80% sales valuation accuracy
89% sales fee satisfaction
0% lettings valuation accuracy
0% lettings fee satisfaction
May 10,2013
May 10,2013
11
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I was very excited when I called the agent to view the property. They had 2 suitable within my budget. In the beginning they were very good and efficient. I had my viewing arranged the day I called which for me is a very good thing. I don't like to dither.
I explained to them my situation that I was a student studying for my 2nd Masters and being 8 months pregnant I was no longer working and getting an allowance from my father. All of this seemed OK when I spoke to them over the phone. After viewing the property and speaking to the landlord face to face and explaining to him the situation also and at the time he seemed very happy with it.
The next day I put my offer in for the property as I wanted to get everything sorted. Being 36 weeks pregnant I wanted to make sure my accommodation would be sorted for my newborn and I. I paid the £350 stipulated to take the property off the market. I was told they would go to the landlord put in my offer and see what he says. This was fine by me. I was told another couple had put in an offer and they could move in earlier as I wanted to move in late June. I was advised that the landlord preferred me over the other couple and if I could move in earlier he would accept my offer. I loved the flat so much I agreed to move in mid June. I then waited to hear if my offer had been accepted which I thought would happen pretty soon but found myself having to call the agents to find out what was happening. They confirmed my offer had been accepted.
I provided details required including my boyfriend as a guarantor as he fit all the criteria for a guarantor which my dad didn't. Namely my dad unfortunately had an IVA from years back. This was accepted and references were taken using the company Letrisks. My boyfriend's employer was contacted and as I'd briefed him on the need for a quick response he made sure everything was sorted within the 48 hours stipulated and then we waited.
I then received a call asking if my dad could be a guarantor instead and I explained again why he couldn't. I was told that the landlord was getting cold feet about the rental as he was worried about and I quote "if my dad and I fell out and he stopped paying my rent". I told them this wouldn't happen especially as he was expecting his first grandchild and.....well my parents just aren't like that. I also explained that even if he was worried about that if my dad was the guarantor it wouldn't stop this happening and having my boyfriend as a guarantor spread the financial risk meaning there was another person to fall back on if everything went wrong. I was told they would speak to the landlord and get back to me. So I waited. I expected a decision in a few hours but heard nothing. So I called back and impressed the urgency of the situation being sorted as by this time a week had gone by and I was conscious of the fact that the baby could come at any time and I wanted the accommodation sorted so that I had somewhere to move to once I had given birth and gotten my bearings. I was told I'd get a decision by close of business. With close of business fast approaching I still hadn't heard from them. My worry now was I had given £350, if I needed to find another property I would need that back and as I had gone home to my parents in preparation for having the baby I would have no time to travel back and forth between Croydon and Reading to do viewings and sort out the situation, so I called again and again there was no definitive answer. The guy dealing with the situation said he was just "firing off an email" to the landlord. So I ask what happens if I don't have a decision by the close of business and his exact response was "what else?". I mean what am I supposed to do with an answer like that?
I then waited till the next day expecting a phone call first thing in the morning with some sort of update, but I heard nothing. I then called and was told that the issue had been passed on to some else who would call me as soon as she was done with her client. I waited for 2 hours and heard nothing, so I called back again and was told the lady had gone out to do a valuation and she would be back at lunchtime. This came and went and I had still heard nothing so I called back once again and was told she would call me back as soon as she was done with a phone call.
Luckily the lady called back and apologised for the delay. She said the person who had been dealing with it before was on his day off and she was in the office alone. I was baffled as to why I was not told by him that he would be away from the office and someone else would be dealing with the situation especially considering the urgency of my case. I was told that the landlord would only accept my offer if I paid a years rent in advance. That would have been £11,100. If my father had that kind of money he would have just bought me a house!
I was very disappointed and upset by the decision and almost brought to tears. As a tenant you pay £312 as admin fees if you're using a guarantor and you have 48 hours in which to provide your details and 5 working days in which to be referenced, yet it appeared that if I hadn't have kept pestering them for a decision from the landlord, it would have been sat on forever leaving me in limbo with nowhere to live. This I find completely unacceptable. At 37 weeks pregnant, the last thing you want to do is be stressing about whether you have somewhere to live or not. I explained this situation to the guy dealing with my issue and he didn't care one single bit because if he did this wouldn't have dragged on for as long as it did. From the time I was first told the landlord had reservations to the time I was finally told I couldn't have the flat I could have done viewings and found another place. I gave my notice to my current landlord and as at this point in time come 15th of June I have nowhere to move to. How can I be expected to go back and forth between Reading and Croydon with labour imminent to view properties or shortly afterwards. The situation was handled with absolutely no sensitivity whatsoever and what's funny is there was absolutely no dithering in putting the property back on the market to find another tenant.
