“I apologise in advance for the length of this review ......”
1 Star Review
Aug 28,2014
By:
'Dawn'
Aug 28,2014
Branch: London, 27 Greenwich Street South
Services: Sales (as a Vendor)
Sold price: £426000
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SE8
Branch: London, 27 Greenwich Street South
Sales (as a Vendor)
Sold price: £426000
Postcode: SE8
3
people found
this helpful
I apologise in advance for the length of this review but I felt it was important to share my experience with others so that they can avoid making the same bad decision I did to use FJL services to sell their property. I decided to use FJL as selling agents as they already let and managed my property, and I believed that this would make the process easier with interactions with my tenant etc. However, this was a big mistake on my part. I only wish I had read the reviews on this website before making my decision.
At every stage of the sales process I encountered, in my opinion, terrible service. Examples included (not exhaustive):
¢â‚¬Â¢ Incorrect details on the sales brochure ¢â‚¬â€œ initially sent to me with the Isle of Dogs as the location (Greenwich is the correct location)
¢â‚¬Â¢ Not initially listed as a ¢â‚¬ËœPremium Listing' on Rightmove even though FJL offer this as a service that differentiates them from their competitors. The advert was subsequently amended after I phoned them requesting them to do so, the staff hadn't picked up on this.
¢â‚¬Â¢ My property did not appear in The Evening Standard when it was planned to, again FJL offer this as a service that some other estate agents do not.
¢â‚¬Â¢ Staff turned up to the Open Day late. Some viewers had already arrived and I was left to show them round my property, and when the member of staff did show up she was completely unprepared without information about service charges etc. Totally unprofessional.
There were other instances of staff not paying attention to detail, and throughout, my emails were ignored/not responded to and I felt completely out of touch with what was happening. Selling a property is a stressful enough experience without dealing with incompetent staff that has a complete disregard for their clients. Chasing and ensuring things were being done correctly was almost a full time job for me which, on top of my very demanding day job, made for an extremely fraught time. All in all, I found the sales team to be an extremely unprofessional outfit who certainly do not earn their higher than average fees.
It is also worth sharing my experience with the other FJL departments, namely Property Management and Lettings. Dealing with Property Management was never straightforward ¢â‚¬â€œ emails were not responded to in a timely fashion or at all and there is a complete lack of communication between that team and the branch. One final point is that a recent change in personnel and a new Branch manager in Lettings have led to deterioration in service. I had to chase for over 2 months for a partial refund of the management charge, of £550. Despite emails telling me this would be processed, I received the refund only when I threatened to involve my solicitor. Appalling. I know for a fact that if it was the other way round and I was due FJL money, I certainly wouldn't be afforded the luxury of 2 months to settle my debt.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Nothing. Before writing this review I contacted the customer services representative who asked the Area Sales Manager to get in touch with me to discuss my experience. I wanted to give FJL the opportunity to investigate the issues I raised and provide a response.
The Area Sales Manager reported back that he understood my frustration at the service received and had spoken with all parties concerned to reiterate company expectations to them. He also expressed that I had been very unfortunate in my dealings with the Greenwich branch and it was unusual for all the things to go wrong that did so in my sales transaction. I do not think that sentiment is supported by the other reviews on this website and that my experience is as isolated as he suggests. I was offered a discount of ‚£150+VAT as a gesture of goodwill for my inconvenience. I felt that the issues were glossed over and the seriousness not understood. He did not fully appreciate the additional stress and hassle that I encountered throughout the process, and I got the sense that there was no real appetite to tackle the problems and improve the situation.
On a positive note, I did come across a proficient individual who I would trust to sell my property in a competent and expert manner. If you¢â‚¬â„¢d like to sell a property in the Greenwich area, hassle free, then contact Tamer Alcici of Conran Estates. On first meeting him, I could tell he was on the ball and knows his market/clients. My only regret is that I didn¢â‚¬â„¢t sign up with him to sell my property, for reasons explained above. Save yourself a lot of grief and go and have a chat with Tamer. And... don¢â‚¬â„¢t just take my word for it, read the reviews, they speak for themselves.
Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
I think the higher than average fees FJL charge are not justified when they offer such a poor level of service.
The best price was achieved but I believe that this was due to the market conditions rather than anything FJL did.
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Thank you for your feedback regarding our service and the handling of your complaint. We are sorry that you felt dissatisfied but thank you for your feedback in order that we may improve our service.
Kind regards,
Melanie Smith, Customer Relations Manager.