This is related to the review provided by Bradley. The shower unit failed and in the process of caused a smell of smoke. The fire brigade were called and declared the unit safe. The matter was reported to us and we dealt with it immediately in that we contacted the developer to check the installation and to replace the shower unit. This had to be ordered however was installed within a matter of days. In the time that this took there was a second shower at the property that could be used. We act for the landlord so there is no reason for them to be involved as we will sort issues as they arise. As to the call from the mother, I explained that I wanted to help however being talked over in a very condescending way without any opportunity to speak or opportunity to discuss how we might help was pointless and I am happy to standby the comment that you have quoted. To put it into context it was said because every time I tried to speak to explain what we could do to help I was talked over. As to the showers we have asked plumbers to look at the flow and they have said that there is nothing wrong with the units, they perform as they should – we are unable to fix what is not broken. As to the serving a S21 notice to end the tenancy, we have to look at all matters before deciding whether to invite a new tenancy. The reporting of repair issues is not a consideration, if items are broken we will seek instruction from the landlord and fix items asap, however we do look at the conduct of the tenancy and equally as important whether rent is paid in full and on time. Where tenants are unnecessarily difficult or they need to be constantly chased for rent will inevitably be less likely to be offered a renewal. Ultimately we want happy tenants, unfortunately there are some people that will always find reasons to complain and they tend to be the ones that are most vocal. For every negative review we will have several hundred that are happy however do not make any comment on google.

Bradley – Safety is our absolute priority, indeed that is why I have engaged a member of staff that has worked exclusively for the past 12 months ensuring that our properties are electronically safe. In your case an electric shower failed. You could smell smoke and correctly called the fire brigade that made the appliance safe. When you reported the issue to us you told us that the fire officer had said that the apartment had been built without any earth protection. We were doubtful that this could be the case given that the property was approximately 3 years old and fully certificated however when you reported this, we contacted the developer the moment that their office re-opened after the weekend. They attended and carried out a full investigation and confirmed that the shower in question simply failed and that the property (and all appliances) were correctly earthed. This is one of several issues that you have flagged and that we have sort to deal with. You have complained that there is insufficient flow on both the showers in the property and yet the landlord had upgraded both on build to power showers. We will always strive to provide good outcomes for our customers however we are limited to what is practical (and possible). You have referred to an occasion where we terminated a call, we accept that sometimes the people that we deal with do not have an understanding of what is reasonable and choose to rant however we will not accept abuse.

Hello Ben We are genuinely sorry things have taken so long and yes we are aware that Covid 19 is being used for all kinds of excuses. In this particular case the landlord faces a large bill and therefore wanted to get several quotes as affordability wa… See more

You have had a problem with mould accumulation which we believed to be as a result of limited ventilation as it centred around the bathroom. We still believe this to be part of the reason however we also had the issue looked at by a contractor who diagnosed a problem with the concrete guttering a feature of many 1950’s built Ashford houses. This requires very costly replacement which the landlord has done and I would very much hope that the issue is now sorted. As to the gas issue, our contractor was carrying out a safety check and noticed that there was a very high reading for gas in the property and therefore had to turn the boiler off immediately whilst he found the leak. He was unable to do so and agreed to go back the following day which he did. The leak was fixed and heating and hot water was restored. We take our responsibility as managing agents very seriously and will not compromise on safety. We are not engineers or builders, we rely on contractors and are very careful to ensure that we use the best that we can find. When issues are reported we will look to instruct works as soon as we are able to do. In both the above instances we have sought to do this. I am not sure what else we, or indeed any other agent could do. Sometimes things break we cannot guarantee properties that are fault free in perpetuity, the important thing is that once issues are dealt with then they are sorted. Kevin Hall Director – Martin & Co (Ashford)