All in all a very upsetting, stressful and disappointing experience.
I explained to them my situation that I was a student studying for my 2nd Masters and being 8 months pregnant I was no longer working and getting an allowance from my father. All of this seemed OK when I spoke to them over the phone. After viewing the property and speaking to the landlord face to face and explaining to him the situation also and at the time he seemed very happy with it.
The next day I put my offer in for the property as I wanted to get everything sorted. Being 36 weeks pregnant I wanted to make sure my accommodation would be sorted for my newborn and I. I paid the £350 stipulated to take the property off the market. I was told they would go to the landlord put in my offer and see what he says. This was fine by me. I was told another couple had put in an offer and they could move in earlier as I wanted to move in late June. I was advised that the landlord preferred me over the other couple and if I could move in earlier he would accept my offer. I loved the flat so much I agreed to move in mid June. I then waited to hear if my offer had been accepted which I thought would happen pretty soon but found myself having to call the agents to find out what was happening. They confirmed my offer had been accepted.
I provided details required including my boyfriend as a guarantor as he fit all the criteria for a guarantor which my dad didn't. Namely my dad unfortunately had an IVA from years back. This was accepted and references were taken using the company Letrisks. My boyfriend's employer was contacted and as I'd briefed him on the need for a quick response he made sure everything was sorted within the 48 hours stipulated and then we waited.
I then received a call asking if my dad could be a guarantor instead and I explained again why he couldn't. I was told that the landlord was getting cold feet about the rental as he was worried about and I quote "if my dad and I fell out and he stopped paying my rent". I told them this wouldn't happen especially as he was expecting his first grandchild and.....well my parents just aren't like that. I also explained that even if he was worried about that if my dad was the guarantor it wouldn't stop this happening and having my boyfriend as a guarantor spread the financial risk meaning there was another person to fall back on if everything went wrong. I was told they would speak to the landlord and get back to me. So I waited. I expected a decision in a few hours but heard nothing. So I called back and impressed the urgency of the situation being sorted as by this time a week had gone by and I was conscious of the fact that the baby could come at any time and I wanted the accommodation sorted so that I had somewhere to move to once I had given birth and gotten my bearings. I was told I'd get a decision by close of business. With close of business fast approaching I still hadn't heard from them. My worry now was I had given £350, if I needed to find another property I would need that back and as I had gone home to my parents in preparation for having the baby I would have no time to travel back and forth between Croydon and Reading to do viewings and sort out the situation, so I called again and again there was no definitive answer. The guy dealing with the situation said he was just "firing off an email" to the landlord. So I ask what happens if I don't have a decision by the close of business and his exact response was "what else?". I mean what am I supposed to do with an answer like that?
I then waited till the next day expecting a phone call first thing in the morning with some sort of update, but I heard nothing. I then called and was told that the issue had been passed on to some else who would call me as soon as she was done with her client. I waited for 2 hours and heard nothing, so I called back again and was told the lady had gone out to do a valuation and she would be back at lunchtime. This came and went and I had still heard nothing so I called back once again and was told she would call me back as soon as she was done with a phone call.
Luckily the lady called back and apologised for the delay. She said the person who had been dealing with it before was on his day off and she was in the office alone. I was baffled as to why I was not told by him that he would be away from the office and someone else would be dealing with the situation especially considering the urgency of my case. I was told that the landlord would only accept my offer if I paid a years rent in advance. That would have been £11,100. If my father had that kind of money he would have just bought me a house!
I was very disappointed and upset by the decision and almost brought to tears. As a tenant you pay £312 as admin fees if you're using a guarantor and you have 48 hours in which to provide your details and 5 working days in which to be referenced, yet it appeared that if I hadn't have kept pestering them for a decision from the landlord, it would have been sat on forever leaving me in limbo with nowhere to live. This I find completely unacceptable. At 37 weeks pregnant, the last thing you want to do is be stressing about whether you have somewhere to live or not. I explained this situation to the guy dealing with my issue and he didn't care one single bit because if he did this wouldn't have dragged on for as long as it did. From the time I was first told the landlord had reservations to the time I was finally told I couldn't have the flat I could have done viewings and found another place. I gave my notice to my current landlord and as at this point in time come 15th of June I have nowhere to move to. How can I be expected to go back and forth between Reading and Croydon with labour imminent to view properties or shortly afterwards. The situation was handled with absolutely no sensitivity whatsoever and what's funny is there was absolutely no dithering in putting the property back on the market to find another tenant.
