Dear Andy, We were informed that the door to the above property was left ajar and we send a contractor out immediately to check the security of the property. The contractor believes that either the padlock had not been put back on or someone had tried forcing the door. He refitted the staple and put on a new lock. He left a note on the door to explain his actions and for you to collect the keys from our offices. To suggest we broke in is a very strong allegation. You have already agreed to give us the keys back on Monday so what benefit was it to our company? The door was broken some weeks ago and we understand the whole locking and handle mechanism was kicked through. You simply put a piece of hardboard over the hole and tacked on two staples and a padlock. These fire doors are expensive and it is your responsibility to replace it. We also believe we have been more than fair to you both during your breakup in arranging for you to cancel the current AST (tenancy agreement) when it has almost eleven months to run. Please do remember that we have acted in a fair, sympathetic and professional manner through this difficult time for you both. We are endeavouring to get the property rented out again as soon as possible to reduce any further exposure to rent payments. Kind regards, Martin and Co Bournemouth team

Hello Lewis Stratton, We would like to point out that you and the other three students have accepted the check in inventory and condition report and there were no complaints on the good condition the property was delivered in. When you left the property in September last year the landlord was heart broken as the property was left in a damaged and misused state. The garden was left with a paddling pool, containing floating and broken beer bottles, toys and other litter strewn over it. This is the letter sent to the Deposit scheme and to yourselves - the tenants - who did not dispute the claim. All the best, Martin & Co Bournemouth. Dear Tenants We have now received the costs for the repairs, replacement and cleaning of the property. Quotes are attached. Cleaning breakdown was sent to you this morning. The total cost of the works are £3591.00 Cleaning £400.00 New wardrobe £249.99 Total £4240.99 Tenant contribution £2476.99 however there is only a deposit of £1846.00 held meaning a reduction of £630.99. The highest costs are the replacement wardrobe and replacement of the worktops which were burnt, broken and scratched from opening bottles. The walls were left in poor condition as was the broken shower.

Hello Lewis Stratton, We would like to point out that you and the other three students have accepted the check in inventory and condition report and there were no complaints on the good condition the property was delivered in. When you left the property in September last year the landlord was heart broken as the property was left in a damaged and misused state. The garden was left with a paddling pool, containing floating and broken beer bottles, toys and other litter strewn over it. This is the letter sent to the Deposit scheme and to yourselves - the tenants - who did not dispute the claim. All the best, Martin & Co Bournemouth. Dear Tenants We have now received the costs for the repairs, replacement and cleaning of the property. Quotes are attached. Cleaning breakdown was sent to you this morning. The total cost of the works are £3591.00 Cleaning £400.00 New wardrobe £249.99 Total £4240.99 Tenant contribution £2476.99 however there is only a deposit of £1846.00 held meaning a reduction of £630.99. The highest costs are the replacement wardrobe and replacement of the worktops which were burnt, broken and scratched from opening bottles. The walls were left in poor condition as was the broken shower.

Dear Karen, We are sorry that you feel this way. As an estate agency, we aspire day by day to give the highest standard services to our customers. Kind regards, Martin & Co Bournemouth Team.

Dear Karen, We are sorry that you feel this way. As an estate agency, we aspire day by day to give the highest standard services to our customers. Kind regards, Martin & Co Bournemouth Team.

Dear Samuel, We understand that you are disappointed with the outcome of the deposit return as you’ve damaged the hob at the property and we deducted an amount to cover 50% of the replacement cost of said hob, as we agreed with the landlord that you were at fault but that it was fair to charge a % due to the hob not being brand new. Kind regards, Martin and Co Bournemouth Team.

Dear Kaywan, We are sorry that you feel you were unfairly treated, however as you point out we conducted ‘more than 20’ viewings at the property which suggests we were doing our very best to secure a new tenant. Conducting these many viewings represents a considerable investment of time and resources and this is why we charge a release fee. Many factors come into play when marketing a property, for the most part we were conducting viewings in the lead up to the Tenants Fee Ban on the 1st June (our final viewing being in mid May) and it is worth noting that the other agent secured a tenant after the Fee Ban had been introduced. We acknowledge that this has been a very frustrating episode for you, we are also disappointed that were not able to secure a new tenant however we do feel that we did everything that could reasonably have been expected of us in this endeavour. Kind regards, Martin and Co Bournemouth Team.

Dear Kaywan, We are sorry that you feel you were unfairly treated, however as you point out we conducted ‘more than 20’ viewings at the property which suggests we were doing our very best to secure a new tenant. Conducting these many viewings represents a considerable investment of time and resources and this is why we charge a release fee. Many factors come into play when marketing a property, for the most part we were conducting viewings in the lead up to the Tenants Fee Ban on the 1st June (our final viewing being in mid May) and it is worth noting that the other agent secured a tenant after the Fee Ban had been introduced. We acknowledge that this has been a very frustrating episode for you, we are also disappointed that were not able to secure a new tenant however we do feel that we did everything that could reasonably have been expected of us in this endeavour. Kind regards, Martin and Co Bournemouth Team.

We really sympathised with the tenants, after we learnt that the landlord had decided to sell the property. We initially telephoned the family to act in an empathetic with them before we served the statutory two months’ notice to give an explanation of the situation. We requested from the husband a full specification of their requirements and offered to look for a comparable property in their area of choice, without charge, but could not find what they required. We understand they found another rental property and we agreed with our landlord to only partly charge the final month of the tenancy as a gesture of goodwill. The tenants have accepted that they incorrectly calculated the rent money due for the final 20 days and have now agreed to pay this amount. As a Lettings company we represent the landlords' wishes and it is their prerogative to sell their property. We acted in a professional manner and respected our duty of care to both the tenants and the landlord.