Dear Neil,

I saw this review you wrote a while back but I delayed replying to it so I could check a few facts in the meantime.

Firstly I'm truly sorry you felt compelled to write such a bad review of Tiger because on the whole I'd hoped we had parted on amicable terms.

When I came to see you personally before the end of your tenancy to return your deposit cheque in full we shook hands and I apologised face to face for certain things that happened during your tenancy.

In all the 3 years you lived in the apartment I agree there were a couple of occasions when our workmen entered without you having been told what time they were coming - although you did know to expect them after you'd reported the maintenance work. Also it's true that it took us a while to spot what was causing those damp patches on the walls in your flat but even at the time I did explain a few times that this was only because yours was a 3rd floor flat and hairline cracks in the mortar beds of the external brickwork are hard to see from the ground when they are 30 feet up. And this was at the time last Winter when the weather was either pouring down, snowing or absolutely freezing so the issue was not simply one of price, although the first quote we got was nearly 3 times what it should have been, but also one of safety as many workmen won't work at height when it's icy. And it was icy for 4 months last winter.

Last winter was the coldest and the wettest on record for 30 years which is why we were asking you for your help in managing condensation levels inside your flat through ventilation etc. This was after the remedial works had been carried out to the property, but you weren't happy with this and you contacted the Council who sent an environmental health officer to check your flat out.

Their department certainly has powers to intervene where it's necessary but in this case they clearly didn't agree with you that your apartment was damp because no further action was requested from us. I don't think they were too impressed by you running an online business selling car parts from your one bed flat though, and I don't think they, like us, could believe just how many parts you had in there. I remember seeing piles of car tyres in there, alloy wheels, wing mirrors, and for months you had an entire nose section from a Vauxhall Astra (I think it was) in your bedroom.

I just don't think that you wanted to accept some of the responsibility for helping to manage the environment in your flat. I mean please take a moment to think about what effect on the living environment your one bed flat experienced by being packed with so much stuff. And by you choosing not to open the windows much you were not helping the space breathe properly.

Furthermore the bedroom of this property measures about 15 foot by 15 foot, in which you had a double bed, wardrobe, drawers and desk supplied for you, but you also put a weight bench in there and the component parts of half a car. So with the benefit of hindsight can I please ask you to have a think about what you could have done differently to help us stop condensation problems in there ?

Tiger turned a blind eye to all of that because we could see that you were just trying to make some extra money during your time at university, and to be honest Neil I never considered we'd have this conversation agian if you hadn't decided to post your review in this public place.

Despite all of the problems you've written about you chose to continue living there and did so for 3 years, willingly signing three tenancy agreements. I was and still am bemused about the accusation you make regarding Tiger removing a desk from the flat. And looking back I see that it was you, not I that used the term "impertinant". You're correct about the timing of that comment though because the sales and viewing staff were trying to make viewing appointments with you at the time - always with at least 24 hours notice - but you kept refusing access to the flat. This was just after you'd been away on holiday for 2 weeks and given us strict instructions not to go in, which we didn't and it was only a week or two later did you tell us you weren’t well and had been in hospital, so it’s true that we had been getting rather frustrated with you but you, but at the time you told 3 different staff members you were ill with 3 different things. Earlier in the year you'd refused us maintenance access to the flat for a period of some weeks and then complained about things not being fixed, so even we find it difficult organising appointment after appointment with outside contractors who themselves are busy. The year before I fielded complaints about you from some of your neighbours after you'd gone away for the weekend and blocked their car in the driveway.

So in closing Neil I want to acknowledge that I appreciate how much time it must have taken you to write your review, and I felt that you were owed a thorough reply. The current occupier of your apartment has lived there since July and to the best of my knowledge hasn't had any problems and all I can say is we did get all of the problems fixed for you during your tenancy and these fixes are still fine.

In your review you inferred that you wouldn't sign with us again and I'm disappointed that you felt that way so I hope it's some comfort to know that we did take some of your criticisms on the chin. I feel that a lot of your feedback was unfair when it was a total of almost 4 months during which you either refuced us access to the apartment or asked us to rearrange pre-booked appointments with outside sub-contractors. We've made a few changes to our systems based (in part) on your feedback and because I know that your last year of Uni was very stressful for you holding down a job and doing your finals too, so Neil I do sincerely wish you the very best of luck in your career with the Bank of England in London.