60% sales valuation accuracy
40% sales fee satisfaction
100% lettings valuation accuracy
75% lettings fee satisfaction
Dec 16,2012
Dec 16,2012
6
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this helpful
this helpful
I would not recommend Swetehams to my worst enemy. Any one who is looking to rent a home do NOT use the Chester Swetenhams. My partern and I were looking for a home to rent in chester with our daughter.
Our first point of contact with Sweetnams was Amanda from the Chester office who in turn put us in contact with Marie, her superior, who we met to view the property. We inquired as to the charges we would need to pay in terms of admin and the like. We were informed that we would need to pay a reference checking fee of £100 each, a deposit, and first months rent upfront. We were assured that these were the only charges we would be required to pay.
We were also told on this viewing that a number of issues we had with the interior and exterior of the house would all be resolved. Amongst these were the tidying of the front and back garden and the removal of the building refuge (including bricks, slates and broken sheets of glass), the tidying of the interior and the finishing of the laminate and the repairing of the back door. We were told that these problems were required to be resolved under the basis that we were obligated to ¢â‚¬Ëœleave the property as we found it'.
We were then told we could move in on the 12th of September. This date was confirmed numerous times over the phone in the weeks that ensued. We then began the checks that the agent required.
Arrangements were then made with our landlord to make our final day of occupancy the 15th September. As would be expected in these circumstances we hired a van and three family members arranged days off work for the 12th of September. I myself also took a day off work to move.
We then began to experience problems with communication and the overall service of the letting agency. We were told several different things on several separate occasions about the same subject. Numerous people would contact us about problems they had carrying out the checks for example, however, each individual that contacted us had a different reason for what the obstacles were.
I rang the office on Friday the 7th of September and spoke to Amanda in order to confirm that I would be there to pick up the keys on the morning of the 12th. It was only at this point that I was informed that the landlady was not in the country and that it may not be possible to move in, but that we would be kept abreast of any development. We were also were told that not only may we now not be able to move but that we would now be incurring extra charges. Charges that had never been divulged to us before this time.
On the 12th of September we began the move, as we had not been told otherwise by anyone at the agency. I called Sweetnems to say I was on my way and it was only then I was told I would not be able to move in. Amanda told me we could not move in due to the house not being ready and needing to confer with the landlady who was on her honeymoon.
I, my partner and most importantly my disabled 2 year old daughter were left homeless.
One week later on the 19th of September we were told that the landlady had given her consent and had moved all of her possessions out of the house. We were assured that the property was, at that time, of a standard for us to move in. we were told the property had been checked (which we had paid £80 for) and only discovered this was not the case when Amanda was challenged on the basis that there was no checklist of the fixtures and fittings that had been checked.
When we moved in we discovered that none of the afore mentioned issues regarding the condition of the house had been tackled. The back garden was appallingly unsafe (including piles of slate and broken glass), I had a bad incident with a damp and soaked socket in the garage and my daughter (who as previously mentioned is disabled and has trouble walking) fell over some broken raised flooring. The overall condition of the interior was deplorable, the kitchen alone took 7 hours to clean.
To make matters even more distasteful all of our problems moving into the property seem to have been avoidable. Speaking to the landlady she informed us that she had no issues with us moving in and that she had already given her consent. She also claimed to have no knowledge of what Amanda or Marie were referring to when they told us she had possessions in the property. The landlady herself appeared to be very upset at the actions of Amanda and Marie.
The unnecessary or previously undisclosed charges we have incurred are as follows; additional reference checking fee of £100, property checking fee £80 (which actually was not mentioned up until the day prior to us moving in.), preparation of guarantor deed £80, cost of tenancy agreement £210. As well as these the charge we incurred from the van hire company of £180 as we had nowhere to store our furniture and possessions.
This has been a very unfortunate affair and to be frank I and my partner feel we have been mistreated and for want of a better phrase ¢â‚¬Ëœripped off'. At no point during this process were any of the staff at Sweetnems helpful or informative. Specifically the lack of communication and the lack of professionalism displayed by both Amanda and Marie was shocking. It was primarily their shear ineptitude and incompetence throughout the entirety of the letting process cost me and my family both time and money and resulted in much stress.
DO NOT USE SWETENHAMS
Our first point of contact with Sweetnams was Amanda from the Chester office who in turn put us in contact with Marie, her superior, who we met to view the property. We inquired as to the charges we would need to pay in terms of admin and the like. We were informed that we would need to pay a reference checking fee of £100 each, a deposit, and first months rent upfront. We were assured that these were the only charges we would be required to pay.
