Updating post from Reddit.
Has anyone else here had issues with Haart? Specifically Derby / Nottingham areas.
Can anyone provide some advice for my situation please, my issues with HAART property management services…
Engaging in acts of extortion - Demanding extremely high fees to exit contracts Haart are in breach of knowing legal options are not generally viable to individuals - £1500 in my case to exit Haart management contract for full management services. I have been paying for 3 years plus but Haart have NOT been providing those services.
Ignoring maintenance issues for months on end risking further damage to clients property and tenants enjoyment of their property - my tenants reported a failed seal in bath and shower area to Haart and for 3 months nothing was done until property was moved to a new management company. The seal had already been compromised previously leading to water leaking through into the living room ceiling. Tenants have not been able to use the shower, only baths because area not water tight for 3 months.. Moved the property to another company at a cost of £1500 exit fee and was fixed in 24hrs.
Failing to complete simple repairs and improvements for years affecting a tenants enjoyment of their property - instructed Haart to install curtain poles in my new build property so tenant can have curtains, some privacy, paid the contractor but job was not completed as one pole was missing / lost.. over “18 MONTHS” later a two hour job had still not been completed and I have newspapers stuck over the windows of my property so tenant can block out window, looks like a squat. I have followed up, chased on this countless times, raised complaints and still was not done. I drove 3hrs and put another curtain pole in the agents hand to finish the job, 6 months later still not done.
almost lost a mortgage because the valuers could not get hold of Haart or gain access for 3 months, they was 2 days away from pulling their offer when they finally got to do their valuation.
HAART regularly ignoring tenants emails and phone calls.
Ignoring landlords emails and phone calls - nobody responds for weeks or answers phone ever, literally no one has ever answered the phone just goes to answerphone, leave a message and no one responds.
Taking monthly full management fees but providing absolutely zero service in return apart from processing rent payments.
Zero interest in investigating formal complaints. - acknowledges complaint, didn’t even ask for evidence or details on the issues, eventually offered £100 compensation off exit fee accepting there have been “communication issues”.. Absolute insult.
Escalated complaints to directors who also avoid dealing with problems and ignore issues trying to deflect back to the management departments who do nothing.
All I asked was to be released from contract due to appalling levels of service, Haart wouldn’t release me, holding me to ransom, demanding I pay another £1500 on top of the monthly fees already paid to leave.
The situation is so wrong and absurd that a supposed reputable company can behave in such a way.
My options pay £1500 to walk away or stay continue to pay their fees and not receive the services I’m paying for. (Amounting to extortion in my eyes)
What can I do when a company is completely unreasonable, has no integrity or any notion of right and wrong?
Update.
Haart have now confirmed breach of contract in writing but have refused to pay back exit fee.
The properties were finally moved to another management company end of November and December. I am still waiting for last rent payment to be forwarded to me.
Update 2 They have confirmed in writing my money will be returned to me but are waiting on operations to deal with paperwork… it has been 3 months now.
Update 3.
They are now saying they will not return any of my money. One rent payment for £1000 was sent to Haart account by mistake instead of the new management company as tenant did not change direct debit. Haart have said they are keeping that money too!!!
They owe me now a total of just over £2700 which they have said in a recorded phone call they are not going to return.
This has wasted so much of my time over the last 2 years, I have everything in writing and documented. Should I go legal to force action? Pursue compensation? My next step is the ombudsman, any thing else I can do? Can anyone recommend a solicitor specialising in property / contract disputes?
I feel they should face consequences for the way they have acted as a company who supposedly provide professional services.
Any advice would be welcome.
Thank you.
Haart are awful mate. I'm not a landlord but had a horrific experience when searching for a property. Very disorganised and dishonest
It’s unbelievable just how disorganised and dishonest they actually are, don’t know how they are even trading, absolute scam company!
Send them a CCJ. That usually makes moron firms correct themselves.
It'll cost you about £70, I'm not sure if it can be claimed as an expense or not
You can't just send then a CCJ you have to go through court
You can, the CCJ in just start, if they defend then they go to court. Most firms don't defend if they are in the wrong.
A CCJ is a county court judgment, I.e it's a judgment given by a court, you need to have a court hearing for a CCJ to be applied by the judge. A CCJ impacts credit ratings etc it can't be applied by anyone on a whim
If the defendant doesn't reply within X days, then it's automatically applied.
Thank you, I wasn’t aware of this as an option, this can be applied to a company?
