100% lettings valuation accuracy
25% lettings fee satisfaction
Oct 23,2012
Oct 23,2012
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I am a first time landlord and didn't realise that once the property was let by the Lincoln office it would be managed by a team in Essex. That was my mistake for not doing my research.
There was inconsistency of contact in that over the course of a year I have had e-mails from 10 people in the property management team. I would receive an e-mail from one person and reply to it, only have someone else reply to that, it was very odd and disconcerting. There was a problem with my property last winter and the 'approved contractors' gave consistently bad and plain wrong advice by telling me that I needed to replace the bath (wrong - the shower screen needed replacing), that I needed a power flush and new radiator valves as the radiator wouldn't heat up (wrong - the valve simply needed to be turned on). I was also quoted 125 pounds to repaint the kitchen ceiling, and I eventually had it done by a professional workman for 25 pounds. The total amount for the work they suggested was in the region of 1200 pounds, but after using a website to find local workmen I had all the work done, by professionals, for around 250 pounds.
After the tenancy ended, a new tenant was found and a week before they moved in it came to light that they had a dog. I had expressly said that I didn't want to let to people with pets so I was in the position of having to find a new tenant and ultimately the house was empty for a month. At this point I put the property in the hands of a local agent and have now found that Haart/Spicerhaart didn't pass on the Gas Safety Certificate which they had had done in August, so now I have had to pay for that to be done again.
The whole year I have had to supervise these people and virtually do their job for them, it was a waste of money hiring them for a full management service. They just used their approved contractors without checking to see if they were over-pricing and didn't seem to want to get more than one quote. When I resisted using their workmen, they almost refused to deal with workmen I appointed.
There were mistakes on several statements so every transaction had to be double checked as an unacceptable number of errors occurred.
I hate to write this, I would much rather write a glowing report but there is nothing good about this company. I would strongly advise against using them and go with an independent agent instead.
There was inconsistency of contact in that over the course of a year I have had e-mails from 10 people in the property management team. I would receive an e-mail from one person and reply to it, only have someone else reply to that, it was very odd and disconcerting. There was a problem with my property last winter and the 'approved contractors' gave consistently bad and plain wrong advice by telling me that I needed to replace the bath (wrong - the shower screen needed replacing), that I needed a power flush and new radiator valves as the radiator wouldn't heat up (wrong - the valve simply needed to be turned on). I was also quoted 125 pounds to repaint the kitchen ceiling, and I eventually had it done by a professional workman for 25 pounds. The total amount for the work they suggested was in the region of 1200 pounds, but after using a website to find local workmen I had all the work done, by professionals, for around 250 pounds.
After the tenancy ended, a new tenant was found and a week before they moved in it came to light that they had a dog. I had expressly said that I didn't want to let to people with pets so I was in the position of having to find a new tenant and ultimately the house was empty for a month. At this point I put the property in the hands of a local agent and have now found that Haart/Spicerhaart didn't pass on the Gas Safety Certificate which they had had done in August, so now I have had to pay for that to be done again.
The whole year I have had to supervise these people and virtually do their job for them, it was a waste of money hiring them for a full management service. They just used their approved contractors without checking to see if they were over-pricing and didn't seem to want to get more than one quote. When I resisted using their workmen, they almost refused to deal with workmen I appointed.
There were mistakes on several statements so every transaction had to be double checked as an unacceptable number of errors occurred.
I hate to write this, I would much rather write a glowing report but there is nothing good about this company. I would strongly advise against using them and go with an independent agent instead.
What agent could do to change your mind?
Limited the number of people dealing with my property. Been more flexible in terms of using landlords choice of contractors. Explained how they selected their 'approved contractors'.Attached Filesnbsp;
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Agent Response / Add a Comment
You can use this form to reply to the above review or a displayed comment on the above review.
Browse popular links for estate agents, letting agents and properties nearby
Latest Reviews
27th Jan 2023
reviewed by 'Paul'
7th Sep 2021
reviewed by 'Michael Watson'
1st Oct 2020
reviewed by 'ina'
22nd Jul 2020
reviewed by 'Laurence'
4th Feb 2020
reviewed by 'Nicholas'
7th Jul 2019
reviewed by 'Kevin'
Opening Hours
Address
Spicerhaart
Colwyn House Sheepen Place
Colchester
Essex
CO3 3LD
01206 765 599
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettings | 100% | 25% | £475 | £1,500 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Areas covered
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
Advertise on
Members of
Rankings
Overall
Overall
Latest Properties
No Properties
Jan 27,2023
Jan 27,2023
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
After being told at the beginning how great they were and put landlords first and make sure landlords are happy blah blah blah, they just refuse to answer emails. Tenants left without paying a month, now they will not reply to any emails asking for ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Sep 07,2021
Sep 07,2021
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Avoid Avoid Avoid
From the awful woman in the fishponds office, the virtually non existent maintenance company to the false accusations of damages to which there were no refund of deposit this rental was dreadful. Door handle falls off, water comes through the ceiling, guess ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Oct 01,2020
Oct 01,2020
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Worse customer service. They take your details and no1 gets back to you. When you call, they even put the phone down. Avoid at all costs...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Jul 22,2020
Jul 22,2020
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I implore you not to use Haarts letting unless you want the worst service available on the market and to incur expenses over and above the rent you receive.
