Tell me not to complain!

[Sparklfairy]

Ok I'm not going to complain probably but my letting agents are shit.

They took 8 months to sort out my front door which wasnt fire safe, 2 months to fix a leak in my bathroom, 2 months to fix my oven door so I couldn't use it etc. The individual agent I deal with is lovely but things take SO long.

Yesterday my electric went (at 3am). I thought it was a power cut at first but then realised the street lamps were on outside and had other wifis listed on my phone so it couldn't be that. My meter is up high and poky so have to stand on a dodgy stool but checked the fuses (with a torch and trying not to break my neck) and all the switches were up.

There is another fuse box outside but I couldn't open the door and had to ask a strong neighbour to help me. All the switches were up.

Rang the emergency letting agent line and he said he didnt have electricians on call on sundays gave me some things to try (which I had) and said the meter sounded like it had died so he couldn't do anything anyway. Suggested I call the supplier which I thought was british gas (who I have my electric with) and he said no, edf had installed it and owned it. All the numbers for edf and bg were 9-5 mon to fri and short hours on Saturday.

My battery was dying so I rang him back in desperation saying I had no heating, couldn't have a bath, couldn't boil a kettle etc. He laughed! He suggested the emergency GAS line and ask to be put through to electric.

Duly did this, and she said I was told wrong, that I should ring british gas. I ended up finding a number for UK power networks as couldn't get through to bg on a sunday. They came out within an hour and fixed it.

Aibu to think this is really poor service? I couldn't work, my phone was dying and I was running out of options. And to laugh at my predicament was really annoying as I'd have no battery the next day to call the agent.

I want to complain but they'd just fob me off with a 'sorry not sorry' but if your gas goes, they provide heaters but i have no gas here. It just seems really shoddy so I'm venting here. Aibu?

God, that sounds awful. I do think you should complain though. They are getting paid by the LL to provide these services and you are paying for the privilege

@SimplyMarvellousDarrrrrrling

God, that sounds awful. I do think you should complain though. They are getting paid by the LL to provide these services and you are paying for the privilege

That was my line of thinking but my DM just kind of hmmed and said you wouldn't get anywhere complaining. The panic really set in after half a dozen phone calls getting nowhere and my battery rapidly dying and no way to charge it. I was making plans to get my DM to drive over and pick me up just to biy time to charge my phone to try and get it sorted, when UK power networks saved the day!

Yanbu, at all. Imagine if your phone battery had died before you’d got through to the right people. Completely unacceptable.

@ProseccoStormfront

Yanbu, at all. Imagine if your phone battery had died before you’d got through to the right people. Completely unacceptable.

Precisely this. Can you take it to someone higher?, there must be a governing body. I'm quite angry on your behalf, you should feel safe and secure in your home

My DM made a good point that really it was him that should be ringing those places if he couldn't directly help and knowing my battery was draining. But nope, he just laughed instead and left me to it. Gave me basic advice which obviously I would already had tried (check the boxes) and then the wrong advice about who was responsible for the meter. He wouldn't even check if it was the meter, he was about 30 miles away so it feels like he just couldnt be bothered tbh

You should definitely complain in my opinion! There is no way that you should be without electricity, and if you are, and the agent doesn't have an emergency electrician on call, they should damn well get one! Honestly OP I'm fuming you your behalf! If this ever happens again, I'd call an emergency electrician myself, pay him the call out fee, and then deduct it from your rent. I hope you took the name of the guy who had the cheek to laugh at you?

@Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

You should definitely complain in my opinion! There is no way that you should be without electricity, and if you are, and the agent doesn't have an emergency electrician on call, they should damn well get one! Honestly OP I'm fuming you your behalf! If this ever happens again, I'd call an emergency electrician myself, pay him the call out fee, and then deduct it from your rent. I hope you took the name of the guy who had the cheek to laugh at you?

Yes I took his name. I was friendly and polite but the laugh just enraged me. Bet he wouldn't be without electricity with a dying battery and no way beyond that to get help! I'm really not sure you're allowed to pay someone else and deduct it from your rent though, that's why I didnt do that

A landline should work if your electricity is off

This does not include voice over IP landlines

Lots of people don’t have landlines nowadays though.

@D1sh0ftheweekend4

A landline should work if your electricity is off

This does not include voice over IP landlines

I have a LL number but no actual LL phone

“ I'm really not sure you're allowed to pay someone else and deduct it from your rent though, that's why I didnt do that confused”

Yeah this is terrible advice. You can do this but only in very particular circumstances and there is a chain of events you must have gone through before doing this as a last resort. Otherwise you leave yourself vulnerable to eviction due to non payment of rent. Mumsnet is DREADFUL for legal advice, especially around housing. Never, ever take advice from here, if anything like this happens again, contact Shelter, in fact i’d do this anyway to see what they say about whether it’s worth complaining.

