50% sales valuation accuracy
50% sales fee satisfaction
90% lettings valuation accuracy
75% lettings fee satisfaction
Apr 01,2016
Apr 01,2016
3
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this helpful
This must be the least professional letting agency I have ever dealt with. It's a constant battle with the agents and their head office.
Everything started when my flatmates and I were looking to rent a property. Roderick Allan was our agent and he took us to see the property. We couldn't go all together, so I had to go another day. Of course when I made an appointment with him to see the property, he was late for a good 20 minutes. I let it slip, as my friends were really impressed with the property.
We liked the property and decided to rent it from Townends. What a mistake that was. Roderick was so unprofessional and kept telling us one information and then wouldn't stay true to his word. He said the property will be ready for us and professionally clean. Was it? Of course it wasn't ready on the day we were supposed to move, so we had to postpone the move in date by few days and once we finally got into the property, it wasn't professionally cleaned. It's fine, if they couldn't get it cleaned, at least don't promise that it will be. Roderick couldn't get our references sorted. We provided all the information he needed, he just couldn't get them sorted. We were supposed to move on a Saturday morning and he calls us on Friday at 6pm telling us we can't move since one of our job references didn't go through. How in the world do you leave something like that to the last minute? On a Friday evening, everybody has left the offices for the weekend he assumes that we need to sort it out? Due to his unprofessionalism, we were going to be homeless come Saturday morning. Luckily we couldn't let this be this way and we marched to Townends on Saturday morning, as we needed someone to talk to, face-to-face and we needed someone higher than Roderick to help us because he was useless. Thank God we were able to sort everything out and move in that day. Of course we lost the money we booked the moving van, as we got that ordered for 10.
There were so many other issues before the move in, but it's been over a year and a half and I have forgotten about all of the details. We were thinking of making a formal complaint with the company, but time passed and we didn't see the point. But now, I am thinking of doing it again.
During our tenancy, Townends didn't do absolutely anything for us. I am glad our landlord came for a visit and we exchanged numbers and emails, so we were able to communicate with them directly. They even mentioned, that the letting agency has been useless and haven't helped them at all. They pay them all this money to manage their property, but they are no use what so ever.
Now that our tenancy is over, we moved out a month ago and we are still waiting for our deposit. The inventory was done, reports have been done, we all have seen them but what we can't seem to get, is our deposit. The agency said they are waiting for confirmation from our landlord, so they can release the deposit. I got in contact with our landlord to ask them to confirm with the letting agency, so we could get back our deposit. She told me she already did confirm this, a week ago. But again, Townends has no such information again. I really don't understand where all this information goes missing? Fransesca Vickery should be communicating with us better. I wish she would let us know, what's the update on our deposit, or if she needs any other additional information. This is getting ridiculous already, chasing after our deposit that rightfully belongs to us. It's been almost 4 weeks, and still nothing. £2000 is a lot of money and we really need the deposit back.
I understand they are a busy company and it takes time for things to get sorted. But I wish people would communicate with us, so we can help out. In this case, Fransesca should have told us that they are chasing our landlord for the confirmation straight away. I emailed our landlady and she replied to me within the day. Not sure how they are not able to get in touch with her. And this is a good example, they should tell us these things and keep us updated.
It's just the lack of communication is horrible, especially when you ask them to keep you updated on what's happening. This entire confusion could have been avoided and made our experience so much easier.
In general this company is such a waste of time and I would never ever recommend them to anyone, even if the property is nice. Trust me, it's not worth the hassle.
*Finally we got our deposit back and it's all because I contacted our landlord and asked him to confirm with the agency. I have no idea what emails Fransesca checks, but our landlord confirmed everything on the 17th of March. It's just ridiculous how long this entire thing took. NEVER EVER will use Townends again!
Everything started when my flatmates and I were looking to rent a property. Roderick Allan was our agent and he took us to see the property. We couldn't go all together, so I had to go another day. Of course when I made an appointment with him to see the property, he was late for a good 20 minutes. I let it slip, as my friends were really impressed with the property.
