Should I accept compensation or go to the Property Ombudsman?

ciderboy2009

georgie_p said:

Where we live the fibre internet cabinets are full, meaning if you move to another property within the area (which is where we can afford given our requirements) we will lose the connection, reverting to broadband which isn't sustainable for our business which we run from home.

Even when the cabinets have no connections left for home use they usually have them for businesses.

Presumably you're using a business oriented ISP for your internet provision?

allygate

georgie_p said:

I'm debating whether to accept £250 compensation as a gesture of goodwill or proceed to complain to the Property Ombudsman. Here's some background on the complaint I've filed with our letting agent for a privately rented property we've been renting since June 2018.

• Since moving into the property there have been numerous maintenance issues including leak under the sink, leaking downstairs toilet, issues with the back patio door, burst radiator pipe in the living room, hot water temperature above 60 degrees celsius, living room carpet needing replacement due to exposed underlay and nails, kitchen sink replacement due to lack of sealant, etc.
• We pay £1100 pcm for the property and look after it well, however, up until the beginning of 2020, the staff at the letting agents have been reluctant to help and have even tried to get contractors to blame us (the tenants) for problems with the property. Example: in the living room, the landlord had put up a curtain pole but had actually placed a screw through the radiator pipe which slowly put pressure on it over the months causing it to burst and water was pouring out of the wall when the curtain pole fell down. I was pregnant and called the letting agents. They sent a handyman out and he had the phone on speaker - the letting agent said: "is there any way you can make it look like the tenants did this". He was shocked, and so were we, but as the call wasn't recorded there is no proof.
• We were sent various handymen to fix the leaking sink; one arrived who was an apprentice and couldn't figure the issue, another arrived who wasn't a plumber and had to call his Uncle on speakerphone to try and establish the issue, concluding it was just condensation (on a plastic pipe which had caused the sink cupboard to bow and be soaking wet). The leak under the sink has only just been resolved around 2 weeks ago - we have been complaining about this for 2 years.
• We've had contractors turning up at the property during COVID without prior warning; no text or call, and no notification from the letting agent. We've had to refuse them at the door.
• We've had contractors not turning up at all, meaning we've had to call to find out what's going on and end up cancelling as they don't turn up.
• We've had contactors trying to physically open the front door whilst we've been in the property and peering through our letterbox
• We've had contractors turning up and removing their PPE inside our property which we have photographic evidence of
• We have notified the letting agents that there are two vulnerable people living in the property and PPE is an absolute must (as well as it being government guidelines)
• We've had lettings agents not responding to emails or telephone calls, and in response to our complaint, the initial reply was just an apology (after two years)
• We are still waiting for the living room carpet to be replaced and for the walls to be repainted where the radiator pipe leaked in August 2018, as well as where the toilet was replaced in 2019
• When we moved out of our property in 2018 (same letting agent) and into a new property, we were accused of leaving rubbish at the property (which wasn't ours), with agents screaming down the phone telling us to remove it or we will be fined
• Ironically, when we moved into the said property in 2017, there was so much rubbish and incorrect recycling left at the property that the bin and recycling men refused to take it so we had to take it to the tip ourselves

We've had nothing but issues with this letting agent, though many of the issues were with previous staff members who were fired from the agency. However, I am not sure whether we should accept the £250 compensation or proceed with the Ombudsman. It's not about the money (though the gesture is appreciated), it's about the fact that we've endured 2 years of this, paying nearly £30k in rent, and have only just got to the point where all of the issues may be resolved. The lack of PPE is a big deal for us, as well as the peering through the letterbox and random people turning up. There's a huge lack of communication, and we even have an email from the area manager to his staff saying they are looking like a prize bunch of bananas. 

ASIDE FROM MOVING HOUSE, does anyone have any thoughts?

OP, sticking to your question, unless I desperately needed the cash or had absolutely no time to spare, there is no way I would not go to the TPO. From experience, that £250 will still be there. Make the agents spend some time and effort on this, it might make them think twice before treating other tenants like they did you.

As @greatcrested said, the TPO absolutely does consider frustration, inconvenience etc when making awards, not just provable monetary loss.

The process is very straightforward and TPO is quite easy to deal with, so don't worry too much about the effort from your end.

macman

The problem with pushing for more compo is that your LL may simply decide to retaliate and issue you with an S21. Although it will take him a year or more to evict you at present.
I don't find your internet issue credible. If you widen your search area slightly you will be served by a different street cab, which may have fibre capacity. At present you seem to be searching only on the same street or very nearby.