Choices
based on 78 ratings. This website contains 78 user reviews of Choices.
Agent Information
Choices
Choices was established in June 1989 with a mission to create a new kind of estate agency, one built on a relationship of trust where we could offer our clients all the services they needed under one roof together with the advantages of shorter lines of communication, economies of scale and of course cost effectiveness.
Offices / Branches
- Croydon - 38 Croydon Road, Caterham,
- Croydon - 115a Brighton Road Coulsdon, Surrey
- Croydon - 41 - 43 Brighton Road, Greater London
- Redhill - 5-7 Broadwalk, Crawley,
- Redhill - 99 Brighton Road, Surrey
- Redhill - 28A Victoria Road, Horley,
- Sutton - 2d Carshalton Road, Surrey
- View All Branches
- Update Agent details
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Click here and Join the 1000s of Delighted customers that have had success with our recommended agents. If however you do choose to use Choices, please make them aware of the scheme and ask them to get in touch if they want to become a member. - Learn more about 'Transparent Agents'.
Customer Reviews (Page 2 of 3)
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13
people found
this helpful.
by 'Jamie Howell' 2/3/2012
- Branch:
- 5-7 Broadwalk
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I have used Choices to fully manage my property. I have found them to be professional and courteous with me in every aspect relating to property management. I would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone who wants to rent their property.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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15
people found
this helpful.
by 'Miss S. James' 2/3/2012
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Esme Hinton
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Louise helped me when she ran coulsdon and found me an amasing property really really quickly. I stayed there for a year, adn decided to go for something bigger, this time I have rented through the croydon branch, which Louise is now running! I was really pleased as she was super helpful again, I had viewings sorted straight away. I wpuld definately recommend them and hope they can help me find my next property!
Was this review helpful? Yes
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27
people found
this helpful.
by 'Maria' 1/3/2012
- Branch:
- 2d Carshalton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Staff Member
- Christina Stracey
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Excellent, found tenant in a matter of days, and were excellent at responding to email correspondence even late at night.
Highly recommend their services.Was this review helpful? Yes
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14
people found
this helpful.
by 'Mrs Anketell' 1/3/2012
- Branch:
- 28A Victoria Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Emma Burtenshaw
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Emma has always been very willing to help in many ways, such as getting in touch with the landlord when needed and at the beginning Emma was really helpful in gaining access to the flat for viewings. Emma was there every step of the way including helping me to fill out the forms when needed.
Everyone at Choices has been very pleasant and helpful, especially Emma.Was this review helpful? Yes
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13
people found
this helpful.
by 'Donald' 1/3/2012
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Staff Member
- Charlotte Moore
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I find Chocies very easy to work with and the team always provide an excellent service. Sam and Katrina (and other members of the team - India) always respond quickly to resolve any issues for the tenants so that I can keep my involment to a minimum. When they do need to contact me, for example due to a recent burglary at the house, they do so quickly & they keep me informed of the situation and liase with the tenants so that we can sort out any problems.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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12
people found
this helpful.
by 'Jon Osborne-taylor' 29/2/2012
- Branch:
- 5-7 Broadwalk
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Staff Member
- Charlotte Moore
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Charlotte has always been proffesional and courteous in all my dealings with her.Having recently had problems with late rent payments from my tennants she has kept me up to date with her dealings with them and always returned my calls promptly with both good and bad news ! Charlotte is obviously good at her job and would be an asset to any management team.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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17
people found
this helpful.
by 'Rod Tacey' 28/2/2012
- Branch:
- 99 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
Been with choices for two and half years, due to landlords I had to go through the dispute service to obtain my deposits back, 96a upper lewes road was a nightmare, lack of interest regarding this landlord, flat was an absolute nightmare, paying for electricity for a four bed house above as it was wired wrong.
My deposit was halved due to a mistake in their part which took in my last flat, not happy, not much help from choices regarding these flats, will never use them again, had to leave the flat because of health reasons due to severe dampness and hope this flat has been taken out of the market.Was this review helpful? Yes
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22
people found
this helpful.
by 'SimonWJM' 24/2/2012
- Branch:
- 2d Carshalton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
It wasnt by chance that I happend to stumble across Christina in choices as i was looking for a studio flat to rent and there just so happened to be someone on the phone having already put down a deposit on a flat I lived right next to in the past. Even though I was just intime for a veiwing of a one bedroom house in sutton, right next to sutton common rail station, Something was telling me to have hope for this studio flat. I told the staff of my hope, as fat chance it would be that the studio might come back on the market, Christina was the most encouraging and understanding one there. Not... (read more)
Was this review helpful? Yes
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12
people found
this helpful.
