"Unhappy and overcharged..."

We rented a flat through Parkers and stayed for two years as we paid relatively low rent for Reading. The initial letting process was easy though the fees were expensive (with an extra charge tacked on to what we were initially told it would be when we went to Market Place branch to pay). The flat was old-fashioned and needed a full clean, we asked for a professional clean to be done before we moved in and this was put in the contract and agreed. While the place had been given a fresh coat of paint, clearly the professional clean was never carried out and the flat was a disgrace with the previous tenants' 'marks' still in the toilet. Further evidence of the state of the flat was in the inventory which stated the kitchen and bathroom had been 'domestically cleaned', not professionally. Being keen to move in we naively set about cleaning it ourselves and didn't take any photographs - fast forward two years and we leave the entire flat cleaner than when we moved in but have nearly £300 taken from our deposit for cleaning, including such petty items as 'dust in carpet around door frame'. We admitted there were two items with minor damage which we accepted and paid for but having received less than half of the deposit we feel completely ripped off - we lived there quietly for two years and in the end were rinsed for all the money they could get from us. Perhaps we could have taken it to a formal dispute but without hard photo evidence we realised we didn't have the proof to back ourselves up, plus we couldn't bear having to deal with Parkers for any longer than we had too. I've noticed the positive reviews on this site are mostly from the landlords and sellers, with negative 1-star reviews from the actual tenants, and I think that really tells you everything you need to know about where Parkers' priorities lie. My advice to anyone renting through Parkers is to ensure you photograph everything yourself when moving in and do not rely on the inventory - keep all complaints in writing as evidence. We are doing this from now on and happy to say our new letting agency is 100% better.