Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

AIBU another estate agent thing.

25 replies

lolaflores · 18/07/2016 18:28

Have just rented a new place. EA made more than one cock up, like not informing us that washing machine, fridge were not included. We have had to buy our own. Asked for dimenstions for fridge, did not reply until day before we moved in.
Loved the house, sent a stern text, apologies all round. Rings me on the day we move in, "Do you drink Lola?"
"No" says I.
"Not to worry, see you in a bit"
20 mins later she turns up with 4 bottles of expensive red wine for DH (who did not have any contact with her) and a little, plastic bottle of ginger ale for me.
I did all the ringing, viewing, sorting out appliances she'd forgotten to tell us about.
What do you make of that? Bitchy or stupid or both.

OP posts:

newtscamander · 18/07/2016 18:29

You were lucky to get anything

19lottie82 · 18/07/2016 18:41

In fairness you should have checked if the white goods were included. Did you not sign off an inventory before signing the lease?

honeysucklejasmine · 18/07/2016 18:46

Sounds like she panicked when she found out you don't drink, having already bought the wine.

Bettybooop25 · 18/07/2016 18:51

I agree with newtscamander

Original poster

lolaflores · 18/07/2016 18:52

Every other property she told me what came with, I noticed it when I was going back through the details but had said yes. only house I'd seen that I liked.
I didn't expect her to buy anything and if she was I didn't expect 4 bottles of wine, even if it was meant for both of us. The little bottle of ginger ale was a bit odd

OP posts:

PersianCatLady · 19/07/2016 00:06

Every other property she told me what came with, I noticed it when I was going back through the details but had said yes. only house I'd seen that I liked.
Sorry I'm confused did she specifically tell you that the property came complete with white goods?

whatamockerywemake · 19/07/2016 00:41

does she want in his pants?

VioletBam · 19/07/2016 00:44

I think yabu. It's your job to make sure these things are included or not. I wouldn't be sending "stern texts" over something like this. How rude.

trafalgargal · 19/07/2016 06:21

They probably had wine in the office for client gifts . I've worked in places where suppliers would send a case of wine at Christmas and it would get recycled to clients when things needed smoothing over through the year.

MsJamieFraser · 19/07/2016 06:43

Your not making any sense, it doesn't matter what every other property came with, because the property you choose wasn't every other property.

I don't see anything wrong with the wine, or the ginger beer, most people unknown get a bottle of something when they move into a property

My aunt even bought me a bottle of washing up liquid needed it as well

HairyMoose · 19/07/2016 07:09

I'm had this when I previously rented. Although had zero money so couldn't afford to buy a fridge nor washing machine. The chest of drawers that were built in were broken and the landlord refused to fix them. Luckily a kind colleague gave us his old fridge a month later. But we lived there for a year and a half. My DP was ill so couldn't work and I earned enough just to cover bills and rent which was only 500 pounds as this was a downsize property as we couldn't afford more. The council wouldn't help my DP at all as I was working full time. We only at 10 pounds a week for food and enough for bills and petrol. We couldn't even afford the local laundromat as it was 20 pounds a time . The council gave us a food bank stamp once a month. It was awful. The agent even said it came with everything but the landlord was a complete bitch and took everything. Left us with damp peeling walls and a ceiling that eventually cave in! She shouted at us if we did cut a creeper on the top of the gazebo. We had to climb on top to cut it. I was working two jobs. My DP was very ill. The shower smelt of garlic. The boiler stopped working in the middle of winter and it took a month for get to get it fixed. So no hot water or beating at all. It was pure hell. We put notice in and moved countries and now live in absolute luxury! Never ever again!!! Renting is pure and utter hell!

HairyMoose · 19/07/2016 07:10

Sorry about the typos. Rushing to get ready for work!!

PersianCatLady · 19/07/2016 11:55

Most landlords nowadays are advised that they are best off not providing white goods for tenants.

If white goods are provided in a property, say because the landlord used to live there themselves, they are usually advised to include a clause in the tenancy agreement to the effect that if the white goods go wrong they will not be repaired or replaced.

