Hi Emily, I am sorry to see you have left us a one star review. As your keys were not returned at the end of your Tenancy Agreement, money was deducted by the landlord to cover the cost of a locksmith and a new set of keys.

Thank you Claudia for taking the time to give us a review. Although clearly negative, I feel you raise a very important point around contractual obligations during a tenancy. As you know, when you enter into an agreement to rent a property there is a contract put in place (the tenancy agreement). This contract is designed to protect you as a tenant, giving you security of tenancy and other rights to ensure you are able to enjoy your home. This tenancy agreement also gives the landlord protection in the form of detailing the tenants’ responsibilities to look after the property and pay their rent. It is of course common for there to be a fixed term to the contract. This gives the tenant peace of mind that they can remain at the property for at least the length of time of the contract, and the landlord to know their property will be occupied for at least this minimum length of time. What you must realise is that these contracts are binding and there will be penalties for breaking the contract, whether that be the landlord or the tenant. In this instance I understand you are disappointed and upset that you must pay a penalty for breaking the terms of your tenancy agreement, however this has always been clearly communicated to you at all stages. As you are aware, current legislation states that all deposits must be held within a deposit scheme. Not only does this protect your deposit, it also provides a platform for you to dispute any potential deductions from your deposit through the use of an arbitration service. We have of course invited you to use this service so that an independent body can evaluate your claims and our evidence and settle any dispute. As you are aware, and hence you feedback today, the dispute service has awarded in the landlords favour for your breach of contract. This is clearly disappointing for you, and I can honestly understand that you would be upset. However at no point do we believe we have mislead or been dishonest with you. We pride ourselves in our high level of customer service and our transparency and feel that this reflects in the other feedback we have received by our customers and clients. I do of course welcome any feedback, and if you have any specific areas you would like to discuss so that we can improve even further then I would really appreciate you to contact me and I will promptly respond. Many Thanks, Luke

Selling a home is one of the most stressful and emotional periods of time in anyone’s life. Not only is this the biggest financial event for most people, the sales process can often be drawn out over a number of months with a number of obstacles to navigate. The first stage of listing your property for sale is usually filled with a nervous excitement. Excitement looking forward to the next stage of your life, but nervousness and apprehension as to whether people will want to purchase your property and for the price you require. Having an emotional attachment to your property will always tell you that everyone will love your home, and within days there will be a bidding war from potential purchasers. This very rarely is the case however, with the average time on the market in for Bournemouth over the last year being 162 days – that’s over 5 months! Once you have your buyer you are of course overjoyed! Unfortunately this is not the end of the process – and this can often be the most stressful time. Solicitors are instructed, mortgage companies involved and queries get raised. This can take around 3 months to get to exchange – the point of security and assurance that the sale is going to go through. But no sale is guaranteed, and unfortunately buyers do pull out for various reasons and chains collapse. I am really sorry that you feel we have not matched your expectations in the sale of your property Duncan. We have discussed in private about how hard we worked to secure the sale of your property despite a number of issues including a potential buyer falling through. The 32 viewings we arranged for your property is more than average to get your property sold, but we persisted until the end to secure the sale and price you wanted. You very kindly explained a few areas where we failed to meet your expectations and I would like to thank you for your honest feedback which allows us to further develop and improve our service. Ultimately as agents we can discuss, negotiate, influence and advise but as the vendor you ultimately make the decisions. Despite our regular communication and advice about the unsuitability of the original purchaser, you took the decision to pursue the offer and ultimately the deal fell through. We are delighted we achieved the sale you wanted, but disappointed that we were unable to deliver the service you had expected from us - and of course disappointed that you chose to withhold our agreed commission for the sale of your property despite working extremely hard to get you the sale. We have been open and honest with you throughout the whole process and after investigating your complaint do not believe we have been at fault at any stage. I have given you the relevant details should you wish to pursue your complaint, and you are welcome to contact me should you need to discuss this any further.