100% sales valuation accuracy
100% sales fee satisfaction
75% lettings valuation accuracy
43% lettings fee satisfaction
Jul 25,2020
Jul 25,2020
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
When entering my second one-year managed let agreement with Stephen Oates (SO), I did so following their claim that they have taken references and that my tenant was employed FT by Enfield Council (point 1).
But SO repeatedly refused to share the references with me, which made it impossible for me to insure myself against loss of rent (point 2).
10 months in, I received confirmation from another agent that my tenant was in fact receiving council benefits from Hertford Council. When I asked, Enfield Council stated that my tenant had never been employed (point 3).
My tenant had breached 38 contract clauses, perhaps more, keeping of pets, refusing access to investigate and rectify damages she had caused (kitchen appliances, floors, walls, kitchen worktops, etc.), exchanging the front door without permission, changing the locks without asking (point 5).
Despite my encouragement, SO never supplied any evidence that would suggest that they made any effort to reign the tenant in, and make her aware of her responsibilities. (point 6).
SO lied about the repairs of damages. Although SO had claimed that it had been repaired, an external pipe kept leaking for months on end, after the tenant had failed to turn off the stop cock during freezing temperatures (point 7).
As a result, the patio was damaged (point 8), leading to repair costs in excess of £1,000.
The tenant became a sitting tenant who refused to pay rent for 5 months, until I got her evicted through court order (point 9). SO did little to support the latter (point 10). Instead I had to engage an agency and a representative at my own expense.
SO carried out the checkout inspection prior to removing furniture which the tenant had left behind, and without cleaning the property, which they should have done at the tenant’s expense. A range of damages were overlooked (point 11). SO tried to charge me for their checkout inspection despite the fact that this was money they were owed by the tenant.
I had to contact the DPS multiple times to find out that SO had made false claims in regards to the process (point 12).
Bottom line is that I was left with £7,675.10 damages in lost rent (point 9), and after deducting around £2K for costs covered through insurance, an additional £2,451.38 damages to the property (point 13). These sums were in addition to damages amounting to £1,1672.00 which I managed to recover through insurance.
No less than 79 % of the deposit was withheld by SO, after they claimed the full amount from the DPS (point 14) for reasons which remain unexplained.
In relation to my first year of working with SO, I would like to share that my shares of the rent were disseminated frequently with delay, and the agency tried to withhold the last month worth of rent altogether (point 15). Only after requesting the transfer of outstanding funds five times in a row, did they pay — no less than 13 months after the funds had been due. These are the facts, and I shall leave it there. I have documentary evidence for all the points mentioned above.
But SO repeatedly refused to share the references with me, which made it impossible for me to insure myself against loss of rent (point 2).
10 months in, I received confirmation from another agent that my tenant was in fact receiving council benefits from Hertford Council. When I asked, Enfield Council stated that my tenant had never been employed (point 3).
My tenant had breached 38 contract clauses, perhaps more, keeping of pets, refusing access to investigate and rectify damages she had caused (kitchen appliances, floors, walls, kitchen worktops, etc.), exchanging the front door without permission, changing the locks without asking (point 5).
Despite my encouragement, SO never supplied any evidence that would suggest that they made any effort to reign the tenant in, and make her aware of her responsibilities. (point 6).
SO lied about the repairs of damages. Although SO had claimed that it had been repaired, an external pipe kept leaking for months on end, after the tenant had failed to turn off the stop cock during freezing temperatures (point 7).
As a result, the patio was damaged (point 8), leading to repair costs in excess of £1,000.
The tenant became a sitting tenant who refused to pay rent for 5 months, until I got her evicted through court order (point 9). SO did little to support the latter (point 10). Instead I had to engage an agency and a representative at my own expense.
SO carried out the checkout inspection prior to removing furniture which the tenant had left behind, and without cleaning the property, which they should have done at the tenant’s expense. A range of damages were overlooked (point 11). SO tried to charge me for their checkout inspection despite the fact that this was money they were owed by the tenant.
I had to contact the DPS multiple times to find out that SO had made false claims in regards to the process (point 12).
Bottom line is that I was left with £7,675.10 damages in lost rent (point 9), and after deducting around £2K for costs covered through insurance, an additional £2,451.38 damages to the property (point 13). These sums were in addition to damages amounting to £1,1672.00 which I managed to recover through insurance.
No less than 79 % of the deposit was withheld by SO, after they claimed the full amount from the DPS (point 14) for reasons which remain unexplained.
In relation to my first year of working with SO, I would like to share that my shares of the rent were disseminated frequently with delay, and the agency tried to withhold the last month worth of rent altogether (point 15). Only after requesting the transfer of outstanding funds five times in a row, did they pay — no less than 13 months after the funds had been due. These are the facts, and I shall leave it there. I have documentary evidence for all the points mentioned above.
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Latest Reviews
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reviewed by 'Matthias'
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reviewed by 'Chris'
12th Apr 2018
reviewed by 'Mark'
8th Jan 2018
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Opening Hours
Address
Steven Oates
70 Fore Street
Hertford
Hertfordshire
SG14 1BY
01992 303300
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 100% | 100% | £300,000 | £300,000 |
| Lettings | 75% | 43% | £600 | £1,400 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Areas covered
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Sep 16,2021
Sep 16,2021
0
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I’ve now had the pleasure of using both the letting services and the property sales services and am delighted that both achieved the same high levels - specially given the difficult market conditions. Thanks to Andy and Colin and the teams...
