Drivers and Norris

We instructed Drivers & Norris to sell our property and also relied on them as the agent representing the seller of a home we had an accepted offer on. The experience on both sides was deeply disappointing. Communication was consistently poor — we had to chase for basic updates rather than being kept informed. Most significantly, we only discovered that the property we were purchasing had been sold to another buyer by proactively contacting the agent ourselves (even after spending a significant amount on surveys). This is not acceptable. Being left to find out such critical news through our own chasing, rather than a prompt call, reflects a serious failure in basic client care. We have since moved to a different agent for our sale and the difference in professionalism has been immediate and marked. Please think twice.

Extremely disappointing experience and without doubt the worst customer service I have ever received from a letting agency. My partner and I viewed a property through Drivers & Norris that was advertised with wooden flooring throughout the main rooms. The same flooring was present during the viewing and we were informed by Alex Osadchiy that it would remain. Based on the advertisement, the viewing and the information provided, we made an offer which was accepted, paid a reservation fee and spent a considerable amount of time progressing the application, reviewing contracts and providing documentation. Only afterwards were we informed by John Young that the landlord intended to remove all of the wooden flooring and replace it with carpet. This information had never been disclosed beforehand and was particularly important because both of us suffer from dust allergies. Had we known that carpet was going to be installed, we would never have made an offer on the property. What I found most concerning was the completely contradictory information provided by different members of staff. Alex told us the flooring would remain. John later told us it would be removed. These two positions are obviously incompatible and left us with very little confidence in the information being provided by the agency. When we raised reasonable concerns and asked for clarification, our questions were repeatedly dismissed rather than properly addressed. At no point did anyone acknowledge that the information provided during the viewing differed from the information later given to us. The comparison we were given between the flooring and the furniture shown in the photographs made little sense, as the advertisement explicitly stated that the property was unfurnished. No equivalent disclosure was ever made regarding the flooring. The landlord is of course entitled to renovate the property as they wish. The issue is that material information was not disclosed until after we had invested significant time and money into the process. The only positive aspect of this experience is that the reservation fee was ultimately refunded. Unfortunately, based on my experience, I cannot recommend Drivers & Norris. The level of customer service provided by both Alex Osadchiy and John Young was genuinely the worst I have encountered when dealing with a letting agency. EDIT AFTER RESPONSE: this is the first apology and acknowledgment of wrongdoing on your behalf I’m getting throughout the whole process and the only reason why you’re giving it’s because this is public and everyone can read it. You should train your agents better to not provide incorrect information, change your listings to not depict wrong facts and really need to work on your customer service because this is not good enough.

Honestly, renting through this agency has been one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had. The flat was lovely but I experienced so much stress because of Drivers and Norris during the 4.5 years of my 5 years tenancy. The last 6 months were more bearable because the new property manager was more efficient. If your property manager is Lauren, I would recommend you move out right away. All the issues I am addressing are her doing. It was a relief when she went for a yearly break. A few things you should know before signing with them: - Slow to respond (if at all): It often took weeks, sometimes months, just to get a reply about problems. - Ghosting is standard: Emails were ignored more often than not. - No refurbishment of the place even after more than 4 years of renting a flat. But the rent will increase for sure. - False promises: I was repeatedly told “we’re chasing contractors,” but nothing was ever done. - Closing issues without solving them: I had to raise the same problems multiple times because they love to mark things as “resolved” when they aren’t. - No inspections: The yearly checks? They simply never happened. - Balcony disasters: Got a random call telling me they needed to seal the balcony door because it was unsafe. I asked for an email to confirm—never heard back. - Contractors dumped my furniture on another roof and never returned it. - On top of that: poor insulation, days without heating, and pests like slugs and hornets became part of daily life. - Deposit given back at the last minute, 3 months later, after I rejected the original offer. And miscalculated : I had to sent additional money since they gave me 20£ more than what the deposit refund was. In summary: if you want stress, delays, slugs in your bathtub and a property management team that doesn’t care, this agency is for you. If you value peace of mind, avoid at all costs.

Update 2: four months since a portion of the ceiling fell down, still not fixed - still covered with a piece of wet hardboard, mouldy walls. Have had to get the council and ombudsman involved. Update: had a response to this review suggesting if I emailed they would sort it out. Just got another idiotic reply from the same useless Lauren Jackson. Never rent with Drivers My ceiling started leaking 18 months ago, fell down 3 months ago, they won't fix it. They're the worst. Particularly Lauren

Absolutely terrible agency - totally unreliable, they don’t value people’s time, poor communication, false advertisement, and lying. First I call about this property to schedule a viewing, and an agent says they’ll give me a call back - and she never does. The next day I call again inquiring about why I haven’t heard back, and an agent named Lawrence says he’s doing a viewing in 45 minutes (I call at 3.20pm) between 4:00 and 4:15. I say it’s tight but I’ll try my best to make it and then get there at 4.15, to which he says I’ve already left 2 minutes ago to go to my next viewing. I say I understand. The following day I then call again and ask if we can reschedule, and we agree that we reschedule the next day for 2.30pm. I show up at the viewing at 2.20 pm, ten minutes in advance, and no sign of Lawrence. I call him at 2.33 - he says to me “oh my colleague is supposed to be there, let me call and check” and then silence - I hear nothing. Then I call him again 5 minutes later and he doesn’t pick up my call. Then I call the letting agency and say I’m at the viewing, and no sign of an agent. I speak to a guy and then he transfers me to another agent (I think her name is Michelle). She puts me on hold and the lets me know that apparently Lawrence called to cancel because he couldn’t get access to the property (which is obviously a lie because just earlier Lawrence himself said “oh my colleague is supposed to be there”) so she’s totally covering up for him. On top of that, absolutely no remorse or sincere apologies for having wasted my time. And the worst part of it all I just rechecked online the ad they posted on Rightmove and they also hiked the price - the apartment was initially listed for a significantly lower price. So all in all: false advertising, poorly organized staff, very terrible communication. Loved the look of the flat but honestly these are red flags too large to ignore - we won’t be letting from them.

I am incredibly frustrated with my experience with this agency. I had a scheduled meeting confirmed with Martin, which was supported by both an email confirmation and a separate confirmation from my assistant. Despite having these confirmations, Martin never showed up. No call, no email, and no explanation. It is clear that this agency considers their own time to be far more valuable than that of their clients. If they cannot manage a simple scheduled meeting, I have no confidence in their ability to provide professional services. I strongly do not recommend this agency to anyone looking for reliability. Save yourself the headache and go elsewhere.

Horrible Experience with Mr. lawrence. At first glance, i thought he is a professional person but he turned out to be a time waster. At first, he gave the price and then he reverted by his own words. Then he stopped responding. Afterwards we built a contact again, he was going to show the property and right before the time of visit, he didn’t answer the phone or reply to messages. He wasted my two weeks. I saw the branding of this company and thought to give it a try but all in vain. I think the Owners need to hire some professional workers or the current employees need to get a bit more training regarding customer service and their time valuation. Wasting someone’s time is disrespectful.

Horrible service

Really poor response rate for renters