Fresh allegations of bogus fines made against Liberty Quays

Further allegations of false charges have been brought to the student halls from a current resisdent (written by Kieran Watkins, for the Medwire)

A Liberty Quays resident today told how he was threatened with additional fines for unpaid rent, despite having previously agreed to delay the payments.
In an exclusive interview with the Medwire, student Alex Zarach, 18, told us Liberty Living had sent him “threatening” letters.
The halls provider at Liberty Quays in Gillingham sent him letters claiming for unpaid rent – despite having previously agreed to delaying payments to coincide with his student loan payment.
Alex, a first-year business IT student, moved into Liberty Quays during September, having agreed with former manager Stephanie Triggs and current Duty Manager Alison Lidster that he would pay his instalments later than scheduled.
In a letter sent from Ms Lidster to Alex, which The Medwire has obtained, both parties agreed and signed in writing that the rent would be delayed until Alex’s student loan came in on September 24, 2012.
The letter from Ms Lidster states “we hereby agree to you paying said rent instalments”, following evidence provided by Alex to Liberty Quays from the student loan company.
Believing the payments had been processed, Alex said: “I moved in to Liberty Quays and all was fine.”
“Nothing was mentioned of the payment,” he added.
However, arriving back from lectures to his room one day, Alex noticed a letter that had been pushed through his door.
The letter was sent by General Manager Mark Moulding, dated September 28, four days after Alex paid his first instalment.
The letter claimed that the “rent instalment due on 15th September 2012 in the sum of £1981.20 is now overdue,” despite having already previously agreed with Liberty that the rent would be paid a week later.
The letter also confirmed that Liberty Living would charge him £30.00 for sending the letter, which would cover their administration fees.
“I was shocked! I had never been informed about the £30 charge, and was angry and upset that they had decided to charge me despite the fact I had paid everything on time.”
Despite demands from Liberty Quays for more money to pay for more letters, Alex is standing by his refusal to pay up.
“These letters were sent for no reason at all”, he explained. “I had already paid the fees, it was a mistake on their part to send me a letter telling me I was overdue on the rent.”
Alex has also mentioned that his family lawyer branded the claims as “harassment”, and would be looking into the case.
Having spoken to a receptionist at Liberty Quays himself, who he described as “rude” and “disinterested”, Alex said they confirmed that his rent payment had indeed been processed, but that they would still be charging for him for the letters.
Liberty Living declined to comment on the issues raised.

Petition calling halls “extortionate” reaches 100 signatures overnight

A petition calling for an end to apparent "unfair" and "unjustifiable" charges at Liberty Quays has attracted mass support

A petition branding Liberty Quays as “extortionate” and “opportunistic” has received over 100 signatures overnight.
The campaign, calling for the Medway student halls to address a number of issues from high check out charges to rodent problems, currently has over 140 signatures.
Set up by disgruntled student Jem Collins, the online page has attracted dozens of comments from students, families and members of the public.
She said: “I set up the page after having problems with my own experience when management insisted that I was the only one complaining and I thought this just can not be true.
“They’ve told me I’ve accrued over £200 worth of damage, but the only evidence I’ve received is a couple of photos showing pictures of a pen on a shelf and some paper on the floor”.
She added: “Management have been extremely rude and patronising throughout the whole procedure and aren’t taking anything seriously”.
Other complaints about the accommodation, which is owned by Liberty Living and is the only halls provider in Gillingham for University of Kent students, range from fictitious faults to rude and unhelpful staff.
One student said he was charged for a chair that was broken upon arrival, whilst another said that they had been refused access to pictures showing the alleged damage.
One student commented: “I was charged £10 for a key that was never given to me in the first place and then treated very rudely and disrespectful (sic), accused of lying and given absolutely ridiculous excuses by S.Triggs : ‘must have fallen off before you even realised you had it.’”
Deposit charges range from £15 to replace standard shower curtains, up to £30 for dust and £65 for replacement chairs.
When quizzed over the high prices, Mrs Triggs, manager at Liberty Quays, said: “Many of our items like the shower curtains are not of standard size and the cost reflects this”, though admitted they could be sourced as cheaply as £1.

She added: “These charges are necessary to ensure the standard of accommodation at Liberty Quays is maintained at a high level in an exceptionally short space of time to ensure the accommodation is ready for our summer students.”
She also said that she had encouraged students in the past to seek to buy the items from other places to avoid paying the charges set by Liberty Living.
Other comments from students included reports of a mice infestation, leaving students unable to use their kitchen for over a month.
In another incident, a number of flats were charged for faulty fire extinguishers that the halls provider claimed the students had tampered with.
However, following a similar petition and campaign, the faulty fire extinguishers were found to be untouched.
Ms Triggs said: “The fire extinguisher incident did not result in any charges to any students. ”
Other complaints have included faeces being left in a communal area for over three days and lack of proper security patrols, allowing members of the public to walk into flats freely.
In a statement from Mrs Triggs, who in a bizarre move has signed the petition herself, she said: “We take all complaints seriously and investigate each on its own merits.”

Have you had problems with Liberty Quays or did your stay go just fine? Let us know in the comments below!

Article taken from the Medwire student magazine, written by Kieran Watkins