Ludlow Thompson
Customer Reviews
Reviewed by Jess on 1st July 2009
Services: Lettings (Prospective customer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: SZT.STN.S5T.UD9
My friends and I are in the middle of constructing and signing a contract for our first house. So far, Ludlow Thompson staff have been helpful and friendly. They have made the transition from finding the property to putting down deposits and signing contracts reasonably fluid and easy.
However, there have been some concerns about their communication. We have been dealing with several members of Ludlow Thompson and have been given different information several times. This makes the process particularly difficult and confusing, especially due to the fact that I am attempting to co-ordinate five other girls with whom I am letting the property. Being given different information continuously makes the process a great deal more stressful.
In addition, Ludlow Thompson have had problems with their email systems, and often we have not received the documents or forms that we need to fill in. Instead of instantly alerting us to this problem, Ludlow Thompson took several days to draw this to our attention, by which time the forms were needed within 24hours.
Perhaps more could be done to communicate with clients and keep them up-to-date with proceedings and be clearer about what needs to be done on our part and Ludlow Thompson's.
Other than that, the staff have been extremely pleasant to deal with and we look forward to completing our contract and moving into our new property.
Reviewed by Ads_in_ludlow_hell on 16th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZN.TN7.SDD.UGD
Where do I start... Me and two friends took out a two year contract on a flat in Tideslea Path back in September. We were desperate to find somewhere and we didn't have a big time frame to work with. I had never rented anywhere before and my other flat mates had only been in uni accomodation.
We were shown around a "luxury flat" in Tideslea Path, South East London. The flat was fully furnished and came with a projector screen TV. The woman who brought the contract round only had a two year one!! Convenient for her. We needed somewhere and we could afford the £1200 between us a month at the time so we (stupidly) signed up. We weren't given a break clause either and the contract was for two years.
When we moved in we found out that we had been lied to about how close transport links are, they had told us that there was Gallons Reach station about 5 mins walk away. We then found out that it was across the river, so unless you have a dingy that isn' very helpful. The landlady had even been on panorama talking about how bad the local area was but the agency had told us the flat was located in a safe area.
Also the projector screen did not have a bulb, we contact the landlady and she said she would not pay for one, when we pointed out to her that it said in the contract that "all light bulbs and project screen bulb should be in working order when tenants move in" she told us to ignore that bit. We ended up getting bored and forked out £300 our self's.
Then we found the telecom system didn't work (still doesn't). The flat was not professionally cleaned (we were told it was). We had mould in the shower that had just been wiped away (still not sorted). We had to wait three months for a dishwasher (we were told we would have from the start). We didn't kick up too much of a fuss back then, we know now we should have but I think we didn't really know who to complain to! Ludlow Thompson just told us that they didn't manage the flat and it was down to our landlady.
Then in december like so many other people at the moment we all had shift cuts at our place of work meaning that we were struggling to afford the property. We contacted Ludlow & Thompson informing them of this and they put the property back on the market. They told us that if they found some one take over the contract we would have to pay huge "finders fee's". However if WE found the new tenants to take over our contract then we would only have to pay £300 to get the contract changed.
This all sounds good but they make it unbelievably hard for you to get people in, which is funny because it took us a matter of days when we signed up!!! We have found at least 5 or 6 potential tenants ourselves. One of them was turned down by the landlady because she was a "student", we have been told that we can't find anyone from Nigeria because the landlady doesn't want any "Nigerians". That makes our life even harder because most of the population around here are from Nigeria! The other tenants we have found have had to go through a timely and awful process that is done in a office in the West Midlands. Most of the people that work there have no contact numbers and it ends up taking so long the potential tenants get bored or too annoyed with the process that they give up.
One time we had a really decent tenant who wanted to take our place over. He sent his details to the Ludlow and no one got back to him for a week. We had to go down to the office in Lewisham to find out exactly what was going on, we were then told that the lady who was dealing with it had been taken ill and was in hospital!! No one thought to tell us! We recently found two guys who wanted to take the place on, they were really keen but because the process with them takes so long they have had to find somewhere else before they ended up on the streets :-( Also we had a guy who lived in the block of flats next to us who was interested, he'd put down a huge deposit on the penthouse flat he was living in but then he had found cockroaches and all sorts in there, he had to pay £400 to get it fumigated and wanted to move into our place. We didn't think this would be a problem as he was already with LUDLOW THOMPSON but they made it so hard for him to leave his place that he's just got to stick it out! They said he would lose up to £4,000 and then have to pay another £2,000 because he had contact us first and not them.
They found us some tenants a few weeks back (the only ones they have found in 7 months since the property has been back on the market can I add, so much for being London's number one letteing agent ay!) the guys they found could only afford £1000 a month, so we were told we would have to cover the rest!?! This being after we have told them that we can't afford our own rent alongwith the fact they want to charge us £1800 on top, plus we have found people ourselves that they have messed about! But they insisted that we would lose our deposits to cover the "finders fee's" taken by them & cover someone else's rent!
They are a sick joke these people. Reading other reviews they seem to do everything for the landlords but nothing for the tenants. I feel so stressed I can't sleep and its put a huge strain on my life... I didn't come to London for this. No one should go though what we are at the moment, when we tell people they can not believe how we are being treated. The amount of money they charge is out of order.
They have made it almost impossible for us to leave. I could understand if we had just up sticks and left but we haven't, we have tried to do everything by the book. Its now June and we can't afford our rent or to even pay the bills. The landlady is saying she is going to take us to court if we don't pay soon but we can't. This would have been sorted but since she has rejected tenants and Ludlow and Thompson take forever to sort things out we are stuck in limbo.
We are going to contact watchdog on the BBC about them. I don't know how they get away with it. We've even said now that we will be willing to give up our deposits (although the flat is in a better state now than it was when we moved in) in order for them to let us leave but they still are doing everything to keep us imprisoned in this hell hole... I could go on for hours...
Please stay away!
Reviewed by betty480 on 15th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: SZU.S9D.U9M.UMG
I have found my letting experience at the Tooting Office of Ludlow Thompson - with a special mention to John really very good. I rated their whole team as friendly , personable . I found them easy to contact and reliable.
I alos thought that their MY Account facility and their internet site were good but mostly i liked and was very pleased with the staff at tooting.
I found all their communcations with me and my fellow tenants to be excellent and they were excellent at returning all my calls and email, particularly John.
If asked whether i would recommend them or use them again i would definately say yes.
My letting with Ludlow Thompson has to my mind been really very good and i have to say i have no complaints at all.
Reviewed by jj on 12th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9FB.JFI.ERI.9FE
I have used ludlow and never will be again.
when we moved out they claimed we changed all the door locks(funny that they just walked in without calling us and without ringing the door bell while sleeping, eating and sometimes on the toilet to show people the flat so if we changed the locks how did they get in? ), sub let the property, took a door off the hinges.
I cant remeber what other excuse they gave but were false.
So they will not give back any of my the deposit which was a big amount..
This was the oval branch.
Went in there to talk to them about this matter but they were not interested, they said i had to talk to someone called alison who i tried to call so many time's but never got back to me.
They are a twisted company and will be taking them to court over this and of course the watchdog will hear about this as this is daylight robbery.
Reviewed by LLoyd.david967 on 11th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: S9U.UDZ.SGU.UNM
I was very pleased indeed with my letting with ludlow thompson lewisham branch.
I was able to view properties exactly when i wanted to so i did not have to take time off work. Also once the price was agreed the whole process was quick and painless.
Their web site including the referemcing system they used was great particularly the fact that i was able to complete their forms online in the comfort of my own home.
Perhaps they could have sent a lot less emails of new properties and chase texts and emails on the reference process but I thought overall the servcie was thorough.
Overall i was very happy with the negotiator who hamdled my let and the wholed process with ludlow thompson and they more than met my expectations.