All in all a very upsetting, stressful and disappointing experience.
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7th Oct 2017
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8th Sep 2017
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11th Jun 2015
reviewed by 'JC'
9th Nov 2014
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25th Oct 2014
reviewed by 'Stephen'
Opening Hours
Address
Park & Bailey
41 High Street
Caterham
Surrey
CR3 5UE
01883 342205
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 80% | 89% | £174,000 | £670,000 |
| Lettings | 0% | 0% | £0 | £0 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Areas covered
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Sep 27,2022
Sep 27,2022
0
people found
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An excellent estate agent providing excellent marketing advice, good communications and timely updating throughout the process. I would highly recommend Park and Bailey ,Caterham....
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Oct 07,2017
Oct 07,2017
1
people found
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I had a viewing schedule for 3pm on Saturday 7 Oct 2017 at a property in Caterham. I was very excited when I saw the property on Park & Bailey website. Unfortunately, due to heavy traffic and our taxi driver getting lost and taking a longer road, I ...
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Comment on agent fees
Not application
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Oct 18, 2017
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Your response is the reason why I chose to use media rather than your in house complaints procedure.
Liam Feeney was under no duress to offer to schedule an appointment at 15.00.
We arrived at the property at 15.20 and he was not there. I called the office at 15.22 stating that i had arrived'. Liam did not advise me that he had to go onto his next appointment and was due there at 15.45. He only stated he had another appointment hence why I asked whether it would be possible for him to show ...
Sep 08,2017
Sep 08,2017
0
people found
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Park and Bailey have been absolutely superb during our house sale and purchase. The sales was excellent, and the aftercare by Sue was outstanding. In fact our chain was close to falling through very many times, but she kept it on track. We couldn't have ...
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Comment on agent fees
Good
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Jun 11,2015
Jun 11,2015
0
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The agent showing us the property was helpful and friendly but there were a few details about the property he was unable to answer.
During the conveyancing period we were particularly impressed by the responsiveness of the Sales progression Team, in particular Sue Hodson.
The ...
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Nov 09,2014
Nov 09,2014
0
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All of the staff I dealt with at Park & Bailey were extremely helpful and professional. The purchase was protracted and complicated for a number of reasons beyond Park & Bailey's control, but they were very helpful at every stage. Thanks to Ann Hinton's tireless efforts the ...
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Oct 25,2014
Oct 25,2014
0
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I cannot say how impressed I have been with everyone at Park & Bailey.
I purchased my flat from them, I then rented it using them and finally sold it through them too.
Professional, approachable, efficient and above all friendly and approachable.
Every single member of ...
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Comment on agent fees
Outstanding again. As a previous customer I was given a reduced fee and they were quick to market and arrange viewings. My property was on the market for less than 48 hours.
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Aug 30,2014
Aug 30,2014
0
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I asked Park & Bailey to try and locate a property in the area that required refurbishment and when one came up that suited my requirements they contacted me straight away. I found them to be extremely professional & friendly right through from the first viewing and ...
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Jul 22,2014
Jul 22,2014
0
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We used Park & Bailey to sell a property in Caterham, primarily communicating with Kay Jenkins. For the entire duration of the sale, we were overseas, so relied heavily on them. They really were superb, going the extra mile whenever we needed help. During the sale ...
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Jul 10,2014
Jul 10,2014
0
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Excellent experience of selling my house at a sensible commission rate. From the moment Liam came to the house he demonstrated the professionalism matched with a friendly approach that characterised all my dealings with Park & Bailey. A buyer was found very quickly who made an ...
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Comment on agent fees
Competitive
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Jul 07,2014
Jul 07,2014
0
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The whole process of dealing with Park and Bailey was very straight forward, professional and they were always very informative with how the purchase was progressing....
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Mar 13,2014
Mar 13,2014
0
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The service throughout selling my daughter's house through this company was excellent. From Liam coming round to value the property and take down the details of the property to Jo taking us on viewings . The communication throughout was very good.
However the service I was ...
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Feb 18,2014
Feb 18,2014
0
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We are very delighted with the professional team at park and bailey in helping to sell our property as well as purchasing our new property which we hope to move into very shortly. We found ginette bronsdon highly professional and very helpful and motivated and ...
