Where do I start, it cost £275 to be referenced, a charge that even at the time the government had announced they intended to make illegal as it is an unjust charge, yet Payne’s continue to charge and I’m sure will up to the date it becomes illegal. We offered to pay slightly above the advertised rent in exchange for an expedited move in process with a set date. Payne’s agreed, failed to meet the date by 2 weeks, then flatly made it clear that if wanted the house we still had to pay the higher rent. When we moved in the house was far from spotless, was littered with landlord items not covered by the inventory and there was significantly more furniture included in the part furnished house than when we viewed the property. Which meant having to find storage for our own furniture. When we raised all of this with Payne’s they denied all knowledge. Payne’s then used an online inventory service, with a two week timer. I was away during this time so was not aware, when they returned they refused to allow me to add my comments claiming it is assumed because of the timer. A fact now refuted by the independent adjudicator at the tenancy deposit scheme, who confirmed, this meant our inventory was unsigned. Our main contact with Payne’s was an individual named Gary, who was extremely unprofessional and at best terse during his communication with me. Inspections were organised akin to how I imagine the stasi announced their arrival. One inspection where I explained a family member had died and could we postpone 2 weeks, I was told the inspection there and then was necessary by Gary. When it came to moving out is where the true annoyance began. Having left the property in a good condition on time as agreed. Payne’s decided to try and charge us around £850, including £120 to fit a push fit lamp the landlord had given us written permission to remove, full gardening services, a full house clean. They also highlighted we had accidentally left some items at the property, they refused to allow us to recover these and instead charged us for them. We refuted the charges so strongly eventually they dropped the demand to around £580. We made a concessionary offer of £250 which we thought was very generous and addressed their concerns. Eventually we took the whole issue to dispute where it was decided, it was unjustified to charge us for a full house clean, it was unjust for Payne’s to charge us two days of rent for not taking a day off to return the keys, despite the fact Payne’s did not attend our checkout and only work business hours. The TDS also decided their claims towards gardening were also high. In the end having tried to take us for around £850, Payne’s were awarded around £380. In short, from my experience Payne’s will be extremely difficult and then try and cover all of their landlords costs by aggressively pursuing your deposit. Contact with Gary and his manager Daniel were particular low points of the entire experience. When I was buying my house, I actively discounted looking at Payne’s advertised houses and would never advise anyone to do business with them if they value their reputation. If I could give a 0 rating I would. Now the tenancy dispute is done, I am looking into avenues of complaint and compensation against Payne’s in areas not covered by the dispute service.