Reviewed by dorcan76 on 10th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: 9QE.JFQ.EIR.93R
I recently moved in to a flat with ludlow thompsons lewisham office and i just wanted to say how fantastic they have been. They pulled out all the stops to get me moved in on time and have found me and my boyfriend a really wonderful flat.
thank you Ludlow Thompson at Lewisham
Reviewed by amit R Gowda on 8th June 2009
Services: Lettings (Prospective customer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9QX.JXE.JJQ.9QB
Reviewed by Cal on 5th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 93Q.JRI.9C3.9JF
Throughout the year that we had the misfortune of letting a Ludlow property, my three flatmates and myself were regularly point-blank lied to:
1) At the beginning of the contract, the agent Jonathan, from the Docklands office informed us,that in the event of changing tenancies "the fees are always waived". No, each new tenant paid full whack, and naive though it was, our 1st lesson was clear to see..
2) Shoddy and substandard furniture, including the living room sofas - broken on arrival, were never replaced, nor was a faulty lock on the front door, nor an alarm, nor ANY other item to be maintained as per the contract. All enquiries were greeted with apathy at best and downright rudeness, verging on hostility for the greater amount.
3) On leaving the property, and having performed a 4 day cleaning and touching up campaign (including the washing of carpets - cleaner than on arrival - and leaving the place in the works of the checking company "in great condition" , we have been hit by a £430+ bill for cleaning that supposedly took place in the afternoon we left. The new tenants arrived that night, and when we called to see them the next day, there was no discernable difference - but Ludlow havent let us see any invoice from the cleaning company. Also, they informed us that the cleaners were sent in as the place "desperately needed a clean". When we called the checking company to verify this, they confirmed that no report, verbal or written had been sent, and LT must have decided to act on their own re any cleaning..
£430??
My housemates and I are all professionals, and seriously considering a move to the lucrative business of Professional Cleaning - £200 per hour is a marked increase on our current rates, and as we dont have the gall or the talent for deception to be Estate Agents for an organisation like Ludlow, which is obviously where the real money is, I think that this remains our only hope of ever getting together a "deposit" to pay Ludlow in the future...
Needless to say, we too are joining the ever-growing band of victims who will be seeking legal redress, as we are past the point where we believe any utterance from any personnel within this absolute road accident of an organisation...
See you in small claims, LT!
...and for anyone even considering renting via this agency, read the many complaints below (ignoring the one blatantly Ludlow-written "review") Think of how many people dont have any knowledge of this site that have been similarly shafted....
Reviewed by Simon on 4th June 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: EJ3.9BE.9FR.9QB
I have been using ludlows for a few years now and i must say in all my dealings with them they have been first class. i have let a total of 5 properties with them and each one has been let fast and to very good tenants.
I am not stupid enough to not realise that sometimes things can and do go wrong but having been let down by numerous agents and tenants in the past i am really pleased that i was recommended to use ludlows.
i have since recommended them to 2 friends of mine and my niece rents from them very happily in dulwich.
Reviewed by Smithy on 2nd June 2009
Services: Lettings (Prospective customer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 93F.9XI.EVJ.9X3
At first LudlowThompson City/Docklands were very good, they arranged a variety of viewings which fitted with our specifications and were very professional at getting in touch with us to let us know of potential properties to view. The viewings themselves were also very good and the Estate Agents really did a good job of 'selling' the apartment to us.
However once we were settled with the which property we wanted and had put in our offer, which was accepted, it all went downhill. Our property consultant was disinterested in any queries that we had, presumably because he had already got his commision.
Instead he passed us over to the referencing team. As we are currently 2 students, who will be on a industrial placement next academic year, they decided that we needed to supply gaurantors, which is understable as students aren't the most trustworthy. However the rigorous process that guarantors had to go through was unaccepatble. They were asking extremely personal information, which was apparently a 'requirement' of which they had no need knowing as we would be paying the rent not the guarantors. Also the referencing team didn't seem to understand the concept that the guarantor for the other student had just relocated from Indonesia to Sudan for work reasons and therefore was unable to provide, bank statements for the last 3 months, wage slips for the last 3 months or proof of current address, as he had been in Sudan for 2 weeks. This was only made worse by the fact that the referencing team only told us that the proof provided (a contract with all the required information) did not fit with their requirements, 3 days before we were due to move in.
It is now 2 days until we are due to move in and to be honest I don't see it happening. I am infuriated by the disorganisation in this branch and the lack of communication between both the staff and with potential customers. I am fed up with sending them emails, which wont be responded to for at least 3 days and phoning them to get told 'don't worry there is plenty of time'. Well there isn't 'plenty of time' we are due to start jobs in London and have hired vehicles to move us from Birmingham!
If we hadn't paid £1000 (£500 reservation fee and first installment of the deposit) we would have definately have withdrawn from renting this property. And in the future will not be using this estate agent and will definately be informing my fellow students who are looking at relocating to London, to avoid this comapny at all costs.
Commented by Ludlow Thompson Customer Services on the 9th June 2009
Dear Smithy
We are sorry that you feel so negatively about referencing procedures we have undertaken. We are sure you can appreciate that we are under strict obligation to protect our Landlord clients position and ensure references are carried out are as thoroughly as possible. This does involve the exchange of a fair amount of information and it can take some time. You mention guarantors and unfortunately they are subject to exactly the same referencing criteria as tenants, because they act in place of tenants in the case of a breach of tenancy; there are legal obligations upon then and we have to be sure that they can fufil them. We cannot speed the process up to the detriment of the information we need to collect.
We hope that now the referencing process is finished you will be able to continue on with the tenancy without issue.
Reviewed by Josh on 21st May 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: UZD.UDG.S7N.UZD
Apalling, just apalling, some of the rudest people ever, please do not ever use Ludlow Thompson, I cannot emphasise that enough, they will screw you around. They are not only rude, but also of questionable moral integrity. Never trust anything they say, never listen to them, always take legal advice before doing anything they say. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, avoid Ludlow Thompson like the plague.
Commented by Ludlow Thompson on the 22nd May 2009
Dear Josh
We are sorry that you feel you have experienced poor service from us, if you would like to email us at customerservices@ludlowthompson.com we will be more than happy to look into these matters. The matters you raise are taken very seriously within the company at all levels.
Commented by berty on the 22nd May 2009
I really don't know how these people are operating and are still in Business.I have been lied to and truely cheated out of over £4000 for them to manage and let out my property.They are a disgrace.They offer an appalling service with outrageous fee's.They then try to confuse you with a set of accounts that are all over the place.I have never come across such sharks in my entire business life.
They have caused me undue stress and finacial hardship by robbing me of my money.
I attend to go to court,and with all the hundreds 0f complaints against them i wish to inform watch dog and the press!!We need to all stand united and appoint a legal case against them.
They should be closed down,for shoddy service and daylight robbery.
I intend to expose them for the cowboys they really are!!!
Commented by Ludlow Thompson on the 29th May 2009
Dear Berty,
We suggest that you contact us directly so we can investigate your allegations. What you have put here could be considered slanderous and we strongly refute any comments you make. The company is a member of all the industry governing bodies and complies will all codes of conduct.
Reviewed by Infuriated_Oval on 19th May 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: UZG.TNU.UGD.T77
I have NEVER used such an incompetent agency. My flatmate and I are both professionals and have spent most of the past 8 months chasing Ludlow Thompson to do their own job and fix a number of things in the property they are meant to be "managing", and which they had previously agreed to sort out. If I personally acted and ignored my clients they way they do to theirs I would have been sacked a long time ago.
We signed a contract through Ludlow Thompson about 8 months ago and have had no end of problems. A number of things were agreed and meant to be sorted out prior to us moving in (including removing mould and dirty grouting from the bathroom), however nothing has been repaired.
Since moving in we have had additional problems with a gas heater that doesn't work, a window that doesn't even open and a mirrored wardrobe which we have found out recently is a "health and safety hazard" (mentioned to us by one of their own contractors).
Their property management system is really lacking - everyone passes the buck and devolves responsibility where possible. You get ignored by your "dedicated property manager" and after a number of calls, emails and complaints later, we're still waiting on things to be sorted out.
Unfortunately, this review system doesn't let you award "no stars" to the agency, as I would if I could.
We have since been in touch with the Property Ombudsman for Lettings and they advised us to go through their compaints procedure and contact Laura Mathias, however apparently she has no telephone number!!!!! We have since sent an email detailing our ongoing complaints (yet again), and are awaiting the outcome.
