"waiting Time...now nearly 9 months"

I have been in the process of purchasing a property on a development in Nottingham. the company are very laxed in there comunicación area .with the seller .me the buyer. plus the same with estate agents.and both sides of solicitors.
I am getting very despondent with all the people dealing with my purchase ..
each blaming the other for delays bing caused.it has now been approximately 9 months now since all this has been going on. something needs to be done to quicken the process up with this company

"This company needs to rethink its purpose...."

I think this company is a perfect example of general society today. They have all the control, all the money and none of the interest to fix any of your problems as customers. Gone are the days of the customer is right or should be respected. Tenants are money trees to them. The rent goes up every year without fail, and yet the so called services being paid for are virtually non-existent at this point with excuses galore given for why it isn't done yet. The perfect one is 'it is with our contractors....' You take the money from the tenants, so things should be getting done quicker than months or years which is not an exaggeration. Things take months or years at this point. All they do is complicate it by constantly changing property manager, who is responsible for what part of the property, how things are reported, etc, etc. By complicating the process, ensures nothing gets done and it isn't their fault because it just got lost in their systems because of all the changes type excuses.

Here are examples -
1. One of the smoke alarms in the property malfunctioned and was going off day and night, every 30 seconds and was driving me mad. It was reported, and it took them 2 weeks to send someone to fix it. I was not allowed to touch it or would breach my tenancy agreement. 2 weeks of a screaming alarm in your house, and was their any urgency from the landlord, not at all.

2. The large windows in the communal spaces, the corridors in every landing where the flat doors are, have been pretty much broken open since 2022 and still are broken. There solution is a piece of wood with a screw to keep them shut. I am pretty certain these are fire windows for tenant safety, so is illegal but again same question, any urgency, interest, nope. They (Touchstone but it really is still Places for People) wash their hands off it and say they aren't responsible for the communal areas of their building. They'll quite happily take your money for it though, and increase it every year with rubbish reasoning.

3. The bin store - out of control fly tipping, rubbish scattered all over the bin store floor, outside in the car park because of a missing door and no lock. This was reported months ago, and surprise, to fit a door and a lock remember, late July or August before it can be done. Tenants will just put up with any consequences like flies and the sort while the landlords rub their hands together from the biggest increase in rent to date in 2024. Living standards, what are living standards to them?

4. Actually sticking to their lease agreements. Countless tenants are breaking the rules; smoking in the building, bikes tied to the railings of the staircase despite their being a bike store for that reason, prams left on the landings which is the only fire exit as the large windows in the landings remember are now screwed shut opposed to being fixed correctly. Wonder what the fire brigade would say about that? Camper type vehicles in the car park which per the tenant rules are not allowed. They've successfully created a modern day block tower which you'd see in some less desirable places in the city.

I can go on, but start to finish it is just a poor showing and they won't care about this either but I feel readers should know what you'll get with this company who will fob you off with excuses, taking more and more of your money each year for the privilege, and leave you resenting the place you call home. Not good enough by a long way, need to rip up their playbook and put tenants first.

"We have tried to work with this company…"

We have tried to work with this company to resolve an issue however it has taken them the best part of three months to sort the matter out and yet still no resolution. We have been passed from pillar to post with everyone promising assistance yet no one has delivered. The extensive delays have cost hundreds of pounds to us. Having requested to make a formal complaint, the requests have been blatantly ignored. This is a very unprofessional, incompetent and lazy company and one which I would strongly advise others to avoid.

"My advice to buying part ownership.."

My advice to buying part ownership... is don't bother... the management on the maintenance team she is useless... they say they will sort it .. but don't... having a disabled son staying ,, and you have water through kitchen ceiling .. videos as evidence.. best of sorting it you're self... this isn't hate,.. this my feelings towards this company, to be honest I've forgot more than the maintenance management know. This happened September 2022.

"No complaints here …"

I have been with p4p a few years now and I have to say I have been treated marvellously by this company and the people who work for them , if ever I apply for a repair they are knocking on my door within hours.they answer the phone promptly and are always really helpful..

"Shambolic Organisation "

I am a leasehold home owner and the writing was on the wall during my property purchase when I and the vendor had tremendous difficulty with the legal team in terms of getting responses and constant chasing. This should have been an indicator to withdraw from the purchase!

After completion, I hadn’t been invoiced for, nor paid communal charges so had to chase Places for People to arrange a payment by which time I was in excess of £500 in arrears. This was through no fault of my own.

I reported communal repairs that were required and have had to chase many times. I’m not allowed to report issues online because I’m not a tenant!

