December 27th 2023.
Louis Whitehead, a 21-year-old student from Saddleworth in Manchester, was absolutely shocked when he returned from work on December 20 to find his room at Stratford One in east London, owned by Unite Students, completely emptied. All of his belongings were removed without him knowing, including thousands of pounds worth of possessions such as a MacBook Pro, an Apple Watch, and designer clothing. He also claims sentimental items such as old birthday cards from late family members were taken.
When Louis entered his room, his jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe that all of his things were gone. To make matters worse, he received an email claiming he would be charged a ‘cleaning fee’ of £52 for Unite Students ‘binning’ his items.
Louis had verbally agreed to move out on December 22, ahead of his move into a private house with his partner in January. But two days earlier, to his complete surprise, he found his room emptied. He called the Metropolitan Police in a state of panic and contacted the building’s management team to try and locate his items. After searching his accommodation, Louis discovered £500 Balenciaga shoes and bedding in a bin bag in his building’s storage room.
Unite Students eventually emailed Louis and said they retrieved some of his items, but he claims a ‘large amount’ is still missing. He now has to redo all of his assignments, which he had already completed ahead of his January deadlines. On top of that, he’s also worried about his contact lenses and glasses, which he had to sleep in the night before to be able to see.
In response, Unite Students confirmed they are investigating the incident and said the £52 was their standard cleaning service fee that Louis had agreed to. To express his shock, Louis shared his experience on TikTok, where his video of an empty room has since amassed 82,000 views and 6,000 likes.
A spokesperson from Unite Students said that the safety and security of their residents and their property is their number one priority. They are currently in contact with Louis and relevant onsite teams, and are awaiting proof of purchase on various items.
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