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The Stow Brothers - South Woodford

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The Stow Brothers - South Woodford

A selection of reviews/testimonials by highest rating
(in some cases, not all reviews/testimonials will be displayed)

1.00 /5

One of the Worst Agencies I’ve Dealt With – Unprofessional& Discriminatory I recently had an extremely disappointing experience with this agency, and I feel compelled to share my story to warn others. 1. Property Condition During the viewing, the property was not in good condition. For example, the wardrobe was malfunctioning, which was a clear red flag. Despite this, the agency listed the property without addressing these issues. 2. Lack of Human Touch (image 1) On the move-in date stated in draft agreement, we were simply told to pick up the keys without anyone from the agency showing us around or explaining the property’s features. This lack of support was unprofessional, especially for a managed property. 3. Unjust Rejection of Tenancy Application Despite having a good credit score and submitting all required documentation, our tenancy application was rejected. The agency refused to provide a valid reason for the rejection, which raises concerns about transparency and fairness. I suspect discrimination or prejudice played a role, as our application was complete and accurate. 4. Skepticism About Their 4.9 Rating I find it hard to believe this agency has a 4.9 rating. Many negative experiences, like ours, are likely not shared because tenants are often at the mercy of these middlemen. Fear of retaliation or being blacklisted can silence legitimate complaints, creating a skewed representation of their service quality. 5. Freezing my holding deposit and threatening not to return by covering their agency cost. This terms and conditions were not upfront and against the right to rent guide set out by the housing council . If I would have known, I would not have chosen them (image 2 by their employee). Overall Experience This is one of the worst agencies I’ve ever dealt with. Their lack of communication, unprofessionalism and questionable practices like withholding my holding deposit (after rejecting my application), made the entire process stressful and unfair. Unfortunately, we have no choice because we live in London where the market is dominated by these high street agencies like Stowe bros that does not provide good services as housing demand is always more than supply. Beware!

review by Owen Lin

Reply from agent

Dear Mr Lin It is hugely important that nobody transacting with Stow Brothers ever feels this way. The business strives to provide a property service that the community can be proud of, rely on, and fully trust. Customer service is at the forefront of everything that we do. We respect and care for everyone that we work with and aim to offer a service of quality. A quick glance across our reviews does show that this type of feedback isn’t typical, so I am very sorry to read of your disappointment. Of course, after so many years of helping people move home and with the various steps and moving parts, we understand how stressful the process can be. With such pressures on the residential letting market in the UK, and with the expectations of Landlords that suitable Tenants are to be sourced, letting agencies do often choose to employ third party referencing companies to complete the vetting process of potential Tenants. We choose to do this too. There is a huge range of referencing companies offering such services and as you know we employ Homelet, an industry leader and a reliable choice. We are pleased that the days are behind us where we are required to verify the credibility of a perspective Tenant ourselves. We are letting agents and with the necessary skills to perform our duties, however these skills do not extend to establishing Tenant eligibility, this is where Homelet steps in. In such a situation where referencing concludes unsuccessfully, a perspective Tenants personal information including reason for failure is kept private and not disclosed to Stow Brothers. We are sadly unable to provide the reasons for the aborted letting application as we are not furnished with this information. I do appreciate that this could be frustrating, and it is for everyone involved, but any perspective Tenant can approach the appropriate referencing agency to go over their case and discuss their private details. We are proud to offer the local community good quality rental accommodation. On this occasion it is agreed that a wardrobe door had become loose on its runners, a simple repair to be completed before the proposed move in date in March. Our Tenants are met and checked in with our Inventory Clerk and shown around their new home. This would have been the process here too, and at a time suitable for yourself, as detailed in the draft Tenancy Agreement supplied. Again, I am really sorry that this Tenancy did not proceed. We are employed by our clients to let and manage property, so working towards the successful letting of a home is our priority. There are no reasons to jeopardise a Tenancy, and we have nothing to gain from doing so. The Landlord needs a Tenant, a Tenant needs a property, and we need to facilitate the process, not the opposite. Unfortunately, on this occasion the option to proceed was taken away by a third party. We had no control over the referencing outcome, and we must accept their decision as experts in their field, or there would be no reason to employ them. Monies are to be returned, we have had no financial gain and the Landlord is now without a Tenant. There are no winners here and everyone involved would have much preferred a more positive conclusion! We are wishing you all the very best with your search for a property and hope you are successful in finding a new home quickly. All the Best Tony Platt South Woodford Branch Manager

1.00 /5

Hated every minute dealing with them. So unprofessional and rude. Wish I’d took things further with the treatment I received.

review by Amber Abdella

Reply from agent

Dear Amber, Thank you so much for reaching out and bringing this to our attention. It is hugely important that nobody transacting with Stow Brothers ever feels this way. The business was set up with the core strategy of providing a property service that the community can be proud of, rely on and fully trust. Customer service is at the forefront of everything that we do. Complaints against Stow Brothers are rare and are taken very seriously. It would help me to know more details of your grievance, including what happened and when this occurred. The more detail you can provide the better as I want to thoroughly investigate, and need your help in doing so. We respect and care for everyone that we work with and strive to offer a service of quality. A quick glance across our reviews shows this type of feedback isn’t typical and one of the reasons we will be looking into this so vigorously. I have checked your name against our computer database and have no record of your details. Staff have also been consulted and we are no closer to identifying you. If you find time, I would appreciate hearing from you. The opportunity to talk this over is very much welcomed. Here are my details. Many thanks. Tony Platt Branch Manager 0203 369 1818 tony@stowbrothers.com stowbrothers.com