We liked the property and decided to rent it from Townends. What a mistake that was. Roderick was so unprofessional and kept telling us one information and then wouldn't stay true to his word. He said the property will be ready for us and professionally clean. Was it? Of course it wasn't ready on the day we were supposed to move, so we had to postpone the move in date by few days and once we finally got into the property, it wasn't professionally cleaned. It's fine, if they couldn't get it cleaned, at least don't promise that it will be. Roderick couldn't get our references sorted. We provided all the information he needed, he just couldn't get them sorted. We were supposed to move on a Saturday morning and he calls us on Friday at 6pm telling us we can't move since one of our job references didn't go through. How in the world do you leave something like that to the last minute? On a Friday evening, everybody has left the offices for the weekend he assumes that we need to sort it out? Due to his unprofessionalism, we were going to be homeless come Saturday morning. Luckily we couldn't let this be this way and we marched to Townends on Saturday morning, as we needed someone to talk to, face-to-face and we needed someone higher than Roderick to help us because he was useless. Thank God we were able to sort everything out and move in that day. Of course we lost the money we booked the moving van, as we got that ordered for 10.
There were so many other issues before the move in, but it's been over a year and a half and I have forgotten about all of the details. We were thinking of making a formal complaint with the company, but time passed and we didn't see the point. But now, I am thinking of doing it again.
During our tenancy, Townends didn't do absolutely anything for us. I am glad our landlord came for a visit and we exchanged numbers and emails, so we were able to communicate with them directly. They even mentioned, that the letting agency has been useless and haven't helped them at all. They pay them all this money to manage their property, but they are no use what so ever.
Now that our tenancy is over, we moved out a month ago and we are still waiting for our deposit. The inventory was done, reports have been done, we all have seen them but what we can't seem to get, is our deposit. The agency said they are waiting for confirmation from our landlord, so they can release the deposit. I got in contact with our landlord to ask them to confirm with the letting agency, so we could get back our deposit. She told me she already did confirm this, a week ago. But again, Townends has no such information again. I really don't understand where all this information goes missing? Fransesca Vickery should be communicating with us better. I wish she would let us know, what's the update on our deposit, or if she needs any other additional information. This is getting ridiculous already, chasing after our deposit that rightfully belongs to us. It's been almost 4 weeks, and still nothing. £2000 is a lot of money and we really need the deposit back.
I understand they are a busy company and it takes time for things to get sorted. But I wish people would communicate with us, so we can help out. In this case, Fransesca should have told us that they are chasing our landlord for the confirmation straight away. I emailed our landlady and she replied to me within the day. Not sure how they are not able to get in touch with her. And this is a good example, they should tell us these things and keep us updated.
It's just the lack of communication is horrible, especially when you ask them to keep you updated on what's happening. This entire confusion could have been avoided and made our experience so much easier.
In general this company is such a waste of time and I would never ever recommend them to anyone, even if the property is nice. Trust me, it's not worth the hassle.
*Finally we got our deposit back and it's all because I contacted our landlord and asked him to confirm with the agency. I have no idea what emails Fransesca checks, but our landlord confirmed everything on the 17th of March. It's just ridiculous how long this entire thing took. NEVER EVER will use Townends again!
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Latest Reviews
27th Jan 2021
reviewed by 'Olivia'
6th Jun 2019
reviewed by 'Natalie'
15th Nov 2016
reviewed by 'Courtney'
17th Aug 2016
reviewed by 'Ben1234'
22nd Jul 2016
reviewed by 'Dennis'
Opening Hours
Address
Stirling Ackroyd
364 Garratt Lane
Earlsfield,London
Greater London
SW18 4ES
020 8946 7744
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 50% | 50% | £525,000 | £525,000 |
| Lettings | 90% | 75% | £1,200 | £3,250 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Areas covered
- SW11
- SW17
- SW18
- SW19
- Earlsfield
- Southfields
- Tooting
- Wandsworth
- Wandsworth Common
- Wimbledon
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Rankings
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Latest Properties
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Jan 27,2021
Jan 27,2021
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I have been rent with them since June 2020 and it been hell. HELL. We have spent the last 6 months complaining about the problems, broken heater, broken windows etc in the middle of winter !!!!!! We are now being told we have to pay for issues we ...
