Prime Lettings & Management

Once upon a time I rented a two bedroom house from Prime lettings and Management (PLM). It was a reasonably modern house in a peaceful housing development. We were very happy with the house but unfortunately we were not so happy with the letting agent. I remember on one occasion when something minor broke around the house. I notified PLM and they said that they would send someone around to fix it. A week later nobody had been around so I contacted PLM again. They had no recollection of being told about it but once again said that they would send someone around. By the middle of the following week I was tired of waiting and so bought a part and made a successful repair myself. I informed PLM and they said that they would send me a cheque to cover the cost of the part. No cheque ever arrived. On two occasions we were asked to allow the property to be inspected. One inspection took place but the second inspection was cancelled at the last minute (the day before if I remember correctly). There were a few other little ‘niggles’ which I won’t bore you with here. By this time I was pretty fed up with the incompetence of PLM and was fortunate enough to find a better deal elsewhere. We notified PLM and after the notice period moved all of our possessions out of the house. We had the house for a couple of days after moving out and so we set about cleaning it. We cleaned the windows, the window sills, the window frames, the skirting boards, we vacuumed, we mopped, we cleaned the shelves in the kitchen cabinets, we cleaned the shelves in the bedroom cupboards, the bathroom sparkled, we cleaned the kitchen work surfaces, we cleaned the oven, we swept the backyard, we mowed the lawn and we also cleaned the garage. We even went as far as fixing the front door which was slightly loose when we moved in (my father-in-law runs his own handyman business). That house was in a better state when we moved out than it had been in when we had moved in 18 months previously. What thanks did we get? I received a phone call from PLM telling me that the carpets that covered the stairs in the property, (To the proprietor of PLM, I should point out that it is not a ‘property’ as your staff are so fond of calling it, it is a house. It was my home were I relaxed, laughed, cried, entertained and had sex. It is not a dammed ‘property’), was dirty and that they wanted to have it professionally cleaned and that I would be charged for it. It cost over £70. That’s bloody gratitude for you. P.S. On two occasions we were accused of not paying the rent. On both these occasions the error was found to be with PLM. No apology was ever forthcoming from PLM despite the nasty and aggressive manner in which we were treated.

10

John S.