We were also told on this viewing that a number of issues we had with the interior and exterior of the house would all be resolved. Amongst these were the tidying of the front and back garden and the removal of the building refuge (including bricks, slates and broken sheets of glass), the tidying of the interior and the finishing of the laminate and the repairing of the back door. We were told that these problems were required to be resolved under the basis that we were obligated to ¢â‚¬Ëœleave the property as we found it'.
We were then told we could move in on the 12th of September. This date was confirmed numerous times over the phone in the weeks that ensued. We then began the checks that the agent required.
Arrangements were then made with our landlord to make our final day of occupancy the 15th September. As would be expected in these circumstances we hired a van and three family members arranged days off work for the 12th of September. I myself also took a day off work to move.
We then began to experience problems with communication and the overall service of the letting agency. We were told several different things on several separate occasions about the same subject. Numerous people would contact us about problems they had carrying out the checks for example, however, each individual that contacted us had a different reason for what the obstacles were.
I rang the office on Friday the 7th of September and spoke to Amanda in order to confirm that I would be there to pick up the keys on the morning of the 12th. It was only at this point that I was informed that the landlady was not in the country and that it may not be possible to move in, but that we would be kept abreast of any development. We were also were told that not only may we now not be able to move but that we would now be incurring extra charges. Charges that had never been divulged to us before this time.
On the 12th of September we began the move, as we had not been told otherwise by anyone at the agency. I called Sweetnems to say I was on my way and it was only then I was told I would not be able to move in. Amanda told me we could not move in due to the house not being ready and needing to confer with the landlady who was on her honeymoon.
I, my partner and most importantly my disabled 2 year old daughter were left homeless.
One week later on the 19th of September we were told that the landlady had given her consent and had moved all of her possessions out of the house. We were assured that the property was, at that time, of a standard for us to move in. we were told the property had been checked (which we had paid £80 for) and only discovered this was not the case when Amanda was challenged on the basis that there was no checklist of the fixtures and fittings that had been checked.
When we moved in we discovered that none of the afore mentioned issues regarding the condition of the house had been tackled. The back garden was appallingly unsafe (including piles of slate and broken glass), I had a bad incident with a damp and soaked socket in the garage and my daughter (who as previously mentioned is disabled and has trouble walking) fell over some broken raised flooring. The overall condition of the interior was deplorable, the kitchen alone took 7 hours to clean.
To make matters even more distasteful all of our problems moving into the property seem to have been avoidable. Speaking to the landlady she informed us that she had no issues with us moving in and that she had already given her consent. She also claimed to have no knowledge of what Amanda or Marie were referring to when they told us she had possessions in the property. The landlady herself appeared to be very upset at the actions of Amanda and Marie.
The unnecessary or previously undisclosed charges we have incurred are as follows; additional reference checking fee of £100, property checking fee £80 (which actually was not mentioned up until the day prior to us moving in.), preparation of guarantor deed £80, cost of tenancy agreement £210. As well as these the charge we incurred from the van hire company of £180 as we had nowhere to store our furniture and possessions.
This has been a very unfortunate affair and to be frank I and my partner feel we have been mistreated and for want of a better phrase ¢â‚¬Ëœripped off'. At no point during this process were any of the staff at Sweetnems helpful or informative. Specifically the lack of communication and the lack of professionalism displayed by both Amanda and Marie was shocking. It was primarily their shear ineptitude and incompetence throughout the entirety of the letting process cost me and my family both time and money and resulted in much stress.
DO NOT USE SWETENHAMS
What agent could do to change your mind?
This has been a very unfortunate affair and to be frank I and my partner feel we have been mistreated and for want of a better phrase ¢â‚¬Ëœripped off¢â‚¬â„¢. At no point during this process were any of the staff at Sweetnems helpful or informative. Specifically the lack of communication and the lack of professionalism displayed by both Amanda and Marie was shocking. It was primarily their shear ineptitude and incompetence throughout the entirety of the letting process cost me and my family both time and money and resulted in much stress.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 60% | 40% | £120,000 | £215,000 |
| Lettings | 100% | 75% | £600 | £1,200 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Areas covered
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- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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May 07,2024
May 07,2024
1
people found
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this helpful
Terrible service, dont do what they say, poor Communication and unacceptable service levels...
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Apr 12,2022
Apr 12,2022
2
people found
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this helpful
Poor - their fee is not in line with market. It was justified to me on the basis that they offered above average. So far, they have failed to do basic things correctly. Viewings have been arranged without appointments, and can't lift a phone to ...
