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Jul 21,2013
Jul 21,2013
2
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I am still dealing with Bridgfords regarding my old rental property, so this is an ongoing case, but thought I would share with you anyways.
Basically, I rented the property 3 years ago. I was shown around the house and given and Inventory. The house was a good size, but poorly decorated and the walls were in a bad state i.e. Dado rail had been taken off and not filled in, the walls in each room could have been skimmed. I was told my the lady showing me round that the back door and single glazed kitchen windows would HAVE to be replaced, as by law the house was energy efficient.
I signed the lease and my Dad who is a professional decorator set to work sorting the property out. He decorated the kitchen, skimmed the walls, filled the ceiling in which has gaps between the wood, he painted it, he wallpapered the front and dining room, painted and filled in the coving and woodwork and re painted the bathroom and decorated my sons room.
The carpets were in bad condition in the upstairs bedrooms, my sons was so bad i replaced this one as i wouldn't have put him in their with him playing on the floor etc.
On moving in the landlady's father [who done all the fitting of the bathroom, kitchen, flooring, decorating and tiling BADLY] was still working on the property. Leaving the house a mess, full of dust where he had been working. My dad ended up redoing all of these jobs to rectify all the botched jobs he had done.
The old bathroom had been dumped in the garden along with tiles and flooring. On informing Bridgfords of this I was told to phone the council, we just paid privately for this to be removed as I had no access to the back door which was an internal wooden door incase of emergency.
After a few weeks in the house i noticed that the guttering had two holes in it. It was like a waterfall when raining, once again i phoned Bridgfords. They told me that it was up to me to replace this. I argued that I had contents insurance and that the Buildings was down to the Landlords.
After my years lease was up i received a call from their main office telling me if i was wanting to stay in the property i would need to pay £150 renewal, i argued that i wasn't told this upon signing the lease. I was then told that it was in my tenancy and they didn't have to tell me about this, It was up to me to read this. Baring in mind the tenancy is about 30 pages long! I paid this, reluctantly.
I continued to ring Bridgfords about the door and windows as i was losing all heat through the wooden internal door and all they said is, we will contact the Landlords. On me leaving the property the windows and door still have not been replaced.
The final straw came when water was actually leaking up between the kitchen floor, there was obviously damp in the extension, they got a builder to come out and assess the damage, three times he viewed this and put an estimate in and nothing became of this. He actually told me himself that you have to torture them to get anything done.
All in all within 3 years no repairs were done in the property, the alarm was faulty and this was reported. They don't seem to do anything. When my tenancy come up for renewal for the second time, i phoned my local office and stated i simply did not have £150 to renew again, they told me I didn't have to pay this if i renewed it through them and not the main office!!!
I think it is also wrong that they come round and check the property every few months, even if you're not in the property at the time. Surely that is against the law.
After all of the above i finally decided to put my notice in stating the reason for moving was the lack of repairs done to the property. On moving at the start of July, i met them and give them the keys back to the property which was left in great condition.
I was told that the bond would be sent to my new address. After a week, no letter had been received so i rang the office. I was told that there was decorating and cleaning issues, I asked what this was and was told because I had my TV on the wall and there was a small gap left in the paper where the four holes had been drilled to keep the TV on the wall. I told them if that was an issue there was some paper still left in the house and my Dad would do this. I was told No, i should have stripped the wall on leaving. As for cleaning issues she would not go into detail. She did say that a letter would be sent to me listing all of these. As for the bond this was out of her hands now and i was told to contact GMC, the main offices in Gateshead.
On contacting them, i told them i was not happy about this, as the property was let far from clean when i moved in and it was up to me to sort this. Also the amount of work my father had done to the property and we had paid to put ariels in and have rubbish removed etc. I was told that there was nothing we could do, they were getting contract cleaners and decorators in to the property and the amount would be deducted from my bond.
