Is there somewhere I can make a formal complaint about a letting agent?

ExParrot42

We've just moved out of our house - a crummy 3 bedroom deal. The agent's incompetence, in our opinion, is worthy of a formal complaint. I know that I can't name and shame them here - but I am wondering if there is a way I can.

Related question - are these reasons good enough to make a fuss?

-When we viewed the house, we were told that some things we would have to take as-is (broken kitchen tiles, old cooker) but the walls would be repainted, the house cleaned, and 3 beds would be delivered. This was supposed to be done by our move in date. When we moved in, the house was filthy and we had to pay for a skip bag worth of junk and rubbish to be taken away. The house was never repainted (badly needed) and the beds took a week to arrive, so we couldn't even live there at first.

-We found out the dryer was broken, and it took about 2.5 weeks to be repaired.

-The house was in worse condition than was obvious at the viewing, which was on a nice summer day - the windows were drafty and never fixed even though we made multiple requests. Because the doors had been taken out on the main floor, it was impossible during winter to heat downstairs and keep damp out. We were told that doors would not be installed since we signed the lease to take the house "as is." We couldn't really use the sitting room during winter.

-The washing machine broke and took almost 2 weeks to be replaced.

-There was dangerous wiring in the house. We had a friend living with us for a while, and his dad is a builder & electrician. He came to fix our immersion for us (couldn't get a swift enough response from the agent to do it) and while doing this he discovered that someone had installed 4 sockets that were not grounded and connected to each other, and said that they were very dangerous and could cause electrocution or possibly a fire. We told the agent immediately and they told us "don't use them." Surely they should have warned us ahead of time?!

-We were promised a lawnmower a few times, and assured that it was not our responsibility to provide one since one was meant to come with the house. We never got one after multiple phone calls, but received warnings for not cutting the grass regardless.

-When the agent wanted to inspect the property (happened 4 times in a year!) she would send us a text that more or less commanded us to be home on such and such a day between noon and 5, always a regular work day. They would not inspect evenings or weekends, and we were forced to take days off that we really couldn't afford.

-Generally, the agent would ignore calls/messages after the initial call about an issue. Calls were never returned, and we practically had to harass them to get anything done at all.

-Now we have been out of the house for a week. We left it in FAR better condition than when we moved in. It was meant to be inspected on Wednesday, but this took until the Monday after (yesterday) and multiple requests to be completed, and now they are "holding" our deposit, since the agent found "damage" done to the house and they apparently need to see how much it will cost to fix. She claims that the house smells of urine (no way it could) and that there was a puddle of it in the kitchen. I have sent them photos of all the damage that was already done to the place at the time we moved in. If anything we improved the house! Of course, no reply. They are ignoring all our calls and messages, so we'll be paying them a visit tomorrow!!


I know these aren't the worst things to have happen, not by a long shot - but I feel that I should be able to warn people away from this company. I'm under the impression that they take good care of the owners, but treat tenants like rubbish.

The_Morrigan

You may complain about the conduct of the agent here: http://www.psr.ie/website/npsra/npsraweb.nsf/page/index-en
You may also open up a claim with the PRTB on the retention of the deposit.

the_syco

Not really. Lodge a case against them in the PTRB, however, to get your deposit back.

househero

The regulators are there to protect the landlords IMO.

Post here who they are, if you are stating facts and facts only, there is nothing wrong with letting us know who you were dealing with.

The_Morrigan

Do not name and shame a business here.

ExParrot42

Update: The agents have ignored several emails and two mailed letters about the deposit. Not a response by phone, email, or mail. We are going to try the PRTB next. We're afraid that this won't work out for us, since it's over a month on now we're no longer in the country. It's also a game of their word against ours, and from what I've heard the landlord usually wins. I hadn't thought to take pictures of the house upon leaving. It was cleaned & repaired since we moved in, I wasn't expecting this!! I've always got my deposit back straight away.

Miamiheat

Sorry to read your experience => sounds quite typical of a few stories i heard and as a matter of fact i heard the exact same about 4 hours ago from a friend and dealing with a big name agency.
PRTB is useless in my experience: you would think that they are there to protect LL. I had a case with 2 years worth of emails showing how negligent my LL was and still didn't obtain a favourable ruling. You may be luckier than I was.

Now this is for the mods: I respectfully do not understand why it is not allowed to name and shame when the reason is factual.

athtrasna

Miamiheat wrote: »

Now this is for the mods: I respectfully do not understand why it is not allowed to name and shame when the reason is factual.

Please read the A&P charter before posting again