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Feb 01,2021
Feb 01,2021
0
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A fantastic service! Thank you for making the experience of moving so much easier for my Mother! It had been an uphill struggle but then, after changing to Steven Oates and with the help of good team, the properity sold! We would like to thank ...
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Jul 25,2020
Jul 25,2020
2
people found
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this helpful
When entering my second one-year managed let agreement with Stephen Oates (SO), I did so following their claim that they have taken references and that my tenant was employed FT by Enfield Council (point 1).
But SO repeatedly refused to share the references with me, which ...
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Sep 25,2019
Sep 25,2019
0
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Professional, proactive and productive.
Thank you to all the team at Steven Oates. A massive thank you to Sam who kept us up to date throughout the process....
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Apr 12,2018
Apr 12,2018
0
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I can honestly say I had no real issues with the letting team at Steven Oates - Hertford when they managed the a property of mine. Only thing is their appointed contractors did seem a little expensive when required to go in and do the ...
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Comment on agent fees
They were competitive
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Jan 08,2018
Jan 08,2018
7
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Absolutely appalling service, we have used Steven Oates for one of our rental properties and have had nothing but agro with them. Simon has a complete lack of professionalism, doesn't reply to emails for days/weeks, and generally does not care if you are a ...
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Nov 09,2017
Nov 09,2017
1
people found
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this helpful
If you'd like to waste countless hours of your time chasing actions, be constantly provided incorrect information and generally ripped off at every angle then this is the rental agency for you.
After living in multiple places in both the UK and the United States ...
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Comment on agent fees
Fees are overpriced. Especially checkout fees when managed by in-house staff on unfurnished properties.
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Nov 07,2017
Nov 07,2017
1
people found
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this helpful
Like another's reviewer I only gave one star because couldn't give zero....I am not sure how Steven Oates are still in business, they are rude, untrustworthy, charge a premium, give no service, have no ethics and leave it up to the buyer and seller ...
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May 10,2017
May 10,2017
1
people found
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this helpful
We rarely write reviews, but felt compelled to as we have been really pleased with Steven Oates. Having recently bought and sold through them, we can and have recommended them. Through the process, which always seems to take longer than it should, they were always ...
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Apr 10,2017
Apr 10,2017
0
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Only giving one star because I cannot give none! Arranged a viewing on a property nearly two weeks in advance due to it being an open day event. Did not receive confirmation of the viewing as advised. Had to chase up on the day of ...
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Feb 29,2016
Feb 29,2016
3
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As a landlord I am very disappointed with the level of service. Other than process the payments the fully managed fee counts for nothing. Issues with both property are raised and said to be dealt with but remain. Communication poor. Make out as if the ...
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Sep 04,2014
Sep 04,2014
6
people found
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From the very start, Steven Oates had proven themselves to be incompetent, unprofessional, lying estate agents. Please note: the end of this review reveals the extent of the illegal practice of this company. The first instance was them giving me and my fiancƒÂ© incorrect directions ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Find another industry to work in.Attached Filesnbsp;
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May 02,2014
May 02,2014
0
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I have recently movedd out of a property managed by Steven Oates and although it wasnt the best property I had ever lived in the customer service skill of the agents were great and helped ease the stress of what was a very difficulty transitional ...
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Apr 10,2013
Apr 10,2013
2
people found
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We had a property through these agents. They were fine whilst we were occupants but they have been appalling since.
They quoted us £190 to come out of our damage deposit for professional cleaning, which we agreed to, but then after it had been done told ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
We had a property through these agents. They were fine whilst we were occupants but they have been appalling since. They quoted us ‚£190 to come out of our damage deposit for professional cleaning, which we agreed to, but then after it had been done told us it would be ‚£300. Obviously they haven't produced the invoice for us, but I accept this could have been the cost; it just would have been nice to have been advised of this. They have also failed to contact us once regarding how to get our damage deposit back. We have phoned repeatedly to be told time after time that ¢â‚¬Ëœno one from Lettings is available to take your call, but they will call you back ASAP.' The only times we have successfully spoken to someone from Lettings is when we have made contact, they have repeatedly said they will look at the situation immediately and call us back. As of yet, we have never had a phone call back. We have now moved to new properties and after 2 weeks of being vacant from the old flat we still don't know how much they want from us, or how or when we can get back our money. I have never had issues like this with other agents. Deposits have always been paid out within a matter of days. I am also aware that the agents¢â‚¬â„¢ need to come to an agreement with the landlord¢â‚¬â„¢s but for this to have still not happened, nor to be informed of what is taking place is absolutely unacceptable. The last time I was able to get through to someone in Lettings (5 days ago) they were rude and dismissive about the situation, though in fairness other members of staff have been polite (if ineffective). I have now had to guess at the amount and inform the DPS myself how much deposit we expect back and sincerely hope the agents agree to this. However I'm resigned to the situation that I probably won't hear a response for another couple of weeks. If anyone from the company would like to dispute any of the above then I would welcome the dialogue with them, as phone calls clearly don¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to be an appropriate form of contact. I would urge people to think carefully before signing up with this company. I hope that ours is an isolated incident but I felt compelled to write honestly about our experience as I cannot possibly recommend them. A seriously unprofessional and frustrating experience.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Feb 29, 2016
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Tom, bob I hear you. 2016 and nothing has changed... ...
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