When I send an email to this company I eventually receive a response which frequently requires follow-up so I reply. Then a different person eventually responds hence no continuity.

I recently reported a broken door which required a keypad to open. After some time the door was replaced with a new keypad but residents were no informed of the new code. When I requested the new code (to the meter cupboard) the delayed response gave me an impossible code for entry. This means I have to continue to pay the higher rate for my electricity as costs should be reduced from 1 July. This company has no regard for the impact of their inaction on residents.

Update

I followed the advice given in the response from PfP to this review. This generated a complaint which for some reason was “partially upheld”. I don’t know why only partially.

I have been given incorrect codes for me to access the meter cupboard despite sending a picture of the particular keypad.

My door entry intercom has not been working for a while and I rang on Monday and was told that Steven would return my call before the end of the day. I’m still waiting on Friday for a call to find out when I can give visitors access to my building.

Furthermore, the accounts are in the process of being transferred from PfP to RMG and the account summary I have been provided does not take into account fees I have paid.

This is by far the most incompetent company I have had the misfortune to deal with.

They continue to accept my cash transfers for communal charges yet don’t accurately record transactions on their systems.

Further Update

Nothing seems to get resolved with this organisation and their partner company Residential Management Group.


After initially chasing so that I could pay for shared services and then being invoiced, I raised many queries and even requested to speak to someone in person to resolve my questions. After 11 months I have received a letter with a final notice and threatening to withdraw services because apparently I have some outstanding payments. This is despite my many communications asking for clarification of charges because I had been provided conflicting information.

During this period, Places for People transferred payment collections to RMG.

If I hadn’t written to them, I wouldn’t be surprised if I never received an invoice, they are so incompetent.

Following the threatening letter I contacted the accounts team at RMG, raised my concerns and was told they would speak to PfP and I would be contacted the next day. Obviously this didn’t happen, nor of course did anyone bother to contact me the following day.


In frustration, I contacted my solicitor who dealt with the purchase and he has been told that a reply will be forthcoming within 10 days so a further delay has been created.

Ironically, public reviews get a response within minutes but emails and letters do not get the same treatment.

It seems that these two organisations think, incorrectly, that I have entered into a shared ownership agreement. After a year this comes to light?? As I titled my review, this is truly a shambolic organisation.

My advice is to avoid properly purchases involving either of these companies if you wish to retain your sanity and health.

"Just received a reply from p4p same old…"

Just received a reply from p4p same old bog standard lame apology with an email address for their customer focus team who are a complete waste of space as I’ve been there done that if p4p were serious they would have made contact to arrange a visit by a manager to speak to me in person.

"Autodialler calls me 3-4 times per day…"

Autodialler calls me 3-4 times per day when I am just a week late paying the rent.

When you try to call them back they just leave you listening to music. Never respond to emails except to threaten you.

Issued section 21 notice after being just 2 weeks in arrears with rent,

Rent went up by 21.5% this year. It’s social housing with very ant-social service charges.

When you are in financial difficulty they make you feel like a criminal, and their account managers have about as much empathy and charm as a county-court bailiff.

I am not currently even in arrears and yet they still continue to harass me,

They should really know better than to harass their tenants - especially with their registered offices being based in Grays Inn Road, London, in the heart of the legal community.

"Absolutely hopeless systems"

Absolutely hopeless systems. Took over the sites in Northumberland months ago and the systems are shockingly bad. Membership, password resetting, booking.... all things that should be in place before opening up shop.

"APPALLING BORDERING ON CRIMINAL"

PLACES FOR PEOPLE
Appalling set up, bordering on the criminal 😱
Quoted on social media as “the UK’s leading social enterprise” needs some forensic investigation (by the regulated authority and government minister with Housing portfolio) into their business practices.
At the end of the line the consumer is being abused and scammed - PLACES FOR PEOPLE and their charitable status, their PfP Capital, companies and offshoots need serious formal authoritative investigation to establish their business modus operandi. There are literally thousands of housing tenants, thousands of new-build residents of building projects (of which I am one) that PLACES FOR PEOPLE have been involved in whose lives have suffered (for years in some instances) immeasurably from the lies and fraudulent practices of PLACES FOR PEOPLE represented by their myriad companies run by Chairman Managing Directors, Regional Directors, Senior Independent Directors, Chief Operating Officers, and on down the line.
People who have bought affordable houses, and housing tenants have been victims of BigBusiness - people with no redress or power and no recognition from any person or authority, whose lives have been smashed by PLACES FOR PEOPLE.
Something needs to stop, something needs to be done in the name of humanity and doing the right thing.
If there are any Press people take note and investigate, it’s a massive story.