Shitty email from rental agent

[Whyohsky]

AIBU to be annoyed by this? Have rented our current house for a couple of months now and today I got an email from the agent saying they’d had a complaint from some neighbours about our car being parked on the ‘green’ (crappy grassy area in front of a few of the houses). Firstly, it wasn’t our car! And secondly, how dare they start accusing us of something on the word of an unnamed neighbour? Our landlord hasn’t been in touch, so it’s clearly not an issue they’re aware of (or at all ) but how dare a neighbour go tittle tattling to the people we rent our house through, whether we’d done anything or not?

WWYD? So far I wrote back a one line email saying it wasn’t our car (which is always in the drive) but I’m appalled they’ve taken the word of a local busybody and essentially told me off for something I haven’t done. Even if I had done it, it’s not illegal! For context, it’s a very naice area, lots of retired people round a close and just a couple of families. It’s expensive (£2K/month) and I get the feeling the neighbours look down on us for renting (one came and asked if I was the new tenant when we moved in, very snooty). We’re just a boring family, 2.4 DC, both at work during the day and DC at school/holiday club. It’s really upset me!

@RainySeptember - and you sound really patronising and clueless

KOOL"You're a chippy, antagonistic, drama queen. You are so over the top you might need a space suit!"

Oh,the irony! So OTT i think you have anger issues/relationship issues. Put on your own space suit!

We have a flat that we rent out and I've changed letting agents because they were snotty with me and with the tenant. Their lettings manager was very slow when the tenant had a problem and tried to be very superior with me when I questioned this.
The new agency is much more efficient and friendly to me and to our tenant - which is how it should be unless there prove to be problems.
My daughter has her own flat and has mental health issues. It seems that the managing agent assumes that any problems in the block are down to her, even if they are in a different part of the building. I think it is because she sees her as an easy target and she can tell the complainer that she'd dealt with it.

I'd reply:

Dear agent

Please can you provide evidence of the car being ours, and the law and local rules pertaining to parking on the green.

Thanks and now fuck off
Whyohsky

Did the agent respond to your email? Apologies if I missed, I confess to skim reading the last couple of pages.
There are plenty of retired people ‘keeping an eye’ on us and it’s creepy and disconcerting.
It does. I'd consider moving if an option.

"and you sound really patronising and clueless"

I bet it took you a long time to come up with that incisive witty retort.

I think op would be doing better without you leaping to her defence tbh you sound like a bit of a fool.

OP have you heard anything from the agents?

Rather late op. sorry - BUT so many people on here are completely and totally missing the point! Your agent sounds like a complete numpty. The proper way the agent should have dealt with it is to have "politely enquired" with you, as to whether you were parking your car on the precious "green bit" - and just as you say ABSOLUTELY not just take the word of some nosy neighbour, and write to you - accusing you! That is exceptionally un-professional, and could almost be classed as harrassment. You are his/her client, and he should be there to assist you, not accuse you with a nasty letter, without even sparing the time to check the facts. I do NOT think you are over-reacting, this would upset me terribly. What next? "oooh, the new neighbours forgot to put out their bins?" so another letter? It is an exceptionally poor piece of communication / complaint handling on the part of your so-called "agent" and he ABSOLUTELY should have quietly just enquired with you first. It shows total lack of ability, integrity, professionalism, and reasoning. I would write a very stern letter, asking why (agent) merely took nosy neighbours comments, without EVEN bothering to enquire first, before sending you such an unpleasant letter. And to all you "comfy" posters out there saying OP is over-reacting, just try putting up with that kind of horrible insidious bullying - because that is exactly what it is, both from the "nosy neighbour" and the incapable agent! You have a right to "peaceful enjoyment" of your home. That is what you pay for.
I really urge you to write to the owner/top boss of this "so-called" letting agency, to make a very firm complaint. Good luck, and I totally understand how unsettling this must have been. Poor you! xx

@RainySeptember - I'd rather be a fool than an appeaser who rolls over for other people.

@user1483875094

The OP isn’t the agent’s client, the landlord is. I agree that a phone call to OP would have been better, followed with an email to confirm the conversation.

But the agent has no reason to disbelieve the neighbour, will need a record in case landlord requests it and I can imagine will have an absolutely enormous workload, especially at this time of year - as in quite possibly staying until late at night to make sure everything is done and followed up. Starting an intensive investigation instead of simply passing on a message doesn’t seem very efficient.

And for doing their job, you’d like OP to make their life difficult with a big complaint?

What people often don’t realise is for every tenant thinking an agent is being officious, there’s a landlord at the same time accusing the agents of not managing their tenant properly.

What harm has this done OP, really?

@user1483875094 not the tenants problem.

Harm caused by the agent, that is

I can understand being annoyed with the neighbour, though it’s a small matter in the grand scheme of things unless it’s part of a series of “bullying” incidents

But the agent has no reason to disbelieve the neighbour
Do they have any reason to blindly believe them?

