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Caversham, Reading RG4

2.4/5, 20 Reviews
37% Recommended

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80% letting fee satisfaction

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"They are the worst Letting..."

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1 Star Review
UserName

Beth

UserName

Laura

By : 'Divya'
Services :
Rent PCM : £1450
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG4

4 Mar 2017
People found this helpful3

They are the worst Letting agent I have ever encountered !! I rented a property which was managed by them. At the start of tenancy they will make you to go through the inventory with them and sign the document before handing over the house keys. It took more than four hours to verify that inventory document as it was incorrect and minutely written. It appeared as if they were using the same inventory document from previous years without reviewing it. I found lot of cleaning issues. Beth who came for inventory check-in was very rude and impatient and I complained against her but no action or apologies from their side. They are very lazy when you want to get something repaired. My family was left without heating and hot water for few days and they didn't bother to get someone quickly. I had to complain to the Council against them. I terminated the tenancy as soon as six month are completed. The checkout inventory document was just two page document and without sufficient photos.Now they want to deduct money from the deposit claiming that house requires minor cleaning and not providing sufficient proofs to justify the deductions and I have now raised the dispute against them to get the deposit. They might be good for home owner and definitely won't recommend as a tenant.


Comments on Agent Fees

Agent's fee is competitive to other agents in the are. But then you get what you pay !!

Was this helpful?:

By : Kim Scholes

8 Mar 2017

Thank you for your feedback on our processes and tenancy experience. Although negative comments are never pleasant to hear, we take them on board with the hope to improve our service if we feel it is necessary. We cannot change a personal opinion but equally cannot agree with all comments made by the individual. The purpose of the inventory check in is to start the tenancy with an accurate document which can be used to assist with a smooth return of deposit and termination of tenancy. This intention was reflected by the length of time Beth spent with the individual during the check in appointment, prior to check in tenants are also advised of the potential time scale which varies quite considerably for each case. The document compiled for this particular property consisted of 30 pages of text and approx. 189 photographs, any further notes are respectfully added should it be deemed necessary and it is for this reason we attend to ensure nothing is missed. A written report and various photos were indeed taken at check out, the considered short length of this document purely demonstrates the findings were considered minor and infact a reflection on how well the property was left by the individual. The proposal under discussion at this point was £27.50, this was to cover a final clean to areas which had been innocently overlooked. The tenant refused this and we advised we would have to refer to the landlord for his opinion however the tenant did not wish to wait and raised dispute without warning. After discussions with the landlord over the weekend he agreed to absorb the cost as a final sparkle clean was planned before the next tenancy and amicably conclude the scenario. With this in mind, I wish to confirm this individual has received a full deposit return and try to encourage that negative feedback is given only when the decision is final or unresolved. With regards to the maintenance issue of heating/ hot water during the tenancy, as with all issues, time is needed to resolve them. The particular circumstance mentioned was due to a broken thermostat, a common fault and was promptly tended to by the contractor who ordered the appropriate parts. It was advised the tenants should not set the boiler to the max. temperature as this would cause the system to short circuit and shut off. Each day, the contractor willingly returned to reset the system, despite the fact this advice was not followed as the tenants were not comfortable to do this. To our knowledge the Council has made no contact to validate any poor practice on our part. Our fees will always remain competitive and we strive to offer and address any concerns made. We appreciate that moving home can sometimes be a high stress situation but the tenant has expressed quite aggressive approaches to us on more than one occasion and feel this could have exacerbated the situation when meeting with Beth at check in. Furthermore the negative comments made about Beth were discussed internally and after speaking with the tenant on the phone, we understood to be resolved and closed. Lastly, it is important to note that notice was served during a time which all maintenance was resolved and understood to be due to other reasons not connected to the relationship with Walmsley lettings. We wish the individual all the very best for the future and hope that some of the responses have addressed the comments made.