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Mar 10,2022
Mar 10,2022
3
people found
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Re Swetenhams Chester
I can't comment on the lettings team as they seem to have positive reviews but what I can say - if you thinking of selling your house with Swetenhams , please give it some serious consideration . There was one lady called Joanne who ...
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Apr 12, 2022
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Agreed - I wish I had come across this earlier. The service from branch on basic things is simply not there. ...
Jun 21,2021
Jun 21,2021
0
people found
this helpful
this helpful
INITIALLY FRIENDLY AND EFFICIENT AND KNOWLEDGEABLE CONTACT. THEN EXPERIENCE WITH THE REST OF THE TEAM NOT ONLY FRIENDLY, WELCOMING AND HELPFUL BUT PROACTIVE. ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION PUT TO THEM. VERY SUPPORTIVE WHEN COMPLETING FORMS....
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Dec 22,2020
Dec 22,2020
0
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We rented a house with swetenhams , Thayf was so helpful and pleasant from day 1, the viewings were covid safe and easy, he was so efficient and made everything so easy for us I didn't have to worry about the stress of moving out, he was ...
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Nov 26,2019
Nov 26,2019
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
This Company manage a rented property next door to our house. The fire alarm has been continually sounding for 6th days. Nobody is living in the property and they have ignored all phone call I have made to ask what action is being taken. If ...
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Jun 03,2019
Jun 03,2019
0
people found
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My partner and I were made unintentional landlords in 2018 due to an international relocation opportunity. We decided to enrol the services of Swetenhams Chester branch to find a tenant and manage our property in Chester for the duration of our expatriation. We would like to ...
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Dec 12,2018
Dec 12,2018
0
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My property was let within about one month of Swetenham's marketing it. Fraser Purcell at the Chester office did a superb job.
My maintenance contact is Mark Dann. He has been extremely efficient and very patient with quite a handful of tenant requests. He has ...
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Nov 26,2018
Nov 26,2018
0
people found
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I have had significant problems with this agency for a long period of time. In the last six months, however, I have noticed a significant change in their approach to their responsibilities as a letting agent.
Whether this is due to a change of 'culture' ...
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Oct 16,2018
Oct 16,2018
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I have lived in this rented property for a year now, and have had a pleasant experience from the start, so far. The process for contracts and moving in was extremely smooth and easy, and any problem so far- which has been very few, has ...
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Oct 16,2018
Oct 16,2018
0
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I've been renting through Swetenhams in Chester for 5 years now. The property I rent has an excellent landlord who I've struck up a good working relationship with.
When I first relocated to Chester, I found the whole process of moving in pretty straight forward and ...
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Sep 04,2018
Sep 04,2018
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
A developers point of view here : We initially advertised 2 large executive houses with Swetenhams on an off-plan basis about 18 months ago. They took some initial photographs of the houses when they were shell's and never returned for updated photo's until the first one was finished ...
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Comment on agent fees
I am so convinced that they couldn't sell either of the properties in question that I don't think we'll ever find out what their fees are.
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Jul 19,2018
Jul 19,2018
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Please avoid this estate agents, they were absolutely horrendous. They have not got a clue. They arranged viewings and never told us, they listed our property on the internet without our approval and with incorrect details, they had several different people visiting our house , valuer, ...
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Comment on agent fees
Bad
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Mar 01,2018
Mar 01,2018
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Never call you back when you ask them to, terrible customer service skills, will take you over a month to get a deposit back if renting and they never ever keep you updated. Will happily take your money but once you are no longer a ...
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Comment on agent fees
Very bad, tried to charge to renew tenancy for a year long period. We only wanted monthly and was £100+, rent was outrageous for quality of property!
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Oct 13,2016
Oct 13,2016
6
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Appalling service and attitude. Total incompetence. Lost the keys to the property I purchased and then fabricated a whole story about how the keys had actually been handed over. Liars. Have been left without one single front door key meaning I have to meet family ...
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Comment on agent fees
Don't pay for the broker service, they do nothing.
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Sep 07,2016
Sep 07,2016
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Avoid! Absolute rubbish service. On the market for 18 months, no viewings, no communication. When I phoned up to remove from the market they didn't know who I was, made no effort to ask why I was withdrawing. Very disappointing. Nicholas Bowden promised we wouldn't be ...
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Comment on agent fees
Agents fees were reduced as we'd previously tried to sell and service was bad. Was told staff had changed.