Starting an intensive investigation instead of simply passing on a message doesn’t seem very efficient.
What ' intensive investigation'? user suggests that they should have 'quietly just enquired' about it with the OP. It'd take a couple of minutes to send an email saying 'Can you confirm if this is your car?'

@Darlingnikita

Sorry, you are right - user does only suggest quietly requiring and I agree this would have been better. “Intensive investigation” was a bit dramatic of me.

I always think it’s best to get the full picture before drawing conclusions, but I do also think if I were an agent and a neighbour of the property said to me “OP parks their car on the green” my first thought wouldn’t be that they might be wrong or lying, unless they had form for it.

Always room for improvement and it could be handled better, but I think OP and user’s reaction is disproportionate

Do they have any reason to blindly believe them?

The email doesn't imply that they believe them.

According to OP the email "accuses them" so this is extremely unprofessional behaviour! NO excuse. Just absolutely shitty and extremely unprofessional and very poor behaviour on the part of the " so - called agent" !

@user1483875094 did you read the email the OP posted?

YES! did you?

Yes.

This thread has made me glad that such non issues don’t get me so upset as some! It must be incredibly stressful getting wound up so easily.

Yes, the agent could have been better and called first, perhaps worded the email differently, but I don’t think they’ve actually done anything wrong. Certainly nothing to write a complaint about.

Their job is make sure they’ve followed up anything like this and they must act in the landlord’s interests first and foremost.

user1483875094 I also don’t think the wording was an accusation. The email says that the neighbours had said they had seen the car there and they request that it is parked elsewhere.

I get that it’s annoying but it’s nothing to get too worked up about. If the neighbours persist with erroneous complaints though - yes absolutely something to get concerned about

ccording to OP the email "accuses them" so this is extremely unprofessional behaviour! NO excuse. Just absolutely shitty and extremely unprofessional and very poor behaviour on the part of the " so - called agent

Its the OP's paranoia and weird attitude (and now, yours) that makes you think so, there is nothing at all unprofessional about the email from the agent.
All OP needed to do was reply with "not my car". Problem solved, crisis over. No drama needed.

"All OP needed to do was reply with "not my car". Problem solved, crisis over."

She did that pages and pages ago. I like to think op is currently having a glass of wine and laughing about the whole thing, while people on here continue to froth on her behalf. It must be exhausting to be so angry about something so trivial, that's happening to someone they don't even know on the internet.

I like to think OP's head exploded by the sheer force of her indignation and outrage.

It’s been a good thread though, thanks OP!

There are some very self satisfied and almost "smug" posters on here, making out that the OP is a drama queen. There are also some supporters who totally understand her. To put some balance into it all, (and I have also been included in the "drama - queen scenario" by all the very comfy people who have a lot to say) I do think that those posters supporting the OP as I have done, have possibly all suffered at the hands of pretty awful neighbours, and you cannot imagine how stressful, and exhausting it is. I came out in huge support, because it opened an old wound of mine, from some vile neighbours I endured, (for nearly 15 years) who constantly left passive aggressive notes in my door (strangely enough i OWNED our house) - and they made my life and that of my daughters a complete misery, such that my stomach used to churn, when I drove onto my drive each night. Nobody deserves to have to put up with that kind of stress, which causes anxiety, and ill health! To those of you who were happy to shout me down, I am very glad you have not had to endure that awful feeling, and I hope you don't ever have to. However, I maintain that the agent acted very wrongly, and there are no excuses. Several of you have said the agent is ONLY acting for the landlord, which is rubbish. The agent has enjoyed the fees payed by the tennant, and if the tennant has problems, (with neighbours, or property goods - as she already has) then that is up to the agent to sort out, sop the agent IS responsible for the tennants right to "peaceful enjoyment of their property" and the AGENT failed miserably, because ONE SHORT POLITE telephone call, GETTING THE "ACTUAL FACTS" would have been prudent. So to all of you who are so comfy, and have never had to "dread" driving home to this sort of insidious bullying.... let's hope you never have to, because it violates your home/relief at coming home from work/right to enjoy your peace at home/ peace of mind.

@user1483875094

I’m truly sorry to hear about your situation, it sounds awful. I very much hope OP is in a different situation where they simply have an interfering neighbour with a bee in their bonnet about parking on the green (I have come across many)

I do still disagree with you about the agent. They have a duty of care towards their tenant though, you are right in that respect (although ultimately the landlord IS their client and they must put the landlord’s interest first - they act as agent for the landlord). It would have been better for them to call, yes, but I don’t think they are wrong in emailing per se. It’s that part of your response that I think is a bit disproportionate, and I feel rather sorry for the agent if they were on the receiving end (I expect it’s a thankless task)