By : Divya Singhal

8 Mar 2017

(1) During Inventory check-in, it's Beth who was hurrying up and loosing patience and later she left the house rudely. (2) For checkout I did requested for full checkout report but they provided just two page document ( and around 10 photos) because they do not use any independent surveyor and money goes in their pocket. (3) Here is the email which I sent to Walmsey in regard to boiler issue: Hi Sian, I am writing to inform you that my elder son has fallen ill since this morning due to the boiler issue. And I am unable to sleep since Saturday night and now fully exhausted as I have to wake up all night every 1-2 hours to reset boiler. Its a shame that you and your agency is not doing enough to get the issue sorted immediately. The worst bit is we have keep poking you every day and then also you don't do anything and never followup. My wife has been following up since last week to get it sorted. We made you aware that the boiler is not working at all on Saturday, 5 Nov 2016. We called you more than 4 times on Saturday to followup but you called up in evening to inform that contractor won't be able to come that day for repair and requested to wait until Monday. You told us to manually reset the boiler whenever it goes off. I have to wake up after every 1-2 hours whole night to reset it. And then my wife does the same during daytime. My whole family slept without heating on Wednesday Night and this is what will going to happen today as well. I have full rights to know why its been delayed and yet not fixed. I am not in position to go to work tomorrow and would like to know who will going to compensate me for that. I will going to raise a formal complaint at Reading Council tomorrow against the Landlord and Walmsey for negligence of the health and Safety. Please share the contact details of point of contact for next level of escalation. (4) And reply from Walmsey: Good Afternoon Divya, I understand it is difficult time when the boiler is not fully functional, however you must appreciate that you will experience maintenance issues like this regardless if you are renting or own the property.This time of year it is difficult arranging for a contractor to attend within the same day as the report, as you can imagine this time of year there are a lot of boiler break downs and the contractors are fully booked for weeks at a time.When I first received the report on 4th November, an engineer visited the property that evening which was an out of hours appointment.I chased an update for you on Saturday morning and the contractor informed me that he was looking into the part and cost required, this is not easy especially as a lot of the suppliers are closed over the weekend.Saturday afternoon when your wife called, and informed me that the boiler was not working again, I called the contractor again. After a few phone calls back and forth, you spoke with the contractor directly and he advised you how to reset the boiler in order for you to have heating and hot water over the weekend.I chased the quote on Monday and received it later on that day in which I sent over to the landlord for approval. I then received the email from the landlord on Tuesday and gave the contractor the go ahead. He ordered the part and I booked this in directly with your wife for Thursday afternoon once the part had been received. Unfortunately, the contractor got stuck on an emergency all afternoon and I called your wife to ask if he can attend Friday morning (this morning). She was very understanding and said of course that was fine, she then thanked me for all my help and getting it sorted.I understand over this time, you have had to reset the boiler in order to get hot water and heating at the property and this was inconvenient for you however I do believe that I acted in a professional and efficient way to get this sorted for you. I spoke with your wife throughout the entire week to keep her updated and she never expressed any frustration or anger to the situation.You are welcome to contact the Council if you feel that this is necessary, however I believe I acted within a reasonable time. (5) Here is text from the email which Lauren sent me when I asked to justify the deduction, and after receiving this response I raised the dispute: The property is only in need of a minor clean at £27.50 for the hour.I believe that my colleague Sian has responded to you regarding the decking.If we cannot come to an agreement we will have to go to dispute with the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) this can be a very lengthy process.Please let me know what you would like to do moving forward. Kind regards Lauren (6) Summary: I hope it enough to prove who is manipulating and who is telling the truth.


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Latest Reviews
Performance Statistics
ServicesValuationFeesMin Price of property reviewedMax Price of property reviewed
Sales100.00%100%£0£0
Lettings100%80%£825£1,450
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Walmsley Estate Agency
9-11 Bridge StreetReading, Berkshire
RG4 8AA
0118 947 0511

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Walmsley Estate Agency Branches (View All 2)
10 years pretty much no ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'Mike'
Services : 2
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG6

31 May 2025
People found this helpful

10 years pretty much no complaints but once leave this is their view and all in red ink I would also like to make it very clear, that even with the TDS dispute process invoked we will also be initiating civil action even it is just to protect future Landlords from such unreasonable behavior. We... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
Walmsleys Reading: Dishonest ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'Finbar'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG2

7 Feb 2024
People found this helpful0

Walmsley lettings in reading are the most dishonest and misleading agent I have ever let with. Upon check in, we took many photos of the property, but were advised by our agent Lauren that we didn’t need to be so worried about being charged for every little thing, as walmsleys... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
I have been with Walmsley for ...

