Letsafe - Whitley Bay

Ben W.

LET'NOT SO'SAFE PLEASE BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY

We were tenants with letsafe for over 8 years, the first few years were plain sailing and we had no problems.

About 5 years into living there is when problems with the property started to arise. Letsafe then sent one of the managers out who then led us to believe that the issues with the damp were our fault and our doing. So another couple years of continually painting/papering over the black mould (Affecting both our physical and mental health's) which we believed was our fault, so we continued to struggle on. We asked for help again several times over a few month window(see phone log photos attached) and were refused help, ignored, told it was our responsibility. Most of the issues were in my daughters bedroom and were caused by lack of brickwork pointing and poor drainage. which environmental health pointed out(excuse the pun). A simple fix in which they neglected to acknowledge and the property quickly fell into disrepair. Now this is why we started pushing Letsafe as my daughters room was getting to a point where we weren't comfortable her sleeping in there.

Our daughter was too embarrassed for years to invite her friends over due to this, even though we tried our hardest and spent a lot trying to maintain and rectify the problems. It was an endless cycle of damp paints, wallpaper, vinyl wall murals and fabric wall murals were hung in the end as it was reoccurring so quickly we were having to bleach her walls every couple of weeks.

At this point we really had nowhere else to turn bar environmental health. When we were visited by environmental health we were reassured it wasn't us that had caused the issues of the dampness to the property. We even forked out for a condensing tumble dryer trying to help the issues or further avoid blame from LETSAFE. (Please see the attached environmental health report in photos)

Once letsafe received notice from environmental health, the real issues started and tensions between agent and tenant rose.

Upon completion of the repairs we'd planned to raise our child in this house regardless of the tension between estate agent and tenant it was OUR HOME.

We received notice that the rent was being raised to an unreasonable amount thus pretty much forcing us to pay their demands or move out. We refused to sign any new tenancy due to the unreasonable request put on us, 6 weeks later with no further discussion or negotiation about rent we received a section 21 notice, their reason was to sell the property. This notice served at end of August to be out by October.

We did manage to find new living arrangements fortunately, as they enforced this eviction trying to put a family on the streets just before Christmas. The house then remained empty for 4 - 5 months and now is being rented again. (NOT SOLD)

Despite putting thousands of pounds over the years into their dilapidated property. LET'NOTSO'SAFE used every trick in the book to keep hold of nearly £900 of our bond. Please BEWARE potential sellers buyers and renters.

Upon leaving we left a new functional double wardrobe at the property believing it would be a nice start for any new potential tenant as it wasn't going to fit into our now downsized property. We were then charged £160 for its removal. Now it is still in the property to this day as we know the new tenant and our neighbours very well(Small world I know) daughters school friend moved in. They've been advised thoroughly.

They also tried to palm off the council tax bill to us for the period the property was vacant from October to March. All was forgotten until we were threatened with enforcement AGAIN. This is the reason for the review 2 Xmas in a row they've tried to throw us under the bus

Under hand tactics by this estate agent if you have an option to use another estate agent I'd recommend it. Please see all info attached with regards to this company. Potential new tenants/owners/sellers to please try elsewhere before using LET'NOTSO'SAFE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Michael O.

Very awful experience with Letsafe.

My house got riddled with moulds and I informed them on THREE occasions and nothing was done about it. I eventually got sick and had to take a sick absence from work for the first time ever as I am also allergic to it. Still nothing was done.

This caused me to terminate my rental contract and I was still fleeced off my deposit afterwards. Let’s safe allegedly spent over £340 to fix a burn mark on the kitchen table. They proceeded to send the ‘my deposits’ form to the wrong address three months after issuing my quit notice which effectively ensured I could not dispute the my deposit.

I thought being that model tenant who never gave them any headaches whatsoever would translate into good services. I was wrong.

And also to mentioned I thoroughly cleaned the house at the end of the tenancy and disinfected it. That house was basically perfect for the next tenant to move in without much work but I still got fleeced.

Landlord’s should actually consider if this is how they want their properties managed. Potential exposures to unnecessary and avoidable legal tussles.

Suad H.

Absolutely awful service. I applied online to book a viewing at a property, they sent me an email giving me a long list of questions asking for all of my details. I responded to this email no more than 2 hours after it was sent to me. I had no response from letsafe for 2 days after that so I emailed them and, again, no response. I called letsafe multiple times about getting a viewing, they did not seem interested in the slightest and didn’t help at all - instead told me I could only apply online. I went to the office as well about booking a viewing and they still continued saying I could only sort it online. Once they eventually emailed me back they said that the property had been taken! This was not communicated to me at all which took time away for me to look at other potential properties. I do not recommend anyone to buy or sell a property under letsafe considering their very unprofessional manner!

Caitlin H.

Good communication for viewing property and immediately following application, however communication dropped. I have emailed twice since applying and heard absolutely nothing back. On other occasions I’ve expressed interest in a property, filled in a long list of questions then heard absolutely nothing back. Terrible service.

summer F.

I travelled 40 minutes for them not even to wait 5
I made an appointment to view a property the same day, I was running late as I was travelling via public transport and rang them up to let them know. I was 5 minutes late to the viewing and nobody was there. I knocked and rang the office only for them to inform me she had moved to her next appointment. I had travelled 40 minutes to this viewing, for them to not even wait 5 minutes even though I gave them notice I was late. If this is indicative of how they treat their tenants do not use them. In future if your agents are going to leave the property you should let the person know who is coming to view it or just wait longer than 5 minutes or just don’t book back to back appointments for your agents.

Karen J.

We’ve used Letsafe for years for our buy to let property. Joanne, Raymond and the team are professional and courteous. Any queries they’re straight back to us keeping us updated on tenants, background check and any maintenance 5*

Spider C.

Your properties are in great hands here! If you are a landlord and looking to get your properties rented out, then these are your guys!
Always great communication and transparency, amazing support and will look after your tenants.
They have been great at finding good tenants for us, not just quickly(within a week) but also reliable and loyal ones.
Very easy to work with and as a landlord I am assured they keep up to date with all the consistently changing policies.
All in all fantastic experience with them, all the staff and great and fun to communicate with.

Pied P.

Extremely rude, obnoxiously run agency. Many years ago I was on their books to find a property. They were initially sounding helpful to find an abode for myself, and my two dogs at the time. After numerous calls from them, with an unbelievable amount of questions and details required, they never found anything at all. So, several years later I had moved back down south and notified them that I was not searching for a unit anymore.
Fast forward many years later I called about an apartment listed on Rightmove.
Lady said on the phone not to call, but send them an email? OK. I then did this. I asked about a few things. Listing shows property oddly with a space for a washing machine, but with a fridge stuffed in place of one. Upon asking if there were plumbing for a washing machine, was told property was not suitable for a washing machine? This was so bizarre because there was space, for one to go where the fridge was, the representative told me there was no space for one?
I received extremely curt, quite rude and blunt one sentence closed answers to all questions. They had no decency to call, and all was conducted by one sentence emails. So very disinterested and unhelpful.
Asked if they would notify me of any properties in the vicinity. No reply.