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Dec 10,2015
Dec 10,2015
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Terrible service from day one, lies about the package and support they offer, no proactive marketing of the property. 3 viewings were messed up in the space of a couple of weeks. Poor communication and constant lies. I would avoid Swetenhams Chester at all costs as ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Lied about the fees at first in order to get us on boardAttached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
Lied about the fees at first in order to get us on board
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Jul 28,2015
Jul 28,2015
6
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Arrangement was made for valuation on above property June 2015 for mr Bowden to visit for 11.00am appointment. Waited till 11.30am then phone agents office said he had left.
Still failed to turn up, no apology or reason havn,t heard anything since....
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May 05,2015
May 05,2015
3
people found
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I'm going along with everything that anyone else has said about Swetenhams Chester. To say they are diabolically awful is quite an understatement. They claim to be Chester's Premiere Estate Agents ƒÂ¢‚€‚“ Lord help the rest!! On 27th March 2015 I instructed Adam Palmer of Swetenhams Chester ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
They could tell the truth about the service they offer (or don't offer to be exact). They could perhaps make some attempt to keep in touch with their clients. How they can afford to pay their staff I don't know 'cause they know absolutely nothing about selling houses!Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
I had to pay ‚£150.00 for photographs before my house could be marketed. I paid the money, the photographer took the photos but my house has not been marketed by Swetenhams. Can I get my money back??
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Apr 01,2015
Apr 01,2015
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I have dealt with Swetenhams many times over the years and have they have always rented my house out very quickly and have found great tenants. They are really friendly and go above and beyond to help me with my properties. They also always get ...
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Mar 18,2015
Mar 18,2015
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
As soon as the money for their fee's had gone from my debit card to their machine, they seemed to put me in the back burner. Due to unexpected circumstances I ended up homesless, needed somewhere to live. After over a month of waiting to ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
Once they were received the staff forgot about me. Didn't earn the ‚£210 at al!!!!!!Attached Filesnbsp;
Comment on agent fees
Once they were received the staff forgot about me. Didn't earn the ‚£210 at al!!!!!!
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Mar 28, 2015
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I am very sorry you feel let down by the service we provide from Swetenhams. With regards to a timely move in, we cannot do this until all paperwork is signed and all references returned. We did not manage this property so it was a simple tenant find only service. With regards to claiming your deposit back this is between yourself and your Landlord to agree and we cannot get involved by law. Please remember that by signing a tenancy agreement you are agreeing to give adequate and reasonable acce ...
Mar 12,2015
Mar 12,2015
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Terrible. They definitely take a laid back, none proactive attitude to selling your property.
Lack of actual viewings, disinterested staff, numerous last minute cancellations ( including 1 after we ended a break early in order to come back and prepare the house!), constant requests for information we ...
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Jul 21,2014
Jul 21,2014
9
people found
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this helpful
Terrible experience with these agents. Even before we started the buying procedure we'd had problems with them such as them not turning up for viewings for example we had arranged with them to view a property at 4pm with a tradesman - I had rung ...
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Apr 28,2014
Apr 28,2014
7
people found
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Possibly the most disorganised bunch of fools I've ever met...
Firstly: couldn't arrange viewings before half 8 or after 5 ( or whenever dark!!!) and limited availability at weekends... so absolutely no use for house searching between nov and February for anybody who works.
2nd: when an offer ...
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Nov 21,2013
Nov 21,2013
4
people found
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this helpful
Met Susanna Forestill last night @530 I accompanied my son he had to take in his passport as ID why I don't know the mortgage isn't with them and we have a Financial Advisor anyhow she was extremely curt and rude. All she tried to do ...
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Aug 09,2013
Aug 09,2013
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
I honestly dont know how such a good company can have attitude and a really poor client service?
Myself and my wife are still in the process of looking to buy, i highly doubt we will use this company again! the first time this happened, ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
well they could make use of a phone and call their potential buyers or renters as they clearly are afraid of making calls. and maybe the company should invest in a pocket watch or wrist watch as they clearly have no indication of what a booked meeting actually is.Attached Filesnbsp;
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Dec 16,2012
Dec 16,2012
6
people found
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I would not recommend Swetehams to my worst enemy. Any one who is looking to rent a home do NOT use the Chester Swetenhams. My partern and I were looking for a home to rent in chester with our daughter.
Our first point of contact ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
This has been a very unfortunate affair and to be frank I and my partner feel we have been mistreated and for want of a better phrase ¢â‚¬Ëœripped off¢â‚¬â„¢. At no point during this process were any of the staff at Sweetnems helpful or informative. Specifically the lack of communication and the lack of professionalism displayed by both Amanda and Marie was shocking. It was primarily their shear ineptitude and incompetence throughout the entirety of the letting process cost me and my family both time and money and resulted in much stress.Attached Filesnbsp;
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