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Aug 06,2019
Aug 06,2019
0
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I had a great experience using Townends in Earlsfield. Diana was really skilled and professional and very good at listening to me about what was important. She was also a good judge of prospective tenants in terms of what they were looking for....
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Jun 06,2019
Jun 06,2019
0
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As a returning customer would like to thank everyone at Earlsfield office for help in dealing with letting my property out. Particularly Diana Kovacheva who effectively and highly professionally managed to find tenants in few days....
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Comment on agent fees
Competitive 8% plus 20% VAT.
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Nov 15,2016
Nov 15,2016
1
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this helpful
A disaster. Not recomendable at all. Avoid totally. They cheat a lot of people. Bunch of liars. Don't go...
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Aug 17,2016
Aug 17,2016
0
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I moved into a property through the Earlsfield office and they went out of their way to make sure that I was happy with Alexandra and Ivan both making sure that everything was done in ready for me....
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Comment on agent fees
Good
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Jul 22,2016
Jul 22,2016
0
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I am so pleased with the help that i have received with Sipho and Ivan. Great customer service and a good experience over all. Two thumbs up Townends! I will surely recommend you guys....
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Comment on agent fees
Agent fees was reasonable for the services that i have received.
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May 31,2016
May 31,2016
0
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Excellent work from Ryan, Ivan and Sipho. Honest, trustworthy and reliable. Would definitely recommend and use again.
Fiona at Head Office was incompetent....
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Comment on agent fees
Higher than the other agents we had been speaking to.
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May 05,2016
May 05,2016
0
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As a multi property landlord I have always been pleased with the help and services I have received from Townends for over 5 years. Ivan is extremely efficient, affable and approachable, I have always been delighted with the tenants he has found for my properties. Sipho ...
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Apr 30,2016
Apr 30,2016
0
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Great costumer service and a good experience overl all. Ivan was helpful and always available to give us necessary updates regarding the renting process, paper works and other important documents we needed to provide. He organised the whole process smoothly!...
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Comment on agent fees
Good
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Apr 21,2016
Apr 21,2016
0
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Ivan was as helpful as he could have been following our flat being trashed by the previous tenant - I think he learned quite a bit about Section 21 Notices! Following recovery of the flat, he was very efficient in selecting and obtaining new tenants and ...
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Comment on agent fees
Acceptable
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Apr 13,2016
Apr 13,2016
0
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Ivan was very professional and friendly and whats more he found tenants for my property very quickly. Thank you Ivan!
Ryan was very attentive and made sure that tenants were suited to my needs.
Miranda was also very professional and attentive. They all made life ...
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Comment on agent fees
Admin fees on top of agents fees seem a bit much but all agents charge them
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Apr 01,2016
Apr 01,2016
3
people found
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this helpful
This must be the least professional letting agency I have ever dealt with. It's a constant battle with the agents and their head office.
Everything started when my flatmates and I were looking to rent a property. Roderick Allan was our agent and he took ...
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Feb 19,2016
Feb 19,2016
0
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I recently sold a flat I owned through Townsend's Earlsfield branch. My flat had previously been up for sale with one of the major estate agents who had proved to be useless pricing my flat far too high and them getting minimal viewers through the ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fees were very reasonable
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Oct 30,2015
Oct 30,2015
0
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I had an offer accepted to buy a property in Earlsfield and only after my offer was accepted did they tell me the property had knotweed. This materially affected the value of the property yet, when they sent me the knotweed report to read, they ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Be transparent about problems with the property and stop lying and misrepresenting the facts.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Nov 02, 2015
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We are sorry for your experience. We take all feedback very seriously and would like to do all we can to investigate the issues raised. In order to do this, please can we ask that you email [email protected] with your full name, and the full details of the issue, so that this can be investigates? Your feedback is very important to us. Many thanks. ...
Sep 08,2015
Sep 08,2015
0
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Abi supported us as 'new landlords', throughout the entire process of advertising and securing a reliable tenant for our home. She is approachable, patient and responsive to her clients - valuable skills to have and much appreciated by us! Would highly recommend for those new ...
