Oxbow, M5

I lived here for 4 years. When I first moved in, the staff were friendly, maintenance team were quick to attend and living here was enjoyable. Within the last year, things have declined dramatically. We had a maintenance issue and reported this, staff came over to fix the recurring issue but did not realise I was home and went on to talk about my flat mate in a derogatory and misogynistic manner, not knowing I could hear everything they were saying. The old property manager did do what she could to rectify the issue but it shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. Within the last year I had to report a lot of maintenance problems, such as faulty sliding wardrobe doors, washing machine, dishwasher, tap water running black, faulty toilet seat. These have all taken too long to be addressed and we’ve been made to feel like a burden for reporting them. Some of these issues were never actually fixed, the wardrobe door needed replacing but they kept fitting it back onto the track, which would last a week at most, before falling off again. This was never fixed to a satisfactory state. The toilet seat was also never fixed. The water running black took far too long to fix and we were blamed for the issue, when in fact it was a nail that had been left in the pipes and rusted. I reported a leak in the flat. I submitted this request as soon as it occurred. I could not run the dishwasher or use the kitchen sink as it caused water to pour out from the cupboard and all over the kitchen floor. I submitted the request twice and called the concierge about it twice and it took more than a week for someone to even come and look at it. When they eventually came out, it was a simple fix that took no more than 5 minutes. This left us unable to use most of the kitchen equipment for more than a week. Aside from maintenance issues, the staff when I first moved in were really friendly and welcoming and couldn’t do enough to help you. The staff now don’t even acknowledge your presence and asking them for help takes at least a week for a response and makes you feel like an inconvenience. For example, asking for a meter reading takes far too long and this is not something we can do for ourselves. There used to be an open door policy on the managers office so that any resident with a concern could speak to someone. Now they permanently have a sign reading “meeting in progress”. Trying to get in touch with anyone is really difficult, you have to send multiple emails and still wait for days on end for a reply and the phone is very rarely answered. My tenancy ended in June and I couldn’t wait to move out. When we did move out, we found out that our deposit had not been protected correctly. Property management and administration is very poor. For the final year of living there, the property managers had set up an incorrect standing order, meaning that we ended up owing over £700 in rent arrears. A new community manager took over in my last year of tenancy. He was apologetic for the issues we had faced at first but then became rude when we told him about our deposit not being protected correctly. Whilst trying to sort this issue, we were actively ignored. I sent several emails and called numerous times. I know I was being ignored as my calls from the phone number registered to the apartment went unanswered, but when I called from another number immediately after, this was picked up. The assistant manager ignores emails for weeks on end, I sent 3 emails regarding the same thing, simply asking for an update on an issue and she ignored all emails. Another issue arose and I had to email her 4 times in order to get a response. I moved out over 3 months ago and I am still being inconvenienced by their incompetency and administrative errors, I am still having to make contact with the property management because of their consistent failures. Overall, despite new management, the property management is appalling, the customer service is non existent and maintenance is average at the best. The only positives to living here are the location and the design of the apartments. I cannot wait to wash my hands of this property and the management (which I should’ve been able to, the stress they have caused me over the last year is incomprehensible).

Oxbow is a great place to live. It has a community feel with all the amenities you could ask for. The concierge team and always on hand to help with any queries. The development has a great mix of families, young professionals and couples which gives it a real home feeling.

Design is sleek and homely. There is always someone around to collect parcels, ask questions to, and have a chat with on reception. The washer dryer actually works and is super quiet, as is the dishwasher. Plenty of space to bring your own furniture and the commu it super welcoming.

The Team is simply fantastic and does extra miles to make you feel at home and be a part of a community.: from happy smiles and professionalism of Shannon, Lukas and Kiare to our unique super Dave that is an asset in our development! A special mention as well to Ben, our facilities manager, and Emma: nothing is too much trouble for them! New summer furnitures in the communal garden: top!

The building is managed excellently by David, he cares about the tenants and acts quickly to fix issues with honesty and integrity. Maintainance issues arise in every development but David is quick to manage his team to resolve where within their control.