Estate agency aggro, from the staff canteen

Once one person starts complaining about their landlords or estate agents, everyone's got a "well my landlord..." story to tell. So it was while I was sat in my staff canteen today when I was recounting to my colleagues of our lack of success (so far!) in finding a suitable property to rent...

Actually, so far, we haven't got any dramatic horror stories to tell about this particular round of househunting since we've only actually looked at one place so far, but even talking to estate agents is demoralising, depressing and frustrating. Why is it, when you phone an agency to ask if they have anything suitable and you painstakingly recite your requirements, they then appear not to have heard a word you said and offer you something completely different? For example, we're looking for a 3 double bedroom house or flat in Stoke Newington (North London). It needs to be furnished, preferably have a living room or some communal space, and our budget is around £300 per week. So I phone an agency, explain this to them and they immediately come back with, "Well I have a 2 bed unfurnished flat in Lewisham (for non-Londoners, that's waaaaay south) for £400 a week, is that ok?". Maybe that's an exaggeration, but one thing estate agents really need to learn to do is actually offer some decent customer service. For God's sake listen to your clients and if you haven't got what they're looking for, say so, offer to keep your eye out for properties that match their specifications and actually do it in a helpful way!

One of my workmates, who also happens to be looking for a 3 double bedroom flat or house in Stoke Newington, told me today of one incident whereby his flatmate was taken to a property to view it, only to be told by the tenant, who was home at the time, that he had only lived in the property for a week - the flat had already been let! Or the case of another tenant who raised a complaint because agents kept letting themselves in at all hours of the day to show people around - without an appointment, might I add. Since she worked from home and had a small child to look after, she was not best pleased!

There seems to be no end to the suffering caused by people in the property letting business. We want to hear your stories! Join the rant!