There is a reason why this company has been nicknamed "Shocking Stuart" at http://www.productreview.com.au/p/hocking-stuart.html.

We rented an apartment on Dryburgh Street from Hocking Stuart Brunswick and it has to be one of the most appalling experiences of our 1.5 years in Australia. We were not well served, and felt exploited. We have already sent detailed feedback to Customer Service, but would to share a brief account here to others who might be in our shoes:

1. Rude. Only go with them if you fancy being snarled at and told, “I don’t have time for this!” when you want to discuss the details of the Condition Report. I had to tell the Property Manager once, “You don’t need to talk to me this way. With all due respect, I am your client”.

2. Unresponsive. Trying to get anything fixed in your apartment will be like scaling Mount Everest. They will ignore your calls, or tell you their server is down, or that it’s simply not their business. You have to prod and prod and prod and prod to get them to do anything. To fix something, to hear back the result of the final inspection, to get your bond back etc.

3. Inconsistent. They’ll tell you one time that you are taking good care of the place, and the next time, that you’ve caused grave damage and need to fix things. They don’t seem to understand the concept of fair wear and tear. They made us replace the silicone lining (!) of the bathroom.

4. Not keeping their word. They will make mistakes, but not apologise to you. They said they’d arrange a pre-vacating inspection with us but never did. They said they’d send us an email by Tuesday, or latest Wednesday with our bond form, but all we got was a long list of rectifications on Friday afternoon, after we sent two chaser emails on Thursday and Friday. That, knowing full well that we were leaving Australia soon! It gave us almost no time to do the rectifications. No one apologises.

5. Exploitative. Guy who doesn’t have time to discuss Condition Report with us also forgets to take some detailed photos of the place – we had to take them for him. Other person who inspects our property after we move up fails to check against the Condition Report and lists items that had already been noted as spoilt. They allow the owner to leave all kinds of things in the house but are super tight with you and will make you come back to clean a dirty spot the size of a sparrow’s tear. Some wooden fixtures in the kitchen were untreated, and hence prone to water staining. Yet, they will make you sandpaper it and lacquer it, even though there wasn’t lacquer there in the first place.

How might we summarise our time with Hocking Stuart? The words of Portia (Merchant of Venice) come to mind:

This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood;
The words expressly are "a pound of flesh."

We would not wish it on anyone.