by 'squeekie0809' 24/2/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I spoke to many letting agents but Asa really knew the area, the people who are renting and the rental market, he makes choices the only choice in Worthing for me to rent my property.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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22
people found
this helpful.
by 'P.P.' 23/2/2012
- Services:
- Sales (Prospective customer)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
I phoned them up because i was interested in a property which was up for auction in three days. They convinced to pay them 250 pounds + VAT by telling me that i wouldn`t have any problem getting a morgage in that time frame through their morgage adviser. I paid them and their morgage advisor told me after two second of conversation that it was impossible to get a morgage in such a small period of time. I tried to get a refund straight away and they will not give me one. That is 300 pounds for nothing. That is stealing!!!! They are thiefs!!! STAY AWAY IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET RIPPED OFF!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes
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23
people found
this helpful.
by 'Alex' 23/2/2012
- Branch:
- 2d Carshalton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Katie Rest
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Katie is a very good agent to work with. She helps me anytime with any problems I have with my property especially becasue of my language barrier I feel I can only rely on her to help me move to another property when I need to.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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12
people found
this helpful.
by 'Mr G' 21/2/2012
- Branch:
- 28A Victoria Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Emma Burtenshaw
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I needed to find a property quickly and Choices helped me do just that. Emma Burtenshaw dealt with my situation, who was always very calm, helpful and polite despite my erratic and impatient phone calls.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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20
people found
this helpful.
by 'chrissiefox' 21/2/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
Choices charge 10% for letting and rent collection only, everything else is an extra.
Preparation of a tenancy agreement £165 inc, renewals £80
Inventory and schedule of condition between £95 -£125
Periodic checks £35
Final out inventory report £125
Revised inventory for re let £60
Rent guarantee 2.5% of annual rent for only 3 months cover.
There are much better agents around.
For 10% most other agents include some or all of the above.Was this review helpful? Yes
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10
people found
this helpful.
by 'Paul Stacey' 21/2/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Stacey was warm friendly,so helpful and really special in helping me find the property to rent,she has been wonderful all the way through,has been excellant in communication keeping me informed with all that was happening, everything went very smooth and in no time at all I was in and renting,any problems that have happened have been out of Stacey control,I cannot fault stacey in anyway and look forward to stacey helping me again in the future.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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10
people found
this helpful.
by 'Janet Dawes' 17/2/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (Prospective customer)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I would like to thank Esme for all of her hard work in finding me excellent accommodation. Esme was friendly and extremely professional at all times, answering my questions truthfully and never rushed me when I needed to speak to her. I had left my details with a few estate agents and she was the one that bothered to reply to my request for rental. Many thanks Esme and well done.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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20
people found
this helpful.
by 'Dr Imam' 12/2/2012
- Branch:
- 2d Carshalton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Matt Deacons
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I just want to thank Matt Deacons from Choices for his great help, he's professional enthusiastic keen and dedicated. i could never find a better agent. I just wanted to express my appreciation to the great work and support he gave, and for being keen to find me what i want for how much money i want. Thanks again, Dr M. A. Imam
Was this review helpful? Yes
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8
people found
this helpful.
by 'Mrs Law' 5/2/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I’d like to express my gratitude for the good service Esme Hinton provided me as my Estate Agent. I now have a property that is an example of something that is too good to be true. She took great care in my case, promptly responded to my requests and showed kind understanding that I needed so much.
It is important to note, however, that I was in urgent need of an alternative accomodation and your tireless effort helped me to finally relieve the stress and have a solution to my problem.
For that, I thank you.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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8
people found
this helpful.
by 'Lynda' 5/2/2012
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Debbie Stanley at choices in croydon brighton road, special negotiator, is a nice and warm person to deal with, she is professional and has got customer relation skills , she makes you feel valued and encourage you in every way, her determination to see your property rented is amazing. i have only been dealing with Debbie on the phone but she makes me feel i have known and done business with her for a very long time.
I will say she is one of the best negotiator,s you working for you.
Good work and keep it up.Was this review helpful? Yes
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18
people found
this helpful.
by 'Andrea Dunbavin' 2/2/2012
- Branch:
- 2d Carshalton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I have been with Choices Sutton for just over two years and what a fantastic service I have received!!
I left my family home under very upsetting circumstances, Choices were fantastic on both a personal and professional level. I walked in at 11am and by 5pm I was entering the door of my new home.Every stage of the rental process there has always been someone who makes it as simple as possible with the upmost professionalism with a personal warmth.
I am sad to have to terminate my tenancy and would just like to say a massive thank you for everything!!
I would highly recommend to anyone looking to rent to use Choices.
