“Worst experience of my life...”
1 Star Review
Feb 02,2021
By:
'Luke'
Feb 02,2021
Branch: London, 27-33 Bethnal Green Road
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £2400
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SW9
Branch: London, 27-33 Bethnal Green Road
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £2400
Postcode: SW9
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people found
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What do Howsy and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have in common? That’s right - they’re both guilty of appalling crimes against humanity.
We received our first inkling that all was not well in the run-up to signing our tenancy agreement. We were assured that everything would be sorted within a few days. However, without any communication from Howsy, the days passed, until we were forced to call them every day for an update. Our move-in date ended up being delayed, a stressful experience in itself. But like pink Himalayan salt in the wound, we arrived to find an utterly filthy hovel, unloved and uncleaned: quite different from when my housemate had viewed it a month prior. Again, Howsy’s oversight forced them to make another last-minute intervention, organising a professional cleaner for the next morning.
I’d like to say things improved after we moved in. Alas, it was not to be the case. Howsy’s USP, that they’re an all-online platform, is actually more of a liability than an asset. Contacting them by phone is an utter nightmare. You enter a bizarre switchboard system, in which nobody is ever able to hep with your request, and the one person who can is never available. It’s like a roundabout, except each exit is a false promise that you’ll be called back within the hour. Moreover, the “stripped-back” nature of Howsy means that they have to outsource every single maintenance job, and lack any concrete relationships with these providers. Our dishwasher, which from our move-in was inoperable, was never repaired. Imagine our anguish when Howsy had the gall to tag this onto our deposit deductions (to the tune of £530). Yet justice was eventually served, with the subsequent dispute being found in our favour. We were awarded all of the money.
In the end, we terminated our contract early, after coming to the realisation that we were being grossly overcharged for our property, and were receiving a grotesque lack of service from Howsy. I’ve since been interested to note that Howsy have lost management of the property on Gresham Road to Marsh and Parsons, and that the monthly rent has dropped by £300. Let this be a lesson to the landlord that ignoring reasonable tenant requests, and leaving everything to a shoddy agent, will in the end damage your bank account.
I’m sure, for a certain kind of laissez-faire landlord, Howsy seem like a dream ticket. But they are the scourge of any reasonable tenant. If you’re looking to rent, and are considering using this agency, I’d like to leave you, if I may, with an adapted quote from Dante: “Abandon hope, all ye who enter into a contract with Howsy”. Thank God we got out alive.
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