You must have read about articles like "…victim was lured into a secluded area and raped (or robbed) at knife point." Well, this letting agent did pretty much the same thing to me. I was shown a a nice looking flat and took a holding deposit from me to take the property off the market and later ripped me off with enormous sum of hidden charges.
Here is my Mann Countrywide story...
My wife and I were shown a nice flat by a lady from Mann Countrywide. We quite liked the property. I was a little cautious about their rates. So, when asked, the agent explained that their charges were -
£75 for reference check per adult - £150
Inventory: £120
Administration Fee: £100
Total = £370
This was a little higher than what I had paid before. But since the property quite nice, we decided to go ahead. So we were asked to pay a holding deposit of £300 to take the property off the market and also to do our reference checks. We paid for which we were given a dodgy printout confirming that the payment has gone through but with no details of why the amount has been taken for and what the outstanding amounts were. This looked a little unprofessional to me but there was no reason to mistrust Mann Countrywide at this stage.
>> Mann Countrywide: Surprise 1.
After the reference checks were done we received an invoice via email amounting to £624/-. This was the breakup as per the invoice -
Tenancy Agreement (£150 + VAT) = £180
Reference Fee (£150 + VAT) = £180
Administration Fee (£100 + VAT) = £120
Inventory Fee (£120 +VAT) = £144
Total = £624
Whooaa!!!
We were surprised to find the additional charges for doing the tenancy agreement and the VAT that added up to £624.
>> Mann Countrywide: Surprise 2.
Attached was also a quote for property contents insurance of £126. It was stated in the email that it was mandatory for us to insure the property if we had to live there.
Discussions and arguments with the agents didn't help at all.
This made our total cost to rent the property to £750.
Who would want to pay £750 to rent a property? So we decided to forget about the £300 holding deposit we had paid and tried to find another property as soon as possible. We had to check-out from where we were living in a week's time. But unfortunately it was quite late to find another property, nothing worked out and we had no choice but to go with Mann Countrywide.
>> Mann Countrywide: Surprise 3.
We were given a draft tenancy agreement which had this clauses - "Insure landlord's possessions, fixtures and fittings against accidental damage." The insurance had to be taken for the landlord's benefit.
>> Mann Countrywide: Surprise 4.
Since we didn't have any choice we paid the outstanding amount and signed the tenancy agreement. To my surprise Mann Countrywide refused to hand us an original signed tenancy agreement. We were given photocopies. When questioned, the letting manger said - they had to keep it on their file and that photocopies are what they would give us. So the amount of £180 they charged was for those damn photocopies.
>> Mann Countrywide: Surprise 5.
Additionally, when we had viewed the property initially, the letting agent had told us that the landlord had agreed to re-cover the sofas before the move-in date. The sofas and old rug made the living room look like a refugee camp. When I checked with the landlord, he didn't have any clue about having agreed something like that. The letting agent had lied. Anyway, the landlord being a nice person agreed to get us new sofas.
So the moral of the story is before you rent a property from Mann Countrywide be prepared to
- Pay enormously high hidden charges.
- Buy mandatory contents insurance to cover landlord's fittings and fixtures.
- Not have the original tenancy agreement.
- Expect surprises against what you were promised when you actually move-in into the property.
Landlords are also charged enormous fees and also 10% plus VAT i.e 12% for any works that you instruct them to do. AND THIS IS ON TOP OF THEIR MANAGEMENT FEES.RIP OFF
ReplyDeleteI echo all of the above. Be extremely wary of the South Croydon branch and the company as a whole. Despite requesting details of full fees upfront, these were not provided upon viewing. When the holding deposit was paid over the phone, no confirmation of payment was given and a receipt only provided when chased the following day. A fridge freezer was included in the property, only to be told it might not be ready for the move date. Again, no mention of this when viewing the property. I was asked for my contract conditions, one of which were curtains, as at the time the property had only bin liners covering the windows. I was told it would be blinds, despite my concerns of such an arrangement providing little security for a ground floor flat. I had 3 working days to move in, which they were aware of from the start. Yet with two hours to go on a Friday before a bank holiday weekend (I was moving in Tuesday) I was told my reference had failed, despite providing all the information required. An hour later I was asked to provide P60 (at 5pm) then at 6.20pm, ten minutes before they closed, my last three wages slips. An email was sent at 630 confirming my booking in time, also mentioning the outstanding amount of fees to be paid the following day on the Saturday. Despite several conversations with the lettings manager Anton Harvey, who never once mentioned it before the email. When I was called on the Saturday for the remaining money, I was told that unless I paid that day I could not move in on my proposed move in date. They need the funds to clear in their account apparently. Even though clearance for Debit Card payments are immediate. And despite the fact that two days earlier, I received a 'Good Faith' letter stating that I could pay BEFORE or ON THE DAY of my move. It must have been a slow sales week so holding me to pay helped them in that regard it seems. They use all the manipulative sales techniques available to get your money, in the knowledge that they have you over a barrel once the holding deposit is paid. I work in sales, so I am aware of the methods they use. Do not trust this branch or company at all. Like nearly all letting agents, they are terrified of telling you the full fees due upfront Incase it puts you off and will play on your housing fears to get what they want. Blame was passed onto the landlord for all these last minute demands - another sales tactic to make it seem as of they are on your side and fighting your corner. Unscrupulous and provide no assurances for the paying customer. Just be aware that when you enquire, you are a walking I pound sign to them, nothing more.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with the above - spent £600 each in fees to move in. To add insult to injury, when we left they said they would charge a £25 "processing fee" to do a bank transfer on our deposits. I called and they definitely were not joking so requested it was sent by cheque. Avoid them like the plague!
ReplyDeleteSame here, I have narrowly escaped from them before paying the holding deposit. For a single bedroom property in Guildford they have asked me 750. With a single negotiation it came down to 550. I was not ready to play that amount and said goodbye to them. Beware of those pigs.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I have narrowly escaped from them before paying the holding deposit. For a single bedroom property in Guildford they have asked me 750. With a single negotiation it came down to 550. I was not ready to play that amount and said goodbye to them. Beware of those pigs.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great article! It inspired me to make my own blog
ReplyDeleteRent property