0% sales valuation accuracy
20% sales fee satisfaction
33% lettings valuation accuracy
13% lettings fee satisfaction
Nov 30,2011
Nov 30,2011
16
people found
this helpful
this helpful
How this company are still in business I have no idea. Rarely am I moved to write a bad review but sometimes a business crosses the line of incompetence by such an impressive margin, it needs to re recorded. It seems there are a lot of people posting negative comments about this firm so my advice is to steer clear.
I tried to rent a house through this company. The process wasn't pleasant, they were difficult to get hold of and made me feel I was putting them out simply by inquiring.
I did view the place and quickly made an offer which was accepted by the vendor. I asked if I should come sign something or pay a deposit and was asked if I could do that later in the week as they were busy but was assured the place was mine and they wouldn't arrange viewings with anyone else. A few days later, after trying to get hold of the agent, they informed me they had let the property to someone else, no apology, no explanation. They were rude and got aggressive on the phone when I pointed out that they had accepted an offer from me.. Quite incredible.
I was really annoyed as I quickly had to change plans in my old place and it caused some minor problems, however, I wasn't too put out - they are estate agents after all, no, it wasn't what they'd done but the way they spoke to me when I came back to them asking what had happened, a simple 'We're really sorry, these things happen' would have made thing fine with me. I'm easy going and people make mistakes but they were just rude and really confrontational and made out it was my fault somehow.. incredible attitude.
This gets worse. A work colleague was also renting a house via Simmons (she's not longer there thank goodness) and a few weeks after my experience, she was dropping something off at their office. She has a baby in the back of the car and was dropping an envelope off. She pulled into a parking space which turned out to be a 'staff parking' space, left the child and nipped in to give them the envelope - a member of Simmons staff arrives at the office and blocks her in.. My colleague apologised in that typical English way 'Terribly sorry, just dropping something off' and she received a verbal assault, she swore at her at her and really laid into her for taking her parking space! She was only there for 2 minutes and was a customer! She refused to shift her car until she'd been into the office for a couple of minutes then came out all surly and moved her car, my colleague was close to tears when she got back to work.
Next up, I find another house for rent that is in the right location, again, through Simmons. They were the only agent so I had no choice but to call them, and to be fair, being an optimist I decide that perhaps the experience so far is isolated and down to one bad apple - lets hope! I viewed the property and said I would like to take it but politely reminded them that last time they had let me down after accepting an offer and asked if they would do this again - I was making the point in a half jokey, half serious way but wanted to make sure they weren't going to string me along and leave me homeless. They then tell me they will refuse to rent a house to me and wont pass an offer to the owner.. hardly in the Owners interest and was purely a childish response because they realised I was the one who had the neck to complain a couple of months earlier about them. I was moved almost to laughter at this, fortunately, it's a small world and I happened to know the owners through the local network and I got in touch and put them in the picture. They ditched Simmons and I rented the place, not through Simmons of course.
This has been my experience and I'd like to think that it's just a bad apple in Basingstoke but the mention of Simmons in a pub or local village fete will bring stories of all sorts of negative experiences people seem to have had. I can only suggest steering clear, there are other really good alternatives and if anyone from Simmons is reading this, and I hope you are, my advice is to change jobs, dealing with the public is not your thing.
I tried to rent a house through this company. The process wasn't pleasant, they were difficult to get hold of and made me feel I was putting them out simply by inquiring.
I did view the place and quickly made an offer which was accepted by the vendor. I asked if I should come sign something or pay a deposit and was asked if I could do that later in the week as they were busy but was assured the place was mine and they wouldn't arrange viewings with anyone else. A few days later, after trying to get hold of the agent, they informed me they had let the property to someone else, no apology, no explanation. They were rude and got aggressive on the phone when I pointed out that they had accepted an offer from me.. Quite incredible.
I was really annoyed as I quickly had to change plans in my old place and it caused some minor problems, however, I wasn't too put out - they are estate agents after all, no, it wasn't what they'd done but the way they spoke to me when I came back to them asking what had happened, a simple 'We're really sorry, these things happen' would have made thing fine with me. I'm easy going and people make mistakes but they were just rude and really confrontational and made out it was my fault somehow.. incredible attitude.