I know not many people don't have LL

However, some comms company's provide one as part of their bundle

Plus its a useful thing to know, if you have one

@D1sh0ftheweekend4

I know not many people don't have LL

However, some comms company's provide one as part of their bundle

Plus its a useful thing to know, if you have one

If I'd thought about it, I possibly could have got my DM to drive over with a LL phone she had dug out, to take the panic/pressure off. The fact remains that surely this was his job? He said he was a building contractor and said feel free to call me back, I'm not doing anything anyway I ended up doing all the work to get it sorted.

Im not sure on the electric thing if you had to have the electric board out? I rent ha and anything to do with the meter is to do with me and electric board ? How do you not know who your supplier is ? Is your electric included in the bill

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

Im not sure on the electric thing if you had to have the electric board out? I rent ha and anything to do with the meter is to do with me and electric board ? How do you not know who your supplier is ? Is your electric included in the bill

I private rent. I pay my electric through british gas (just electric). I dont get gas in my property. I was confused when he said that it wasnt his problem if the meter was dead as edf installed it and I had to speak to them but he or his contractors couldnt touch it

In the end I called UK power network and they were straight out even though there was no record of an outage or problem so I assume it was a cover up by the agent or trying to squirm out of helping.

Do you have contact details for your actual landlord?

I would let them know how poor the agent is. If they don’t care they’ll ignore it, but if they don’t know it may prompt them to get more involved or get a better agentx

@JustLyra

Do you have contact details for your actual landlord?

I would let them know how poor the agent is. If they don’t care they’ll ignore it, but if they don’t know it may prompt them to get more involved or get a better agentx

Erm I have an address and phone number but not an email. They have something like 100 properties and live in Spain, I dont think they'd care about one lone female 'having a strop' about being without power for one day and the problem is resolved

I think the issue is the agent should have an electrician on call on sundays, and not to have the person I'm put through to laugh at me I'm just not sure what to do now

I know this doesn’t help you OP but stuff like this winds me up- why can’t the landlords take responsibility for running the properties themselves, and run them properly. I’m an owner occupier and even I can see how much some tenants get badly treated.

The private renting sector needs far better regulation.

I sometimes wish I could win the lottery just so I could run business in an ethical manner !

@Sparklfairy

It’s not just a strop over electric though...

They took 8 months to sort out my front door which wasnt fire safe, 2 months to fix a leak in my bathroom, 2 months to fix my oven door so I couldn't use it etc.

It’s a multitude of issues. Including some rust are safety related and some (the leak) that could do long term damage to the property

Letting agents are absolute twats

If your meter is dead it is nothing to do with the landlord and getting a electrician out wouldn't have helped. If It's a problem with the meter or power to the meter, then the electric board needs to attend.
Yes he shouldn't have laughed at you it was rude. Couldn't your mother have phoned the electric board for you.

I'm a landlord (don't kill me!).

I have my flat that I lived in for years before i met DH. I pay for management as I have a family ft job etc. It costs a bomb.

When I started renting it out I was horrified that essentially they were double charging for checks etc. It's a shonky business that seems poorly regulated.

Anyway.

'My battery was dying so I rang him back in desperation saying I had no heating, couldn't have a bath, couldn't boil a kettle etc. He laughed! He suggested the emergency GAS line and ask to be put through to electric.'

Laughing is in your face bastard. Complain.

Getting people out on a Sunday etc is a sod. Yes they should have been doing it but also, I mean neither of you were going to have much luck. Gas and electricity companies are useless too. A management company won't be able to get them out quick any more than me or my mum or the rich people a few miles away.

I'm surprised they were answering at 3am on a Sunday night TBH.

'They took 8 months to sort out my front door which wasnt fire safe, 2 months to fix a leak in my bathroom, 2 months to fix my oven door so I couldn't use it etc'

This is all shite.

I think write an email to ? high up.

Attitude of bloke.
Door and those other issues.
Say your main contact is nice but you're not happy.

Don't let it drop.

I used to be told not to make a fuss but now I know that the people who do get what they want.

Also. What do you want? An apology? Cash? Something else? If you complain and they say sorry then... I mean a lot of effort for not much.

I really think most people would struggle to get an electrician out at 3am on a Sunday though so that bit is U.

Also not sure that getting a neighbour (at 3am? or have I misunderstood) to force a fusebox open was the best of ideas.

I'm assuming this didn't all happen at 3am on the Sunday. By the way.

I would write a letter of complaint and state that your landlord will be receiving a copy. Your landlord may or may not care, but it should at least (hopefully!) prompt the agent to do their job if they think they're under scrutiny and an issue with performance has been flagged to the person paying the bills.

I'm surprised they were answering at 3am on a Sunday night TBH.

Oh I didnt call at 3. I thought it was a power cut, when I realised it wasnt, checked the fuses box inside my flat. Tried twice to open the fuse box outside my flat before waiting till about 11am to knock on my neighbour. It was really stiff and high up and hes taller and stronger than me and even he struggled. I rang the agent emergency line after that. I waited as long as I could, and tried everything I could, as I hate dealing with them and was pushed by my dying battery.

I dont want anything really, except maybe an on call electrician on sundays so pretty sure any complaint filed would go under the 'she's just moaning' category.