I had hoped that this post would have been the conclusion, but alas it is not.
I did get a reply, in relation to my complaint, from Reeds Rains Property Management but in my opinion it was a total cop-out.
They answered pretty much in exactly the allowed 15 working days, pointing out that the contract stated that if the rent was paid in advance then it would be paid when it was due (monthly). However they noted that I had asked for it in advance, so apologised that some of the payments had been a little late.
They did not mention the inconsistency in information from two people at Reeds Rains Property Management relating to when rent was received/paid out. They did not mention the fact that I had to prove that they had taken management fees in error. They did not mention that they had withheld a payment for contractor work that had never been undertaken.
They did, however, add that in their opinion their actions had not led me to suffer a financial loss, a somewhat ironic statement when the contract also states that they can keep any interest on monies being held.
I guess that if I had had the money I would not be earning interest??
This is especially relevant when you take into account that I have an offset mortgage, so every £1 that Reeds Rains Property Management were hanging on to I am paying roughly an additional 6p in interest on my monthly mortgage payment.
You can then add in all the time I had to spend clarifying Reeds Rains Property Management’s errors and omissions, and the phone calls made and other correspondence.
So, I have written back to them stating that I am not happy with their reply and that I wish to escalate my complaint to the next level, asking for a fuller explanation of what occurred and recompense for my losses.
The complaint is now sitting with the Lettings Director.