By : 'C' Services : Letting(As a Tenant) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Nov 27, 2013
People found this helpful4
Run away from Acorn whilst you can. We had to deal with two major issues which made us realise the lack of professionalism and integrity between these two people in this company. First issue, we were told to pay a professional cleaning fee upfront to the amount of GBP300+ (following when we asked a simple yes /no question to whether the flat will be cleaned before we move in). We disagreed to fact that we did not get to choose our own cleaner and that we had to pay upfront (in fact this cleaning charge was not agreed with us during the offer stage). When we first tried to resolve it over phone we were told by Elanor a flat "NO", that this is their chosen "contractor" and that we HAD TO use this cleaner when we move out 2 years later. She also told us during the discussions that "the flat has already been cleaned" for check in, I suppose in an attempt to intimidate us into thinking that we have to now use the same cleaners when we move out, but upon a bit more questioning she admitted that the cleaners had not been there yet. When phones proved unsuccessful we decided to rely on writing a long letter to discuss options and we had found professional cleaning companies that promise to clean until the landlord is happy for 195. The response from Elanor was surprising. She said she had "explained our situation to their cleaner who was willing to reduce their cleaning charges to 195". It took yet another round of emails until she finally waived the upfront cleaning charge and we were free to choose a cleaner of our choice upon moving out.
The second issue was the fact that Elanor issued the contract with two people's name who were supposedly the landlords' names. One of these people requested to be taken off so Elanor complied. We subsequently went into the land registry to check who owns this flat, what we did not know was the difference between freehold and leasehold (we looked in freehold section which did not match the names of the two people Elanor had mentioned). When we questioned who the legal owners are, because we have to sign with all of the legal owner(s), Elanor replied saying that both of the people are legal owners (so she would issue a new contract for the third time). She said that because there are so many flats in this building it complicates land registry, but she had a copy of proof of ownership, that could not be shown as it contains personal info (fair enough). The worst part was probably when she said she had shown the copy of proof of ownership to her manager who said it was "fine". With that we were supposed to take her word for it. Next we figured out the leasehold section who matched the name we had on the contract, so finally the issue was resolved but the main lesson learned here is that the agent did not know the difference between freehold or leasehold themselves, and also there were so many twist of truth and wrong information being passed back and forth. This made us really lose trust and faith in Acorn.
Was this helpful?:
Browse popular links for estate agents, letting agents and properties nearby
By : 'Chris' Services : Letting( As a Tenant ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Jul 8, 2020
People found this helpful0
They are thieves posing as real estate agents!! Our pipes started rattling so loud at night which kept us and our neighbours up the whole night. After multiple complaints from my neighbours and I were left unanswered. It took them two weeks to send someone to have a look at it. Acorn then made us... Read Full Review
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 8th Jul 2020
They are thieves posing as real estate agents!! Our pipes started rattling so loud at night which kept us and our neighbours up the whole night. After multiple complaints from my neighbours and I were left unanswered. It took them two weeks to send someone to have a look at it. Acorn then made us wait even longer to actually fix it as they wanted to find someone cheaper. When we checked out of our apartment they attempted to exploit us by charging fees for their at attempts to upgrade features in the apartment which they claimed were broken by us but could not substantiate it with pictures. They never answer any emails and when following up after a month where my deposit I was greeted by an aggressive and rude response to wait to stop emailing instead of telling me when I would receive my deposit which I already waited for over a month. DO NOT USE THEM as it will lead to a loss of money.
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
Was this helpful?:
I would strongly advise ...
Share On :
1 Star Review
Endija
Suzzannah
By : 'MarkB' Services : Letting( As a Tenant ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Oct 8, 2017
People found this helpful1
I would strongly advise anyone looking to rent to avoid these cowboys. The lady, Endija, who showed us round our house had absolutely no idea about the place, she couldn't tell me anything about the gas/electric, what boiler was in place, she didn't even know what was in each room until... Read Full Review
Comments on Agent Fees
Bad - the agency fees where around £200 from what I can remember, and I think we got aboslutely nothing for our money, other than the printing of the contract. Also had a very expensive check in and check out cost, as well as a scandolous cleaning fee. Avoid at all costs.
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 8th Oct 2017
I would strongly advise anyone looking to rent to avoid these cowboys. The lady, Endija, who showed us round our house had absolutely no idea about the place, she couldn't tell me anything about the gas/electric, what boiler was in place, she didn't even know what was in each room until she had opened the doors. She then told us explicitly that the only thing we had to pay before we moved in was 6 weeks rent as deposit and a months rent in advance. We agreed, as we where pretty desparate at the time, and to our suprise where landed with a load of extra charges, including a £400 post tenancy cleaning bill, which is well above market rate.