If anyone from Ludlow Thopson would like to respond to the above, it would be most welcome as they never return our emails or calls when we contact them deirectly.
Don't do it - stay away from Ludlow Thompson.
Commented by Ludlow Thompson on the 22nd May 2009
Ludlow Thompson would like to offer our apologies that the clients are still awaiting repairs that were reported some time ago. It is not something we would wish anyone to experience and can appreciate the inconvenience and stress this must have caused.
On any reports of repairs the maintenance team will, wherever possible, allocate general contractors who are able to carry out multiple repairs in one call out, to minimise the time and cost involved. Unfortunately with hindsight in this instance it would have been better to assign a specialized contractor to address the damp in the bathroom. We accept that there was and apologise for the breakdown in communication between ourselves and the general contractor who attended in the first instance which meant there was a failure to report the severity of the issues. Now we are equipped with the information we have re allocated this to such a specialist.
The gas fire is reported as isolated and its gas supply can not be re instated, therefore, is of no risk. A request to have this removed has been made to the landlord.
We would like to offer our sincere apologies again and we will seeking advise from our legal team in relation to a compensation offer for the clients.
Reviewed by Disappointed Prospective Customer on 18th May 2009
Services: Lettings (Prospective customer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: S9N.UMZ.UTZ.UMG
My husband and I are both professionals. The agent promised us that he had a variety of lettings in our range and that we should meet him to view them. We blocked out the day to meet with him (and did not meet with two other agents on his promise of multiple lettings). We arrived - and he had punted his assignment to another agent who had 1 property to show us. When we went to the property - she didn't have the correct keys. She promised to follow up with more lettings for us and never called. I would avoid this letting agency - and in particuarly Pierce Hallet.
Commented by Ludlow Thompson on the 22nd May 2009
We are sorry that you have experienced poor service from some of our staff members. Sometimes, as you will appreciate, things can go wrong however communication is key and this seems to be lacking in this situation. We will be speaking with the branch office concerned to try to improve upon this so that this type of incident does not happen again.
Reviewed by FJ1000 on 11th May 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZN.UZT.UL7.ULZ
This letting agent is completely incompetent.
They pressured me into accepting tenants, did not properly check references, and worst of all accepted a cloned credt card as payment of rent and deposit from the tenant. This was despite the fact that the tenant was present, his name did not match that on the card, and he obviously did not have the cardholders permission! The agent in question has admitted acknowedging the card was registered in another name but taking it anyway. Their attitude is that it is my liability, and not their problem. The police, my solicitor, citizens advice all disagree.
Further to this, their customer service is appauling and unbelievably slow responding to emails. They did not inform me of the cloned credit card and unpaid rent when they found out a couple of weeks after the tenants moved, even though the police and solicitors were already involved. They also delayed the application for a court date to evict the tenants by 3 weeks, by not sending crucial information to the solicitor.
I am refering the case to ARLA, as Ludlow have not done anything to compensate me. If ARLA are unable to resolve, I will be taking them to court.
Avoid.
Commented by Customer Services on the 18th May 2009
It is a shame that the relationship between our Client and Ludlow Thompson has become strained and we apologise for this.
We reiterate that our references threw up no cause for concern with the tenant and there was no negative credit information about the tenant. There has been no lack of diligence on behalf of any member of staff or the company and we will strenuously defend our position on this.
On the basis of the allegations made by the card company of a cloned card, clearly the tenant has made a concerted effort to defraud us and the Landlord, this is a criminal activity and not something we can be held accountable for and we have made all necessary and normal checks. It would be up to the relevant authorities to make and pursue their own enquiries further on this.
The Landlord has been given protection by the rental warrantee insurance that we have in place. This will pay the rent, subject to the policy excess up to the date the tenants leave. A claim is already in progress.
A refund of fees will be made for the tenancy which has not completed.
We hope that this difficult tenancy will soon concluded as the abandonement notice on the property expires and that the Landlord will be able to move forward with a new tenancy.
Reviewed by Sam Mitchell on 17th April 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SDL.TDN.T7D.T7Z
As a considered and careful person, it pains me to disapprove of anybody or any organisation either publicly or privately. BUT – My advice is clear: STAY AWAY from Ludlow Thompson.
Unfortunately I can not go into the details of this, as I am at present preparing to take Ludlow Thompson to the small claims court.
Having engaged a solicitor that believes no court in the land would find in favor of Ludlow Thompson, I have 2 separate sets of evidence, and whiteness that can verify the agent has breached my contract with them. I have asked them to wave their charges as I actually had to evict the tenants they found for me with in the first week – I don’t blame the tenants as they were told some un truths, about what they could do with the property. Again I have evidence of this. I believe Ludlow Thompson have taken advantage of the tenants I had to evict, because of there lack of English and perhaps naivety.
What am I doing about them?
1) The Office of Fair trading is looking into the terms and conditions of the contract with me the landlord and the tenancy agreement. By the way – the OFT have a special department that deals with agents. Every contact in the UK is only valid if the terms and conditions are fair and reasonable along with subsequent charges.
2) I have also been in contact with BBC’s Watchdog – it seems there are a lot of very unhappy people with Ludlow Thompson out there. You just have to google “Ludlow Thompson Review”
3) I have made an official complaint to ARLA, as the agent used the tenants deposit to take there fees from and after requests will not give it to me.
4) Taking them to a small claims court. (Advice for other people, if you intend to take anybody to court you need to demonstrate reasonableness in trying to resolve a dispute first – I have done this with the advice of my solicitor but Ludlow Thompson don’t even reply to email’s now.
I can say with all conviction, I will fight Ludlow Thompson for every penny they have belonging to me until I’m either dead or bankrupt.
If you are having problems with your agent or tenants, a really good website is www.riky.co.uk – it has a lot of information and advice. It all gives really good templates, when comes to issuing notices to tenants like section 8’s or section 48’s.
My Name is: Sam Mitchell
sammitchelldub@yahoo.co.uk
Feel free to drop me a mail should anybody wish to speak to me about my experiences.
Commented by ludlowthompson on the 1st May 2009
On this particular property we appreciate that the tenancy has deteriorated, and so after the tenants discussion with the Landlord they have agreed to move out this
weekend.
We have agreed with the Landlord to refund his fees for the tenancy and a 25% fee reduction his next tenancy through us - whether this be now or in the future.
It is always regrettable when things go wrong in a tenancy because this is no one's interest. We acknowledge that this issue has taken some time to resolve and this is not what we would want, however we hope after conversations with the Landlord he is able to move this issue on to his satisfaction.
We invite anybody reading this who has an issue with our service to report it to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com. Unlike a lot of agents we do monitor and respond to all complaint issues raised through this address.
regards, ludlowthompson customer services
Reviewed by anetta on 11th April 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZ7.UZ7.SDN.U9G
It would have been very helpful to find all these reviews before I let my property with Ludlow Thompson. I could have avoided fighting with a shockingly rude and arrogant human being called Chris Valentine who is the manager of Ludlow thompson's at Oval/Kennington branch.
First of all none of the stuff communicate with the clients, very poor communication skills indeed, never bother to explain fees and charges Chris cannot wait to get rid of you when ever you ring , I tried to call him for explanation, just cannot be asked and he even put the phone down on me a couple of times.
My property is let, they found me decent tenants(its early days but I do not have bad feelings about them) but they charged me twice for payments that I had already paid over the phone, they even charged me for removing a sofa from one of the bedrooms which in reality myself and my partner moved the day before my tenants moved in!! What a joke!! Meanwhile my partner and I were trying to ring him and ask for an explanation and refund our money to us. He said he'll pass it on to their accountants and I should have the money paid into my account within 10 working days! I replied by saying why on earth should I have to wait 10 working days for a mistake that was done by them. Of course he put the phone as he likes doing that a lot and I calmed myself down and thought OK I can wait 10 working days!
Finally now I heard from them with an appauling statement nothing else. The statement shows that some payments have been didacted( really does not make any sense at all) then adding and dictacting again, neither me or my partner understood what's that about and at the end of the statment says TOTAL REFUND £16!! We had to laugh because otherwise I felt like going to the office and start screaming!