I haven’t experienced their service in the buyer’s market but sure their service is second to none.THANK YOU CHOICES SUTTON!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes
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18
people found
this helpful.
by 'Propman1' 1/2/2012
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
Choices estate agents/ letting agents seem to use every opportunity to charge an extra fee even though i am using a so called full management service. In addition they are charging six months in advance and have not even looked at rent reviews in years, they do nothing for you (except the legally enforceable stuff like gas certificates) unless you push them.
Different departments are in different offices in a different towns, so you don't get joined up thinking on any issue, it shows they are effectively too big to provide the local level service required.
To make it worse they recently wrote to me to say they are putting up their charges, by an extra 2% (which equates to closer to 20% for their income) whilst telling me the tenants belong to them and they can do what they like! i will be looking into this very closely and wont take it lying down.
I would be interested to know if anyone has similar experiences of this increase occurringWas this review helpful? Yes
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18
people found
this helpful.
by 'Ex Customer from Horley' 31/1/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
As a new landlord, they were great. We have been using them for 9 years and to begin with, they were very helpful as we had no idea what we were doing or how things worked. However, once you know what you are doing, you can see though the glossy brochures and sales pitches. They are DREADFUL. Fees taken where no work has been done, annual tie-ins which mean it is not cost effective to move unless the tenacy happens to run out at the same time, staff who do not know what the landlords legal obligations are (so they just do more work and charge more unecessary fees). We also ended up letting from them for a period of 1 year whilst waiting for our own house purchase to go through and saw the same ethos from the tenants perspective. If you want to give them a go, you could probably do worse as they have good coverage and are great at getting the tenants in but be really careful and check everything they put in front of you and mind out for the 'landlord care' and 'property management' teams! They are awful.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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8
people found
this helpful.
by 'Samuel' 30/1/2012
- Branch:
- 115a Brighton Road Coulsdon
- Services:
- Lettings (Prospective customer)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Very helpful and caring. They were able to find a good accomodation with reasonable price for me within a short period.
I was happy with the service I received.Was this review helpful? Yes
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9
people found
this helpful.
by 'Ashley' 29/1/2012
- Branch:
- 115a Brighton Road Coulsdon
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Staff Member
- Esme Hinton
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
This was our first experience dealing with estate agents to rent a property and I must say it was extremely pleasant. The young estate agent that assisted us was Esme Hinton. She was extremely helpful, very sincere and transparent about the whole situation. Her very endearing nature made us feel as though we could trust her 100% and, in the end. she helped us acquire a beautiful property in Coulsdon to rent. She's a credit to the company and,as a result, we will definitely be using this company again. Ashley and Sharon.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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9
people found
this helpful.
by 'Daniel' 28/1/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
"I'm very new in the property market therefore I decided to join Choices without knowing what to expect. Being without knowledge towards deals, locations and prices, choices and specially Sasha has given me a good idea how the property market works throughout daily information in properties and also suggestions on better deals.
Without a doubt I will be working very close with them. many thanks indeed"Was this review helpful? Yes
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8
people found
this helpful.
by 'Mr Hussain' 28/1/2012
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
I really love the way the team work especialy SASHA shes a great piece of work. Does things that she says soon as possible. Rings back when she promises to.......
Was this review helpful? Yes
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16
people found
this helpful.
by 'Ben31uk' 12/1/2012
- Branch:
- 5-7 Broadwalk
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
"Lack of transparency on fees"
Landlord alert! Choices Lettings are a nightmare for fees (and for tenants too I understand). They will charge you an annual sub-let letting fee upfront, regardless of how long the tenancy lasts (in my case tenants only signed for 6 months). So, £900+ upfront for a LET ONLY fee. And its a rolling annual contract. I dont like how the tenant pays them the rent and then they pay me... 7-10 days after the tenant has paid.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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18
people found
this helpful.
by 'Brown' 28/12/2011
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
This is the worst agent you'll ever come across. You never speak to the same person twice as they have such a high staff turnover. We have lost thousands through them letting our house to bad tenants who then didn't pay rent. They just put anyone in and couldn't care less if things go wrong. It is difficult to describe how inefficient they are - paperwork faulty, inspections not done but charged for - the list goes on an on. Don't use them!
Was this review helpful? Yes
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4
people found
this helpful.
by 'SarahB' 8/11/2011
- Branch:
- 41 - 43 Brighton Road
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Landlord)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? Yes
Choices found me a tenant very quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't work out with that tenant, but this was not Choices' fault, but they did everything to resolve the situation as quickly as they could and found me the perfect tenant.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were.
Go Sam!
