“Absolutely terrible. Avoid at all costs. Rude......”
1 Star Review
Jul 23,2020
By:
'Kyle'
Jul 23,2020
Branch: Hove, 27 Western Road
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: BN1
Branch: Hove, 27 Western Road
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Postcode: BN1
5
people found
this helpful
Absolutely terrible. Avoid at all costs. Rude, unprofessional, inconsiderate of tenants.
I should have run away from the warning signs when I first visited the NGB Office in Brighton. The office is very slick and professional looking, but it's a Potemkin Village trying to establish an image of professionalism, as opposed to actually acting like a decent business.
When I waited to sign a contract, in a mere hour in the lobby, I witnessed multiple irate people in the office (students, parents of students) march into the office and demand refunds, recompense for wrongs, and complain that NGB Lettings have been avoiding/ignoring their calls and emails. In particular, Abs had clearly been unapologetically avoiding an unhappy client, but from the reviews, it appears that most/all NGB Lettings agents do this.
My place was old but okay for the most part, although after moving in, I learned that the couch felt like cement. When I moved out, they tried to add a bunch of deductions to my bill. In particular, they tried to charge me for repairs to bedding that I purchased myself, a toilet they claimed had a broken flush (if my toilet's flush had not been working, I definitely would have noticed!), as well as mould in the house. I had only lived in the apartment for 5-6 months, so I was dubious that the mould was my responsibility. Since they tried to charge me for bedding that wasn't mine, I suspected that they were just tacking on charges after I moved out. I asked for photographic evidence that the mould appeared in the six months when I had lived there. NGB backed down after that, although they still charged an exhorbitant £195 cleaning fee.
It took over 100 days to get my security deposit back. I called or emailed NGB Lettings at least 50 times to try go get my money refunded. Terry in particular is a habitual liar. Since I moved out, he told me that my money would be refunded quickly, sometimes in a "few days." I would ask Terry to write me or call me back before the end of the day for an update, and he'd promise he'd respond. He never did, and secretaries at the office run interference for him when you try to track him down. Even Samantha at accounts would not respond to multiple emails from myself and the office asking for an update on a transaction that should not have taken near over 100 days. Occasionally, NGB Lettings would blame COVID-19 for the delay. Regardless, >100 days to return a security depost is completely unacceptable. Even if COVID-19 had created severe disruptions to their business (and in this case, it did not), a decent and professional agency would keep their customers informed about the situation and assure them that their transactions will be processed swiftly.
This behavior was problematic to me, since I learned that the deposit protection only lasts for 90 days after you move out. I'm kind of shocked that I eventually got my money back after that threshold. Anyhow, if anybody is reading this, keep that in mind if you have a landlord that is stalling returning a security deposit.
As a small additional point, when I was moving out, the agents would show up unnanounced to my place for showings. I didn't mind that much, but it's just another sign of unprofessionalism and a lack of regard for tenants.
I'm probably forgetting a bunch of stuff, but the important point here is that NGB Lettings - and most of the people who work there - is awful, and you should avoid them if you can.
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