Campsie & Co

I was a tenant on the books of Campsie & Co and it's parent company Orchard & Shipman for almost four years. In 2008, Campsie & Co introduced a 'renewal fee' of £100 payable by the tenant. For those on a six month contract, this equates to £200 pa for very little work on the letting agent's involvement. I asked Campsie & Co to justify their fees by providing a breakdown of their costs. They said that they were unable to do this, but still expected me to pay the extortionate amount. I was instructed by the Ombudsman of Estate Agents (OEA) to raise the issue with the company under it's internal complaints procedure. The response I got was not satisfactory and effectively asked me to resubmit my complaint to the Area Letting Manager, even though she worked in the same office as the individual who replied. In the end I told Campsie & Co that as they could not justify their fee with a breakdown, I could not justify paying it. I have now issued a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regarding their practice and would advise any other tenants in a similar situation to do the same. Avoid this agent at all costs.

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David C.