Haart

Judging by other reviews it seems that we have got off quite lightly, having only lost time and been inconvenienced, but that is before we have even signed any agreement!

Haarts sent us a postcard inviting us to consider selling our property through them. I checked out their website and through that applied for a free valation. Later that morning we received a telephone call and an appointment time for the valuation visit was agreed and settled for the following week A couple of hours later, I received a call from Haarts (don't know wether local branch or head office) and the chap said that our valuation visit would have to be cancelled because the branch ( about five miles from us) would no longer be handling property in our area. I accepted that and left it at that.
A day or two later, I received an email from Haarts regretting that we had been unable to keep the appointment but if we were to contact them, a new date and time could be arranged. My reply email informed them of what had happened so far and that I was doubting the credibility of their service. The following day, I received an email from the branch office with a plausible explanation of why the original appointment had been cancelled. It seems that our property is indeed outside of their operational territory so it could not be marketed by them. By email I politely thanked them for their explanation and acknowledged their reasoning.

After a few days, Haarts had disappeared totally from any further considerations that we may have been having regarding the engaement of a local estate agent. Then at dinner time one evening, the telephone rang and I was surprised to hear that it was a member of staff from Haarts inviting us to have a free valuation of our property. I politely explained to her that we had already been turned down as our property was considered outside of Rushden branch territory. She insisted that it was very much in their territory but she would check with her now absent branch manager the following morning and would ring us back. Well, 10 minutes later, she rang back, to say that by a stroke of luck, she had managed to get hold of the branch manager (who was apparantley on holiday) by mobile phone and that the manager had agreed that a valuation and possible marketing of our property would be well within their territorial scope. A valuation appointment was agreed for the following week and I subsequently received an appointment confirmation email from head office, yippee!.

The appointment was for 11 a.m., my wife stayed at home just waiting for the branch manager to turn up for her appointment. Well guess what? No one turned up and no telephone call or apology was received, my wife stayed in and waited until 2 p.m. Half a day wasted, plus all the hours spent prior to that in making the house presentable for the valuation visit. We have received no explanation and do not expect to do so. Sadly it looks as if this agent is going down the pan. This looks like another business in it's death throes, you have been warned!