This gets worse. A work colleague was also renting a house via Simmons (she's not longer there thank goodness) and a few weeks after my experience, she was dropping something off at their office. She has a baby in the back of the car and was dropping an envelope off. She pulled into a parking space which turned out to be a 'staff parking' space, left the child and nipped in to give them the envelope - a member of Simmons staff arrives at the office and blocks her in.. My colleague apologised in that typical English way 'Terribly sorry, just dropping something off' and she received a verbal assault, she swore at her at her and really laid into her for taking her parking space! She was only there for 2 minutes and was a customer! She refused to shift her car until she'd been into the office for a couple of minutes then came out all surly and moved her car, my colleague was close to tears when she got back to work.
Next up, I find another house for rent that is in the right location, again, through Simmons. They were the only agent so I had no choice but to call them, and to be fair, being an optimist I decide that perhaps the experience so far is isolated and down to one bad apple - lets hope! I viewed the property and said I would like to take it but politely reminded them that last time they had let me down after accepting an offer and asked if they would do this again - I was making the point in a half jokey, half serious way but wanted to make sure they weren't going to string me along and leave me homeless. They then tell me they will refuse to rent a house to me and wont pass an offer to the owner.. hardly in the Owners interest and was purely a childish response because they realised I was the one who had the neck to complain a couple of months earlier about them. I was moved almost to laughter at this, fortunately, it's a small world and I happened to know the owners through the local network and I got in touch and put them in the picture. They ditched Simmons and I rented the place, not through Simmons of course.
This has been my experience and I'd like to think that it's just a bad apple in Basingstoke but the mention of Simmons in a pub or local village fete will bring stories of all sorts of negative experiences people seem to have had. I can only suggest steering clear, there are other really good alternatives and if anyone from Simmons is reading this, and I hope you are, my advice is to change jobs, dealing with the public is not your thing.
What agent could do to change your mind?
It wasn't a one off, it was a number of issues over a period of time, not just with me... I can only suggest moving staff about, it was more than one person I dealt with and seems to be a cultural issue in the business in that office, thus the review.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Latest Reviews
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reviewed by 'Bridget'
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reviewed by 'Paul'
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reviewed by 'Experienced'
7th Aug 2018
reviewed by 'Neil'
23rd Mar 2018
reviewed by 'Chocoflaps'
Opening Hours
Address
Simmons & Sons
12 Wote Street
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 7NW
01256 840077
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 0% | 20% | £0 | £0 |
| Lettings | 33% | 13% | £650 | £1,250 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Areas covered
- RG21
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Oct 03,2020
Oct 03,2020
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Pathetic. Viewed a property and agent has not come back to me after 1 week. Extremely rude. Will not do business with them. Absolute waste of space....
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Oct 05, 2020
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(1)
apologies for the misunderstanding, my colleague is emailing you direct. ...
Jun 12,2019
Jun 12,2019
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We have sadly used the letting team for 5 years and I can't work out if its incompetence or laziness (or perhaps a heady combination of the two) that, despite a "managed service" meant that they didn't ensure contracts were renewed annually, they didn't inform me ...
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Comment on agent fees
It was money down the drain in my experience. They didn't earn it.
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Jun 13, 2019
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Strange how you omit the fact that you didn't renew the contract with the tenant and didn't tell me until some 10 months after it was due.... despite that you were, allegedly managing the account....
I am, however, impressed that you have responded to this review. What a shame you still have not explained how you can neglect your management duties for ten months... despite taking your management fee every month. That's why you are rated as you are. ...
Apr 19,2019
Apr 19,2019
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
do not touch them, we rented through them and all fine till you try to get your deposit back, we left house professionally cleaned but they still took money of for all sorts, even 40 quid as we did not sweep the paths outside. do not ...
