What's going on with the Council Tenant Mutual Exchange Scheme???

honeybeee1

I have been registered with my local council for several years on the Mutual Exchange scheme as well as the transfer list, but have not yet managed to take the leap and move.

At first it was very simple to look for another tenant with the type of property that I am looking for. I would just visit my local council's website, select what I'm looking for and where and I was shown over 200 possible properties.

I hadn't been looking for about 6 months or so due to finances being too tight, but now Christmas is out of the way I thought I'd start looking again. When I visited the council's website it was telling me the exchange service had moved to a 'new and improved' website called Exchange Locata and gave me the link.

After creating the usual username and password, I updated all my search details of the property I am looking for and hit search. I was shown about 50 properties which is no where near as many as on the old website, and none of the properties were what I am looking for. The was an option to check 'National' and I was presented with 2 links to other exchange websites, house exchange and HomeSwapper.

Now to the point of my post, these 2 websites get you to register and indicate what property you are looking for and where, it searches and gives a good amount of possibilities, BUT you cannot view any contact details for the properties unless you MAKE A PAYMENT to the website, from £9.99 for 3 month, £15.99 for 6 months and £21.99 for a year.

Now to me this is just wrong and should not be allowed. Some tenants are desperate to move and these money grabbers have found a new market.

I will be ringing my local council this week to ask why they have decided to allow this, and ask why they cannot be bothered to advertise their own properties for tenants and why they have virtually washed their hands of the scheme allowing these vultures that run websites like these free reign to do as they want.

Moving home is costly and stressful enough without having to pay just to view possible properties, and when you have paid, there is no guarantee you will find a match, so its more money down the drain.

foxsmum

Homeswapper is free if your landlord i.e. council etc support the system and most do

tim123456789

foxsmum wrote: »

Homeswapper is free if your landlord i.e. council etc support the system and most do

If that's the system that my LA use, it isn't free to the LA and they won't let you list if you you don't meet their criteria.

tim

Mrs_Arcanum

Exchange Locata seem to be offering a Free service now so it might be worth trying again.