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University of Edinburgh

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What the hell is Unite?

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Reply 20

Grum Fox

kingofgods

Dont complain...Unite may have crap customer service in some areas but i still choose them over uni halls....in my view uni halls are disgusting places...private accomo all the way :biggrin:

Why are they disgusting?

University of Edinburgh

Reply 21

kingofgods

Grum Fox

Why are they disgusting?

Iv heard very bad stories including ones of people ****ting on the floor :rolleyes:

No worrys in en suite unless you **** yourself LOL

Reply 22

Absurd

Grum Fox

Well... I said it wasn't just the one. Those are from 5 people over 3 different blocks in different towns which had their deposits held over damages that never happened.

The point that I take from the OP is that they applied for university accommodation. Not everyone has the financial resources to be able to drop £5k on these unite halls.

The fact is as well, with unite halls, you do get wee jakies doing an NC in Dole Collecting at Bawjaws College in the flats. At least with university halls, there's some degree of quality control and they're there to provide a service, rather than make a profit out of you.

The OP doesn't have a nerve to complain - the university made a promise to accommodate all 1st years. If they can't meet this using their own resources, then it's not appropriate to offer that promise.

It costs the same as UoE standard self-catered accommodation, so we're not losing out financially.

Reply 23

Absurd

kingofgods

Iv heard very bad stories including ones of people ****ting on the floor :rolleyes:

No worrys in en suite unless you **** yourself LOL

There are always going to be bad stories, but that doesn't mean all university accommodation is grotty.

Reply 24

artorscience?

Grum Fox

The OP doesn't have a nerve to complain - the university made a promise to accommodate all 1st years. If they can't meet this using their own resources, then it's not appropriate to offer that promise.

I don't know what the promise was this year (I imagine it was very similar) but when I was applying I remember being told that they would find accommodation, be it university residences or in extreme cases youth hostels. And given that the OP is being given UNITE accommodation at roughly half cost, the university are doing more than they have to do in finding him accommodation.

And UNITE properties are only as bad as the tenants who live in them, the same as with any flat - if you have messy and destructive people you end up with a messy and destroyed flat. You'd be surprised how much people start trying to destroy their home once they move out of their parents' house. And as for quality control, UNITE is a nationwide company, accommodation services a small service in Edinburgh - which is really more likely to have a better quality control/maintenance service because if they didn't they'd be more likely to suffer in court (or even has more to gain from ensuring that students have a positive experience)? If you really think your landlord is treating you (or your friends) unfairly, do something about it rather than whine.

Reply 25

nearlyheadlessian

Grum Fox

At least with university halls, there's some degree of quality control and they're there to provide a service, rather than make a profit out of you.

Nope, I can assure you that they're a business. Having had one year of fun at the hands of them I wouldn't choose to go back. Rather than carry out repairs, maintenance would simply file the job as complete and skip visiting the flat altogether.

As to the argument that unite has people you'd rather no live with staying there, I can't comment on unite itself, but I lived with people in university owned accommodation last year who I hope never to meet again.

And my point that the OP was lucky was based on absurd's point that the unite accommodation will be offered at regular university rates. The university made the OP a promise which they have kept and has cost them several thousand pounds. What's their problem?

Reply 26

orangepossum

nearlyheadlessian

The university made the OP a promise which they have kept and has cost them several thousand pounds. What's their problem?

They haven't kept their promise, they guaranteed me 'University Accommodation', of which UNITE isn't. I realise I am lucky to have ensuite and a nice place to live, but I would quite happily exchange that for a place in some grotty university accommodation if it meant I was sharing with people from my own university. On speaking to the admissions office they've told me that I'm the only one in my flat going to Edinburgh university.

Reply 27

HaylesW

I don't blame you for being a bit annoyed. I'm still waiting to hear about what accomodation I've got and I hope that I haven't got UNITE accomodation. It's even more annoying for you that no one else is from edinburgh. How close are you to the rest of edinburgh university?

Reply 28

Lessthanzero

Id say its 50/50 for accomadation with unite. Im in my second year and was supposed to be in Unite for my first, but three weeks before I went they told me that I had to pay my first 3 months upfront so that equalled to just over 1000 so they told me to get an overdaft to cover the costs, i thought that was ******** so i moved ( i didnt have the time to sort out an overdraft my bank had previulsy rejected a card upgrade fo what ****ing reason i dont know and had no ID so id have to sent off for that whihc would have taken 3 months) but my friend got in to unite and he was pretty happy with them, but they did him over on his damage deposit. i guess they can be good and bad

Reply 29

michaelnicholson88

orangepossum

They haven't kept their promise, they guaranteed me 'University Accommodation', of which UNITE isn't.

I'm sorry but this isn't strictly true. While UNITE may be a company independent to the university of Edinburgh it has been approved by Accommodation Services and therefore falls within the ambit of university accommodation. While I can appreciate that you're disappointed at not being with other University of Edinburgh students I can't help but feel that you should be looking at this as an excellent opportunity rather than as a negative thing. One of the bad things about being at Edinburgh University is that the students there seem to have such little contact with students at the other universities in the city. You've been blesses with an opportunity to have various social circles- your flatmates, who are nothing to do with university, and people at the university itself.
Moreover, here is the accommodation guarantee:
http://www.accom.ed.ac.uk/accom_info/guarantees/Guarantee_Freshers.htm

While you are correct in saying that they guarantee university accommodation (and you should be grateful they do that, other universities do not) the disclaimer at the bottom makes their use of UNITE a perfectly legitimate practise.

Reply 30

Lessthanzero

Yeah but morally its not legiitimate is it

Reply 31

Absurd

Lessthanzero

Yeah but morally its not legiitimate is it

Morally? Morality doesn't come into it, really.

Reply 32

Lessthanzero

Absurd

Morally? Morality doesn't come into it, really.

yeah well thats why students get ****ed over so much

Reply 33

Absurd

Lessthanzero

yeah well thats why students get ****ed over so much

Ok then. At least they're offering us accommodation. It could be much worse.

Reply 34

michaelnicholson88

Lessthanzero

Yeah but morally its not legiitimate is it

Morally it is. We have freedom of contract in this country and they have proffered you accommodation, keeping with their promise. It is up to you to decide whether you wish to take it or you are dissatisfied with their offer.
If it's against your morals to take the offer I suggest you look in the private sector, but remember that you won't have the backing of the University of Edinburgh should things go wrong, as you would with UNITE.

Reply 35

JuicyLucy1989

I wasn't happy when I found out about getting Unite accomodation, mainly because I wasn't happy about missing out on the social side of things. But I got over it cos I realised it was nice accomodation and all that, and there will be other Edinburgh Uni students about. I'm in Portsburgh Court by the way and it looks fine really although I'd be pretty upset if there were no other uni students in my flat if I'm honest.

However, what has really annoyed me is this. I went to Leeds Fest this weekend and met someone who was also going to Edinburgh. He said he's applied for 2 places at Pollock and then a SC flat for his third choice. I applied for 3 SC flats because at open days and when applying online I was told there was a pretty much 100% chance of getting a SC flat if you applied for one. And the fact that people are getting them who didn't even have them as they're first choice annoyed me a little bit. I'll get over it though :smile:

I'm sure we'll have a blast!

JuicyLucy1989

JuicyLucy1989

I'd be pretty upset if there were no other uni students in my flat if I'm honest.

It's still student accommodation, you'll still be living with students. The only difference is that some'll be from Napier/Herriot-Watt rather than just the mix from UoE, the college of art and the agricultural college.