33% sales valuation accuracy
100% sales fee satisfaction
0% lettings valuation accuracy
29% lettings fee satisfaction
Nov 05,2023
Nov 05,2023
0
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Appalling Property Management in W4 5DD
The John D Wood team in Richmond and Chiswick has provided nearly zero services in the three months since our move-in. We moved into the property with no professional cleaning done and a third of the lightbulbs missing. There were also many obvious errors in the pre-move-in property check, which we have disputed. Repairs were supposed to be completed in the week between move-out and move-in, but the work was done to a low standard and had to be redone, especially the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, which had to be completely redone once we moved in. Additionally, after we moved in, we had to give up our kitchen and hallway as they turned it into a construction site to complete the hallway painting and kitchen reflooring, which should have been done before our move-in.
It has also become evident that the property has a growing list of broken or faulty appliances. Specifically, in the kitchen, both the oven and dishwasher were damaged by Optimal Maintenance. It took several weeks to sort this out, and even after another contractor came to inspect the units, they still brought the wrong-sized dishwasher. Furthermore, it's clear that the boiler hasn't been serviced properly in some time. We now have to repressurize it with the fill valve or heat the expansion valve with a hairdryer every time we need hot water or heating.
The bathrooms have been a continuous issue. We reported all the problems the week we moved in at the end of August, and as of November 2nd, we've only seen partial rectification of the issues. Some problems we've had to solve ourselves, such as buying new shower hoses, while others are straightforward fixes, like installing a new flush mechanism in the toilet. We are still waiting for them to address the water pump, which needs replacing and has significantly delayed the water flow in some taps with waits up to a minute for flow common.
New issues with damp in the flat have arisen, and it goes beyond seasonal changes. We've witnessed full droplets forming in the downstairs bedroom closet. Additionally, two of the radiators are broken, with one being leaky and the other functioning improperly by having runaway function.
The personnel we deal with are unhelpful and show contempt for our requests for resolution. Valere Charles, the property manager, has apparently blocked my number and avoids my calls to the office. She does not provide updates as requested; we have to gather information about the schedule and scope of work from the contractors themselves. She only sent an update email on November 1st, after I called the office and was screened again, almost a month after our last correspondence. She does not seek feedback from the contractors and appears to intentionally reduce their scope of work. For instance, we expected the pump to be serviced in the week of November 2nd, but the contractor was only allocated one person for one hour, and as such less than half of the work we expected to be done was conducted. The painting contractors initially estimated a one-day job for the flooring and painting, but it ended up taking three days over two separate occasions, with wall and floor preparation on the first day in the first week, and two days to complete the kitchen flooring and hallway painting. Optimal told us that they would recommend that the bedrooms, living room, and kitchen all required additional painting and repairs for the stairway carpets, which are coming loose. They mentioned they would return, but we haven't received any updates on that, more than a month later.
On November 4th, the boiler pressure failed again, and this time, we couldn't rectify it. We made an effort to request an emergency service as per the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985, which classifies it as an emergency, and should be repaired within 24 hours, with compensation or accommodation claimable by the tenants if not. However, the landlord/managers vetoed our request without any communication, leaving us to endure the cold in the flat.
We've also requested rent reductions due to the current state of the flat, but this has been consistently ignored by Laura Purvor, the senior lettings manager, even after she and Valere toured the flat, expressed their apologies, and assured us that all the issues we showed them would be fixed.
In all honesty, the time for an amicable resolution has passed. We will be approaching the relevant ombudsman and the council this coming Monday to escalate this issue out of John D Wood's hands, as they have demonstrated that their primary concern is extracting rent from us.
The John D Wood team in Richmond and Chiswick has provided nearly zero services in the three months since our move-in. We moved into the property with no professional cleaning done and a third of the lightbulbs missing. There were also many obvious errors in the pre-move-in property check, which we have disputed. Repairs were supposed to be completed in the week between move-out and move-in, but the work was done to a low standard and had to be redone, especially the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, which had to be completely redone once we moved in. Additionally, after we moved in, we had to give up our kitchen and hallway as they turned it into a construction site to complete the hallway painting and kitchen reflooring, which should have been done before our move-in.
It has also become evident that the property has a growing list of broken or faulty appliances. Specifically, in the kitchen, both the oven and dishwasher were damaged by Optimal Maintenance. It took several weeks to sort this out, and even after another contractor came to inspect the units, they still brought the wrong-sized dishwasher. Furthermore, it's clear that the boiler hasn't been serviced properly in some time. We now have to repressurize it with the fill valve or heat the expansion valve with a hairdryer every time we need hot water or heating.
The bathrooms have been a continuous issue. We reported all the problems the week we moved in at the end of August, and as of November 2nd, we've only seen partial rectification of the issues. Some problems we've had to solve ourselves, such as buying new shower hoses, while others are straightforward fixes, like installing a new flush mechanism in the toilet. We are still waiting for them to address the water pump, which needs replacing and has significantly delayed the water flow in some taps with waits up to a minute for flow common.
New issues with damp in the flat have arisen, and it goes beyond seasonal changes. We've witnessed full droplets forming in the downstairs bedroom closet. Additionally, two of the radiators are broken, with one being leaky and the other functioning improperly by having runaway function.
