Hello,
I would like to start a complaint on New World Accommodation located at 1 Royal College Street in Camden, London. I am an international student visiting London for a short course and I found New World Accommodation through spareroom.co.uk. I contacted them, they showed me couple of pictures of a few flats, which looked really nice and clean. Since I had no way to arrange for a viewing, I trusted the agent cause she was really nice.
I paid the 2 weeks deposit through credit card and transferred the remaining amount of money for the duration of my stay (they said that i would have to pay in full prior to my first day of stay.) Also, since i arrived on a Saturday night, my agent had to ask me for an extra 50 pounds on top of the 150 pounds on the contract. This kind of frustrates me a little, but since my agent was nice to me, I just gave it to her.
Well, upon my arrival in the flat, I was completely disappointed with my room and the condition of the flat! It was not cleaned properly, dirty carpets with lots of stains on it, lots of hairs on the carpets and floors, cheap single mattress, pillows which turned yellow already plus the seems used bedsheets, blankets and pillow covers. And the price for the rent don't come cheap. It's 3 bedrooms flat with only 1 bathroom and it's for 240/wk. Maybe you could justify that because of the location, it's at Edgware Road, zone 1, BUT a few days in London, I have managed to contact other agents whom have shown me flats in zone 1 as well with MUCH MUCH better quality for around 265-285/wk and I'm talking about a studio en suite (meaning bathroom inside) and you do not have to share it with anyone else!
SO, on the fourth day I am in London, I brought into my agent's attention that I would like to ask for a transfer to a better place OR a refund of my money (this means the money i transferred previously which amounts up to 1980pounds). I told them that they could keep my 2 weeks deposit which I have paid through credit card (i mean, surely enough, they could find my replacement in about a week time). I even told them to just refund my money minus whatever cancellation fine they got in there, and I thought I was reasonable enough. And just so you all know, the contract has a "break clause" which states "If the tenant decides to end the contract before the agreed date, the deposit will not be reimbursed to the extent where this is required to cover the losses arising from the unexplored period of the contracted term". For me, this means that NWA should be able to refund my money, while keeping my deposits.
Till now, I have talked and argued with them over the phone and emails a couple of time and I AM SO TIRED of it! I talked to Andrew, their lawyer apparently, and also Ventura who is their general manager. The guy named Ventura was especially rude to me, he actually shouted over the telephone while me still being their client! He insisted that I had already read the terms and agreement and signed the contract and he did not want to hear anything about a refund. He did not even want to try to hear or understand my situation and that was seriously unprofessional!
OH, and my agent actually tried to move me to another flat, it's a studio at 500/wk and guess what, if i agree, then i'd need to set up my water and electricity and wireless internet as they are not included. I am not giving them anymore money! And that was why I decided to ask for a refund cause they couldn't find a flat that match my needs! But now, I just couldn't be bothered anymore cause it's seriously draining my emotions and energy!
Right now, I can't do anything much but spread the words about their unprofessionalism and their seriously disappointing manners in handling this situation. I hope other people especially those who came from overseas, who did not have a chance to arrange for viewings to not fall for their craps and traps. Just spend a little more money staying at a hostel or at somebody u know first and when you have arrived in London, arrange for a viewings, read through the contracts, ask for detailed explanation on the "break clause" and dont let these guys fool you and spoil your stay here! Basically find an agent recommended by friends.
In my opinion, NWA does not care about the satisfaction of their customers/tenants as long as they have received the money. They only care about your money and not your experience, even if this means breaking whatever's in the contract. OH, just one more thing, when I told my agent about this "break clause", she said that I must've misunderstood what it means. I've had enough with them. Definitely not giving them anymore money. JUST BE CAREFUL!!! (There is a thread at tripadvisors.com about NWA complaints as well. i should've checked that thread out before paying them in fulll argh!!!) Oh, and I will continue to spread the words about them and none of them would be good.
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