A blog by Tom Gale 20 Jun 2022
Now I know that there are some of you that have read the title and sniggered. Yes I’m talking to you at the back. Don’t think I can’t see or hear you. It really is very childish you know. Moving on.
A week I did something that I try not to do. I allowed myself to get my hopes up as the agent that has been managing the letting of my house when I moved to Birmingham. She had given me her assurance that should would make sure that I get back into my house. Despite the fact that the tenants had been given noticer to quit in Feb 2022 and it is now June had been saying they are looking every day but haven’t been able to find anywhere to move to.
I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for them. First because of the notice period. Then the fact that I was able to pack, move, store and book Airbnb accomodation in a week. As well as secure a contract for three months work. Their contract had ended at the end of May. Anyway she had left a voicemail saying that I could got to their office on Saturday 12 June 2022. I called the office before heading over and spoke with the Saturday girl. Who informed she had spoken to the tenants and they haven’t been able to book a van. They haven’t brought the keys and it will most likely be Tue or Wed or the coming week when they do.
I’m not proud of myself but I got a little short with the girl on the phone offering different suggestions as to get the keys today as it wasn’t my fault. I want to move into my house. She wouldn’t budge. So I called a friend to come with me. To be a level head and asked him to take me to the office.
We had the devil of a time getting past the concierge never mind any further. He wouldn’t let us go up to the agent’s offices. We did eventually. The door was open so we walked in giving the Saturday girl a bit of fright.
“how did you get in here?”
“Erm the door was open so we pushed it and came in.”
She was clearly a bit rattled. Which I believed I had played a part in when I was short with her earlier. The first thing that I did was to offer my apologies. I shouldn’t have done that. There is no excuse. I’m very sorry. I upset. She accepted my apology.
For the next 20mins we went round in circles a bit. Me providing her with at least three actions that she could have taken to be in with a change of getting my keys back that day. The trouble was that the agent who left the voicemail clearly stating that it was to be today she kept repeating this “I’ve spoken with the___” I was becoming more and more frustrated and really having to bite my tongue. I asked her to ring the manager but she said she was on leave today and couldn’t. I tried to persuade her but to no avail. There was a cough. (my friend trying to catch my attention) and I looked in the direction it came from and my friend was shaking his head. The shake was very subtle. More of a little wobble from side to said. I took the hint. The one thing that she had said she would do would be drop a letter through the tenants door. Take a photo and send it to me. She never did. The other thing that I noticed was that she had not apologised to me at all.
My friend knows me only too well and made me make him a promise whilst walking across the car park.
“Promise me that you will not go back there.”
“Today you mean?”
“You never well what I mean Thomas.” That was when I knew that he was deadly serious. Using my Sunday name.
So it was Wednesday before I picked up the keys. Actually I had received another voicemail from the agent on the Monday to say that I could pick them up at the reception where their offices are. I didn’t get the message as something else happened.
What that was and why it caused a delay in picking up the keys is a story that I will share with you another time.
Suffice to say that it has been a trying time over the past few days.
However the great news is that I have finally been able to move back into my house move out of the Airbnb I’d been in for the past four weeks. Get it all into the car the evening I was due to check out.
Until our paths cross again. Peace.