the business and not a 'money grabbing' opportunity.
In respect of the return visits to the property, I understand that a representative revisited the property on your behalf once which we facilitated for you because some possessions had been left in the shed. During the same visit the spare key and grill pan were able to be returned to us because you had inadvertently removed them from the property.
Finally in respect of our fee structure, we are very pleased to confidently state that we know our fee structure to be incredibly competitive in the Stamford market place. A single persons' application via ourselves is £85 inclusive of VAT with an administration fee at the start of the tenancy of £65 including VAT. This is a total of £150 and so is actually less than the referencing fee you have just paid your new agent. We have no 'hidden' charges and we are fully transparent about when fees or charges may occur. You also signed a document with us stating that you understood the fee structure we offered.
I trust the above offers any readers of your review a further insight in to the events that occurred around your tenancy and I take this opportunity to wish you well for the future Katie.