100% sales valuation accuracy
100% sales fee satisfaction
Sep 12,2013
Sep 12,2013
1
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First off, you should negotiate the fees as they are very expensive and we honestly didn't think to try and reduce the cost as we were under time pressure to move. Douglas Allen were involved further along the chain so we thought it would be a good plan to use them for our sale. We agreed that we would have multiple viewings on a Saturday and I was very disappointed that the agent booked in several viewers virtually all at the same time. Living in quite a small house, it was utter chaos and whilst they sent a representative, they really didn't say anything that would attract a buyer so it wasn't the best experience. Douglas Allen valued the house from £220K to £240K which in hindsight, probably wasn't the best approach as we had several very low offers. We received a mid priced offer early on which we accepted but they buyer didn't have a UK Visa and her mortgage application failed so the whole process started again. Sadly, when we received details of the next lot of viewings they had all been pretty much booked in at the same time which was very annoying, as clearly my frustrations from the previous "open day" hadn't been taken on board. However, we received lots of offers from the next viewing and accepted one of them. Douglas Allen recommend a service called Movewithus, who have a panel of solicitors. I personally found this service utterly useless. We paid them vast amounts of money and were told that there was a system that you could log onto so that you could see what was happening with the conveyancing at any time. We never received any kind of login and got random emails with updates that actually told us very little. The solicitor recommended was particularly unhelpful and on most occasions totally unresponsive. We estimate that the conveyancing for buying and selling has cost us around £2k -- and I would have expected a far better service for this kind of money. With the estate agency fees and the solicitors fees we have spend well in excess of £5k for a house that sold for £229k and the purchase of a property at £240k. We have had an enormous amount of delays and issues caused by our purchaser's solicitor (who is also part on the Movewithus panel), which has made me think further that their panel approach where the solicitors are supposed to be able to communicate better is just a joke. However, the only real positive from all of this is the sales progressor at DA, Natasha, who stayed in constant contact, kept me informed (when we heard nothing from our solicitor) and moved heaven and earth to get us to exchange. She should be thoroughly commended for her work as she has worked really hard for us and everyone in the chain. In addition, Paul, the area manager, helped enormously -- even letting a surveyor into our house when we couldn't get time off of work to jump through the many hoops that the purchaser put us through. I have ranked DA as good as their work during the latter part of the sale, has been invaluable. I would use them again (but doubt I will ever move again as this experience has been horrible) but I would be more enthusiastic about negotiating. However, I would certainly never, ever use Movewithus and wholeheartedly would not recommend them or the solicitors they use to anyone. Once the dust has settled, I will be writing a very stern letter to all concern. Sadly as DA recommends Movewithus, I think it certainly tarnishes their reputation by aligning themselves to such as expensive and pointless service.
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Latest Reviews
26th Jan 2022
reviewed by 'John-Henry Dickinson'
20th Sep 2021
reviewed by '000'
31st Jan 2018
reviewed by 'Yasemin565'
1st Nov 2013
reviewed by 'Irene'
12th Oct 2013
reviewed by 'Leona'
Opening Hours
Address
Douglas Allen
133A High Street
Hornchurch
Greater London
RM11 1TX
01708 437777
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 100% | 100% | £565,000 | £675,000 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Areas covered
Services offered
- Sales
- Lettings
- Block Management
- Surveys
- Conveyancing
- Mortgage Advice
- Home Builder
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Feb 28,2024
Feb 28,2024
0
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After the first viewing, I offered 600,000 to the landlord through the agent Douglas Allen – Hornchurch. As the first offer was rejected, David, the Senior Partner of the Agent requested me to increase my offer. He kept emphasized that he represented the vendor only but not ...
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Jan 26,2022
Jan 26,2022
0
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I dealt with David Tomlins and Chelsey Baldwin throughout the sale of our property. David managed to get well above our initial target and what other estate agents were expecting to achieve. Chelsey was very easy to contact and deal with regarding all aspects of ...
