“I wouldn't recommend Walton and Allen to sell a garden shed...”
1 Star Review
Sep 23,2021
By:
'S'
Sep 23,2021
Branch: Nottingham, The Pavilion,1 Lace Market Square
Services: Sales (Prospective customer)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: NG8
Branch: Nottingham, The Pavilion,1 Lace Market Square
Sales (Prospective customer)
Postcode: NG8
2
people found
this helpful
We put our house up for sale in May and were initially impressed with the estate agent Richard's enthusiasm for our custom, first impressions were good. They had a well presented, contemporary office within which we imagined a team of smart and professional people (haha). Our first impressions were wrong.
We were selling during a booming market so expected things to go well and our 4 bedroomed house in a desirable area to sell easily. Walton and Allen clearly thought the same thing because they expected the house to sell itself while they got a big fat fee for doing absolutely nothing and providing no service.
We got an offer after just two days on the market and Walton and Allen advised that it was a good offer so we accepted, foolishly believing that they actually vetted potential buyers and looked carefully at their position. We made an offer on our dream house which was accepted so everything seemed well. Conveyancing was glacially slow and in the months that followed we heard nothing from our buyers or Walton and Allen so just assumed the sale of our house was progressing.
A couple of weeks before completion after we had packed up all our belongings ready to move. We suddenly hear that the buyer wants a reduction in price, this is called gazundering although Walton and Allen denied it and tried to keep fobbing us off saying that the buyers wouldn't drop out at this late stage.
They did drop out of course and then it emerged that there were all kinds of problems that Walton and Allen had hidden from us: The buyers hadn't sold their house at all, they hadn't managed to get a place in the local school for their child, they had supposedly wanted to move in months earlier than we were told. None of this had been filtered back to us, there had been no communication at all from our agent.
So several months in we are back on the market. We personally negotiated with the seller of our dream house for an extension something we expected our agent to do but Walton and Allen will do nothing. Days and weeks past with zero communication from Walton and Allen, when I called them to ask for an update (they never called us). I was met with very little response and that they were not sure why there had been no interest.
More weeks pass to the same tune, no communication. Our house is in a desirable area and is immaculately presented, so at this point I'm failing to see what the issue is. I'm asking Walton and Allen who also say they have no idea. However the most worrying part was when I asked what their next steps were... blank. Nothing. No idea. No sales strategy. Nothing.
By this point we had absolutely had enough of Walton and Allens's laziness, lack of professionalism, respect and communication. Basic things that they completely fail on. We complained to the charmless Matilda Everett-Camp and we were told that “if we didn't like it we could go elsewhere” after being made to feel like a trouble causer and a problem customer. That's how they respond to a customer who has been messed around for months, and is potentially paying them thousands of pounds.
We terminated the contract (and went with another agent. I wouldn't recommend Walton and Allen to sell a garden shed. If we could sue them, we would. I don't know if our family will ever recover from the blow they dealt us. They have cost us 1000s of pounds and we lost our dream house. Don't go near these people. Wish we had been warned.
2
people found
this helpful
Was this helpful?
Yes
We initially sold your property within 4 days of marketing for £15,000 more than the advertised guide price. The buyers were financially qualified to ensure they were suitable to purchase and you were advised at this point that they had a downward chain and were looking to move by the end of August to accommodate their children moving schools as they were relocating from a different city.
The buyers had a survey done which unfortunately highlighted various costly issues with the property resulting in them asking for a reduced offer. As per your instructions, we rejected the buyers revised offer. We worked with them to try and keep them on board however the lack of progress with the purchase meant the timescale no longer worked for them and they withdrew from the purchase.
We understand your disappointment - The property was re-marketed and over 30 viewings booked in total with no acceptable offers coming forward. All of the feedback was relayed to you and both Richard and Joe spoke with you on multiple occasions regarding the property and the respective marketing. As per the various emails and conversations we had over the phone the general feedback was that the house itself was lovely and in a great location but required very extensive modernisation throughout, which was a cause for concern for a lot of potential buyers. We did advise reviewing the price in order to try and generate some more offers which you were reluctant to do, which is understandable given the level of interest and the previous offer agreed.
Although we were in constant communication, we felt that we couldn't service your needs as much as you required.
In the end we felt that our values, courtesy and professionalism did not align with yours and we advised you to seek another agency to protect the mental wellbeing of our staff.