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Jan 20,2014
Jan 20,2014
0
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Liam gave us useful advice on the initial visit to the property. I appreciated your quick response to my emails and Ann was always helpful in liaising between solicitors and myself....
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Sep 24,2013
Sep 24,2013
0
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P&B Caterham Hill office were excellent in all our dealings with them. From the moment Liam visited us to give us a quote, to the moment we moved out they were pro-active, communicative, helpful. They were professional and displayed great perseverance in taking the ...
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Sep 17,2013
Sep 17,2013
0
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Right from putting the house on the market we felt that we were looked after and although there were problems and we thought the deal was going to fall through they acted in a professional manner and kept everything moving. We did move in the ...
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Aug 05,2013
Aug 05,2013
0
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Jo and Liam were brilliant when we first put our house on with P&B, and gave really helpful and insightful advice about marketing it. They were always quick to respond to any queries and to pass on feedback, and clearly knew the market very ...
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May 31,2013
May 31,2013
0
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Very professional service. Was kept up to date on prospective purchasers and state of the market, viewings and feedback. Sale agreed in relatively short time which then went smoothly through Park and Baileys own conveyancing partners. Would use again....
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Apr 16,2013
Apr 16,2013
0
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Park & Bailey have been extremely helpful from the start. We are fisrt time buyer and they guided us through the whole process, and kept us up to date at each stage.
Ginette Bronsdon was kind enough to email me as soon as she had any ...
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Mar 25,2013
Mar 25,2013
0
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We were nervous about putting our house on the market after 5 years, but Liam and the team at Caterham were extremley friendly, professional and helpful from day 1. The sale was agreed in under 4 weeks and we found our ideal property through Park & Bailey too - ...
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May 01,2012
May 01,2012
1
people found
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I cannot praise Park & Bailey, High Street Caterham highly enough in their dealings with the recent sale of my property. Liam was extremely helpful in initially drawing up the details and then he made sure the sales team visited the property so they were all ...
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Mar 28,2012
Mar 28,2012
0
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We received excellent customer service from Park & Bailey with the purchase of our house. Despite many delays and issues out of our control, they regularly kept us updated on any progress & went out of their way to try & speed up the process....
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Mar 27,2012
Mar 27,2012
0
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I found them very proactive in finding suitable people to view our house and were very pleased in how quickly we found a buyer. Their after sales team were very hard working and efficient and offered a great service....
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Dec 15,2011
Dec 15,2011
0
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The first and most important thing about Park and Bailey was their courtesy and professionalism. It was always 'Mrs or Mr Tanner' not Christine or Malcolm. They produced excellent property details of a very high quality. We could be completely flexible about who would do ...
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Nov 09,2011
Nov 09,2011
0
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Once my wife and I had decided that we would like to live in Warlingham we contacted several of the local agents operating in the area. It soon became very clear that Park & Bailey were head and shoulders above their rivals in terms of efficiency ...
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Oct 29,2011
Oct 29,2011
0
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This sale was a result of a family bereavement and without exception, Liam and his team were the most professional, courteous and considerate agents I could have hoped for, very aware of market conditions, trends and pro-active in their advice and strategy. We had a ...
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Aug 03,2011
Aug 03,2011
0
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Superb service and dedication above and beyond the call of duty. All the team in Caterham were brilliant and friendly, but special mention has to go to Ginette Bronsdon who was more like a councillor and social worker than a sales lliasion manager.
5 STAR RATING ...
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Jul 11,2011
Jul 11,2011
0
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I sold and bought a property through them... found all the staff very polite and helpful.... any questions I had were always quickly answered... would recommend them to anyone.......
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Oct 10,2010
Oct 10,2010
4
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I have several propertys what I rent out , I have always used Park and Bailey as they are quite well known. I recently looked at others agents for a price comparison and found that there are alot of other agents that are half the price ...
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Nov 19, 2010
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Further to our comment above, our lettings team have advised that they have not had any of their landlords withdraw over the time period given nor to the best of their knowledge have they had any queries from curent landlords on their fee structure. ...
May 07,2010
May 07,2010
0
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I felt that the agents went out of thier way to help me find a house at a time when property in the area was in short supply. I also appreciate the fact that they did not go in for lots of hard sell and ...
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May 10,2013
May 10,2013
11
people found
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I was very excited when I called the agent to view the property. They had 2 suitable within my budget. In the beginning they were very good and efficient. I had my viewing arranged the day I called which for me is a very good thing. ...
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No fees information available
Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.
Complaints Procedure
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