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Apr 26, 2019
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the inventory clerk who was the landlords mother !!! do not touch them, read all the reviews on deposit withholdings.
as for arbitration, we both know that means the deposit is not returned until settled and on moving a 2k deposit is needed back, that's the clever card you play. people cannot afford that deposit to be left in limbo. ...
Feb 04,2019
Feb 04,2019
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
This agent behaves as if they don't care whether you rent one of their listed properties or not. Terse, unhelpful, self-indulgent. They treat renters as if they are the lowest of the low, despite the fact we are paying their salaries, not the landlords. Landlord ...
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Comment on agent fees
Not worth a fraction of their fees. The principle of insisting on a non-refundable fee before they will even start to process the contract is just a shabby way of holding tenants to ransom.
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Aug 07,2018
Aug 07,2018
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
If I could give zero stars I would. We had a similar experience to another gentleman who has reviewed Simmons and Sons in Basingstoke as a letting agent on Google.
On leaving the property we had cleaned it to a high standard and had the ...
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Comment on agent fees
Ridiculous, £75 for renewal of tenancy, which is an annual fee. What is this actually for?
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Aug 08, 2018
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Further to your review posted. We take comments seriously and have looked into the matter in detail and report as follows:-
We dispute your statement regarding the fact you were charged for dust" and were not provided with an itemised report detailing the cleaning requirements.
An itemised check out report was sent to you which contained 69 individual cleaning requirements of which 23 of the individual items referred to dust"
4 light bulbs were not working in the lounge. No charge was made fo ...
Mar 23,2018
Mar 23,2018
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Had a booking for a viewing on Saturday morning, then found online that the property was sold stc. The agent did not call me, and when I called the office, I was told there was no record of a booking for the viewing, and that ...
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Oct 11,2016
Oct 11,2016
12
people found
this helpful
this helpful
You have been warned. There seems to be something wrong with this firm; rude, unprofessional and I can't really grasp how or why people keep using them. Lied, caught them out, they got aggressive when I politely pointed out the issue. Not the way to ...
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Mar 23,2016
Mar 23,2016
8
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I was seeking a studio to rent and showed my interest in an immaculate offering by this agent. I received a quotation which included a total of £401 in fees, which is among the highest I have seen. But the real deal breaker was the £500 deposit, ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
High (bad)Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
High (bad)
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Mar 30, 2016
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I am sorry you were not happy with the response you received. However, you may have misunderstood our tenant referencing process and the fees involved. I would be happy to discuss this with you and clarify any areas of concern in person. ...
Nov 02,2014
Nov 02,2014
10
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Terrible services-especially if you are a tenant you are treated like a dirt especcialy if you have any issues with property. When it comes to realising deposit you can ve sure they will rip you off because you actually were using that house.......
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What agent could do to change your mind?
NothingAttached Filesnbsp;
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Sep 27,2013
Sep 27,2013
13
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Absolutely DISGRACEFUL service from this estate agents. I would advise everyone to avoid dealing with them AT ALL COSTS. Our landlord was unwilling to maintain the property as defined by law as a landlords responsibility, and Simmons and Sons were more than happy to let ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
They should close down all branches and never trade again. Im outraged by their disgraceful attitude!Attached Filesnbsp;
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Sep 27,2013
Sep 27,2013
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Absolutely DISGRACEFUL service from this estate agents. I would advise everyone to avoid dealing with them AT ALL COSTS.
Our landlord was unwilling to maintain the property as defined by law as a landlords responsibility, and Simmons and Sons were more than happy to let ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
They should close down all branches and never trade again. Im outraged by their disgraceful attitude!Attached Filesnbsp;
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Apr 09,2013
Apr 09,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
3 years ago we sold my late mothers flat through Simmonds. Dean was very professional and thoughtful and found a buyer in a very short time.
In one of our chats we mentioned, that we are interested in buying a bungalow in the near future.
We ...
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Jan 25,2013
Jan 25,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Dean and Pat,
I Found they where very help full, in my purcase of a property, which was a awkard sale due to sellers circumstances....
