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?

@Homemadearmy

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.

All good ideas I didnt think of! It crossed my mind to make a thread but I thought it would be a waste of phone battery

Realistically no 'outcome' will happen if I do complain. Nothing will happen. He wont be trained to show concern/sympathy instead of laughing and they won't get an electrician on calls for sundays. The meter wasnt dead anyway so someone could have come out.

An electrician can’t do anything to do with an electric meter anyway that would need to be the arranged by your electricity supplier.
All suppliers should have an emergency out of hours number.
I think the problem here is your letting agents are useless but they couldn’t have resolved this anyway

Well you can complain if you want to but in my experience it will be a complete waste of time.
Lettings agencies are fab at the glossy brochures and catchy slogans not so good at actually doing anything. For example Dd was left for three weeks without heating or hot water over Christmas due to a dodgy boiler.
Might be better trying to set up a list of decent agents, it won’t take long.

@ForTheLoveOfWine

An electrician can’t do anything to do with an electric meter anyway that would need to be the arranged by your electricity supplier. All suppliers should have an emergency out of hours number. I think the problem here is your letting agents are useless but they couldn’t have resolved this anyway

He jumped to the conclusion the meter was out but it wasn't. Just asked me to check the switches were up and said sounds like your meter has died, we cant help. I think it was a way to wriggle out of coming tbh and wash their hands of it.

But was the fault with the house's wiring or the public electricity distribution network? If UK Power Networks fixed it, that would imply it was the latter.

@malmi

But was the fault with the house's wiring or the public electricity distribution network? If UK Power Networks fixed it, that would imply it was the latter.

All I'm saying (probably compounded by previously shitty service) is that he shouldn't have just laughed and maybe done the calls for me knowing I was stuck with draining battery. That's what I would do. I was left in the lurch. If my battery died I'd have to get a bus to my DMs with laptop and heavy bags and walk 15mins with no warning, just turn up. I just feel they could have handled it better. My dad is a letting/estate agent and that's what he would have done

At the end of the day do people think that leaving people indefinitely without heating or electric (and laughing about it) is worth complaining about, given their previous history?

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/complaints_about_letting_agents

[quote Timeandtune]england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/complaints_about_letting_agents[/quote]
Thank you. I'm not really sure a complaint will get me anywhere and just flag me as a nuisance instead I'll hopefully be our in 12-18mths to buy. I have a big ish deposit 20% but hoping to grow it as am in the se and it's all expensive and income as a single person is a factor with lending as lenders want more deposit.