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Parkers Reading

A selection of reviews/testimonials by highest rating
(in some cases, not all reviews/testimonials will be displayed)
1.00 /5

First time buying so it's a completely new experience for me. For this reason I was enthusiastic to see a financial advisor at Parkers (Andrew Ravenscroft) to seek advice. I'm appreciative of all the answers he provided to my questions but I have to say his attitude was a disgrace. Firstly, he was reluctant to shake my hand when he greeted me. As I sat down, he threw his business card onto my side of the desk. And then during our conversation, he used the word 'affordability' and the went on to elaborate "affordability in English means...." I've been living in the UK 21 years and proud to say my English is better than many British born, thank you! I'm really curious to know if I was treated this way because I'm of my Asian race or because prior to seeing me he already knew that I wasn't going to earn him any commission (given my financial circumstance, I cannot afford to buy on my own in this area)? Update: Just read their previous reviews and it seems all the bad reviews came from people of coloured skin complaining of their rudeness. That explains everything.

1.00 /5

Absolutely deplorable. If I could give it zero I would. Happy for any one to PM me for details.

1.00 /5

Gave a cheque for the deposit and first rent payment and one day before I moved in we were told if I wanted to move in I had to transfer money over within the next couple of hours (I WAS ON HOLIDAY) as they forgot about the cheque. Moved into the rented appartment with them. My hob didn't work and didn't get sorted for the first month while I was there- it was their responsibility to know this. A lot of things in the flat which didn't work weren't even noticed in the inventory. Would not recommend using them ever. Not friendly, take your money and do not provide anywhere near money's worth of service.

Reply from agent

Hi Miss Arion. Firstly, I would like to apologise on behalf of Parkers for the error with the cheque. This was a human error by one of our employees and unfortunately, the only way we could ensure you were able to move in on the planned move-in date, was by insisting on the transfer of cleared funds. With regards to the hob, your comment that it took a month to fix is incorrect, so I would like to clarify the series of events: You reported the issue to us on the 4th October (1 week after your tenancy started). This was reported to the landlord and we instructed a contractor that day. The contractor confirmed an appointment with you on the 5th October, to take place on the 9th October. We received quotes on the 10th October for a new oven and hob and we sent the quotes to the landlord the same day. The contractor did a temporary fix so you could use the oven whilst we awaited a response from the landlord. The landlord gave the go ahead on the 11th October and the work was completed on or before the 19th October. Whilst I understand it's frustrating when things don't work, it's out of everyone's control when things breakdown and I feel 15 days to replace an oven and hob is a reasonable timescale. We pride ourselves on offering a good experience to all our customers, so it's disappointing to have received this review. Should you wish to discuss any other concerns you have, please feel to call me on 01189575455. Mark Brooker Lettings Director

1.00 /5

ZERO STARS - Horrible Service. They are just monsters waiting to suck and do whatever they can do charge to their customers! They are not practical and pragmatic and just use every single excuse in the world to increase the charges for everything! Very horrible experience and would never recommend them to anyone!

1.00 /5

If there were 0 stars, I would have awarded 0-stars. One of the WORST estate agents ever eager to suck money from people! Never ever recommend them to anyone! Its a viscous trap who just charge for every single thing and are very rude and non-courteous! They just suck money for everything including and don't have patience to address any queries

1.00 /5
10.12.2017

Totally agree with Kyle's previous comments. Also, I have to add that this is an agency which does not care at all about the tenants but trying to get money from everything without a simple explanation. About the staff: rude, unprofessional and unkind, who are proud of charge you £150 for a check-out fee, get into your property without letting you know with at least 24-hours notice in advance (that happened 2 times when they were showing the property to be rented, who knows how many times it occurred and I was not aware of), being annoying on your tnenacy checking every 2 months that the property is in good conditions, charging you £30 for a reference, charging almost £100 for a 'professional cleaning' which never was held at the end of a tenancy contract. Proud of leaving bird's poo on the balcony's floor, black mould in the shower and uncleaned oven, but when the check out is done by another unprofessional third party company, they found the minimum detail to charge you the double of what it cost to rip you off at the end. An agency proud of not let you talk on the phone when asking for returning your deposit which took almost one month to be returned after the landlord could not reply a simple email sent by an unhelpful property manager who does not consider at all the conditions which I received the flat where I moved in one year ago, disgusting. Yep, very proud. The worst agency I dealt with so far in my entire life as a tenant. Please avoid Parkers Reading Letting Agency at all cost.