Ignore u/gopal87, he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about
Tell them they are in breach of contract and that you will be looking to claim damages for this if money isnt returned and that as such no release fee would apply due to their breach, see what happens after that then get a solicitor to send an letter before action if no joy
I have done all this short of the letter before action, I think they’re just trying to call my bluff hoping I’ll quietly disappear. It’s a matter of principle at this point. In my eyes it should be damages and reimbursement of all the fees I’ve already paid.
Letter before action is cheap, I would do that personally and then forget about it if nothing comes of it. Solicitors fees will soon outweigh any cost recovery if you end up taking them to court
I think that’s what they’re hoping but I have taken someone to court before without a solicitor and dealt with it myself. I think once before a judge it’s case closed, I have everything in black and white, it’s indefensible. It was however very time consuming, I was hoping for a quicker resolution.
Haart are part of spicerhart, I prefer the countrywide group next time you find an agent go for a countrywide.
Thank you, I have thankfully got the properties now with a competent agent but will keep in mind for future reference
Yeah I mean they all have sly procedures and business processes so just got to keep alert for bs and always read the contracts before signing as sometimes the bait and switch between verbal agreements and what you end up signing.
Formal complaint and escalation to property ombudsman or property redress scheme.
Follow their procedures
[deleted]
Ombudsman/redress scheme can award compensation and expel dodgy members
Thank you, I didn’t realise they had that power. Appreciate your input
Ombudsman/redress scheme can award compensation and expel dodgy members
This is my nightmare with Haarts, which is turning into a saga that is likely not finished yet. A few months back, I bought a house in Notts with a tenant in-situ that was managed on behalf of the vendor by Haarts. All the paperwork from my & the vendors solicitors were in order and I had already contacted the tenant before completion to advise him of the purchase (which was a surprise to him as he wasn't aware of the created sales details as Haarts had let in a photographer to take pictures for the sales listing without his consent, and the viewings that had happened while he was working; needless to say, he was furious).
Initially, when I contacted Haarts asking them to transfer the tenants deposit to me, it took several calls to various people at various locations, starting in Nottingham and including (in no particular order Derby, Leicester, Milton Keynes and Birmingham) to expedite this before someone finally asked for a copy of my solicitors completion letter and confirmation of sale from the vendor. This took about a month.
Subsequently, it took another 2 months of chasing the now designated agent and the accounts department to get the funds released to my nominated deposit holding company, by which time I owned that property for about 3 months. I had kept the tenant in the loop about this and fortunately he was quite relaxed about this and was understanding of the difficulties I was experiencing having had to deal with them for about 3 years at that point.
A few weeks after that the vendor contacted me, advising that they had received another month's rent from Haarts for the property that they no longer owned (and this happened another 2 times that I'm aware of) and the vendor had tried to contact Haarts to resolve this. The tenant has been making timely rents payments to me for several months at this stage but Haarts had begun chasing him for several weeks arrears that he didn't owe them; I had to step in on his behalf and wrote them a snotty letter suggesting they get their house in order and they appear to have dropped that.
In November, Haarts (without my consent) instructed a plumber to carry out the annual gas safety check on the property, he then contacted the tenant to make an appointment. The plumber then left the invoice for about £90 with the tenant to pass to me for payment. I have my own plumber that I've used for years and he charges me £65 for the safety check AND boiler service (+the costs of any repairs, if needed). I told the Haarts plumber to pursue payment from Haarts, as they had instructed him and that I would not be paying him. In December I got an invoice from Haarts for said gas safety check for about £250. I wrote them a stern email telling them that I would not be paying them for that work as they did not act for me, nor had I instructed them to arrange the gas safety check. They have not pursued this further.
About 6 weeks ago, I received a one line email, from a person not known to me at Haarts demanding that I send him proof of ownership of the property. I thought that was a bit rude and haven't responded. I await the next chapter of their nonsense with bated breath.
This sounds all too familiar, I was certain there would be others dealing with their nonsense practices. The company is an absolute joke yet you look on their LinkedIn profiles and they’re all patting each other on the back for jobs well done.
Sorry to hear you’re having to deal with them aswell. Everything with them is a constant battle. Report them to the ombudsman aswell, many voices should force action. All the best, if I can help with anything feel free to send me a message, I have been battling them for years too
I’ve tried to view 5 different properties with Haart and have successfully viewed 0. Phones don’t get answered, viewings get cancelled on the day- they’re the worst in Nottingham by a country mile.