TM
Thabiso M
1 reviews | Active since Oct 2021
31 Oct 2025, 09:53
#Useless#Unworthy
They don’t even deserve one star. Ever since I moved from a one-bedroom apartment to a bachelor unit with a balcony, hidden costs started appearing without any clear explanation. An apartment that was supposed to cost R5,850 suddenly became R9,282.53 — it makes absolutely no sense. The deposit I paid for my previous apartment seems to have disappeared when I transferred.
Staying at Barlow Park has been my biggest regret. Instead of moving out earlier, I chose to stay — but I’m finally planning to leave at the end of the month. The place is terrible. When you call for assistance, you get passed from one person to another, and when someone finally answers, they promise to call back but never do. Tenants are moving out because of these ongoing problems.
I’m sure Barlow Park will respond, claiming they’ll look into the issue, but nothing ever gets resolved. Stop wasting our time — we’re paying for poor service and ridiculous hidden charges.
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Ithemba Property Management's replyOfficial
31 Oct 2025, 13:15Dear Thabiso,
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to clarify the situation.
Firstly, please accept our sincere apologies for the experience you’ve had when seeking assistance over the phone regarding your bill. We understand how frustrating that must have been, and we want to assure you that this matter has been escalated internally and is currently being investigated.
With regard to your rental amount, please note that your basic rental for the apartment is indeed R5,840. However, there are several fixed charges added to your statement each month, including sewer, refuse, estate levy, electricity demand fee, meter reading fee, and parking. These charges were also included in your previous unit’s statement and are not hidden costs. They were clearly reflected on both your original and transfer quotations.
The only variable charge on your statement is for water consumption, as this is billed based on actual usage. This structure remains consistent with your previous unit’s billing.
Please also note that when transferring units, the final water consumption from your previous unit, along with any applicable maintenance charges, is billed and carried over to your new unit. These charges appear with the first official billing for your new apartment. Our transfer agents communicate this clearly in their initial correspondence, which includes the following notice: “Upon transferring, you will be liable to pay final charges from your previous unit.” This communication is send via WhatsApp when going through with the transfer process
We would like to emphasize that these final and variable charges are not hidden costs. Water usage, billed in arrears, can only be charged once meter readings have been collected. These are the additional costs outside of your basic rental that contributed towards your final current outstanding balance
We hope this explanation clarifies the matter.
Sincerely,
Ithemba Property
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to clarify the situation.
Firstly, please accept our sincere apologies for the experience you’ve had when seeking assistance over the phone regarding your bill. We understand how frustrating that must have been, and we want to assure you that this matter has been escalated internally and is currently being investigated.
With regard to your rental amount, please note that your basic rental for the apartment is indeed R5,840. However, there are several fixed charges added to your statement each month, including sewer, refuse, estate levy, electricity demand fee, meter reading fee, and parking. These charges were also included in your previous unit’s statement and are not hidden costs. They were clearly reflected on both your original and transfer quotations.
The only variable charge on your statement is for water consumption, as this is billed based on actual usage. This structure remains consistent with your previous unit’s billing.
Please also note that when transferring units, the final water consumption from your previous unit, along with any applicable maintenance charges, is billed and carried over to your new unit. These charges appear with the first official billing for your new apartment. Our transfer agents communicate this clearly in their initial correspondence, which includes the following notice: “Upon transferring, you will be liable to pay final charges from your previous unit.” This communication is send via WhatsApp when going through with the transfer process
We would like to emphasize that these final and variable charges are not hidden costs. Water usage, billed in arrears, can only be charged once meter readings have been collected. These are the additional costs outside of your basic rental that contributed towards your final current outstanding balance
We hope this explanation clarifies the matter.
Sincerely,
Ithemba Property
Best regards,
Ithemba Property Management's reply31 Oct 2025, 13:15
Official
Dear Thabiso,
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to clarify the situation.
Firstly, please accept our sincere apologies for the experience you’ve had when seeking assistance over the phone regarding your bill. We understand how frustrating that must have been, and we want to assure you that this matter has been escalated internally and is currently being investigated.
With regard to your rental amount, please note that your basic rental for the apartment is indeed R5,840. However, there are several fixed charges added to your statement each month, including sewer, refuse, estate levy, electricity demand fee, meter reading fee, and parking. These charges were also included in your previous unit’s statement and are not hidden costs. They were clearly reflected on both your original and transfer quotations.
The only variable charge on your statement is for water consumption, as this is billed based on actual usage. This structure remains consistent with your previous unit’s billing.
Please also note that when transferring units, the final water consumption from your previous unit, along with any applicable maintenance charges, is billed and carried over to your new unit. These charges appear with the first official billing for your new apartment. Our transfer agents communicate this clearly in their initial correspondence, which includes the following notice: “Upon transferring, you will be liable to pay final charges from your previous unit.” This communication is send via WhatsApp when going through with the transfer process
We would like to emphasize that these final and variable charges are not hidden costs. Water usage, billed in arrears, can only be charged once meter readings have been collected. These are the additional costs outside of your basic rental that contributed towards your final current outstanding balance
We hope this explanation clarifies the matter.
Sincerely,
Ithemba Property
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to clarify the situation.
Firstly, please accept our sincere apologies for the experience you’ve had when seeking assistance over the phone regarding your bill. We understand how frustrating that must have been, and we want to assure you that this matter has been escalated internally and is currently being investigated.
With regard to your rental amount, please note that your basic rental for the apartment is indeed R5,840. However, there are several fixed charges added to your statement each month, including sewer, refuse, estate levy, electricity demand fee, meter reading fee, and parking. These charges were also included in your previous unit’s statement and are not hidden costs. They were clearly reflected on both your original and transfer quotations.
The only variable charge on your statement is for water consumption, as this is billed based on actual usage. This structure remains consistent with your previous unit’s billing.
Please also note that when transferring units, the final water consumption from your previous unit, along with any applicable maintenance charges, is billed and carried over to your new unit. These charges appear with the first official billing for your new apartment. Our transfer agents communicate this clearly in their initial correspondence, which includes the following notice: “Upon transferring, you will be liable to pay final charges from your previous unit.” This communication is send via WhatsApp when going through with the transfer process
We would like to emphasize that these final and variable charges are not hidden costs. Water usage, billed in arrears, can only be charged once meter readings have been collected. These are the additional costs outside of your basic rental that contributed towards your final current outstanding balance
We hope this explanation clarifies the matter.
Sincerely,
Ithemba Property
Best regards,