Trying to get in contact with these people in an absolute nightmare, and do not expect them to contact you should anything go wrong. I had failed my reference due to the fact that I did not start work until the 12th of the month, but our contract started on the 1st. A bit annoying, but I understand that they are just looking out for the landlords. What was ridiculous though is that nobody from Acorn advised me I had failed. I only found out a week later when I phoned to enquire about the hold up. Endija had no idea how to deal with the situation, I had to come up with my own solution (which was to fork our 2 months rent in advance!) and in the end I just asked to deal with her manager, Suzzannah, who was actually pretty helpful in getting the matter sorted.
We had little contact with them during the tenancy as the property was managed by the landlord, thankfully.
Upon moving out, we where sent the old tenants check out report, including photos of a completely different bathroom to the one in our house.
Overall, this estate agents provide a terrible service. They do not care for the tenants nor do they have any idea about their properties. They take advantage of the fact that people are very desparate in London. I would reccommend that anybody who can should avoid them at all costs.
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
Firstly, I am very sorry to hear about your experience with our London Bridge office. We pride ourselves in providing all our clients with excellent service from start to finish and so to hear this...
Where to begin? Forced to pay ...
Share On :
1 Star Review
Matt
By : 'Drummanmatt' Services : Letting( As a Tenant ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Jun 21, 2017
People found this helpful2
Where to begin? Forced to pay an end of tenancy cleaning fee way in excess of the market rate before I could sign a tenancy agreement. Chasing me for a decision on whether to extend my lease another year 3 months before it ended. Turning up unannounced to do flat viewings, then almost forcing... Read Full Review
Comments on Agent Fees
A rip off. Not value for money (from the tenant or landlord side)
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 21st Jun 2017
Where to begin? Forced to pay an end of tenancy cleaning fee way in excess of the market rate before I could sign a tenancy agreement. Chasing me for a decision on whether to extend my lease another year 3 months before it ended. Turning up unannounced to do flat viewings, then almost forcing themselves into the flat without invitation. Doing the check out report BEFORE end of tenancy clean was done. Taking a full week after to get cleaners back in. Promising pictures to prove clean has been done (none were provided). Landlord had to go to the property to tell Acorn cleaning was done poorly, and did not cover everything promised. Refusal to give a breakdown of cleaning costs and what was and was not covered. Refusal to give any help whatsoever throughout tenancy. Been out of the tenancy a month and still waiting for deposit to be returned (even though amount was agreed two weeks ago and all relevant details provided at that point, again a few days later, and yet again to actually start the deposit return process). Absolutely disgusted at the lack of service provided, and recommend everyone avoid like the plague. Incompetent, disinterested, money grabbing thieves. Thank God the landlord saw them for what they were too and was willing to work with me because they certainly weren't. No doubt I'll still have issues getting the deposit back in a few weeks time. Landlord no longer using them as they couldn't be bothered to market the flat properly and gave shocking customer service. Tenants and landlords alike - you have been warned!
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
Hi Matt.
I am very sorry to hear about the service you received from us.
Would you be able to email me at Andrew.roberts@acorngroup.co.uk, with the property address, so that I can investigate...
- 2 days before moving in, ...
Share On :
1 Star Review
Amanda
Bradley
By : 'Annoyedandnowpoor' Services : Letting( As a Tenant ) Rent PCM : £1820 Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Jun 27, 2015
People found this helpful2
- 2 days before moving in, were told that their 'calculation' of the deposit was incorrect and as a result we had to pay an extra £300 to cover their mistake (despite having a formal signed agreement stating the amount we agreed to pay) - as far as I can understand, if Acorn make the error... Read Full Review
What agent could do to change your mind?
Could actually work out how much the deposit was before signing an agreement of offer with us. Although I thought that would be a standard.
Could not ask everything of us the day before we had to move in with the threat of delaying the move.
Could have spelt my name right.
Most importantly, can give us back our bloody money.
Comments on Agent Fees
Made us pay £300 extra with no warning, no idea why we paid any form of admin fee given that they couldn't get our names right and couldn't get us a tenancy agreement until the day before we moved. No idea why they got any profit at all from the property sale seeing as the whole experience was a nightmare.
Annoyedandnowpoor said about Acorn Group Estate Agents
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 27th Jun 2015
- 2 days before moving in, were told that their 'calculation' of the deposit was incorrect and as a result we had to pay an extra £300 to cover their mistake (despite having a formal signed agreement stating the amount we agreed to pay) - as far as I can understand, if Acorn make the error but we have already signed off on an agreed amount to pay, we shouldn't be told we can't move in until we pay to cover it.
