http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=189487
''The main argument here is that Unite should give students the choice of a 41 week contracts and 51 week contracts! Students shouldn’t be forced in to paying for accommodation which they won’t even use over the holidays! I think that the 51 week contract is a good idea for people who wish to live @ university but its not suited to all students!''
A student is complaining about the prices and charges of Unite accommodation and has created a petition against their contract!
''The petition signatures will be forwarded to the Directors of Unite and hopefully the better response we get the more likely we will be able to get contracts we want saving us students money!''
Other complaints...
ReplyDelete'after reading this, i actually felt it was my duty to sign up to the forum to warn you.
NEVER, under any circumstances, go to a UNITE halls of residence.
I'm a student at Leeds College of Music at the moment, and, as a small college, until last year they didnt have any halls whatsoever. However, the year i came *last year* Unite had built a building to cater for the College and i moved in.
It looks nice when you move in. but beware of the following things.
1> the 50+ week rent you have to pay despite the fact you arent there. for example, as a music student i only have practical exams which take place over the course of the year. on the 7th of next month, i finish my first year and i'll be returning to bolton to work for the summer. on the 12th of next month, however, i have to pay £1063 in rent, which pays up until the beginning of july, despite the fact i wont be here.
2> everything looks nice, but believe me, it breaks easily. and when it does, you have to pay through the teeth. they have these cheap curtains in every room of the halls, which looks like they cost a fiver from matalan. ours got slightly frayed at the end, due to simple wear and tear, and they have charged us £120 to get them replaced. for a single set of curtains.
3> they'll rob you blind. as i said, i live in unite halls at the moment and recently the lifts broke. this was because of a group of 4-5 students coming in drunk and jumping around inside. they are charging every single person in the halls £40 each out of their deposit because of this. daylight robbery.
4> the broadband internet... you pay £20 a month for a "512kb Connection". however, read the small print and you'll see that their service (called Ubroadband) is comprised of one 512 KBs connection between every 50 people in the halls. so im paying 20 pounds a month for a 1/50 share of a 512 connetion? in reality thats 20 a month for a connection little over 10kbs per person.... 5 times slower than dial up.
at the moment thats all i can think of. but yeh, as i said. avoid at all costs'
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=172687
ReplyDelete''My son stayed in a Unite new build in Leeds last year. At the end of the year all the housemates moved out and between the five of them they were charged over £1000 for repainting two of the hallway walls, repair/replacing two wooden framed settees which had marks on the fabric cushions, and a cigarette burn in the small carpet.
He has since been to see if the work had been done or settees replaced, which it hadn't, to be told that it will be done by christmas. So he plans on going back again to check.
Another resident was charged for a broken window that he continuously reported when he first moved in''