I have now sent an email to Mr Chris Valentine which I am sure he will ignore (he never reply to emails) and a copy of that email was also sent to Wimbledon branch asking them to send me a breakdown of all the charges.
I also said to my partner with a tired voice 'shall we just let that go and move on I truly hate them' and he said NO let me deal with this, they are illegal and I am quite happy to take this a little further just wait.
Nightmare estate, never use them I certaintly will run fast next time someone mentions Ludlow Thompson!
Commented by anetta on the 14th April 2009
I have already sent emails to the addresses you mentioned but still haven't had any replies.
Instead replying on the reviews on here perhaps you should check on Lodlow Thompson's inbox first! You are milking on costumer's unresolved issues in order to make us all tired so we give up on trying to sort out our issues.
Please check the emails I sent to your office and reply by sending me my request. I have the right to ask for a full breakdown of all fees and charges.
I need a full breakdown of all my fees and charges because by the look of things you have charged me unfairly and despite my complaints the problem is still unresolved. The statement I received from you doesn't make any sence even to my solicitor. Legally I have the right to ask for a full breakdown that is easy to understand.
Commented by ludlowthompson customer services on the 14th April 2009
Dear Anetta
We are concerned to read your review and wish to fully investigate. The correct channels for complaints as published on our website is customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Please do get in touch with reference to your name and date entry on this website and full contact details so that we can get in touch with you to examine any services issues.
We appreciate that you may already feel you have raised the issue through other channels but if you will kindly take the time to send it to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
we can then be sure to look at it.
Whilst we publish excellent feedback from hundreds of customers at our website, just one unhappy customer is too much for us. That is why we take the time to engage with customers at review websites like this.
Sadly most people will only leave a bad review at these websites, so when reading them it often does not accurately reflect the true balance of good and bad feelings about a company service. ludlowthompson manages over 16,000 customer and supplier relationships every year, and things can and do go wrong occasionally. When they do, we welcome the chance to try to resolve matters and learn from it.
Commented by Sam Mitchell on the 17th April 2009
Anetta, do not let Ludlow Thompson walk over you on this. Listen to your partner; if you believe they have acted illegally - remember the law is the law! We live in a fair and reasonable country, use the law!
Reviewed by imnotacustomerimanumber on 7th April 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9FE.9BR.EEX.9IV
Utter cowboys! Take money out of accounts without permission, and enter the property without permission. Disgrace.
Don't use Ludlow Thomson!!!
Commented by ludlowthompson customer services on the 14th April 2009
Kindly email the details of your greivance you describe with your full contact details and reference to your comment at this website: customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
ludlowthompson is a professional estate agent in it's 15th year of trading. We follow the guidelines of industry bodies such as ARLA and the Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents. Accordingly we take any such comment very seriously and seek to address any complaints in a constructive manner.
A NOTE TO ANYBODY READING THESE REVIEWS -
You may wish to balance what is said on these pages by reading the genuine customer review comments published weekly at our website www.ludlowthompson.com
Commented by Therese on the 2nd May 2009
You will get a zero result if you go to the NAEA webstie http://www.naea.co.uk/default.aspx if you click on the "Ludlowthompson" or "Ludlowthompson.com" , considered I am a oversea tenatnt, they just take the deposit and the money from you, though you sent email to them regarding to the management fee, the result always zero, no one replyed to your call, email, just ignored you. It is not resonable for the landlord as well to signed a contract with a 24 months terms, since they will constantly charged the landlord fee. My recently inquery about this is I want to terminate my contract, and the manager there said I will be liable for the Management fee amounts to £1083 considered I moved out 7 months eariler. So the monthly charge for the landlord will be £155. If the landlord can find a decent tenant then the agent will always underwrite the contract with 6 months term. And the landlord can contact the qualitied tenant directly without paying extra. This is my first time to get in touch with estate agent, they will not guarantee anything for you, dispute will not be solved from them, and the maintance and repair will be done as the agent will contact the landlord again, which is just useless. One agent I contacted with called Scott, he is very rude. And just want you take the property directly without thinking or considering other things. I just feel very frusted to find a accomodation, especially when you cannot find a good and reliable agent.
Reviewed by Bertie on 20th March 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: S9N.UMZ.SZD.UGN
This may not be particularly helpful, but I don’t actually have enough time to list in great detail exactly how badly Ludlow Thompson messed up our moving in process, nor how many confusing discussions and arguments have occurred between us, them and our landlords; suffice to say that when you’re paying silly money for agency fees the first thing you expect is that you will be moving into an empty, clean, safe property. Rather than a filthy one with no smoke alarms, a boiler which (despite having a worthless gas safety certificate, the one thing we thought had been done properly pre-move) was later adjudged to be putting us in direct danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, and was shut off by the bloke who came to reset the pre-paid gas meter (which costs a fortune and we weren’t told about, naturally), leaving us with no heat during the coldest week of the year.
Oh, and the small matter of the landlords still living there, apparently unaware they were supposed to move out, for the first 2 days. And their son. And their stuff all over the house for weeks afterwards. Admittedly mainly the landlords’ fault, but my naïve notion that highly-paid letting agents might actually check the property is in a decent state before renting it out was shot to pieces. There hasn’t been one person who I’ve told about this who hasn’t been shocked at the lack of professionalism. And I’ve told a lot of people.
Did I mention that we were originally told that we were moving in a week before this farce, meaning that one of us had arranged to move out of his place that day, and were only informed that this would be put back a week less than 48 hours before we were supposed to be moving in, thereby leaving him homeless? No? Well that’s a minor detail now… and was obviously minor to them at the time. Just another broken promise.
The only reason they are getting a second star off me is that they at least agreed to meet with us, and (sort of) sorted things out, albeit not really. Communication at all times has been poor - emails and voicemails ignored, being passed on to different people, nobody taking responsibility… well, basic estate agent stuff really. But what really annoys me is the corporate lip service rubbish written on this site about taking complaints seriously - I wrote a very detailed explanation of the many, many ways in which they had let us down and received a short email back with a cursory apology and a basic ‘it’s not our fault the landlords messed up’ attitude. I then wrote another long email, acknowledging that the landlords had been in the wrong, but saying that the many valid points I had made about the shoddy service and lack of respect and care we had received from Ludlow Thompson had been ignored. I received no reply, unsurprisingly. So I’m afraid all I have left to do is badmouth this lot to everyone I meet, which I do.
To echo the many above me, never use Ludlow Thompson. However, if anybody knows an estate agents which is thoroughly professional, respectful, competent and actually cares about the people whose happiness and safety is in their hands, please let me know, since I have never heard of such a thing.
Commented by ludlowthompson customer services on the 31st March 2009
Dear 'Bertie'
We appreciate what you say and apologise that you have not experienced satisfactory handling of your complaint. The channel for complaint is customerservices@ludlowthompson.com If you write to us you will hear back. We manage over 16,000 customer and supplier arrangements so sometimes things can and do go wrong. We would never want to leave a customer with the feeling that they were ignored. As you will see at our website where we publish daily customer feedback, it is not the norm for our customers to receive poor service, and so we take any such issues seriously. We urge you to get in touch with us again with your full contact details and reference this review at allagents so that we can get back to you.
ludlowthompson is a professional estate agent belonging to OEA and ARLA, abiding by service standards. So any suggestion to the contrary is taken very seriously and throughly investigated.
Commented by Bertie on the 2nd April 2009
In response to 'customer services'
I'll repeat: I filled out the survey on the website. I received an email back from somebody from customer services. I emailed them back. I received no response. Thorough investigation there, and good copying and pasting from the comments you've left on the other 16 people who have disapproved of your services (out of 21) - you talk a very good game. How envious we are of all the delighted, fully satisfied customers on your website, we must find out what branch all those totally real people used! Anyway, I may try contacting you again if I find the time and energy. But a bit late now - so I'm mainly warning other people of what to expect. I find it VERY hard to believe that the lack of professionalism and care applied to us was completely out of character. Maybe you shouldn't manage 16,000 arrangements if you can't keep up with them all...
Commented by ludlowthompson Customer Services on the 7th April 2009
Dear Bertie
We can understand your frustration and once again apologise for any inconvenience. We do hope you will get in touch so that we can investigate and try to address the situation.
