Letting agent reviews for
Winkworth, New Cross
Average agency Rating: 1
★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Number of times reviewed: 1
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Winkworth, Deptford
Reviewed 18 August 2019
★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
First thing on Monday I presented to Winkworth’s office with an extensive list of issues that required fixing. They acted sympathetic and promised to get everything sorted but it took the best part of a month before all of the issues were resolved (at least they agreed to replace the bed and have the place fumigated as soon as possible!)
Sadly, this experience set the tone for the rest of the tenancy and we experienced various issues throughout our stay. Mould quickly built up around the windows despite them being left open (it did not help that the seals on the double glazing had perished on nearly every single window, thus allowing damp to accumulate in and around them). Winkworth were quick to blame us for this but on closer inspection I found evidence that mould had been present in the property for a while and the previous tenant (or Winkworth) had simply painted over it. The heating system was an electric boiler which, aside from being highly inefficient and expensive, broken down every few weeks – the landlord refused to replace it and instead had every single part of it replaced using second-had parts (sadly this made for a lot of cold showers in the winter). One month after moving in, the wall-mounted shelves that the landlord had provided fell off the wall, destroying everything that was on or under them. The agents were quick to send the repairman out on this occasion to remove them and fix the holes they had left in the wall and, on inspection, he asserted that these were ‘not weight-bearing shelves’ as the wall was too soft to support such weight.
Eventually the landlord tired of having to pay for these various repairs and, cleverly, told the agents that repairs could only be carried out with his permission and then began ignoring their attempts to contact him.
When I finally left the property I had to spend 6 weeks arguing with Winkworth regarding the deposit. It was 14 days before they eventually replied to my enquires – I pointed out that at this point they were legally obligated to return my deposit without deductions but apparently they were unfamiliar with basic tenancy law. They demanded to know where the aforementioned, non-weight bearing shelves were – they had no record of them falling down and demanded I pay for them. They demanded to know where all the broken furniture from the storage spaces were – again, they had no record of agreeing to remove them as they were clearly beyond repair. They then insisted that the property, having now been empty for 3 weeks since I left, had become dusty and needed a full professional clean which I should pay for. Eventually, following the exchange of some very loud words and threats of litigation, they backed down and returned my deposit in full.
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Sadly, this experience set the tone for the rest of the tenancy and we experienced various issues throughout our stay. Mould quickly built up around the windows despite them being left open (it did not help that the seals on the double glazing had perished on nearly every single window, thus allowing damp to accumulate in and around them). Winkworth were quick to blame us for this but on closer inspection I found evidence that mould had been present in the property for a while and the previous tenant (or Winkworth) had simply painted over it. The heating system was an electric boiler which, aside from being highly inefficient and expensive, broken down every few weeks – the landlord refused to replace it and instead had every single part of it replaced using second-had parts (sadly this made for a lot of cold showers in the winter). One month after moving in, the wall-mounted shelves that the landlord had provided fell off the wall, destroying everything that was on or under them. The agents were quick to send the repairman out on this occasion to remove them and fix the holes they had left in the wall and, on inspection, he asserted that these were ‘not weight-bearing shelves’ as the wall was too soft to support such weight.
Eventually the landlord tired of having to pay for these various repairs and, cleverly, told the agents that repairs could only be carried out with his permission and then began ignoring their attempts to contact him.
When I finally left the property I had to spend 6 weeks arguing with Winkworth regarding the deposit. It was 14 days before they eventually replied to my enquires – I pointed out that at this point they were legally obligated to return my deposit without deductions but apparently they were unfamiliar with basic tenancy law. They demanded to know where the aforementioned, non-weight bearing shelves were – they had no record of them falling down and demanded I pay for them. They demanded to know where all the broken furniture from the storage spaces were – again, they had no record of agreeing to remove them as they were clearly beyond repair. They then insisted that the property, having now been empty for 3 weeks since I left, had become dusty and needed a full professional clean which I should pay for. Eventually, following the exchange of some very loud words and threats of litigation, they backed down and returned my deposit in full.
