TMGM

Dec 15, 2022

The worst. Ever.

I always hesitate to give anyone a terrible review, because I understand the impact it can have on a business when one malicious client puts a blot on an otherwise perfect 5-star record. However as at time of writing, 65% of Urban Evolution's reviews are 1-star and I suspect most of the positive ones are fakes from members of their staff. I am a landlord with getting on for 100 UK properties which are run through half a dozen different agents, all of whom (apart from UE) do a great job and who I have given great reviews on here. UE however is deeply, deeply strange, bordering on the criminal. UE took over management of two of the buildings where I own flats in Luton two years ago when the previous letting agent/freeholder went bust and was unable to pay the guaranteed rent. It seemed likely that they did some kind of dodgy deal in order to get the business (the old company went into administration shortly afterwards and the directors fled to Bali and Spain with our money). The first thing they did was to lock everybody into 2 year contracts, which is very non-standard for a letting agent. Then the spurious charges began: (i) cleaning/inventory/check-out charged above rates stated on the contract and items not on the contract added (such as mid-term inspections) (ii) mass maintenance items with no receipts e.g. 500+ shower heads replaced in the building without any check on whether the individual units needed it, charges for windows which under the lease are the freeholder's responsibility, inflated prices for new items of furniture and no receipts etc. etc. (iii) charging of fees for a selective licensing scheme which was never implemented - they promised not to charge until licences were issued, then did a 180 and charged everyone £240 when Luton dropped the licensing plans before commencement. Some landlords have not received a penny in rent from their units in 2 years of being with UE, due to all the spurious charges that have been applied to their accounts. All of these charges are deducted directly from the incoming rent so it is in practice very difficult to contest them, especially given that UE does not have a phone number you can call, doesn't reply to emails and keeps creating new email addresses that you are supposed to magically know are the right one without being told. This would all be just annoying if it were the end of it. However, I've been threatened with physical violence and abused by one of the directors, who also accused me (without any basis) of a major crime by WhatsApp message when he was drunk one Friday night. I took this matter to the police but against my better judgement withdrew my complaint when he apologised. He has since then repaid my generosity by repeatedly questioning my mental health, has posted fake reviews about the competitior local agency to which I recently moved my business and even circulated a fake email trail purportedly between me and that agency, attempting to conspire to defraud other leaseholders. These people charge relatively low headline fees, but they will scam you with all these unexpected costs, and they are at heart dishonest. The stated fees are so low that they couldn't possibly run a business without resorting to scamming. If you are thinking using them, avoid. If you are a current client, I bet you want out.