All the feedback published at our website is 100% genuine as recorded on our feedback forms. We publish the Office on the website in respect of all feedback so you can see which one it refers to.
Whilst there are only 21 bad reviews out of thousands of genuine satisified/delighted customers, even ONE unhappy customers is too much for us which is why we feel it is very important to engage with our customers through all channels including consumer review websites.
If you haven't already been in touch, please do so referencing this review. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Commented by Mr C on the 8th April 2009
In all, this is Ludlow Thompson's standard response in a situation like this. In reality, they do nothing to appease the customer rather it would be aggravated over time. From every indication, the regulatory power seems weak and they tend to take advantage of that. Not until there is statutory intervention worst are still out there from Agents like Ludlow Thompson. My case with them is still on and they are playing smart. It does not matter whether you are the landlord or tenant, best is to avoid Ludlow Thompson!
Commented by ludlowthompson customer services on the 8th April 2009
A message to Bertie & Mr C -
We cannot deal with your complaints unless you tell us who you are... There is nothing on record that we can recognise as matching the complaints you list at this website. We will gladly look at any issues but can only do so if you are prepared to identify yourselves to relation to these website comments via customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Commented by Mr C on the 8th April 2009
This is another lies from ludlowthompson. You have my complaint on your records but you have failed to resolve it probably because you milk on it being unresolved. Apart from my write ups here on 1st and 4th March with nicknames Mr C and further down Chris I have sent several unanswered letters and e-mails to you. I have given you more than enough chance but you are adamant and only play game. You confuse yourselves and want it your way. Well, the ball is on your court. By the way, why must I go through all these just because I instructed you to let my property and you messed up?
Commented by ludlowthompson customer services on the 14th April 2009
Dear C
The fact that you say you have written several times and have not received a reply is unusual because all complaints are logged and answered. Please get in touch through the correct channel customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
We take the time to engage with customers in a constructive manner on review websites, and will of course resolve complaints that are genuine and declared in full detail.
Sadly where people choose to leave comment but then not to get in touch - despite every attempt by us to make a welcoming invitation - we are powerless to assist. In such cases, we are left with no choice than to conclude that we could be victims of dishonest use of these review channels. We urge genuine customers with a real complaint to take up our invitiation to let us resolve the complaint - email us at customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by betweeb on 7th March 2009
Services: Lettings (Prospective customer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 93F.93I.JV3.9VR
These agents are only interested in their agenda not yours. I arranged to view flats with them which they advertised, only to turn up and be told that those flats did not exist. Appalling timewasters, don't bother calling them.
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 11th March 2009
Dear Betweeb
We are keen to hear from you to discuss your experience. As you will see at our website where we publish daily customer feedback, it is not the norm for our customers to receive poor service, and so we take any such issues seriously. Please email us at customerservices@ludlowthompson.com with your full contact details and reference this review at allagents so that we can get back to you.
ludlowthompson is a professional estate agent belonging to OEA and ARLA, abiding by service standards. So any suggestion to the contrary is taken very seriously and throughly investigated.
Reviewed by jen on 7th March 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZN.TNG.U9Z.U9D
We will never ever use this company again, what a shocker!! I would highly recommend to others out there looking for property not to use them as well, there are enough people desperate for work, Ludlow Thompson is clearly not.
They were terrible from the get go, from securing the property all the way through to managing it. Their own inability to communicate in any effective manner put us under terrible stress. We had to keep emailing them to get our online reference forms, they kept sending us the wrong information AND they promised us certain things that the landlady was later not happy about. They also LIED to our faces, we specifically asked if the property had a BT line, instead of actually doing some work, they looked us in the eye and said "yes". The property had no phone line.
Bearing in mind that our own move out date was pressing against us, you can imagine the stress if it would cause when DAYS before our (new, they pushed it forward, we are sure because they realised that they would never complete all the paperwork at the rate they were going) move in date we are informed that they landlady is not happy with our requests. Surely, if they had spoken to her of our requests soon after we had secured the property they could have saved us the stress of contemplating finding another property in such short notice. In retrospect, using another agent at this point and risking being homeless for awhile would have been an upshot.
We finally moved in to the property, we were promised that the FILTHY carpets would be cleaned, they do not look like they have ever been cleaned, ever. We also had a bed bug infestation and no running hot water! It took over TWO MONTHS to get someone to fix our boiler through their "management team". Two months, is the UK not a 1st world country? Are boiler technicians endangered species? In the two months we were waiting, we would telephone almost every day, we would explain the situation and then be promised a call back. Out of all those times, we received one call back. One. So, at the end of out tether with this ineptitude we threatened to suspend rent, still no reply. So we informed them at least three times that we were going to suspend rent and then subsequently did.
They the had the audacity to remove our rent AND LATE CHARGES. As tenants, what recall do we have to get running hot water if not in the (clearly ineffective) form of rent suspension? We have sent complaints, but, shockingly have heard no reply. We are sure our poor landlady wonders why people keeping using the break clause and exiting her house rather promptly. Well, if you're reading, it's because in this day and age, why should anyone have to put up with this?
So, we urge all readers, prospective tenants or prospective landlords/ladies, when Ludlow Thompson say "Make us work for you" the operative word is MAKE, it will become your second job getting them to do anything for you. You have been warned.
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 11th March 2009
Dear Jen
We are very concerned to read your review and wish to invite you to get in touch with us at customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Kindly give us your full contact details and refer to your review at allagents website and we will look at all the issues involved.
ludlowthompson takes customer service highly and where we have made an error we will seek to address it.
Thank you for your time and patience. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Reviewed by Mr C on 1st March 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9FE.9CQ.EVQ.9X3
My experience with Ludlowthompson Agent has been very horrible. This is perhaps the worst Agent out there that I would highly discourage any intending landlord/landlady to use. They take laws into their hands once you sign an agreement. Communication is at zero level while dealing with Ludlowthompson. Deductions were made from the tenant's rent deposit. Rent would be promptly collected by Ludlowthompson from the tenant but would not be paid to the landlord. In fact, you are bound to loose your house if you have no resources to fight back. In my own experience, it has been a night mare getting involved with Ludlowthompson and the case is still on going.
Commented by Mr C on the 4th March 2009
Surprise! surprise!! Just received a letter this afternoon dated 2nd March 2009 (for the first time!) from Ludlow Thompson alleging that my tenant did not pay her rent and as such the rent is in arrears. According to the letter, it states ' please note that you will not receive a statement of account until payment is received from the Tenant'. For your information, the rent was due on 15th February.
However, I have receipt evidence that my tenant paid Ludlow Thompson through their Natwest Account on 14th February 2009.
How low can Ludlow Thompson go again? Let the public decide. Director Su could not even respond to this one!
Reviewed by wilsonn on 19th February 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9QE.9EV.JBX.9QR
I agree completely with the review. My experience of Ludlow Thomspon has been a nightmare and is still ongoing.
We moved into a rented property in December and are still to have any verbal contact with our appointed client manager. We have a number of maintenance issues which were ignored for a long time by Ludlow Thompson despite numerous emails and phone calls requesting urgent contact, and are yet to be rectified.
We have already made 2 customer complaints but received no response at all. No one within the company will offer names or telephone numbers for any managers, there are no escalation paths for issues, and the customers get passed from pillar to post.
I have even emailed the customer services address as Su Colledge advises with all my contact details, yet still no one has contacted me. Empty words it seems.
They are ignornat and rude. Avoid Ludlow Thompson.
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 11th March 2009
Dear Wilsonn
We are sorry that you have been passed from pillar to post - we sincerely regret this. It is possible that we did not receive your email and we ask that you kindly resend your complaint to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
If you let us have your full contact details we can identify your customer records and get back to you on the issues you raise.
We make customer feedback our business, publishing it daily at our website. We are open and accessible to customers and where customers find this not to be the case we would investigate thoroughly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Reviewed by jmarsh on 4th February 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 93Q.JRI.9Q3.9JF
I rented the property out fully managed by Ludlow Thompson. With difficult/demanding tennants LT would always pass onto me as they did not have the skills to rectify. When my tennants moved out in October I moved back into my property and asked for the remaining funds - 250 cash balance to be transferred to my account. I am still waiting 5 MONTHS LATER.