The personnel we deal with are unhelpful and show contempt for our requests for resolution. Valere Charles, the property manager, has apparently blocked my number and avoids my calls to the office. She does not provide updates as requested; we have to gather information about the schedule and scope of work from the contractors themselves. She only sent an update email on November 1st, after I called the office and was screened again, almost a month after our last correspondence. She does not seek feedback from the contractors and appears to intentionally reduce their scope of work. For instance, we expected the pump to be serviced in the week of November 2nd, but the contractor was only allocated one person for one hour, and as such less than half of the work we expected to be done was conducted. The painting contractors initially estimated a one-day job for the flooring and painting, but it ended up taking three days over two separate occasions, with wall and floor preparation on the first day in the first week, and two days to complete the kitchen flooring and hallway painting. Optimal told us that they would recommend that the bedrooms, living room, and kitchen all required additional painting and repairs for the stairway carpets, which are coming loose. They mentioned they would return, but we haven't received any updates on that, more than a month later.
On November 4th, the boiler pressure failed again, and this time, we couldn't rectify it. We made an effort to request an emergency service as per the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985, which classifies it as an emergency, and should be repaired within 24 hours, with compensation or accommodation claimable by the tenants if not. However, the landlord/managers vetoed our request without any communication, leaving us to endure the cold in the flat.
We've also requested rent reductions due to the current state of the flat, but this has been consistently ignored by Laura Purvor, the senior lettings manager, even after she and Valere toured the flat, expressed their apologies, and assured us that all the issues we showed them would be fixed.
In all honesty, the time for an amicable resolution has passed. We will be approaching the relevant ombudsman and the council this coming Monday to escalate this issue out of John D Wood's hands, as they have demonstrated that their primary concern is extracting rent from us.
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Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 33% | 100% | £375,000 | £375,000 |
| Lettings | 0% | 29% | £1,800 | £2,300 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Nov 05,2023
Nov 05,2023
0
people found
this helpful
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Appalling Property Management in W4 5DD
The John D Wood team in Richmond and Chiswick has provided nearly zero services in the three months since our move-in. We moved into the property with no professional cleaning done and a third of the lightbulbs missing. There ...
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Jan 08,2023
Jan 08,2023
0
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Since Stephen has been appointed as my property manager, things have turned for the better. He has proved to be responsive and caring, trying to sort things out in the most effective fashion. So far the best property manager at john D wood....
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Apr 22,2020
Apr 22,2020
3
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this helpful
Incompetent and rude. We gave nearly 3 months notice that we would be vacating our flat rented through JDW prior to the end of our tenancy. We paid in full through the end of the tenancy despite vacating a month early, and asked that (since we ...
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Oct 24,2019
Oct 24,2019
4
people found
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From the moment we were given notice John D Wood failed to give anything like a decent service - emails and calls were rarely responded to. Duplicate requests for information came from a range of staff, often no response to contact - you literally have ...
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May 20,2019
May 20,2019
2
people found
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I had experience of both tenancy side of lettings and buying side of sales. As arrogant as they are incompetent, they feel that access to your money is their right.
Lettings are the most incompetent business unit I have ever had the displeasure of working ...
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Jan 17,2019
Jan 17,2019
3
people found
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this helpful
An appalling experience throughout. My flat had a water leak from the start which was incompetently delay with until it caused the ceiling below to collapse onto a mother feeding her child. The issue was then incompetently dealt with for three months leaving me without ...
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Comment on agent fees
Exorbitant even before I had to end the tenancy halfway through and be incorrectly charged for fixing the flat. It is very clear that it is in this agent’s interest to encourage tenants to terminate their tenancy mid way as it means more fees from both tenant and landlord.
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Dec 12,2018
Dec 12,2018
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
We have been using John D Wood as a letting agency for the last 5 years. We were a good tenant who never missed a payment within these 5 years.
Upon giving notice, they failed to book us in for a check out and consequently was done ...
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Nov 26,2018
Nov 26,2018
0
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We recently purchased a property through John D. Wood & Co. It was a very challenging purchase, everything that could have gone wrong pretty much did!. Jack and Edward were excellent and really helped us secure an amazing property, they went above and beyond and were ...
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Comment on agent fees
Very good
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Oct 18,2018
Oct 18,2018
1
people found
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Found a flat in Richmond with John D Wood, but after moving in I found it unlivable due to noise.
Expecting the worst, I contacted the agent and was pleasantly surprised â they allowed me to cancel the contract early and move out.
They didn't have ...
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Nov 22, 2018
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I would just like to say how fantastic Jack and Ed at John D Wood in Richmond have been. We purchased a property where it seemed everything that could go wrong did, the solicitor on the other side was very unprofessional but Jack and Ed kept the deal on the table, despite many frustrations. They were always courteous and went the extra mile. I would have no trouble recommending this company to anyone and we will definitely be working with them should we be in the market in future. ...
Mar 01,2013
Mar 01,2013
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Management service is a complete joke. Money for nothing. They do not reply to e-mails for days/weeks.
Received 2 quotes for work to be carried out for over 1000 pounds. Rang around even though I am based overseas (which is the whole point of having someone ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
All I would ever ask is that they did their job properly. This did not happen!Attached Filesnbsp;
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