Internet included - it seems not!

seashore22

My daughter and three of her friends have just moved into a rented student house for their final year of uni. The house was advertised as "internet included" and they double checked this verbally with the estate agent. The contract they signed was a standard terms and conditions and no mention was made of the internet.

The friends have been into the estate agent every day for the past week to ask for the internet code, only to be told on Friday that "oh sorry, internet is not included".

My daughter has a copy of the original listing on her phone, but is obviously very annoyed with herself that she relied on this and the verbal confirmation. Do the flatmates have any grounds for making a fuss?

The estate agent has form for telling lies about other things too, so this has made the tenants even more angry.

silvercar

Is there a modem in the property? If there is, it is easy to reset it to turn password requirements off. They can then follow youtube videos or similar to find out how to set up a new security system.

theartfullodger

Yes, dishonest cheating crooked sharp-practice: How unlike other agents...

Think daughter/other tenants should...

Write landlord (yes, WRITE, yes, LANDLORD!!, copy agent.., keep copy) a calm polite letter, with copy of advert etc and ask if he is happy & please agree reduction of £xx & compo for no internet whilst they arrange...

Contact uni accommodation office (or similar name..) and ask their views.

Contact trading standards ditto...

Tenant's contract is with landlord, not agent: Agent is just that, their agent.

Expect relationships & repairs and behaviour to be terrible ....

Cheers!

seashore22

Thank you for the replies.

Not sure if there is a modem because my daughter is at our home for the summer and two of the flatmates are dealing with it at the moment.

Good advice about who to raise this with. We are very aware about the possibility of souring relationships further with the landlord and estate agent. I saw the attitude of the estate agent on moving day and was appalled at how badly they behaved. Quite frankly their attitude stank and they appear to have all the power.

It has made my daughter determined to buy a property instead of rent in the future just to avoid some of these issues.

seashore22

Just to add. Apparently they did the same thing to the previous tenants - advertised it as internet included and then denied all knowledge. The tenants before them (so 2 years ago now) did have internet included but the landlord decided to stop doing it. To add insult to injury he has other rental properties where he still includes internet.

I hate it when supposedly professional people act unprofessionally and this is fast becoming a matter of principal, but it depends how far the tenants what to push it.

G_M

seashore22 wrote: »

....
The friends have been into the estate agent every day for the past week to ask for the internet code, only to be told on Friday that "oh sorry, internet is not included".

A code is only of use if there is a modum!!

Which implies.....

Artful gives good advice. Just to add, look forthe addresson the tenancy agreement "for the serving of notices" on the landlord.

Unfortunately this may be c/o the agency, but write a letter addressed to the LL by name at that address anyway.

Also download the property Title from Land Registy here (£3). This may give the LL's actual address. Send a copy there.

princeofpounds

Yes artful is right. Ultimately the legal remedy would be to sue the LL in small claims. You'd probably win, need to decide if its worth the hassle. Often only the threat of it is enough.

brightonman123

was it advertised with free web? take the advert in to agent, request written confirmation or bill them for any costs..

JuicyJesus

brightonman123 wrote: »

was it advertised with free web? take the advert in to agent, request written confirmation or bill them for any costs..

Read the post. It's in writing, they received repeated assurances it was the case, the landlord just didn't supply it.

seashore22

Yes, it was definitely advertised with internet included and was one of the reasons that they decided that the rent was within their price range. Two of the tenants are going into the estate agents on Monday to see what can be done without getting too confrontational at this stage.

Having met the oh so charming agent on Sunday I don't think they have a hope. She has constantly lied about terms and conditions despite the tenants having copies of all correspondence which proves that they are right and she is wrong. Not nice!

CKhalvashi

seashore22 wrote: »

Having met the oh so charming agent on Sunday I don't think they have a hope. She has constantly lied about terms and conditions despite the tenants having copies of all correspondence which proves that they are right and she is wrong. Not nice!

It may be worth naming the agent, which if on MSE (this is one of the largest websites in the country) may have some effect in getting the problem sorted.

We deal with a brilliant local agent for our BTL properties, but I know that some aren't up to scratch!

CK