Commented by Laura Mathias - Director on the 9th February 2009
This complaint has been resolved and ludlowthompson will be arranging an interest payment on the £250 repair float to this clients account for the time the money was held in our account outside of our terms of business.
As stated in ludlowthompson terms of business, this repair float is held for 3 months after the end of the tenancy and then in the normal course of events returned direct to a landlords account. The tenancy on your property ended 30th September and therefore the monies should have been sent 30th December. That they were not was a genuine oversight on our part for which we apologise and have compensated the customer.
With 16,000 customer relationships running at anyone time, mistakes sometimes do happen but ludlowthompson will always address these wherever possible.
Reviewed by galway on 29th January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: S9L.UZ7.SGL.TGM
I have felt bullied repeatedly by Ludlow Thompson. I have four properties and this is the first time I have ever listed with Ludlow Thompson, and the last. I know times are tough but I would rather leave my property empty than deal with them again. I had their sales person talk over me all the time, describing all the better properties in the area and why I should accept certain tenants,terms and low rent. He never listed to what I had to say.
I didn't realise when I signed them up what a reputation they have until I spoke to other people.
Commented by Su Colledge on the 30th January 2009
As a Director of ludlowthompson I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you and discuss this with you so that I can look into the matter.
If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me the following info:
~ Your telephone number
~ The best time of day to contact you
~ Please mention this website review and the date of your review so I can cross reference
You will find my contact details at the below link -
http://www.ludlowthompson.com/contact/customer_services.htm
(You may need to cut and paste the above into a new browser page)
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us.
We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received record numbers of 'excellent' scores with our feedback ratings.
That said we do not rest on our laurels; we take any customer complaint very seriously. Sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong when managing over 16,000 customer relations. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for taking the time to share your views.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director, ludlowthompson
Commented by Chris on the 1st March 2009
I did not seek a third person's opinion before using Ludlowthompson as a landlord but my own experience from them is quite shocking. As soon as the agreement was signed all caution was thrown out of the window. I was making efforts to communicate with them only to be meeting brick walls. This is with Walthamstow LT office. The guy who signed the agreement with me introduced himself as the Manager to my property while their on-line management listed someone else. There are other moduled up issues which I may not comment on here. At first I thought there were just simple mistakes or human error but I later guessed they were all calculated and deliberate. I wrote and wrote loads of e-mails without replies other than autos. Ludlowthompson are group workers in gang who protect each other and can defend and paint glowing records. I am presently having a nightmare experience with them but I will take no chances any more. If their director Sue does what she preaches, let her get to Walthamstow Ludlowthompson and ask honest questions and contact me this time. I have had enough!
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 12th March 2009
Dear Chris
We read your comment with great concern and would like to reassure you that customer disatisfaction is taken very seriously by ludlowthompson.
Indeed, what you describe is so far from the norm that we do urge you to get in touch us through the proper channel for complaints which is listed at our website - customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
I do hope you will give us the opportunity to address this matter. We would never knowingly leave a customer ignored or disatisifed: ludlowthompson is a professional estate agent with the highest standards. The agency is a member of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents and The Association of Residential Letting Agent, and is accredited with the Investors In People award. The Directors are very 'hands on' , reading every single customer feedback questionnaire.
Kindly provide us with the full details and we promise that we will fully address any issues.
Please reference your comments at this website.
Reviewed by pierthefrog on 28th January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: 9QE.JFQ.EIR.9XQ
I have just found my flat through Ludlows after my last landlord was reposssessed at short notice
They worked so very hard to find me a property and on at least two occassions were showing me property after 8.30pm at night.
I used them becuase my last agent was very poor indeed and ludlows had been recommended to me by quite a few friends over the years.
Reviewed by Ted on 27th January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZG.SZL.SUU.TUU
Very poor service, somehow seem to have 'lost' the tenants' deposit. Charge for services not carried. Steer well clear
Commented by Su Colledge - Director, ludlowthompson on the 28th January 2009
Hello Ted
If you contact me about your case I will ensure it is resolved. All I can say at this stage, is that given the chance we will try to remedy matters. Sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong. Thankfully these instances are minor in comparison to the 16,000 customer relations we manage at any one time. That said we never 'rest on our laurels' and take all customer feedback seriously.
As a Director of ludlowthompson I would welcome the opportunity to enter into correspondence with you on this matter. If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me the following info:
~ Your telephone number
~ The best time of day to contact you
~ Please mention this website review and the date of your review so I can cross reference
You will find my contact details at the below link -
http://www.ludlowthompson.com/contact/customer_services.htm
(You may need to cut and paste the above into a new browser page)
Regards
Su Colledge
Director, ludlowthompson
Reviewed by Iman on 22nd January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: S9T.STT.S5M.TNU
Failure to deliver what was promised before we signed the agreement: - Furniture, property management, break clause and a habitable house to rent.
Lied about the break clause to get us to sign the tenancy agreement: - Told us before we signed the contract that there is a break clause at 8months because, we insisted that without this we would not sign the agreement.
Incompetence and Unprofessionalism: - Extremely poor communication, nonchalant attitude, dubious, arrogant and very rude. We have contacted the branch manager for about five months now and also filed a complaint to the head office for over a month now and have not gotten any real form of correspondence.
We were told to complain through the internal complaints department, and Laura Mattais is so incompetence and very unhelpful, we never heard from her about our complaint.
Chris Valentine the manager in the oval / kennington branch is a complete fraudster and as far as i am concerned, they should be closed down and all the agents at the oval/kennington branch arrested for fraud.
We have filed a major complaint with ARLA and Ombudsman, and we are speeking to a couple of solicitor to take legal action agaist them.
I urged anyone......Anyone at all to please refrain from using Ludlow Thompson.
Commented by Su Colledge on the 28th January 2009
THIS PROPERTY IS NOT MANAGED BY LUDLOWTHOMPSON IT IS MANAGED BY THE LANDLORD.
Whilst we have every sympathy with the tenant any failure on the part of the landlord is outside of our control and the responsibility of ludlowthompson. The tenant is fully aware of this, and thus the posted comments are particularly unfair to the named employees and
ludlowthompson in light of the efforts made to assist in the matter.
ludlowthompson offered and provided this property purely on a Let Only basis, where the
tenant finds the property through us and then deals directly with the landlord (who manages it).
Notwithstanding these facts, ludlowthompson has actually assisted this tenant above and beyond the contractual duty, getting involved to try and resolve the matters of complaint between the landlord and tenant.
If a resolution to a complaint is not found, the industry has a governing body, which guides
and oversees such complaints. This is recognised as the recommended avenue to explore a constructive grievance where all other avenues have failed.
ludlowthompson takes customer feedback seriously and has a vigorous complaints procedure and follows through all issues. Customer feedback is published daily from hundreds of satisfied customers at www.ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by Helena on 20th January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 9QX.9EI.JQ3.9FR
Reading the reviews already posted, so many comments ring true with my experience.
Initially, I was impressed with the speed at which tenants were found for my flat. But soon began to have reservations.
As mentioned in another review on this site I too was bullied into purchasing additional furniture for the tenants once they were in situ. This must be a selling tactic of the agents - to promise additional items without the landlords knowledge.
More seriously, now I am approaching the twelve month mark and want to exercise the break clause and my client manager will not acknowledge any of my email or telephone messages..so I feel totally helpless as it is proving impossible to speak to anyone about this, I have faced a wall of voicemail and automated bounce backs.
I have also rented a flat from Ludlow Thompson a few years ago and I am afraid to say also experienced problems with builders being given keys to my flat and letting themselves into the flat late at night, while I was in bed!! SO...PLEASE TAKE HEED!!! The comments you read on the review sites are a reality!
Commented by Sue Colledge on the 26th January 2009
I am concerned to read about your grievance. If you tell me who your property 'client manager' is and your name/contact details I will ensure that they get in touch with you.
I wish to reassure you that ludlowthompson does not have a tactic of promising items to tenants - there is a process for agreeing items upfront in a rider agreement. If the latter is not followed I would want to investigate. With reference to the keys, we notify tenants if we need to access the property in accordance with the tenacy agreement terms. Obviously we would want to know about builders letting themselves into a flat late at night - did you alert us at the time? This would be highly unusual and not sanctioned by ludlowthompson.