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Sep 20,2021
Sep 20,2021
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Thank you Douglas Allen, Hornchurch, for selling my house and enabling me to buy the house I want. The sale took a long time, but thank you to Chelsey and all the team at Douglas Allen, Hornchurch for your hard work in making it all ...
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Jan 31,2018
Jan 31,2018
3
people found
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this helpful
Was positive to begin with until *tried to stitch me up with rates in order to fit into his listings deadline. Originally started on 1.3% + VAT. Wanted to speak to someone we knew internally about negotiation but when the topic came up, *he denied he offered ...
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Comment on agent fees
They vary depending on the team targets, can be way more flexible if they desperately want to list your house as they have targets based on this. However make sure you get rates in writing as they can up by cowboy agents that fail to hit targets. I was offered 1.3% - 1.4% + VAT
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Feb 09, 2018
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(1)
Cant agree more. Service was so bad. They work on getting people through the door rather than the right people in. Offer no advice once someone offers on your property. Cant keep a diary and are so reactive they don't even chase up on people who have offered on your property. We were so disheartened by the process we pulled out of a potential sale. ...
Nov 01,2013
Nov 01,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Selling and buying our new home has been a stressful experience and we don't plan to do it again! The valuation of our property went well, a few hiccups whilst the sale was ongoing and then we found a buyer.
I must admit from putting ...
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Dec 07, 2013
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Dear Irene, Thank you for you feedback, I am sorry you did not experience the greatest start to the transaction, alhtough both Ian and Natasha really proved that we are different and will go the extra mile to make things happen. It is great to see that you would recommend us to future clients and that our after sales service really kept you informed and smilling. I hope you have settled into you new home well and the move has worked out well for you. Kind regards Paul Ingleton (Group Partner) ...
Oct 12,2013
Oct 12,2013
1
people found
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this helpful
Our initial meeting with Simone was very proactive, as she seemed to have a good idea of what we were looking for and not just give us every property detail they had on their books. The viewing, offer and acceptance happened all in one day ...
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Oct 17, 2013
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Leona, I really appreciate your feedback, we as a company pride ourselves on trying to identify the right property for clients rather than just sending details or addidng it to the internet and awaiting the calls to come in, we invest heavily on staff training to ensure that the level of service exceeds our clients expectations, looking at the feedback, this certainly worked well for you. I am sorry there was a delay in the chain, unfortunatly these issues on many occassions cannot be avoided, s ...
Oct 12,2013
Oct 12,2013
1
people found
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this helpful
MY DEALING WERE INITIALLY WITH DAVID AT HORNCHURCH AND HE WAS ALWAYS INFORMATIVE AND KEPT ME UPTO DATE WITH ALL THAT THE SELLERS INFORMATION. I WAS THEN INTRODUCED TO NATASHA AND TO MY DELIGHT SHE WAS VERY HELPFUL AND COURTEOUS AT ALL TIMES. A VERY ...
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Oct 17, 2013
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Humera, Thank you very much for your kind feedback, it is always our company aim to ensure we keep clients fully updated and informed of the process, offering advice and assistance in any matters. I will pass your thanks onto both David the branch manager and Natasha the sales progressor. I am pleased you had a very good experience and we look forward as a company to be of assistance to you or your friends and family again soon. Kind regards Paul Ingleton Group Partner ...
Sep 12,2013
Sep 12,2013
1
people found
this helpful
this helpful
First off, you should negotiate the fees as they are very expensive and we honestly didn't think to try and reduce the cost as we were under time pressure to move. Douglas Allen were involved further along the chain so we thought it would be ...
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Sep 14, 2013
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Dear Sue,
I would like to thank you for your feedback, as always we are here to help. Many people feel that selling a property is simple, unfortunately more now than ever as you mentioned there are many hoops to jump through. In fact in your case the third party surveyor requested reports and the lender made these a condition prior to exchange and completion. I am pleased to hear that Natasha kept you and the chain fully informed throughout the transaction, this is an almost unique service we o ...
Sep 10,2013
Sep 10,2013
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Kept me informed and tried hard to negotiate a sale and also helped with purchase. I felt that they cared about our outcome....
