Continually disappointed, from a poor launch, to ignoring specific instructions - I would never use this agency again. Over valuing the property initially then almost immediately encouraging me to take low offers, thankfully I held out for my minimum. I’ve had to be very hands on to get anywhere, I can’t wait for it to be over. EDIT In answer to your reply, you give yourselves too much credit. You were pushing me to take the lower offer. My house is immaculately presented so yes it secured interest, the first person through the door offered. However the price secured wasn’t in your valuation bracket. I instructed you not to mark at STC until they had instructed a solicitor, yet you did it immediately and you tell me they won’t instruct a solicitor for a month! NEVER AGAIN! Tip to everyone, if you agree a minimum term eg 4 weeks, please note there’s an additional 28 notice period, so my advice would be to give notice the day you sign contracts, that way if you’re not happy you can leave after 4 weeks (not 8) and if you are happy you can continue. Only time will tell if this sale actually concludes, if not we won’t remarket with this agent.

Unfortunately, our experience with Starkings & Watson, Poringland, was extremely disappointing. We instructed them on 6 March 2026 under a 20-week sole agency agreement and relied on their professional advice regarding valuation, marketing and sales strategy. The property was initially marketed at £725,000 on their recommendation. When interest failed to materialise, we were advised to reduce to £700,000 and then £675,000, with the expectation that this would generate more interest and viewings. We followed that advice in good faith and reduced the asking price by £50,000. Despite this, after approximately 14 weeks we had received only two viewings and no offers. Our concern is not that the property failed to sell. No estate agent can guarantee a sale. Our concern is the level of communication, buyer qualification and overall management of the instruction. Much of the information we received consisted of online portal statistics showing how many people had viewed the listing. What we repeatedly asked for was meaningful analysis. How many were genuine buyers? How many were contacted? Why were people not booking viewings? Was the issue price, presentation, competition or something else? We never felt these questions were properly answered. We also made it clear that our preference was to accommodate viewers who had already sold, were sold subject to contract, or were actively on the market. On more than one occasion, prospective viewings appeared to involve individuals who were simply considering selling or looking around before listing their own property. When we challenged this and cancelled unsuitable appointments, the response from the office was noticeably negative. The feedback from the two viewings also raised concerns. One viewer wanted space to keep chickens and a larger garden. Another felt the property was overlooked. Both issues were apparent from the marketing materials and, in our view, should have been identified during the qualification process before viewings were arranged. As our concerns grew, we attended a meeting on 11 June 2026 to discuss the lack of progress and explore an early termination of the agreement. We left feeling even more frustrated. Despite raising concerns about communication, follow-up activity and buyer qualification, we were informed that we would not be released from the contract. We have since instructed that the property be removed from the market, yet remain tied into the agreement until the end of July. One final concern arose when collecting our keys. We observed keys being stored in an open basket within the office and labelled with property addresses rather than anonymous reference codes. As homeowners, this raised concerns regarding key security. The most disappointing aspect is the feeling that valuable time has been lost. Having followed the agency's advice, reduced the asking price by £50,000 and allowed them to lead the process, we reached the summer market with only two viewings and no meaningful progress. Based on our experience, we would not instruct Starkings & Watson again and would not recommend them to friends, family or other homeowners considering selling their property.

Phoned multiple times to complain about damage done to a shared gennal lock the owner of their let damaged to gain access. When I called the office they gave my number to the property owner breaking GDPR.They also never returned any of my calls to discuss repairs despite saying someone would return my call . I am now forced to repair the lock, even though the owner of their let broke it. I guess, the best irony will be if they reply to this review considering they have never replied to my many calls and polite messages. Hopefully your property is never next to one of their lets. Really rubbish all round.

I’m not sure how they’ve had my review removed concerning 10 swan street. I lived there for 18 months, the bedroom ceiling was thick with black, dripping wet mould. I left the house to which they kept my deposit despite the circumstances they had me living in. I can now see its up for sale with pictures showing they’ve attempted to paint over the mould which you can still see. Jackie had a terrible attitude and any issues with the property they werent interested in.

Extremely rude and poor service received from "Myles the recruiter" that' is the name he goes by on linkedin. I got two phone calls in the space of 30 min from two different people, discussing my application that I made 3 weeks ago. When I asked Mr Myles to explain what had been the delay he was hesitant to answer and tried to get out of it saying he didn't receive anything. When I tried to explain the events and provide application reference number etc, he wasn't interested and asked me why I was so concerned and when I tried to highlight and explain the concerns and levels of service being received, he was talking over me and told me "I am doing you a favour" "you don't pay our bills" I had to then take him back to basics and remind him they get paid once we are placed successfully hence we do pay their bills as without us they would not exist and neither would the business or the companies that work with them. On this occasion I had to let them know that the levels of customer services were far from perfect and communicating in this manner is totally unexceptable, I am hoping the top management do take reviews seriously and look into this. Hi Steve yes more than happy for you to give me a call and discuss this. Thank You. UPDATE: NEVER RECEIVED A PHONE CALL OR AN APOLOGY FROM MR STEVE AS ABOVE. SEEMS LIKE THE CRACKS ARE STARTING TO APPEAR FOR MR MILES AND STEVE BEING A MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT IS TRYING TO SUGARCOAT THE TRUTH AND PROTECTING HIS EMPLOYEES NOT REALISING BAD REVIEWS ARE TOUGHER TO IGNORE THAN THE GOOD ONES. THE COMPANY INCLUDING STEVE TRIED TO SNOOP ON MY LINKEDIN PROFILE AND EVEN GETTING OTHER MEMBERS FROM OTHER RECRUITMENT AGENCY WITHIN THE SAME AREA IN BRACKNELL TO CHECK MY PROFILE OUT, SAD BUT TRUE. ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIMES PEOPLE WILL WAKE UP.

Very easy and quick to use. Approval obtained within 10 mins. You would think that deserved a 5 star review. The problem is you have to handover your username and password so they are able to see your bank account details. Who in their right mind would hand details like that over to an online stranger? A tennant who needs to rent somewhere apparently. Be aware and be ready to change your banking credentials as soon as you have finished with this company.

There is no option to enter any other income other than from employment so it isn't an accurate reflection of affordability. No report sent to prospective tenant.

Awful money grabbers Do not use these people to rent They will try and keep your deposit for no good reason. I left the house in a perfectly good condition (confirmed by the landlord) The review they left of the house was awful made out I’d left it in a tip. Also want to charge me a days rent for handing the keys back early when my tenancy ended on Easter Sunday so there was no way I could give the keys back. Even after I gave 6 weeks notice instead of 4. They were closed on the Sunday as it was a bank holiday and subsequently would have been closed on the Monday too. Awful awful people avoid at all costs!!!!!

Utterly abysmal company. Do nothing but run around in circles for a week with these idiots. Constantly being asked to provide the same information or complete the same forms over and over again.

Very difficult to contact. Robots not people!