As a Director of ludlowthompson I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you and discuss this with you so that I can look into the matter.
If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me the following info:
~ Your telephone number
~ The best time of day to contact you
~ Please mention this website review and the date of your review so I can cross reference
You will find my contact details at the below link -
http://www.ludlowthompson.com/contact/customer_services.htm
(You may need to cut and paste the above into a new browser page)
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us. We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received record numbers of 'excellent' scores with our feedback ratings. That said we do not rest on our laurels; sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong and we are just as keen to hear about this and to resolve matters as far as possible. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for taking the time to share your views.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director, ludlowthompson
Reviewed by enough of bullies on 14th January 2009
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: UZG.SGD.UGT.UDU
I was a sitting tenant in a flat that was being let by LudlowThompson. They couldn't care less of the fact that I was living there and had some rights, for example to quiet enjoyment of my property. They walked in while I was sleeping, and the excuse was that they had to show it and I wasn't answering my phone. Nevermind that it was Saturday morning, the agent probably just couldn't care less except about his commission. I felt sorry for the people who came to see the flat, must have been embarrassing to them!
Another time they again walked in without calling first, that time I was just about to go in the shower. One minute longer, I would have been in, not heard the knock, and they would have walked in while I am in shower.
They kept going in without calling me first - I could tell as things kept moving around, door would be unlocked when I got back from work and a set of keys went missing from the kitchen table.
I would always contact the lettings manager of the office and complain to him. Think I got him upset, as he went and lied to the landlord I am being difficult to deal with and making the letting harder, and by doing this completely destroyed the good relationship I had with him. I think he made this up, as it had been 3 weeks without any offers and he needed to make up an excuse.
Trying to complain to LT was pointless, lettings manager and later the lettings director completely ignored everything I said. I asked for the key register they are obliged to keep under Code of Conduct so I could check how many times exactly they were in without telling me, but they didn't even bother to give me an excuse on why I wouldn't get it, they just blanked me.
I am now in the process of finding out if ARLA or NAEA will consider my efforts enough and look at my problems, even though I have not gone through the 'official' complaints procedure - I have asked for this repeatedly, but so far LT has not advised what that may be.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. If you rent your flat from them, chances are you landlord will use them again and you will have to live in a Ludlow Thompson showroom instead of a home where you actually have control over who walks in and when.
Commented by Su Colledge on the 19th January 2009
I am concerned to read about your grievance. As a Director of ludlowthompson I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you and discuss this matter so that I can look into the matter.
If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me the following info:
~ Your telephone number
~ The best time of day to contact you
~ Please mention this website review and the date of your review so I can cross reference
You will find my contact details at the below link -
http://www.ludlowthompson.com/contact/customer_services.htm
(You may need to cut and paste the above into a new browser page)
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us. We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received record numbers of 'excellent' scores with our feedback ratings. That said we do not rest on our laurels; sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong and we are just as keen to hear about this and to resolve matters as far as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director, ludlowthompson
Reviewed by robbin22 on 26th November 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: S9U.UG7.SUT.TTD
They have put so much hard work into letting out my flat successfully that I think it is worthwhile giving them a good feedback.
Both flats in Dulwich were let at good rents and to very nice tenants.
I was particularly impressed with the new Letting MaManager- she is excellent
They definately worked for me
Reviewed by possum123 on 29th October 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: S9T.UTN.SDM.UMT
A refreshing estate/letting agent. I have let my flat lots of times with different agents (whoever finds the tenant).
This time I used Ludlow Thompson and found them to be the most professional and up to date re online facilities.
They have let my properties within a day to a few days for good rents.
I was really impressed that they always updated me by phone and email.
The website was really helpful in that I could see progress updated and exactly how many people had clicked on my property details - how cool is that! I like the fact that the website stores all my documents under my own online account - really handy as I have x3 lettings with them.
With all their technology, ludlowthompson are the first kind of 'modern' estate agent I have come across.
The agent that helped me didn't mind showing the flat to tenants in the evenings so all in all I was they worked hard for me.
Commented by honest agent on the 8th November 2008
99% sure this was written by one of their employees!
Commented by Truth187 on the 17th November 2008
Blatantly written by one of their employees!!!!
Commented by moe moe on the 26th November 2008
they have done the same on review centre too
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 12th March 2009
We invite you to view the hundreds of comments listed at www.ludlowthompson.com which show that we receive great reviews from many customers who rate our service as 'excellent'.
However we do not rest on our laurels: like any organisation we make mistakes from time to time when dealing with over 16,000 customer relationships. We invite anyone on this page to send us full details of their complaint to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Anybody reading this will see that we take the time and trouble to engage with our customers through all channels. We are accutely aware that review websites are open to abuse from competitor agents who may try to tarnish our enviable reputation. Our website featuring customer comments provides customers with the opportunity to read genuine feedback from genuine customers - please visit www.ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by Mich on 6th October 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SZU.UNM.TGM.TDU
Ludlow Thompson are the rudest, most unhelpful agents I have ever meet. You should never use them!!!!
Commented by ludlowthompson on the 29th October 2008
ludlowthompson invite you to give us your contact details so we can learn more about your particular grievance.
If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me your telephone number, the best time of day to contact you and an outline of the issues to me at customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us. We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received over 650 'excellent' feedback ratings - you can read these at www.ludlowthompson.com. That said we do not rest on our laurels; sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong and we are just as keen to hear about this and to resolve matters as far as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director
customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by Charlie on 10th September 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: S9N.TTZ.U79.U9G
Ludlow Thompson are incompetent, rude, bullying idiots. We have had an absolute nightmare with them, they have used us in the most disgusting way and spat us out, much poorer.
There has been a complete lack of communication from their end, which means things don't get done on time. This has then been blamed on us, even though we called and called and there was no answer.
We have been passed around different people almost hourly, meaning that none of them know what is happening and no one can help us (although I don't believe 'help' is what they strive to offer).
I feel very strongly that Ludlow Thompson are not just bad estate agents, but are bordering on being criminals.
Commented by Su Colledge on the 26th January 2009
I would welcome the opportunity to talk to you about the treatment you describe - I am concerned to read about this. As a Director of ludlowthompson want to look into the matter. If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me the following info:
~ Your telephone number
~ The best time of day to contact you
~ Please mention this website review and the date of your review so I can cross reference
You will find my contact details at the below link -
http://www.ludlowthompson.com/contact/customer_services.htm
(You may need to cut and paste the above into a new browser page)
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us. We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received record numbers of 'excellent' scores with our feedback ratings. That said we do not rest on our laurels; sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong and we are just as keen to hear about this and to resolve matters as far as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director, ludlowthompson
Reviewed by rl2008 on 27th August 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Tennant)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
Yes
IP address: SZT.SUT.STN.U7Z
Too costly, for doing very little. But have few complaints otherwise.
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 12th March 2009
Dear rl2008
We are concerned to hear that you feel you did not achieve value for money. Can we ask that you get in touch and tell us more? Please email us to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
To get the best results for our customers, ludlowthompson invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in
a professional infrastructure
Offices across London
a robust IT system with online services
Professionally trained staff - ludlowthompson is accredited with the Investors In People award
We aim to get quick results for our customers. Perhaps that could be why it seems like we are 'doing very little', however a lot has gone on behind the scenes to get those results quickly.
Our fees reflect the level of service provided, and is still competitive with the general estate agency market which does not provide the same service.
Reviewed by obstante on 28th June 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SL9.U7Z.UZN.UDN
Never again. I had so many bad experiences with Ludlow Thompson that I don't know from where to start. One of the unacceptable things they did is that they refused to give me my own flat key at the end of the contract, which is a breach of contract and also raises suspicions about their conduct.
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 12th March 2009
Dear Obstante
Following our response to you on another review website we do hope that you feel we have addressed your complaint.
All customers are invited to send us their comments and complaints to customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by SD on 21st May 2008
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: SDZ.SZG.SGT.TN9
Ludlow has been managing a property for me since March 2007.
