Considering a rental from Philip James Lettings Didsbury?? BEWARE!!

Considering a rental from Philip James Lettings Didsbury?? BEWARE!!

You should always choose your letting agent with care. My experience with this company has been horrendous. Trying to extort money for "admin" (£150) this was to ring someone to clean a cupboard, although they haven't replied to my letter.

I have now had to issue a County Court summons to try and get my deposit back. They keep relying on tiny clauses in the contract to delay repaying me any money.

Their staff in Didsbury - namely Danielle Beswick and her angry sidekick Nadine Fortune appear to be in control of the illegal withholding of deposits.

The directors seem unwilling or unable to intervene.


This story will continue until we reach trial, or they repay my stolen money.

There is so much more and leaflets are being prepared with the full details. In the meantime, choose you rental with great care.

Students in Manchester are particularly vulnerable to poor practice. If you have had a similar experience with this firm please post comments or contact me.

Here is some advice from shelter:

What if there is a dispute about getting my deposit back?

Your landlord or agent is only entitled to keep all or part of your deposit if they can show that they have lost out financially because of your actions, for example, if you have caused damage to the property or you owe rent. Ask your landlord or agent for a breakdown of the specific costs that they are taking out of your deposit. Your landlord or agent cannot keep your deposit to cover putting right normal wear and tear. There are rules on what costs can be deducted from your deposit.
if you cannot agree, the dispute will usually go to the county court.

re-posted as this is the most viewed post with 163 viewings a month!  I also love the new photo showing what 2 students think of Philip James: PANTS!!

Service charges soar as agents cut commission to the bone

This week, letting agents were slammed by Citizens Advice for ripping off the public and inventing charges as they went along.

Citizens Advice said that the charges, which are levied on top of the agent’s normal commission, are unfair and should be scrapped.

But according to London agent Nigel Bosworth, some agents are cutting their commission to the bone, and making no margin on it at all, in a bid to secure the landlord.

To compensate for this, they have to make up for it elsewhere. Some do so by charging high renewal fees, or for services such as drafting tenancy agreements.

Worst letting agents in Manchester, Didsbury and Stockport

Here are some more of Philip James claims "de-coded" for those of us that don't use estate agent double talk. You know like "handy for the airport" meaning " it's at the bottom of the runway - with 24 hour noise.


Laura Kilbride, 
" a combination of good customer service from us combined with the fear many tenants have of absent landlords. Tenants want to be sure when something goes wrong they’ll be looked after properly" -  Well if good customer service means having to sue them for your deposit back in the Court and being reported to the Police for complaining about it.
“And landlords choosing to have their properties managed by us are happier too –Who says so? Certainly, the landlord of the property I am suing over is hardly likely to be "whooping with delight" at the prospect of appearing in court, over something he has little or no knowledge about is he?


Stay safe out there - The sharks will bite you hard!!

philip james rentals.co.uk

Further proof of the deposit "con" arrived today

Yes folks. the claim by my friends at Philip James Partnership that they are relying on clause 3.12 before repaying my stolen money has taken a further knock today.

The postman brought me a copy of the utility bills that they claim I am withholding. The Gas and Electric company told me they had the originals delivered to their Didsbury office on the 3rd December.
The gas bill shows £91.97 in credit with the electricity £69.93 in credit.

So to clarify, when I signed up with this firm - they took £100 + vat application fee, a further £750.00 deposit and £3800 advance rental. A grand total of £4667.50. Later on they took another £67.00 as a renewal  charge in case I wished to stay any longer, making the total I have paid them to date £4734.50.

When they sent me a notice to quit (something legal) they have to do apparently, I got into a debate with Ms Beswick at the Didsbury branch.

She told me she would sue me for an additional 6 months rent as I had indicated I may wish to stay on. All I have time to tell you today is be afraid - very afraid when you choose your letting agent.

I wonder which clause they will use to avoid repaying the stolen deposit money now??

Below are comments from an internet forum, (Manchester confidential)  it seems they are not happy with the Deansgate office as well as Didsbury:

Stephen14616

03 September 2010, 15:18:44

Phillip James on Deansgate were awful - had been told we had an underground carparking space but I was waiting 6 months for the car park fob, in which time my passenger window got smashed in, I had a dirty and years old mattress for a month before they changed it. Shocking customer services from the staff - arguing and shouting back and never returning calls.

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09 September 2010, 13:44:51

Philip James Kennedy Partnership in Wilmslow/East Didsbury are absolutely terrible! They were rude from the start and messed us around with viewings - we put down a deposit for one flat, they assured us it would be taken off the market, then signed it to someone else! We took another flat with them because the flat itself was lovely, hoping it would be a short lived experience. The landlord herself came by and told us their property management was so poor that the previous tenants complained, and asked us to contact her instead for repairs. We then had trouble getting our deposit back, charged us £150 for not dusting the top of the wardrobe and dealt with the issue unprofessionally and incredibly slowly, refusing to speak to me in person and providing insufficient evidence for their claims. Overall, a terrible letting and property management agent and I would not recommend them to a friend or an enemy. Avoid at all costs