My mum then rang who stood guarantor, as this bond was her money. She phoned Bridgfords first and was told that the lady who collected the keys thought the house looked like it needed cleaning. She admitted that she was not the one who showed me around the property and it was her first time in it when she picked the keys up. Surely, the lady who showed me it should have done the itinerary!?
At the moment we are still waiting to here back and we are in the process of going to CAB regarding this.
It seems to me that they can do what they want, they said we should have taken photos of the property and that i broke my contract by decorating!!
I would strongly advise anyone who is renting from them to do this to save any future hassle, to keep all receipts of any work you have had to pay for or for anything you have bought. It is impossible to live in a property for 3 years and leave it EXACTLY how you found it without any trace that you have ever lived there.
Basically, I rented the property 3 years ago. I was shown around the house and given and Inventory. The house was a good size, but poorly decorated and the walls were in a bad state i.e. Dado rail had been taken off and not filled in, the walls in each room could have been skimmed. I was told my the lady showing me round that the back door and single glazed kitchen windows would HAVE to be replaced, as by law the house was energy efficient.
I signed the lease and my Dad who is a professional decorator set to work sorting the property out. He decorated the kitchen, skimmed the walls, filled the ceiling in which has gaps between the wood, he painted it, he wallpapered the front and dining room, painted and filled in the coving and woodwork and re painted the bathroom and decorated my sons room.
The carpets were in bad condition in the upstairs bedrooms, my sons was so bad i replaced this one as i wouldn't have put him in their with him playing on the floor etc.
On moving in the landlady's father [who done all the fitting of the bathroom, kitchen, flooring, decorating and tiling BADLY] was still working on the property. Leaving the house a mess, full of dust where he had been working. My dad ended up redoing all of these jobs to rectify all the botched jobs he had done.
The old bathroom had been dumped in the garden along with tiles and flooring. On informing Bridgfords of this I was told to phone the council, we just paid privately for this to be removed as I had no access to the back door which was an internal wooden door incase of emergency.
After a few weeks in the house i noticed that the guttering had two holes in it. It was like a waterfall when raining, once again i phoned Bridgfords. They told me that it was up to me to replace this. I argued that I had contents insurance and that the Buildings was down to the Landlords.
After my years lease was up i received a call from their main office telling me if i was wanting to stay in the property i would need to pay £150 renewal, i argued that i wasn't told this upon signing the lease. I was then told that it was in my tenancy and they didn't have to tell me about this, It was up to me to read this. Baring in mind the tenancy is about 30 pages long! I paid this, reluctantly.
I continued to ring Bridgfords about the door and windows as i was losing all heat through the wooden internal door and all they said is, we will contact the Landlords. On me leaving the property the windows and door still have not been replaced.
The final straw came when water was actually leaking up between the kitchen floor, there was obviously damp in the extension, they got a builder to come out and assess the damage, three times he viewed this and put an estimate in and nothing became of this. He actually told me himself that you have to torture them to get anything done.
All in all within 3 years no repairs were done in the property, the alarm was faulty and this was reported. They don't seem to do anything. When my tenancy come up for renewal for the second time, i phoned my local office and stated i simply did not have £150 to renew again, they told me I didn't have to pay this if i renewed it through them and not the main office!!!
I think it is also wrong that they come round and check the property every few months, even if you're not in the property at the time. Surely that is against the law.
After all of the above i finally decided to put my notice in stating the reason for moving was the lack of repairs done to the property. On moving at the start of July, i met them and give them the keys back to the property which was left in great condition.
I was told that the bond would be sent to my new address. After a week, no letter had been received so i rang the office. I was told that there was decorating and cleaning issues, I asked what this was and was told because I had my TV on the wall and there was a small gap left in the paper where the four holes had been drilled to keep the TV on the wall. I told them if that was an issue there was some paper still left in the house and my Dad would do this. I was told No, i should have stripped the wall on leaving. As for cleaning issues she would not go into detail. She did say that a letter would be sent to me listing all of these. As for the bond this was out of her hands now and i was told to contact GMC, the main offices in Gateshead.