1.00 /5
08.12.2017
My house was taking a long

My house was taking a long time to sell and Parkers approached us to assist. On initial contact the context given by their representative was regarding entering into a joint agency agreement with the other agent, and that's what we understood we were entering into. Whether intentionally done or by mistake, the virtual paperwork we signed (yes, lesson learned!) indicated that we had entered into a sole agency agreement with them. This was not mine nor my partner's intention. Parkers did not explain the consequences of this, or the requirement to instruct the other agent to stand down. This may have sounded naive but we are not experts in house selling or contracts! Long story short, we received an offer on the house the following week from a buyer introduced by the first agent. I then received a phone call from Damien, explaining that Parkers were to be due the fees as we had broken the terms of the agreement if this person had been introduced when they had rights as sole agents. I was horrified, stressed and mortified at the prospect of having wasted several thousand pounds. Luckily the buyer was someone who had seen the house several months earlier, but I was frankly shocked at how Parkers then started to treat both me and the other agents. I felt they were aggressive and intimidating, and downright rude. Luckily my first estate agents helped smooth the way and the house successfully sold.

Reply from agent

I agree with your comments. They are not professional agents. They have lied to me, and tried to intimidate me and indeed also have been aggressive. I buy and sell properties all the time and have never come across an agent so disrespectful and devious as this particular one.

1.00 /5
01.11.2017

An organisation intent on ripping it's tenants off. Having previously rented and my housemates (2) having previously rented on numerous occasions with no issues whatsoever on the checkout, Parkers seem intent on getting every last penny out of us. The checkout report most notably states on numerous occasions that 'plug sockets' require a 'light dusting' or furniture requires a 'light dusting'. This 'light dusting' is then followed by an email stating we should expect 100-120 pound taken off our deposit as they were sending 'professional cleaners' to the property. This is on top of 'compensation' and a ridiculous checkout fee of £159 altogether. What is even more laughable about this unreasonable charge is the fact the property was actually handed over to us when we checked in with pictures of cobwebs not removed, food stains on lightbulb covers on the ceiling in the kitchen , hallway covered in black scrape marks and a shower that was out of action for approximately 4 weeks, even more. The hallway which we actually improved by painting it ourselves and according to the checkout agent was in a much better condition than when we moved in. Allegedly the previous tenants also lost all our their deposit due to the state they left the property. I consider we are bearing the brunt of the standard of property handed over to us at the start. I have even failed to mention how I consider Parkers clearly knew the intention of our landlord in bringing what was meant to be a year long tenancy to an abrupt end after 6 months. From 3 people who all have professional jobs where common sense is needed to be exercised frequently, Parkers seem to be void of this approach and seem to punish tenants who have done nothing but look after and improve a property which in all honesty was not 85% ready at best when we moved in and I consider is now being handed over better than when we received it.

Reply from agent

Good evening Kyle. I'm disappointed that you have felt the need to review our services in such a negative light. We pride ourselves on our services, so I thought I’d get in touch to try and answer your concerns. As I’m sure you are aware, the check-ou…See more

1.00 /5
07.08.2017
Absolutely dreadful company

Absolutely dreadful company to rent with. I moved in to one of their properties with my partner last year and it wasn't exactly a fantastic standard... scuffs on the walls, chipped door frames, the cover for the extract fan came out and hit me on the head. However we were hopeful as we were told at the time of moving in that all the scuffs and marks had been noted in the inventory and would be repaired/cleaned. Fast forward to the day we move out and what do you know, in the year we were there no one came to repair or clean any of the issues that were initially raised. To make matters worse when we move out we were billed for some of these things. To be quite honest I feel like we've been ripped off and wonder if the money that has been taken off of us will ever be spent on the house or whether it will just continue to be an addition to line the landlord's pockets... absolute disgrace.

review by Dm 07.08.2017
Reply from agent

Almost exactly the same experience we had, rented a flat that was in poor condition and not cleaned before we moved in and we were then charged for 'dust on carpet under door' when we moved out 2 years later. Total rip off and a shame to hear we're not the only ones. Awful.

1.00 /5
12.05.2017
Contact details
Sales Phone:

01189 575455

Lettings Phone:

01189 575455

Opening hours
Monday-Friday: 09:00 - 18:00 Saturday: 09:00 - 16:00
Address

11-12 Market Place, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2EG, UK, RG1

Property is our passion and Parkers have been selling and renting homes in Reading and beyond for over 60 years. With coverage across Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire we can offer you the very best of services whether you are looking to buy, sell or rent. We are an independently owned estate agency franchise serving the Reading area since 1999. The Franchise Group extends to nearly 400 offices operating under 6 established brand names nationwide. Our main areas of business are residential sales and lettings, property management, financial services and land & new homes.

Our team

Reading Office

Association of Residential Letting Agents
National Association of Estate Agents
Property Ombudsman Sales
Property Ombudsman Lettings
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
rightmove
Zoopla

No marketing information available

No marketing information available