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4 Star Review

By : 'Lila'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £1150
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG1

14 May 2020
People found this helpful0

I have been with Walmsley for about 4/5 years now and would say they're the best agency I have rented with. Their service is always timely, whenever there are any maintenance issues, their response is fast and efficient usually sending out a contractor within 1-2 days. The quarterly visits... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
Excellent ...

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5 Star Review
UserName

By : 'Mike'
Services : Sales( As a Vendor )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG4

28 Dec 2018
People found this helpful0

Walmsley Estate Agents provide the service we anticipated and expected when we put our home of 36 years on the market in early 2018. From initial contact through valuation, marketing, viewings and ultimate management of the actual sales process we were treated most efficiently and with... Read Full Review


Comments on Agent Fees

For the work done, the efficiency shown the result achieved the fee was reasonable

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
Excellent ...

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5 Star Review
UserName

UserName

By : 'Mr'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £825
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG4

1 Jul 2018
People found this helpful0

We have recently used Walmsley to find a new tenant for our flat, Janet and Bethany were superb throughout the entire process and nothing was too much trouble,the process all went smoothly with communication second to... Read Full Review

Comments (1)Was this helpful?:

By : MR DOUGLAS

1 Jul 2018

Sorry, forgot to mention Katie, who was involved with the letting process , again, excellent...

Recently I have purchased and ...

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5 Star Review

By : 'Maxx'
Services : Sales( As a Buyer )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG4

2 Dec 2017
People found this helpful0

Recently I have purchased and rented a flat in Caversham, and it`s only thanks to the efforts of the staff of this agency,that the protracted sale went through, also with in 14 days after completion they had found good Tenants for the flat, with the paperwork and inventory all carried out... Read Full Review


Comments on Agent Fees

Good

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
I am renting through Walmsley ...

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5 Star Review
UserName

By : 'Stefano'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG1

14 Jul 2017
People found this helpful1

I am renting through Walmsley and I had a great experience with them. They seem to care about the tenants, maintaining an open channel for any issue or... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
As landlords, we feel ...

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1 Star Review
UserName

By : 'Zebedee'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG4

5 Apr 2017
People found this helpful7

As landlords, we feel completely let down by Walmsley. Firstly, they failed to investigate what proved to be illegal subletting by the tenants (as later confirmed by many official letters found at the house addressed to people not living there). We were alerted to the subletting by neighbours'... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
They are the worst Letting ...

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1 Star Review
UserName

UserName

By : 'Divya'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Rent PCM : £1450
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG4

4 Mar 2017
People found this helpful3

They are the worst Letting agent I have ever encountered !! I rented a property which was managed by them. At the start of tenancy they will make you to go through the inventory with them and sign the document before handing over the house keys. It took more than four hours to verify that... Read Full Review


Comments on Agent Fees

Agent's fee is competitive to other agents in the are. But then you get what you pay !!

Comments (2)Was this helpful?:

By : Kim Scholes

8 Mar 2017

Thank you for your feedback on our processes and tenancy experience. Although negative comments are never pleasant to hear, we take them on board with the hope to improve our service if we feel it is ...

I wanted to thank the entire ...

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5 Star Review

By : 'Maciej'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : RG6

27 Mar 2014
People found this helpful1

I wanted to thank the entire Walmsley for the management of the property. Because the house we rented requires frequent repairs we reported the issues to them and didn't have to be repeated - Just call once and briefly get call back from professional repairs - was sorted out every... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
I am incredibly unhappy with ...

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1 Star Review
UserName

By : 'Mariana'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG1

9 Dec 2013
People found this helpful2

I am incredibly unhappy with Walmsley. We were sharing a house with a mentally unstable man who started agressively shouting at 2 am. Our guess is that he was autistic. Walmsley ignored the problem and waited for us to forget about it. I had to call the police because I feared for my life. Walmsley ... Read Full Review


What agent could do to change your mind?

If they had been clear that I would be staying outside of the campus (about 30 min walk from my workplace -they assured me it would be a 5 min walk) or if they had been transparent about the time I had to leave the property and not ignored me I wouldn\'t be so pissed. I had to pay extra not to sleep on the street or in the airport...after I had been very clear about my flight date and done everything with half a year in advance....that doesn\'t seem normal in an agency that \"works harder for you\".