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Sep 14, 2013
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Hi Jasmin,
I really appreciate your comments and would like to wish you all the best in your new home.
Kind regards
Paul Ingleton Group Partner ...
Aug 06,2013
Aug 06,2013
3
people found
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this helpful
David and his team selling our property were first class, attention to detail was never in question and sold our property a lot quicker than we thought, no problems completely hassle free, the girls and Paul were great and always helpful. The sales progressor assigned ...
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Sep 14, 2013
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Hi Michelle,
I would like to thank you for your kind feedback, it is always good to hear that things were hassle free and that you were kept in touch on a regular basis, I will pass on your comments to Natasha and David.
I would like to wish you all the best in your new home.
Kind regards Paul Ingleton Group Partner ...
Jul 25,2013
Jul 25,2013
2
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Natasha and Kirsty have been amazing, they are a real asset to Douglas Allen. Taking each in turn, Kirsty spoke with my fiance and I to establish what we were looking for, she really did go out there and get us lots of properties. We ...
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Sep 14, 2013
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Hi Taylor,
I am always really pleased to hear that my staff have gone the extra mile to ensure (Whilst lengthly) things went through in the end, it really shows the tenacity of our staff not only to identify the right property but the honesty and keeping you informed (Good or Bad).
I hope the wedding went well and that the Baldness is now getting back to normal (something I can't cure).
All the best in your new home and we look forward to be of assistance to you or any of your friends, family ...
Apr 26,2013
Apr 26,2013
3
people found
this helpful
this helpful
This was a sale after my Aunt had dies, the agent was in total control, showing people round etc.
The held an openday initally, whcih did genrate an offer (that we accepted) but fell through, they subsequently showed further people round. This produced a furth ...
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Feb 22,2013
Feb 22,2013
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Natasha worked tirellessly to complete in a very difficult and stressful sale. She responded promptly to all my queries and was very patient....
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Oct 19,2012
Oct 19,2012
5
people found
this helpful
this helpful
David Tomlins and his team worked tirelessly to sell my flat in Rainham. Communication was first rate and there was never any shortage of potential purchasers being shown around. The marketing was very professional and showed the property to it's very best advantage. Once the ...
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Sep 05,2011
Sep 05,2011
6
people found
this helpful
this helpful
Douglas Allen of Hornchurch are one of 3 agents that I asked to value my daughters home with a view to selling it through one of them. The other 2 agents provided a valuation based on comparable properties, lists of which they brought with them, and have ...
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What agent could do to change your mind?
They should have just provided a valuation in accordance with the agreement we had made, and not tried to obtain this house on the cheap.Attached Filesnbsp;
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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.
I would like to thank you for your feedback, as always we are here to help. Many people feel that selling a property is simple, unfortunately more now than ever as you mentioned there are many hoops to jump through. In fact in your case the third party surveyor requested reports and the lender made these a condition prior to exchange and completion. I am pleased to hear that Natasha kept you and the chain fully informed throughout the transaction, this is an almost unique service we offer, ensuring that the experienced staff not only keep you informed but identify and resolve any issues as swiftly as possible, bringing in on occasions all resources possible.
Whilst I take on board your comments with regards to the “Open House†this a major part of launching the property to the market and achieving the “Best Price†these always work better where clients bump into each, building the need for urgency and therefore increasing the number of offers and price, if this was not fully explained I apologise.
On reviewing your comments with regards to our panel of solicitors, with a chain as complex as yours, there will always be the inevitable delays, the advantage we had is that where required we could enlist the services of the panel managers and the senior partners to resolve issues as quickly as possible, something I am sure would have been almost impossible with 10 separate solicitors running their own agendas.
I really appreciate your feedback and can assure you that as a company we are always looking to build on our success and ensure that we deliver the “Best possible customer serviceâ€, this is both with our own staff but also our third party partners.
I would like to wish you all the best in your new home and look forward to helping you and any of your friends and family again in the future.
Kind regards Paul Ingleton Group Partner