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Aug 10,2015
Aug 10,2015
0
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Abi is amazing, very helpful and with knowledge of the area. Helped secure a nice tenant, and i am very pleased with how quickly my property was rented out.There were some last minute changes to the tenancy agreement, which were dealt quickly and the ...
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Jul 02,2015
Jul 02,2015
0
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We used Abi as our sole agent to let our property. She was always punctual to meetings and very knowledgable about the market and what rent we could achieve. She was easily contactable and always made a point of accommodating our needs. I cannot recommend ...
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Comment on agent fees
Abi's fees were highly competitive. Indeed they were the lowest compared to two other lettings agents we trialled. Low doesn't always necessarily mean best but in Abi's case we were not let down.
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Jul 02,2015
Jul 02,2015
0
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Abigail was fantastic. She managed to secure a viewing for us at a time inconvenient to herself. She also conducted the viewing in a professional manner and was very knowledgeable in answering our many questions. We ended up putting in an offer for the property ...
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May 20,2015
May 20,2015
0
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After having some very bad experiences with other agencies it has been a pleasure to meet and work with Eleanor. She has been professional, prompt, helpful and very much 'on the ball' ! Even when our first offer was not accepted she was quick to let ...
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Comment on agent fees
We have not paid any fees yet - they do seem a bit high, but we were told there is some room for negotiation on this.
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May 19,2015
May 19,2015
0
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I have worked with a few letting agents since being in London but Kieran at Townends is by far the best. My girlfriend and I were in a bit of a quandary having been given unexpected notice on our property but within an hour of ...
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May 13,2015
May 13,2015
0
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Eleanor was very professiona and immaculately turned out. With a good knowledge and friendly approach I thoroughly enjoyed dealing with her....
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Comment on agent fees
Higher than acceptable.
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May 06,2015
May 06,2015
0
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Kieran assisted in finding my partner and I a rental property in the Earlsfield area. During the search process he was highly proactive in arranging viewings when new properties came onto the market. He fully understood our needs and requirements and this resulted in us ...
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Mar 20,2015
Mar 20,2015
0
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Abi was very helpful as were the rest of the team at the Earlsfield branch.
I felt really pleased with how quickly my property was rented out and felt supported and well informed throughout the process of getting new tenants.
Thank you.
Emma Cunniffe....
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May 22,2014
May 22,2014
1
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Alkesh was instrumental in valuing and then selling the property. He has been extremely helpful and has been there all the way; phoning updates, giving advice and being very kind and always pleasant through a rather stressful situation due entirely to the inefficiency of the ...
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Apr 11,2014
Apr 11,2014
0
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Where do I start? Jon promised the world and DID NOT DELIVER ON ONE SINGLE THING!!! The property had gym access advertised. Jon had no idea about this, said he would find out and never did, despite me ringing him and persuing this information. He ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Read the above story, it is self explanatory.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Mar 04,2014
Mar 04,2014
0
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Jon Chandler-Gray had an excellent knowledge of the market and clearly shines in an industry which is highly competitive, fast-moving and in my experience, liable to a cut-throat mentality from agents with less integrity as yourselves.
He was extremely personable and went out of his ...
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Feb 10,2014
Feb 10,2014
0
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Jon and Rebecca were both very helpful and easy to work with, they also were flexible with fees when we explained that we had another agent that was cheaper. They answered or returned calls and emails very promptly. We had a few problems with their ...
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Feb 04,2014
Feb 04,2014
0
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Nash went out of his way to help me in all aspects of a difficult sale. Polite, direct and friendly as well as super well-informed, Nash was an island of sanity during a time of dealing with some impossible buyers and avoidant council staff. Without ...
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Feb 04,2014
Feb 04,2014
0
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Rebecca and Jon were both so helpful and did everything they could to help us find our first flat in a very competitive area. Huge Thanks...
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Jan 30,2014
Jan 30,2014
0
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From the beginning of our search for a property Rebecca has been incredibly helpful. When we put an offer on the first house she did all she could to get it accepted and keep us informed. Despite us not getting it she was still positive ...
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Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.
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Last updated at 2:29 PM 21/11/2017 by allAgents
