Jasmine Abuziad
9 October 2023
If there are any prospective tenants considering Westcombe, please heed my warning: it is the most disgusting, horribly managed establishment I have ever lived in. Upon living there in September 2022, I was surprised by how beautiful it was (but for £1500+ a month it better be fucking gorgeous). THE SUMMARY: Rats, Bugs, Bins piling up for weeks, Unlivable flats (no working hobs, fridges, electrical sockets, broken furniture, leaky drains), horrible management, etc. Live here at your own risk! THE FLATS: If you think the flats are well-sized and modern, think again! Each flat is equipped with its own personal nightmare, from leaky drains and furniture falling apart to broken hobs and even electrical sockets that randomly decide to explode! My studio flat personally came with roommates: a family of bugs that crawled out of a tiny hole in the bathroom and refused to disappear. Cute, right? Room 13’s toilet had not flushed properly in years, while Room 48 won the entire bingo card! It had no working shower, hobs, or electrical sockets—and the best part? Despite complaining to management, no one ever came around to fix the issues. When management did eventually find a handyman, his work often just broke again. For the electrical problems, he simply duct taped over the sockets. The elevator didn’t work for months (a nightmare for anyone with injuries or disabilities) and at one point, we didn’t even have warm water. I don’t know about y’all, but I think cold showers are a GREAT way to start off my mornings! Some people’s fridges broke for weeks, allowing (forcing) them the absolute pleasure of using the rancid fridges in the communal areas. Speaking of… COMMUNAL AREAS: If you think the downstairs kitchens are a space to store kitchenware that won’t fit in your kitchenette and cook gorgeous meals, think again! The ovens were never once cleaned, resulting in a layer of burnt grime settling over everything. We had a thief on the loose who stole everything they could get their hands on (including but not limited to: pots/pans, food items, silverware, mail, and even my water bottle with a bitten straw — gross!). When we raised our concerns to the on-site manager, she told us it was not her job to check the cameras and to “look harder” for our certainly “misplaced” items. When one of the thieves was caught, the victim was basically bullied (by management) into secrecy, keeping their identity hidden in exchange for an apology; and yet, the thievery did not stop. The communal areas were meant to be up-kept by a cleaner who decided to never show up after my second month living there. At one point, she would show up just to PRETEND to clean (we caught her vacuuming the same spot for over an hour). Her responsibilities included taking out the bins, vacuuming, wiping/mopping surfaces, and cleaning out the fridges every now and then; take a guess on how often that last one actually happened. If you guessed NEVER, you’re right! I wholeheartedly believe scientists should research the creatures growing inside those giant petri dishes, as I’m sure there are plenty of new life forms making their home in the rotting veggies and out of date dairy riddling the fridges. Opening a fridge would result in certain death, or at least a smell so vile, it would make your eyes water (and linger in the air) for hours after. The bins would overflow for days straight; though it was definitely not our job, us residents were not able to clean up even if we wanted to, as we were not given access to cleaning supplies. At one point, bin collection stopped coming to our building—which was not dealt with in a timely manner and somehow made the fault of the residents in a few aggressive emails. For weeks, we were told not to throw our rubbish in the Bin Store (and that we would be fined for attempting to do so) while the buildings’ bins steadily overflowed, to the point where the bin collection door could not even shut. This was probably the catalyst for… CREATURES & CREEPS: In the sweltering heat of the summer, new tenants signed their lease at Westcombe: a big ol’ happy family of RATS. They terrorized the communal spaces, making meals out of the moldy fridges and gunky countertops. But residents could not stop cooking there, as the aforementioned broken hobs were never repaired. Weeks after voicing our concerns, we were told exterminators were coming—but no traps were ever laid and the rats happily continued their tirade of terror! But what are a few health violations when you’re saving money, right? Additionally, random inebriated strangers wandered onto the site on multiple occasions because some of the doors did not lock or even close properly. At times, they were aggressive; we lived there fearing for our safety. They brought in security, which was initially promised to be a 24-hour facet of the building but only actually hired in the last week of my lease. It didn’t really matter though, because the hired guard fell asleep, phone in hand, on his first night; he didn’t even guard the couch he was snoring on! DEPOSIT RETURN: Don’t expect one! After living in hell for a year, CRM is now scrambling to find reasons not to return student deposits. In the very last month of our leases, we were made aware that opening our windows was a violation of our contracts. And despite communicating with the managers of our building about repairs (when they were actually there…there was a period of 3 weeks in which no one worked the desk), one tenant was told any preexisting issues not filed in the “repair portal” would be considered our fault. The new manager, Zainab (bless her heart), was hired near the end of our leases. She clearly tried her best but was handled a steaming plate of shit and told to make a roast dinner out of it. In conclusion, CRM Students does not give a fuck about anything except lining their pockets. P.S. I once found a used feminine sanitation towel on the ground floor hall; it remained on the floor for 3 days. I have included photos on my Google review of this building as this website does not allow photos.