Was this review helpful? Yes
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15
people found
this helpful.
by 'SeeYouInCourt' 12/10/2011
- Branch:
- 115a Brighton Road Coulsdon
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
After two months of Choices completely ignoring my requests (& then complaints) I've been forced to seek damages through the civil courts.
I have never been subjected to such overwhelming incompetency nor dishonesty.
There are plenty of other letting agencies & properties on the market - do not use this company.
Was this review helpful? Yes
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12
people found
this helpful.
by 'Mrs B101' 12/10/2011
- Branch:
- 115a Brighton Road Coulsdon
- Services:
- Lettings (as a Tenant)
- Experience:
- Would you use the agent again? No
Don't rent from this totally unprofessional outfit, ever. I moved into a Choices-managed property 11 weeks ago and wish I knew then what I know now.
On the day we collected the keys we signed the contract at Choices offices before going to the property, which I now realize was a huge mistake. When we arrived at the property the drive was covered in rubbish and the property had been left in a terrible state by the previous tenants (including a busted lock on the bathroom door, tiles missing from the bathroom walls, holes in the walls and smashed covers on external utility meters). Choices... (read more)
Was this review helpful? Yes
 always respond quickly to resolve any issues for the tenants so that I can keep my involment to a minimum. When they do need to contact me, for example due to a recent burglary at the house, they do so quickly & they keep me informed of the situation and liase with the tenants so that we can sort out any problems./&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/19911/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/19911/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
/&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/19653/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/19653/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
 unless you push them.
Different departments are in different offices in a different towns, so you don't get joined up thinking on any issue, it shows they are effectively too big to provide the local level service required.
To make it worse they recently wrote to me to say they are putting up their charges, by an extra 2% (which equates to closer to 20% for their income) whilst telling me the tenants belong to them and they can do what they like! i will be looking into this very closely and wont take it lying down.
I would be interested to know if anyone has similar experiences of this increase occurring/&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18368/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18368/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
. We also ended up letting from them for a period of 1 year whilst waiting for our own house purchase to go through and saw the same ethos from the tenants perspective. If you want to give them a go, you could probably do worse as they have good coverage and are great at getting the tenants in but be really careful and check everything they put in front of you and mind out for the 'landlord care' and 'property management' teams! They are awful./&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18326/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18326/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
![Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=159335870805641&picture=http://allagents.co.uk/images/logo-thumbs.png&description="I'm very new in the property market therefore I decided to join Choices without knowing what to expect. Being without knowledge towards deals, locations and prices, choices and specially Sasha has given me a good idea how the property market works throughout daily information in properties and also suggestions on better deals.
Without a doubt I will be working very close with them. many thanks indeed"/&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18177/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/18177/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
![Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=159335870805641&picture=http://allagents.co.uk/images/logo-thumbs.png&description="Lack of transparency on fees"
Landlord alert! Choices Lettings are a nightmare for fees (and for tenants too I understand). They will charge you an annual sub-let letting fee upfront, regardless of how long the tenancy lasts (in my case tenants only signed for 6 months). So, £900+ upfront for a LET ONLY fee. And its a rolling annual contract. I dont like how the tenant pays them the rent and then they pay me... 7-10 days after the tenant has paid./&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/17391/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/17391/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
 I've been forced to seek damages through the civil courts.
I have never been subjected to such overwhelming incompetency nor dishonesty.
There are plenty of other letting agencies & properties on the market - do not use this company./&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/13677/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/13677/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
. Choices stated that they weren't aware of this, but given that all rented properties are checked at the end of a tenancy to highlight any issues that may affect the return of a tenant's deposit, I'm not sure I believe this. We were also mislead about the existence of pre-pay utility meters installed by the previous tenant, to the extend that Choices took our bank details and had us sign a form to set-up direct debits with the utility companies. Choices claimed that they were unaware of the existence of the meters, but given that lettings agencies generally provide meter readings to utility companies at the and of a tenancy, again I don't see how this could be true.
Choices did arrange for the property to be cleaned and the rubbish to be removed, but 11 weeks on we are STILL waiting for the vast majority of the issues to be dealt with. Our e-mails are ignored, phone calls aren't returned and we have been fobbed-off in every way imaginable, and having read some of the reviews on here I'm now very worried about getting our deposit back at the end of our tenancy. Our requests for the landlord's contact details have also so far been ignored. I have rented properties for the best part of 14 years and I have never, ever come across such incompetence. There are many reputable letting agencies out there and I urge you to use one of them and steer well clear of Choices./&display=popup&link=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/13660/&redirect_uri=http://www.allagents.co.uk/review/13660/ "Share on your Facebook Wall"){kind=logo}
