Unashamedly unprofessional

Rose Eedes Properties are not only unprofessional - they are unashamedly so.

We heard nothing from Rose Eedes Properties re our damage deposit after the lease terminated and therefore enquired about it a week or two after vacating the premises. It was disturbing that no communication from Rose Eedes re our damage deposit was forthcoming after the lease terminated. It was even more disturbing when it became clear that Rose Eedes Estate Agent had no intention of refunding what was owed to us and planned to deduct various "expenses" from the deposit without providing receipts, quotes or proof that we were responsible for her "expenses".

Included in the initial deductions from the deposit was a bill for the replacement of lost keys. This bill had already been paid more than 12 months ago. Proof of payment was forwarded to Rose Eedes. No apology, no explanation as to why they charged us for an amount already paid.

Also included in the deductions was a bill for certain repairs done during the lease period. At the time, our requests for a quote before Rose Eedes Properties commenced with repairs were flatly ignored. We were simply presented with a bill from their contractor - no receipts - which appeared ridiculously inflated to us. Our requests for clarification re this bill were ignored as well.

Similarly, requests for proof of further "damage" to the property - which Rose Eedes herself discovered after we asked her to re-pay our damage deposit were flatly ignored.

I quote in full from an email I received from Rose Eedes after a time-consuming and unpleasant e-mail exchange regarding the refund of our deposit:

"I will be deducting the full amount that Juvanda charged and I will be charging R1000 for cleaning and fixing the door and curtain rail that was pulled off. If you want the balance of your deposit back send your banking details."

No proof that we were responsible for damaging the door [we are not even sure what she is referring to], no proof that we were responsible for the curtain rail that fell of [we weren't, it was a useless installation that fell off every time the curtain was drawn] and no quotes for cleaning a 3x3m room which had apparently been unattended to since the termination of our lease.

Once again, our repeated requests for clarification of the above fell on deaf ears. We still don't have a refund, we still don't have proof that we were responsible for the newly discovered damages and we still don't have receipts to prove what Rose Eedes' contractor spent on repairs done during the lease period. We quite frankly don't even know what he charges for labour per hour as the amounts on his bill for that item vary from R140 to R350 - with no ostensible logic behind the variation.

Avoid Rose Eedes Properties at all costs. The way you do business with one person is in all likelihood the way you do business with all people and from my e-mail exchanges with them I gathered that they are not only unprofessional and incompetent - they are shamelessly so.

I have had dealings with some excellent, competent estate agents who take pride in doing their jobs professionally. From my personal experience Rose Eedes Estate Agent does not fall into that category. Save yourself a lot of time and possibly a lot of money too and don't make use of their "services".