Pillar Properties Avis 87

If I could give 0 stars I would

Saw a property yesterday which I was very interested in, asked to see the contract before handing over a deposit, I asked for a day to look over the contracts.

I phoned the guy that showed me round called Sam Giza, I wanted to ask a few questions about the contract including asking if the property has a licence to be a HMO, What is the definition of "the Property" it should be just the room that I am responsible for and a lot of other things were a bit strange with the contract that I wanted to clear up.

I was then rudely interrupted while asking these questions with “do you even want to rent this property”

I really liked the property and wanted to put a deposit down that day after all the questions were cleared up but after that rude comment I wouldn’t want to live in a house managed by a company like this.

Very bad, do not rent from them. They are rude, provide poor service, charge you for unnecessary cleaning and are very bitter when you move on so charge you £50 to provide reference. Stear clear of them, You've been warned!

Avoid this agency!!

During my tennancy:
-Painter provided access to my room without informing me and unsupervised. They caused damage to my room and did not clean up the mess they made
-Over Charged rent- dont trust the figures they give you
- Nasty/ bullying property manager
-poorly renovated property which continuously required maintenance
-misleading contracts (my legal advice also said the same)
-don't believe any pressure they put on you to sign lease- they tell everyone they have other perspective tennants yet most rooms are empty for months
-hidden fees
-general rudeness from very young inexperienced staff
-Pillar regularly visited without informing tennants and often left without locking house

Nice a good agency!!
For me, it's the first good agenty.
Very friendly and they response immediately on the email.
Thank you, guy's! 👏

I live next door to a property they run, the tenants have moved out every other month as the workmanship is shoddy, they do not do anything about issues, and the floors rise, terrible, lots of money for a room!!! They say they will help with problems but do not!!!!I have visited the tenants many times in 2 years! Nothing has ever been done its all about taking your money for a cheap looking property!!!

The reasons why it was an awful experience are
1.Huge number of hidden fees which they didn't tell me when viewing the room and/or signing off the contract but they revelead them after some days I was in and then I couldn't step back
2. Check out fees not disclosed before I moved in and they stole that from my deposit at the end of tenancy(£40). This is NOT due.I raised a dispute with Deposit Authority and it was successful and the pillar properties returned to me £40.
3. After leaving they ordered me to forward my details in one day time to get deposit back. Failed to do so they would have released my deposit to “charity”
4. Their intrusion in my room without notice and not an emergency. I would expect them to pay to me for breaching this rule but they said just "sorry". I raised a complain with PRS(Authority they are member of) and they said "sorry" is enough. Unbelievable!
5. Theft of 50 pounds following that intrusion(it appears evident that they stole it). I made report at Police station (43170069955) but unfortunately it didn't go nowhere as no CCTV in the room or bank statement.Police anyway investigated pillar properties as they were appointed suspect criminals
6. They kept me under pressure to realize if I was in the room(to make a new intrusion) by sending email and calling me
7. Full range of proofs provided to early terminate the contract but they refused to let me go
8. Multiple wrong monthly rental calculations and I had to stop it with waste of time and resource
9. Fridge and freezer plenty of food belonging to tenants who had already left and then no room for my stuff and asked me £100 to free up space
10. They failed to display the presence of fire extinguisher in the house and house itself was not built in a proper way
11. They left me three days without heating in winter
12. The house and my room was not safety and calm(in the very dangerous area of Oxford road)
13. The agency is running business without an office so it is no possible to meet them and then claim/complain
14 No fire extinguisher and moreover fume evacuation was towards my room window
15 pillar properties does not have office address and its manager writes from an hidden email address
16 pillar properties refused to issue a correct invoice for the month May2017

Following my complaint, Reading Council forced pillar properties to stick their fees onto their websites as they had hidden these fees and they complied.
Please read below the fees which they did not reveal to me initially