- Only received a tenancy agreement that needed to be signed by 3 guarantors (none of which live in London) the day before we were set to move in due to the fact that our names were spelt wrong on TWO occasions. Had to contact guarantors and pull them out of work 3 hours before we were supposed to get our keys.
Overall it felt as though the team were blackmailing us with the fact that they would 'withold' the keys until we had paid £300 out of the blue and got 7 people to initial every page of a 30 page agreement within 12 hours. We have been offered a formal apology for the mistake regarding money but that apology will not pay for my living costs, or in fact, my next months rent. They acted like we had a choice of moving in at a later date but our tenancy ended on the day of the move in and they knew that, so to grab £300 from us when they knew for a fact we had no other option was disrespectful, unprofessional and troubling.
We are involving a lawyer in getting back our money from their profit made on the property that they took from us to cover the fault of their own bad calculation. You should never hand over money to a group unless there is a signed agreement of costs, but in this case we either scraped it together or were out on the streets, and Acorn knew that.
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
The same happened to us, and they messed up our inventory check list. They are a bunch of amateurs who are rude, incompetent, inexperienced and a complete waste of space and...
Run away from Acorn whilst ...
Share On :
1 Star Review
Samantha
Elanor
By : 'C' Services : Letting( As a Tenant ) Would you recommend ? : No Postcode : SE1
Nov 27, 2013
People found this helpful4
Run away from Acorn whilst you can. We had to deal with two major issues which made us realise the lack of professionalism and integrity between these two people in this company. First issue, we were told to pay a professional cleaning fee upfront to the amount of GBP300+ (following when we asked a ... Read Full Review
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )Date: 27th Nov 2013
Run away from Acorn whilst you can. We had to deal with two major issues which made us realise the lack of professionalism and integrity between these two people in this company. First issue, we were told to pay a professional cleaning fee upfront to the amount of GBP300+ (following when we asked a simple yes /no question to whether the flat will be cleaned before we move in). We disagreed to fact that we did not get to choose our own cleaner and that we had to pay upfront (in fact this cleaning charge was not agreed with us during the offer stage). When we first tried to resolve it over phone we were told by Elanor a flat "NO", that this is their chosen "contractor" and that we HAD TO use this cleaner when we move out 2 years later. She also told us during the discussions that "the flat has already been cleaned" for check in, I suppose in an attempt to intimidate us into thinking that we have to now use the same cleaners when we move out, but upon a bit more questioning she admitted that the cleaners had not been there yet. When phones proved unsuccessful we decided to rely on writing a long letter to discuss options and we had found professional cleaning companies that promise to clean until the landlord is happy for 195. The response from Elanor was surprising. She said she had "explained our situation to their cleaner who was willing to reduce their cleaning charges to 195". It took yet another round of emails until she finally waived the upfront cleaning charge and we were free to choose a cleaner of our choice upon moving out.
The second issue was the fact that Elanor issued the contract with two people's name who were supposedly the landlords' names. One of these people requested to be taken off so Elanor complied. We subsequently went into the land registry to check who owns this flat, what we did not know was the difference between freehold and leasehold (we looked in freehold section which did not match the names of the two people Elanor had mentioned). When we questioned who the legal owners are, because we have to sign with all of the legal owner(s), Elanor replied saying that both of the people are legal owners (so she would issue a new contract for the third time). She said that because there are so many flats in this building it complicates land registry, but she had a copy of proof of ownership, that could not be shown as it contains personal info (fair enough). The worst part was probably when she said she had shown the copy of proof of ownership to her manager who said it was "fine". With that we were supposed to take her word for it. Next we figured out the leasehold section who matched the name we had on the contract, so finally the issue was resolved but the main lesson learned here is that the agent did not know the difference between freehold or leasehold themselves, and also there were so many twist of truth and wrong information being passed back and forth. This made us really lose trust and faith in Acorn.
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
Was this helpful?:
I have had very bad ...
Share On :
1 Star Review
By : 'rakesh' Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer ) Would you recommend ? : No
Sep 29, 2007
People found this helpful4
I have had very bad experience with Acorn Group Estate Agents when I wanted to buy a house in Lee Green , London. Once I had put in an offer, they kept me in complete dark about the transaction and did not manage to get a appointment with the vendors to discuss some aspects of the property.... Read Full Review
I have had very bad experience with Acorn Group Estate Agents when I wanted to buy a house in Lee Green , London. Once I had put in an offer, they kept me in complete dark about the transaction and did not manage to get a appointment with the vendors to discuss some aspects of the property.
Also they were very unprofessional in terms of returning calls or keeping me aware of the transaction. I spent
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
Was this helpful?:
1 - 6 of 6 items
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 set.
Last updated at 9/12/2018, 10:59:07 AM by allAgents
Awards won by Acorn Group Estate Agents, London SE1 3TX