Select Estate Agents - www.select-estates.co.uk

My brother passed away and I have been trying in vain for the last two months to retrieve the deposit from this estate agents. I am now ready to go down there and refuse to leave the office till they speak to me - no reponses to emails/telephone calls at all. Horrific.

I cannot stress enough to avoid these agents like the plague.

I appointed them as full management agents on a let property, and the worst case scenario has happened.

The tenant caused damage to the ceiling by obviously putting their foot through by going up into the loft when they shouldn't have, fabricated a story about it being water damage, has caused further damage by pouring water around the hole. This agent not only tried to imply that I had to arrange repair of the damage at my expense, but they failed to arrange proper contractors to assess despite my asking for my own insurances purposes. Sensing the problem coming, and that I would obviously raise a claim with the DPS to deduct from the deposit if I had to arrange repairs, Select withheld the rent from me, even though the tenant has paid them!!

Not only that, but they failed to arrange the Gas Safety Certificate when it expired, leaving me legally vulnerable.

Furthermore when I fired them, they have refused to hand over the keys they're holding, blatantly lying by denying that I gave them a set to hold in the first place, so now I have to have the locks changed too obviously. More expense.

Despite being signed up to the Ombudsmen when I appointed them in August (I checked at the time), they no longer are, and I'm having to being a Small Claim against them.

Cowboys!

Avoid them at all costs.