TENANCY FEES (TARIFF OF CHARGES)
Cost Description Information
£350.00 Holding fee Per property which is then deducted from the balance of money payable (e.g. Rent) 48 hours prior to the tenancy commencing
6 Weeks Security Deposit In most cases this is equal to one and a half months’ rent.
£350.00 Sole Admin Fee
Inclusive of VAT (per property) which includes one tenant reference. (These fees include immigration and visa confirmation,
financial credit checks, obtaining reference from current or previous employer, previous or existing landlord. Contribution
towards the setting up of the tenancy and the compilation and exchanging of the tenancy agreement)
£100.00 Additional person
Inclusive of VAT (per property) for an additional tenant. (These fees include immigration and visa confirmation, financial credit
checks, obtaining reference from current or previous employer, previous or existing landlord. Contribution towards the setting
up of the tenancy and the compilation and exchanging of the tenancy agreement)
£100.00 Deposit & Check-in Inclusive of VAT. Single tenant deposit registration fee payable within the balance owed before move-in. Check-in after 5 days
of initial reservation made and to meet at the property on the day of move-in.
£120.00 Deposit & Check-in Inclusive of VAT. Single tenant deposit registration fee payable within the balance owed before move-in. Check-in within 5 days
of initial reservation made and to meet at the property on the day of move-in.
£150.00 Deposit & Check-in Inclusive of VAT. Single tenant deposit registration fee payable within the balance owed before move-in. Check-in on a
Saturday and to meet at the property on the day of move-in.
£99.00 Guarantor Fee
Inclusive of VAT (per property) which includes one UK based Guarantor reference. (These fees include immigration and visa
confirmation, financial credit checks, obtaining reference from current or previous employer, previous or existing landlord.
Contribution towards the setting up of the tenancy and the compilation and exchanging of the tenancy agreement)
£36.00 3 Month Renewal Inclusive of VAT. Renewal of the Fixed Term Assured Shorthand Tenancy Agreement for 3 months’
£60.00 6 Month Renewal Inclusive of VAT. Renewal of the Fixed Term Assured Shorthand Tenancy Agreement for 6 months’
£120.00 12 Month Renewal Inclusive of VAT. Renewal of the Fixed Term Assured Shorthand Tenancy Agreement for 12 months’
£15.00 Late Rent/Arrears
Letter
Inclusive of VAT. If you fail to pay your rent on time or you fall into arrears with your rental payments then we are obliged to
send reminder letter and or emails to you.
£210.00 Early Termination
Fee
Inclusive of VAT. Leaving the property before the end of the fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement regardless of
the 2 months’ notice period being given.
£100.00 Misuse of Property Inclusive of VAT. If maintenance has to be carried out die to the misuse or neglect by the tenant or there is a misuse of the
emergency call out service.
£60.00 Locked out
(In Office hours) Inclusive of VAT. For us to attend the property and let you in (Only during office hours 09:00 - 17:30)
£120.00 Locked out
(Out of hours) Inclusive of VAT. For us to attend the property and let you in (After 17:30 and before 09:00)
£60.00 Lost Keys Inclusive of VAT. If you lose any keys, then the locks will have to be replaced. The above charge is payable plus the cost of the
new locks & keys. Please note: If you lose your keys and we have to let you in then the ‘Locked out’ Charges will also apply.
£120.00 Moving of
Furniture
Inclusive of VAT. Moving of furniture not located as per the inventory. Cost may vary depending on the number of items
needing to be moved.
£160.00 Removal / Disposal Inclusive of VAT. Removal and or disposal of tenants’ personal belongings after the tenancy has ended. Costs may vary
depending on the number of items needing to be removed.
£36.00 Additional
Paperwork
Inclusive of VAT. Additional Inventory or Contract required because of lost paperwork. This charge may apply to other
paperwork needing to be provided.
£60.00 Failure to provide
access Inclusive of VAT. Failure to provide access (24 hours notice agreed) to the property for a routine visit.
£40.00 Check-out Fee Inclusive of VAT. This fee is payable for checking the inventory on expiry of the tenancy. This fee will be deducted from the
tenancy deposit.
£36.00 Post reference Inclusive of VAT. This fee is payable by bank transfer before the ‘Post Tenancy Reference’ is sent.
£140.00 Failure to
check-out
Inclusive of VAT. Failure to check-out of the property on the confirmed time and date (Unless notice is given 48 hours
beforehand)
£120.00 Retracting Notice Inclusive of VAT. Application to retract your tenancy notice.

I can supply full range of proof in regards of what stated here