In 7 years I have paid £12,000 for their full management service. This is a non existent myth.
...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Feb 04,2020
Feb 04,2020
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Terrible customer service, constantly deliever
On none of are issues with the property and always having to reminder them how to do there job as they seem to constantly getting things wrong and wasting a lot of paper on sending us information we already know....
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Jul 07,2019
Jul 07,2019
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
If you're thinking of using HAART estate agency, then based on my experience, I would suggest you seriously think again.
I have had to wait several months before posting this feedback, whilst my complaints about the office at Lowestoft (which surprisingly has since closed) were ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Aug 24, 2019
View all comments
(1)
Horrible company, failed me completely, gave my numberplate and car to ex with restraining orders on him so put my family at risk, James told me to accept lower price and then pull out later on, lost my buyer with his games(even she complained) arranged a open house as two viewing booked, found out no booking were ever made, had my coffee pot at my main photo slog with car showing my reg! used his own phone so they have no clue what he was doing, now hes been sacked and they wont accept why I ha ...
Mar 21,2017
Mar 21,2017
9
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I regret the day I ever had any contact with this company.
Every time I have to contact my agent, the person I ask to speak to isn't available and time after time, messages are not delivered with a request for a return call. And ...
read full review
read full review
Comment on agent fees
About 2% more than other agents, but I thought I was going to get extra value in lieu.
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Dec 15,2016
Dec 15,2016
7
people found
this helpful
this helpful
In the time that we rented from Haart we were subjected to the worst customer service we ever experienced. Our requests for maintenance were systematically ignored, delayed or handled by incompetent contractors chosen by Haart.
Because of its (true) reputation for not paying their contractors ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Aug 23,2016
Aug 23,2016
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I let a flat through Felicity J Lord, part of Spicerhart. They employed a contractor to replace a hob and washing machine. I found out that both appliances were old (the washing machine was 11 years old) even though Felicity Lord said they were new and ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Sep 01, 2016
View all comments
(1)
Thank you for taking the time to leave such lovely feedback for Clare and Don. I will pass this onto the team for you, Thanks for choosing Miller Metcalfe. Regards, Natasha ...
Apr 11,2014
Apr 11,2014
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
It pains me to have to spend the time writing this review but I was disgusted, continually shocked and frankly appalled at the level of ¢â‚¬Ëœservice' provided to my partner and I before, during and after our tenancy.
I will start at the beginning. We ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Jun 02, 2014
View all comments
(2)
Dear Melanie,
I sent a copy of the above to a number of executives at your Head office. I did receive one response, in which there is a partial apology for some of the issues, and excuses and reasons why some of the other issues occurred. In general the response demonstrated a lack of acknowledgement of the poor service inflicted upon us.
Damien ...
Feb 14,2014
Feb 14,2014
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
These people are simply the worst property managers I've come across. We spent a total of 4 weeks without hot water and eventually discovered some of the lies they had been telling us and the landlord when we got to meet the landlord at the end ...
read full review
read full review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Could have done their jobs, communicated with us and not saddled us with large bills at the end of our tenancy.Attached Filesnbsp;
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Sep 21,2013
Sep 21,2013
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I advertised my property with the intention of letting it myself but was approached by Darlows. The agent who came round seemed good and said they could easily find me a tenant. I was wary so asked lots of questions including details of fees and ...
read full review
read full review
What agent could do to change your mind?
BE UPFRONT AND HONEST WITH MUCH BETTER COMMUNICATION LOCALLY. LOCAL AGENT WAS GOOD BUT AFTER THAT IT WAS DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY.Attached Filesnbsp;
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Nov 15,2012
Nov 15,2012
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
left without heating and hot water for 3 weeks. Have informd the joke of a management team every day for the last 3 weeks have been told twice it had been fixed only to find it hadnt and they were once again just saying anything to get ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Oct 23,2012
Oct 23,2012
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I am a first time landlord and didn't realise that once the property was let by the Lincoln office it would be managed by a team in Essex. That was my mistake for not doing my research.
There was inconsistency of contact in that over ...
read full review
read full review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Limited the number of people dealing with my property. Been more flexible in terms of using landlords choice of contractors. Explained how they selected their 'approved contractors'.Attached Filesnbsp;
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
Jul 16,2012
Jul 16,2012
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
The incapability of Spicer Haart's (and FJL's) property management as well as their contractors is far beyond standard.
We had repair work that was due to be carried out for 5 months! Still the one issue that constitues a health & safety hazard, and has already caused ...
read full review
read full review
Was this helpful?
Yes
Yes
No fees information available
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.
Complaints Procedure
No procedure available.