Original poster

lolaflores · 19/07/2016 13:12

Tell you what. the thing was we all got over the white goods issue what surprised me was 4 bottles of wine for my DH. That was the bit that made me raise my eyebrows. I didn't expect anything from her, of any description but she went out of her way to buy 4 bottles. Perhaps I shouldn't have included the bit about the white goods.

OP posts:

whois · 19/07/2016 13:15

Most landlords nowadays are advised that they are best off not providing white goods for tenants

Why the change?

Farfromtheusual · 19/07/2016 13:24

Maybe bought the wine as a bit of a 'sorry for the confusion over the white goods' type thing, and happy house warming? Then when she found out you didn't drink, just said it was for your DH instead. The ginger ale is a bit odd though, I would of gone for chocolates if someone didn't drink.

I had loads of issues when I moved in to my new place (leaking shower, hole in kitchen ceiling due to said leak, crap left behind, massively over grown garden, FILTHY oven, window leaking, the list goes on) and not all of these issues have been sorted yet and we have been her over 2 months now. Not so much as a sorry from EA, we literally have to email them every day to get anything sorted.

So I think the gesture is nice.

PersianCatLady · 19/07/2016 13:36

Why the change?
I think it is because they are more trouble than they are worth. Where I live on the south coast there are far more prospective tenants than flats to rent that there is no need for the landlord to provide white goods just to attract tenants.

Also the landlord has to ensure that any electrical equipment provided is safe and then there is the issue with white goods breaking down and tenants expecting them to be repaired or replaced.

If you are a landlord why would you bother with the hassle when you can just let the tenant bring their own white goods.

FuzzyOwl · 19/07/2016 13:39

The wine was almost certainly already bought to be given to clients as an apology or celebration (if they were buying somewhere expensive). She wouldn't have gone out especially but she probably did for your ginger ale.

So if I am reading this thread correctly, you are annoyed that as a couple you were given five bottles of drink? Could you not just try being grateful?!

Original poster

lolaflores · 19/07/2016 14:29

I didn't want anything nor had I expected anything. She asked if I drank, then bought 4 bottles of wine for one partner to drink. She then spent 20 minutes telling us how much it all cost, what grapes they were and so on, till it felt like a wine tasting party that you didnt want to be at.
"Oh, You don;t drink Lola though do you? Sure you DH will make short work of this lot"

OP posts:

bumsexatthebingo · 19/07/2016 14:34

I agree that the wine must have already been bought and the ginger ale was a last minute buy when she found out you don't drink. It sounds like you assumed about the white goods so your error really.
whatamockerywemake your post has made my day though

Bails2014 · 19/07/2016 14:40

Did you ask if white goods were included?

She may have forgotten to mention it, but then neither did you ask. Indeed you found our before you moved into the property, crisis averted.

AO do next day delivery so white goods are pretty easy to come by these days.

I would be very grateful for the four bottles of wine!

Original poster

lolaflores · 19/07/2016 15:01

How can I be grateful for 4 bottles of something I don't drink which she double checked about me not drinking but bringing it anyway?
Got the white goods. Not end of the world. Should have checked, my fault will accept that.

OP posts:

FuzzyOwl · 19/07/2016 16:14

Well you wanted to know if she was being bitchy, stupid or both. I think she was just trying to be nice and YABU to think it was an issue that warrants this amount of a childish strop when you have already said you didn't want or expect anything. Why on earth did you start the thread, especially since you say it had nothing to do with the white goods and is all about the free bottles of wine and ginger ale? What response did you expect?

Original poster

lolaflores · 19/07/2016 23:37

Fuzzy It was more a case of why, if you are trying to be nice, bring something that she knew I would not use? The gesture was not the issue, it is about her not really listening to what I said which to me seems as though she wanted to make the big gesture irregardless of whether or not it meant anything.
It felt insincere,

OP posts:

JessieMcJessie · 19/07/2016 23:43

An insincere estate agent? Well I never!

Flip