On contacting them, i told them i was not happy about this, as the property was let far from clean when i moved in and it was up to me to sort this. Also the amount of work my father had done to the property and we had paid to put ariels in and have rubbish removed etc. I was told that there was nothing we could do, they were getting contract cleaners and decorators in to the property and the amount would be deducted from my bond.
My mum then rang who stood guarantor, as this bond was her money. She phoned Bridgfords first and was told that the lady who collected the keys thought the house looked like it needed cleaning. She admitted that she was not the one who showed me around the property and it was her first time in it when she picked the keys up. Surely, the lady who showed me it should have done the itinerary!?
At the moment we are still waiting to here back and we are in the process of going to CAB regarding this.
It seems to me that they can do what they want, they said we should have taken photos of the property and that i broke my contract by decorating!!
I would strongly advise anyone who is renting from them to do this to save any future hassle, to keep all receipts of any work you have had to pay for or for anything you have bought. It is impossible to live in a property for 3 years and leave it EXACTLY how you found it without any trace that you have ever lived there.
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May 13,2018
May 13,2018
0
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Have lived in a rented property for 4 years and had nothing but problems. Reported issues regarding leaking roof, mold and a large window that doesn't lock (security risk), on numerous occasions. Had visits made. Reported again and still having issues.
As the landlord agreed to ...
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Sep 20,2016
Sep 20,2016
3
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Appalling communication, never phone back, always have to phone them! Been waiting 3weeks now for my Bond back! By law is supposed to take a maximum of 10 days. Everything was done by the letter complete with a signed letter from the landlord to release the ...
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Jan 12,2015
Jan 12,2015
2
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Bridgfords = Bunch of money focused, rude, lazy, incompetent, ignorant people!! Avoid at all costs! I have been dealing with the Teeside branch, who seem no better than all the over reviews posted on here.
Paying 320 pounds in 'admin fees' you expect 1st class treatment? Think ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Be open and clear from the beginning about fees and terms of renting instead of being determined to get the extortionate fees they charge.Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
The fees are disgraceful, 150 pound admin fee, I paid the full 12 months in advance so the supposed referencing this fee was needed for didn't need to be done! Also 180 pound let agreement fee is well above the average for Middlesbrough.
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Aug 14,2014
Aug 14,2014
2
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This was the worse letting experience in my entire life. I could literally write a book on their malpractice, deceit and incompetence. First of all please could I say that I find it completely mind boggling that they are still able to practice as a ...
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Aug 14, 2014
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I have been with them for 18 months and I too could write a book. They make my blood boil. I have had very similar experiences and I totally wish you all the luck in the world should you choose to take it to court. I have been through the complains procedures with them, but it is all in-house anyou get no where with them. Hope it all gets resolved.
Should you not go ahead, ask for photographic evidence of the work they have done with your deposit money. When I moved in, not a single thing had ...
Aug 01,2013
Aug 01,2013
3
people found
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this helpful
I've now been waiting over 5 weeks for the return of my deposit after being a very good tenant in an apartment for 3 years paying over £20,000 in rent. I partly blame my tight landlord who faced with decorating costs as the apt is now 7 years old ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Return calls, show interest in my attempts to retrieve my own money and point out to landlord how obnoxious and obstructive he is being. I left the apartment in a better state than before I spent my ‚£20,000 in rent yet the landlord seems to think he has the right to quibble over a minute mark in a wall that was there when I moved in. Absolutely incredible!!!Attached Filesnbsp;
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Jul 21,2013
Jul 21,2013
2
people found
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I am still dealing with Bridgfords regarding my old rental property, so this is an ongoing case, but thought I would share with you anyways.
Basically, I rented the property 3 years ago. I was shown around the house and given and Inventory. The house was ...
read full review
read full review
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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.
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Last updated at 9:34 AM 22/10/2019 by heather heather