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A week had lapsed after ...

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1 Star Review
UserName

UserName

By : 'Tenant'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG4

13 May 2013
People found this helpful0

A week had lapsed after signing the contract and only two days before the move, Walmsley changed their mind about the agreement saying that the potential tenant, who had just come out of hospital, was not a suitable source of rental income. They could have decided this on the day that they met her... Read Full Review


What agent could do to change your mind?

Walmsley could have taken the time to discuss the issue further; we offered a 6-month upfront rental payment which was not communicated to the land-lord. For surety it is stipulated that the tenant should earn 2.5 times the amount of rent per annum, the tenant was fully covered by her own salary and on top of this her children would also sign as guarantor. Walmsley staff could process a little faster so that their tenants could know in advance whether they will be moving or not.

Comments (1)Was this helpful?:

By : Walmsley

14 May 2013

We would like to confirm that the above has now been satisfied and copy in below the response from the complainant. Also, we would like to correct a few points mentioned; 1. The flat was not...

This company has low morals ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'Sarah'
Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG4

29 Apr 2013
People found this helpful4

This company has low morals and acts unprofessionally. We were treated badly by one agent in their office and he was quite disrespectful and condescending implying we had insufficient funds and that we should buy a new house when we specifically said we were looking for a period property.They do... Read Full Review

Comments (1)Was this helpful?:

By : walmsley

15 May 2013

We are sorry that you feel you have had a bad experience We strive to give all our customers the very best service and we have a good response from the hundreds of people we deal with on a yearly...

Unhelpful and uncooperative ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'disappointed'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : RG1

21 Mar 2013
People found this helpful2

Unhelpful and uncooperative when problems occur, completely landlord rather tenant focused, try to charge for damage that they listed in inventory. Please, however great a property you may have seen that they have, however desperate you may be, avoid Wamsley, because you will regret using... Read Full Review


What agent could do to change your mind?

Been helpful and shown a pro-active attitude when we had problems, not tried to rip us off from our security deposit.

Comments (1)Was this helpful?:

By : Walmsley

9 May 2013

Hello, We feel it important to respond to your comments as were we disappointed to hear that your experience with us was unsatisfactory. As you know, our check out findings have been referred to...

Really terrible, bad and non ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'Imran'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No

7 Nov 2012
People found this helpful0

Really terrible, bad and non professional. Please don't use them for anything whether letting, buying etc etc otherwise you will keep moaning till the end of the... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
terrible service, bad ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'worry'
Services : Surveying
Would you recommend ? : No

21 Jun 2011
People found this helpful1

terrible service, bad communication, can't keep promiss, push all matters to our buyer side, end result big big solicitor bill to us. never use them... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
[[EDIT ORIGINAL START]] Do ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'minus220'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No

5 Apr 2011
People found this helpful1

[[EDIT ORIGINAL START]] Do not trust Walmsley agents. They will not listen to your complaints; fix anything and when you have finally had enough of them you will be ripped off for cleaning and repairs that don't need doing. One in particular to look out for is JENNY STARK who will illegally add... Read Full Review

Comments (1)Was this helpful?:

By : Walmsley

3 Oct 2011

At Walmsley Estate Agency we pride ourselves in treating Tenants and Landlords alike in a fair and considerate manner. We have never had, or will have, the intention of proposing unfounded deductions ...

Rude on first approach. Kept ...

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1 Star Review

By : 'nothappy'
Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer )
Would you recommend ? : No

23 Feb 2011
People found this helpful1

Rude on first approach. Kept arranging viewing appointments then phoning to change both the time and the name of person who would attend to show the property. Not honest about why property was on market. Prepared to actively participate in gazumping. Need I say more? Totally unscrupulous.... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
Unprofessional and ...

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2 Star Review

By : 'Annoyed'
Services : Sales( Prospective Vendor/Buyer )
Would you recommend ? : No

1 Feb 2008
People found this helpful0

Unprofessional and... Read Full Review

Comments (0)Was this helpful?:
Nice people - fast & flexible ...

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5 Star Review

By : 'ghuss1'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes

8 Dec 2007
People found this helpful0

Nice people - fast & flexible... Read Full Review

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Awards won by Walmsley Estate Agency, Reading RG4 8AA