Let me categorise the failures in service so that other landlords have an idea of my ordeal.
(1) Pre-tenancy
The fiasco began with several 'negotiators' from the same office competing with each other - taking deposits etc even before I had a chance to agree anything with no obvious communication between them
Finally I agreed to a prospective tenant and a holding deposit was taken and his details were obtained for referencing. The tenant (from the Netherlands) was 'referenced' (in which - strangely - someone elses credit card details were taken instead of the actual tenants - so that rents could be charged if they later defaulted. I soon learned that the use of this card was unauthorised and my debtor amounts rose swiftly). The tenant was said to be of good credit yet a few weeks after moving in he asked me to sign DSS papers for him (which I declined).
(2) Tenancy
The tenancy was negotiated for 24 months and they took their management fees over 5 months up from for the whole period. Why this is done - I do not know - but the result of it is that once the benefit has been passed to them - there is no further incentive to actually manage the property efficiently.
I later learned that the tenant had been accepted and 'tenanted' despite the fact that he had never viewed the property.
The next part of the fiasco began when the tenant started to make demands and threats of legal action - apparently all sorts of furniture etc had been promised to him (without my knowledge) even though the tenancy was supposed to be UNFURNISHED. In the end I felt that in the interests of keeping the tenant (whom I beleived to be of good standing at the time) I shelled out a few hundred more to furnish the flat with some basic items.
(3) Management
I have two properties in this (new) block of flats. Both are managed by independent agents. One property - no issues ever other than the usual problem here and there. The property managed by Ludlow - seems to incur more repairs, call-outs and other costs than any other property I own. i.e. the property costs are disproportionate to other assets.
It is clear that they get some benefit from contracting out 'repair jobs' - some examples: (a) tenant couldnt use the dishwasher. Solution: Send a qualified engineer to show the tenant how to use the appliance. Cost: over £100. (b) tenant reported a leak in the toilet. Solutiuon: Send a plumber to assess. Cost: £100. (c) tenant reported the same leak (water passing into bowl) Solution: Replace something in the cistern. Cost: approx £250. (d) Tenant reported a 'leak' in the shower. Solution: Quote for new shower (??). Cost: over £1000 - I drew the line at that one and had it done for free by Aqua Lisa as there is a 5 yr warranty on all products!! (e) Other appliance issues and electrical 'problems' - cost - over £500. When I gave then the homeserve warranties I was told that if they were managing the proprty then they would have to use their 'own' contractors or else I would have to make various arrangements like issue keys to contractors and be there for appointments (from 8000 miles away) on my own as they would not take any 'responsibility' for external contractors (like the appliance manufacturers who would repair products for free with their highly trained engineers using new branded spare parts)
(4) Credit Control
The worst I have ever experienced. I am a non resident overseas landlord. I am about 8000 miles and several time zones away from the UK. I rely on these 'managing agents' to look after my best interests. NOT SO. The tenant has been in arrears since he moved in!!! Their version of credit control is a letter to the tenant and a copy to me. I have had about 10 of these letters. Sometimes they take months to get to me - even though I have asked them to email me rather than send letters as I am always travelling.
Now my tenant has decided to move on, 9 months early and I email the Client Manager daily and get no response. They have no 'head office' from a customer point of view and although the lettings team are more than happy to get me a new tenant (and charge me hundreds more in new finders fees) the management team are predictably silent and unreachable.
If they would refund the balance of the management fees I have paid - i would gladly go elsewhere.
To all you landlords out there - these guys are known to charge over market rates and justify it by 'getting you a tenant quicker'. But as I have learned - this has been a VERY expensive mistake for me. My tenant owes me £2450 and I can't even get hold of my 'client manager'. What a joke. Stay away from them. PLEASE.
Commented by joe greer on the 30th May 2008
I'm also a non-resident landlord and having a nightmare of a time with Ludlow Thompson.
I'd value a chat with you to compare notes. You can reach me at joseph dot greer at the google mail system dot com if you can decipher that.
Thanks
Commented by obstante on the 28th June 2008
Hi,
I have the same feelings about Ludlow Thompson and I have reported the experiences I had with them to the ARLA, their regulatory body. I would suggest you to do the same as what they did is unacceptable. Unless we unsatisfied customers take action, there will be more victims of their wrongdoings like ourselves and they will continue benefitting from their mistakes and unprofessional behaviour while us continuing to loose a lot of money and time.
I would be grateful if you could contact me via e-mail so that we can discuss our experiences and take legal action together with people like us. My e-mail address is obstante@fsmail.net
We must do something about it as I believe that Ludlow Thompson shouldn't be given licence to let properties.
The overpaid commission fees, for example, should be refunded and by not giving it, Ludlow Thompson is abusing its bargaining powers, which is not acceptable in contract law.
Regards
Commented by Customer Services at ludlowthompson on the 12th March 2009
ludlowthompson operates within the professional guidelines of the member bodies of the Association of Residential Letting Agents and the Ombudsman for Estate Agents. The company is in its 15th year of trading, and helps move over 11,000 people across London every year. Customers can see hundreds of reviews from satisfied customers at www.ludlowthompson.com
The aim of a repair service is not for profit but to provide landlords with the ability to meet their obligation to tenants.
We urge any customer with a complaint to get in touch with us via customerservices@ludlowthompson.com
Reviewed by George on 11th November 2007
Services: Lettings (as a Landlord)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: 65D.065.600.C06
Whatever you do, DO NOT use Ludlow Thompson if you are letting property.
Their only interest is in getting their fee. They ignored my instructions, let the flat to an unsuitable tenant for longer than I wanted. Since then, they just don't want to know about it. Late rent? No rent? No action from Ludlow Thompson.
Don't use them.
Commented by Su on the 3rd January 2008
Dear George,
I am concerned to read your comments regarding your lettings experience with Ludlow Thompson. This is certainly not the experience we would wish you to have received and I would thus welcome you contacting me in order that I can investigate this further and resolve your concerns. Please contact me via customerservices@ludlowthompson.com and I will be happy to assist you. Regards, Su
Reviewed by PaulJM on 29th November 2006
Services: Sales (as a Buyer)
Property: Residential
Experience: Would you use the agent again?
No
IP address: W0I.N9C.B4H.DS5
Poor communication, didn't even pass my offers to the vendor. Bypassing Ludlow Thompson helped speeding up the process and I bought the house eventually.
Commented by clemmie on the 7th April 2008
I am writing on behalf of ludlowthompson to invite you to give me your contact details so we can learn more about your particular grievance.
If you are happy for me to contact you, kindly send me your telephone number, the best time of day to contact you and an outline of the issues to me at sucolledge@ludlowthompson.com
I do hope you will give us the chance to address this grievance even if you feel disenchanted with ludlowthompson; what you think is very important to us. We routinely ask every single one of our customers how they feel about our service and in the last year alone we received over 600 'excellent' feedback ratings. That said we do not rest on our laurels; sometimes, like any other business, things can and do go wrong and we are just as keen to hear about this and to resolve matters as far as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Su Colledge
Director
sucolledge@ludlowthompson.com
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Commented by ludlowthompson on the 9th June 2009
Dear Cal
We are sorry that you are clearly not happy with the cost of a clean. This is the standard charge to clean a 4 bedroom house as outlined by the cleaning company. You will be sent a receipt in due course. The clean was undertaken on the advice of the check out clerk.
The cost of breaking the tenancy early as you have done is clearly outlined on your tenancy agreement, it is a charge per change of tenant, which may be one person it may be four. It is not a per person cost.
The deposit is protected by a deposit scheme and if you have issues with deductions made we suggest that you contact them. You would have received details of the scheme at the beginning of the tenancy and they are available through your 'my account' facility as well.
Commented by calblu on the 18th June 2009
HI Ludlow, this is NOT a reasonable cost for a clean, and according to the invoice we were sent, not the Original cost,either.
£430 Pounds for a clean that there was no evidence of?? (When we returned to speak with the new tenants, the windows remained the same, and there was no discernable difference - but this is the common story with Ludlow -Thompson, as per the thousands of complaint on this and other industry websites)
Still, it's up to a Small Claims court to decide this now, i guess....
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