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Jan 25,2013
Jan 25,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Dean Pearce valued my late mother's property some years ago and she told me that when the time eventually came to sell she would like Simmons to deal with it because she trusted 'that nice young man'. Sadly the time came and I contacted 'that ...
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Jan 24,2013
Jan 24,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I recently sold my late mother's house through Simmons & Sons. My main contact was Pat Richardson and I cannot rate her work highly enough. Without fail, Pat was professional, sensitive and extremely efficient. Pat is very knowledgeable and I was never in any doubt that ...
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Jan 22,2013
Jan 22,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I used Basingstoke Simmons to sell my late mother's house in the weeks after her sad death. Both Dean and Pat were extremely sensitive and understanding of my feelings, yet still managed to be thoroughly efficient and professional behind the scenes, selling the house for ...
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Jan 18,2013
Jan 18,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Both Dean and Pat were very helpful throughout the whole selling process. Providing useful and honest feedback and communicating with me on a regular basis, keeping me informed of what was going on. When the original buyer fell through, they were proactive in finding a ...
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Jan 16,2013
Jan 16,2013
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Having dealt mainly with Pat Richardson, I would recommend these people to anyone. They are intelligent, customer aware, market aware. If you listen to them and let yourself be advised by them, they get realistic results, in realistic time scales, with the least amount of ...
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Jan 12,2013
Jan 12,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Dean and the team provided a very professional service in the sale of our house. Dean explained the process and local market situation thoroughly - he took the time to understand our wishes and needs. He ensured that he absorbed everything about the property, from ...
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Jan 04,2013
Jan 04,2013
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
The agent was very very good. I found them friendly and very helpful.
They kept me informed all the way off any viewing and I received very good feedback.
I would recommend them and would use them again....
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Jan 04,2013
Jan 04,2013
0
people found
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After having 3 estate agents round we invited Dean from Simmons & Sons to give us a price on our property.. I found Dean to be very polite, honest and genuine.. No sales pressure or bobby ball like most agents.
We agreed on a sale price & within ...
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Jan 03,2013
Jan 03,2013
0
people found
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Simmons sold my late fathers house for me in 2012. Of three agents I 'interviewed', Simmons gave what I believed to be the most realistic and sensible valuation (middle of the three) and also had with reasonable fees and terms.
Once I accepted their proposal, the ...
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Jan 03,2013
Jan 03,2013
0
people found
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this helpful
The staff i dealt with were very professional and kept me well inforned over the period my house was on the market for....
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Nov 30,2011
Nov 30,2011
16
people found
this helpful
this helpful
How this company are still in business I have no idea. Rarely am I moved to write a bad review but sometimes a business crosses the line of incompetence by such an impressive margin, it needs to re recorded. It seems there are a lot ...
read full review
read full review
What agent could do to change your mind?
It wasn't a one off, it was a number of issues over a period of time, not just with me... I can only suggest moving staff about, it was more than one person I dealt with and seems to be a cultural issue in the business in that office, thus the review.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Sep 10,2011
Sep 10,2011
6
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I've used the lettings department of Simmons in Basingstoke for a number of years now and I've always found them to be professional and efficient. They've just relet my property in Kempshott without any gap and with minimium fuss.
Simmons have offered me a huge ...
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Nov 01, 2012
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Sandra White is I believe the wife of one of the partners in Simmons and Sons so this particular review is probably quite biased in a "bare faced cheek" sort of a way typical of this firm. ...
Jul 19,2011
Jul 19,2011
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We used the Basingstoke branch to rent our property out whilst we lived overseas - when we moved back the property was handed back in a filthy state. 2 years later we decided to sell our property (thankfully not through Simmons) and to move into rented ...
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Sep 18,2010
Sep 18,2010
7
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Awful, useless and ignorant agency, full of lie, they were not helpful at all....
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Vendor Fees
No fees set.Landlord Fees
No fees set.Tenant Fees
No fees set. Last updated at 18/10/2022, 3:18 PM by LindaComplaints Procedure
For information on Simmons & Sons complaints procedure please call T: 01491 571111
Last updated at 2:18 PM 18/10/2022 by Linda
