Don't advise.

We would like to formally express our dissatisfaction with the service provided by this agency. …

My experience with Miles & Barr has been awful. I don't tend to leave negative reviews but I feel this is warranted. I started looking for somewhere to rent months ago, Miles & Barr seem to have the majority of properties for lettings. I submitted enquiries via RightMove and called, but the phone was never answered. This has been the same across the Herne Bay, Margate and Ramsgate branch. I decided to visit the Herne Bay one as this one is local to me, no-one in Lettings was available but if I left my number along with the properties I was interested in, they would call. They didn't. On the day a suitable flat in Ramsgate was posted, I drove to the Ramsgate branch but Lettings weren't available, so I left my name, number and the property I was interested in and they said they'd call. They didn't. I took a break and then saw some flats in Margate so decided to visit the Cecil Square branch. They were very helpful, got me some viewings but unfortunately they were cancelled due to landlords accepting applications. I visited the Margate branch again, they were helpful and got me some viewings. They explained they have a lot of work but not enough staff due to sickness and other reasons, so online enquiries go to the bottom of the pile. They said now I have a few email addresses, I can email with properties I'm interested in as driving to Margate all the time from Whitstable isn't ideal. The first property I viewed looked nothing like the photos. It was small, dark and dingy. There were peas and breadcrumbs left in the freezer, dirty handprints on the fridge, the lino was lifting off the floor and it smelled damp. It wasn't fit for someone to move in. I did receive a call to give feedback but I missed it and it's no use calling back as it wouldn't have been answered. The second property was much nicer, and we did submit an application, but after a day or so we thought about it and realised it had been advertised as a flat with two double bedrooms, but you wouldn't be able to fit a double bed in the second bedroom without it becoming an obstruction due to the shape of the room. That flat was taken by another applicant. I did manage to get a viewing booked with Herne Bay but decided to cancel after doing research and finding the flats in that area had flooded twice in the past several years. I took another break from looking, then emailed an agent from Margate and Herne Bay with properties I would like to view. I got a response from someone saying those properties don't accept pets and she sent flats that do. I responded with a flat I'd like to view from the list and I heard nothing back. Out of desperation I sent an email requesting a viewing to multiple email addresses and I've still not heard anything. Trying to find somewhere to live is so stressful, Miles & Barr are making it 10x worse. I've been into Wards and Mann who have both been really proactive in trying to find me somewhere suitable, it's just difficult to find flats with gardens that also allow pets. TL;DR: Repeatedly ignored enquiries. Properties not as described. They have too much work and not enough people to deal with it.

I contacted miles and Barr about a property I was interested in renting after a 25 min initial conversation where the lady took a lot of information from me we finally arranged a viewing due to my circumstances being in my first year of being self employed I knew I had to have a guarantor to protect the potential new landlord I even offered to pay a full tenancy upfront so I left them with a few questions to be answered I was fully assured the answers would be given to me at the viewing so I attended the viewing a week later spoke to the agent at the viewing about my questions and she had no idea that she was due to answer the questions I initially had but reassured me she would find my answers by the following day and credit where it is due she did have the required answers the next day which gave me confidence to proceed with the application process to obtain a tenancy so I completed the application to the landlord to see if they would accept me applying for a tenancy I also made the office aware that I needed a response within 2 weeks as I would have to serve notice at my current property by the following Friday I had heard nothing by the Thursday so I called them to see if any progress had been made I was told that they had not heard from the landlord but would chase them for me I sill had heard nothing by the following Monday so called again and was fed the same line I called again that afternoon again was told the same I was also told the office don’t appreciate being pestered and they would call me when they heard from the landlord on the Tuesday they called to inform me the landlord had declined my application due to their insurance stipulating the tenant needed to be in a paye roll to validate the insurance with my knowledge of insurance I made a counter offer where I offered to cover the cost of the change of insurance where a guarantor would be acceptable and could even pay a full tenancy upfront I was told they would put this offer to the landlord I had heard nothing by the Thursday knowing I needed to serve notice the following day if accepted I called that morning was fed the same line they had not heard from the landlord I called again that afternoon and got no answer so I called 3 times in a row still no answer I used a friends phone to call immediately after as I suspected they was ignoring my number and surprise surprise they answered this time I was told they still had not heard from the landlord but also that the landlord is not going to accept my offer anyway so should just give up and leave them alone I believe that they didn’t even bother to contact the landlord with my counteroffer because they got annoyed with me calling to chase them up as often as i did I have since seen 5 other properties that would meet my needs but as soon as I see they are listed with miles and Barr I skip past them as the customer service is diabolical at best and clearly the estate agents are playing god with the potential tenants behind the back of the landlords I can’t express enough how much I would recommend potential tenants avoid using miles and Barr UPDATE 15/09/2018 Following the owners response over a month ago where they clearly state they will contact me directly I have still had no contact from them at all it looks like they have swept my review under the carpet, if I ever do hear from them I will update again with the outcome UPDATE 21/04/2019 now 8 months in to this “investigation “ that miles and Barr “claim” to be carrying out, where I have still not received any form of communication, either this is the most in-depth investigation carried out in history or there was never an investigation started, I can confidently claim the latter is most likely the case and the original owner response issued was to give the impression that miles and Barr have an active customer service team to deal with customer complaints unfortunately this appears to be a phantom aspect of miles and Barr. Should this investigation ever materialise I will update this review accordingly. UPDATE 08/09/2022 Still had no response

Miles & Barr lettings has been the worst ever experience, they have been appalling. We opted for the fully managed service as we live far from the property, when repairs need to be done, we had to chase them for quotes tirelessly , resulting in most cases us having to find the trades to do the work, also inspections between tenants was in accurate, we have a situation where tenants have left rubbish and we have had to foot the bills to have it removed, as it was not followed through on, after final inspections, property gone missing from the inventory. I have just spent hours on the phone with utility companies as they were not informed of our address to forward the bills, once tenants had moved out. The list goes on. My advise is to carefully select your agent.

Hello I found some of the staff very pushy in that I was offered a place at 9am, I had messaged my landlord and was waiting for him to get back to me. I then got a call in a little while I explained I was just waiting for my landlord to …

I'm not one for complaints specifically or indeed reviews in general but felt in this situation I'd be remiss not to post this publicly. I'm looking to move down from London and wqs quite charmed by the Herne Bay area. Last week I visited the Herne Bay branch of Miles & Barr as part of a recce of the area. When I entered the staff were busy so I waited patiently by the front door. Staff members finished up one by one but, for whatever reason, did not catch my eye or engage. Fine - it happens - not the best service but potentially they had something important to note or capture before greeting a potential client. The straw that broke the camel's back was when not a customer who came in after me was seen first. Initially I thought it an error - until it happened again! Mortified, I left. Quite upset. Again, I like to think of myself not as one who complains or whinges. But in this case I feel it's necessary so that management/the corporate office are aware. In the meantime I've taken my business elsewhere. I genuinely hope you can do better.