Good lord, seeing some of these negative reviews on letting agencies reminds me of how tough it was when my flatmate and I were trying to secure a flat through RR. So here you go.
Thought I would go with these guys since they are a chain, but holy crap. I should've taken my chances with the no-name agencies! Our agent, Andrea was nice and friendly - to mask the sneaky and underhanded lies/crap she pulled on us. I thought maybe it was miscommunications, so I made sure to always repeat the things she told me back to her, and she confirms it. Then it all goes out the window. Definitely not miscommunication, just being underhanded. So many things happened, but 2 things in particular stand out:
1. We arranged for the internet setup between 1pm-6pm on the same day we moved in. I tried to arrange for us to sign the RR contract in the morning, but Andrea said for us to come in at 2pm, so we could take a half day off work (we're contractors, so any time off is unpaid). Andrea also said she would PERSONALLY let the internet guys into the flat whenever they arrived. I said, "You'd really do that? You'd go out there and let them in?" and she said "absolutely, of course!" Nice, right? And I ACTUALLY FELT BAD for thinking she's a b*tch. Oh wait. Spoke too soon.
Come the day of, I called Andrea to let her know the internet guys were there and if she could pop over and let them in. Our convo:
A: What are you talking about? I'm not letting anyone into the flat.
B: but you said you would let them in. We discussed this last week, and you agreed..
A: You don't even officially have ownership of the keys, you haven't signed a contract
B: I can see that NOW. I was trying to arrange for us to sign in the morning, but you told us to do the afternoon instead while you let those guys in
A: that's ridiculous. No agent would ever agree to let people into the flat if the keys haven't been signed for.
Andrea knew better than me, and for her to arrange my appointment and tell me that she would let those guys in (even before I signed the contract) was a ballsy and b*tchy move. I should have questioned that, but I didn't, I was still in shock over her helpfulness. Cost us £50 to rebook the internet guys.
2. Spark Energy - Andrea told me there's a partnership between Spark and RR in that they will automatically contracted to take over the gas / electric supply, BUT the choice was entirely up to me, and I didn't want to go with Spark. She said she had spoken w/ my landlord, C, who were OK with me keeping on the current gas / electric. Even asked me to send an email confirming this was my decision, for backup. Then I find out at the last bit that the choice was never mine, she never spoke with C, and our convo went something like this:
B: But you told me that the choice is mine..
A: We have an agreement with Spark, and there's no way for us to get around that. You can change it, but you can only do it when you move in as Spark automatically takes over
B: So you have a partnership in place - why did you tell me I had a choice?
A: there is an AGREEMENT in place, we can't get around it!
B: I get that, but you TOLD me, I had a choice. You even had me send a confirmation email.
A: I'm not sure why you're not listening, its an agreement.. maybe you'll change your mind later. Ill send you details on Spark..
..and of course I still don't get the details. I get that I can change it, when I move in. I'd just have to call. But that's not the point.
Also, the £250/person fee was outrageous. At that price, i'd expect much better service!! I was told that the FULL amount goes towards the credit check company, and none of it goes towards the agent/company, which is complete BS.
At the end, I discussed my issues with the branch manager, Paul. I've been in customer service for a while and know that you don't get anywhere by screaming at them, so I wasn't losing my cool at him but pointed out the facts, and these are his words:
- "This is your fault, you shouldn't have scheduled the contract signing and internet setup in the same afternoon" - I wouldn't have done it had Andrea not reassured me that she was going to help. Otherwise I would have rescheduled the internet setup.
- "You need to be responsible for your own actions that has messed everything up" - tried to do everything based on the info that Andrea tells me. When she lies, how do you make a sound decision? If its too good to be true, it probably is. Should have questioned Andrea more and get every single thing in email.
- "Its your word against ours." - UNPROFESSIONAL. Always get email when you can. Which is hard since they dodge emails and are probably minimising any hardcopy facts that the customer can hang onto (for moments like this).
This company will lie to you, and not take accountability. Rinse and repeat. Stay away.
Wish I tweeted about it. Maybe someone would have paid attention then.
Would give them 0 stars if I could. read more
