The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry
The UK's Largest Customer Review Website for the Property Industry

4.6/5, 21 Reviews
81% Recommended
100% sales valuation accuracy
73% letting valuation accuracy
100% sales fee satisfaction
88% letting fee satisfaction

Riaan

Melisha
By : 'Denis'
Services :
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : SW8
I'm an overseas investor. Through GJ, I had rented out an apartment in Central London to 2 tenants. I have highlighted below my personal experiences with GJ agency for the past 18 months. For ease of reference, I have also broken the key characteristics of my case into sub catagories: Contract / Miscellaneous - To begin with, the contract was not correctly and clearly drawn up insofar as the referencing is concerned. One of the tenants claimed to be on high salary although this individual did not contribute to the rent payment. I was blinded by this fact but urged to sign the contract. It rolled over as usual in the first 9 months. There after, problematic situations and incidents arose. For instance, non paying rent on time, suspicion to have been sub-letting etc. This was on top of the consistent incorrect monthly statement from GJ which were full of accounting errors. If I had not double confirmed the figures, I would have obtained and received less rent! On a separate note, there was an agreement between myself as the landlord, the developer and GJ for all charges like residential ground rent and service charge to be cleared from deduction of rent received. Some months ago, a member of the GJ Agency who was responsible for this agreement had departed, and she has not made the payment prior and as a result the developer had imposed a late payment fee for which GJ made me clear the charge, when it was clearly their error of oversight. Approaching the break clause period at around month 12th, Riaan Kruger, The Head of Sales and Lettings reassured me that he would be able to handle and resolve all upcoming and ongoing problems. Who then asked myself to extend the contract. I extended the contract as a good will gesture and then the nightmare began. Loss - From month 13 onwards, the tenants refused to pay any rent. As a result, they have not been paying rent for 7 months straight. To-date, I have suffered and am loosing out on over £23,660.00. Eviction - During the course of eviction, one of GJ's agents filed a section 8 for eviction of tenants but had the date incorrectly calculated. This had only been identified by my lawyer and as a result another section 8 was resubmitted causing a delay of 6 weeks. Throughout the 7 long months of non payment, GJ remained neutral about the severity of the situation and only acted passive and did absolutely nothing, Riaan Kruger claimed the tenants wouldn't speak to him. Despite numerous requests, the intention to step in and handle and resolve the situation was never present. There were no visit to the apartment as required to investigate the situation further. Reaching the 7th month of non payment, on a Friday night, the tenants suddenly sent me an anonymous email saying that they had vacated the apartment and left the door unlocked and open with no keys returned. I immediately contacted GJ but there was no response until a few hours later but Melisha Pall, The Property Manager would not do anything until the coming Monday. So I then called the developer's management company and let them know the exact situation and requested for emergency assistance. I then contacted Another Agent of mine for assistance who immediately came to the rescue and made a visit to my apartment the same night who also made sure everything was reviewed throughly. It was late Friday evening and a relatively breezy night and I was grateful to that particular Agent. The next day on Saturday morning the other Agent also changed the lock for the main door (Melisha Pall refused to do so, claiming the email might be fictitious despite the apartment was confirmed vacated and door opened), took photos and carried out inspected to the damage and defects to the apartment. The next week, GJ visited and claimed the apartment was in good condition, despite the factual truth of the apartment was in a terrible state with broken items and residue lying about, missing dining table/chairs, in extremely poor state and shape about the apartment with deep stains all over the beds and carpets. But still, all Melisha Pall cared about and kept on questioning was when I would instruct GJ to re-market the property. Court Day - Nearer to the court date, I connected GJ to my lawyer. Being overseas, I could only rely on GJ as my management agent for court attendance. Melisha Pall initially agreed to attend but only a few days before the court day she informed how she would not be able to attend and even questioned if I myself could attend. I replied, No I would most definitely not be able to attend as I was not in the UK and then after some persuasion, she somehow then re-agreed to attend. On the day of the trial, GJ only produced a piece of paper for 7 months' rent arrears totalling £23,660.00 to the court case. But this was wrong because they forgot to add the overdue charges as stipulated in the contract. When questioned, GJ replied it was the responsible of the lawyer to inform the court on the charges as they have a copy of the contract. Could you believe this? Claim of Management Fees - Would you believe GJ also requested for their management fees in for the 7 months of non a payment tendency, when I have not acquired a penny! They also wish to do so by deducting the fees sum 'illegally' from the deposit, which is kept for specific purposes, rather than for payment of management fees. I voice out all of my personal experience above as a break-through, I do not wish any landlords or tenants in future to suffer such horrid experiences with GJ letting agency. The above case is factual and authentic, nothing but my traumatic experiential truth. Being an overseas investor, and not being able to personally be on-top of your investments, this is truly a horrendously horrible experience, I have lost all faith in GJ agency. For which I hope to share my disgusted experience with fellow readers so that hopefully none would struggle the familiarity for such a distressing experience like my case for the past 7 long months.
Bad - not value for money
| Services | Valuation | Fees | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 100.00% | 100% | £0 | £0 |
| Lettings | 73% | 88% | £600 | £3,380 |
Garton Jones
9 Albert Embankment, London, Greater London
SE1 7SP
0207 735 1888

By : 'Michael'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £3380
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
Very Helpful. Well organised and professional approach. I have dealt with Garton Jones for many years for both sales and lettings. They are the... Read Full Review


By : 'Anneliese'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW1
Wonderful to work with and highly recommend. Took care of everything I needed quickly and made it easy. Communication was great and solved... Read Full Review

By : 'Maggie'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW1
We originally bought our flat from Garton Jones some years ago and had really good service from Tom. We are now renting the flat through GT and have had excellent service from start to finish. Vanessa has done anything we asked. We could not have wanted anything more. ... Read Full Review
I have nothing to compare to but they seem reasonable for the amount of work they have done for us.
By : 'Juana'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : SW8
They are so supportive, they reply really fast and they catch up with everything as soon as they can. Everything went smooth and the flat that I got through them is amazing. I recommend... Read Full Review


By : 'A0'M'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW11
Excellent and efficient service. Our property was rented very quickly, the follow up was very professional and the rates were... Read Full Review
Fair


By : 'sham'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW8
Great service, highly recommended. Very quick to find tenants, very easy to work with. Would use them for all my London... Read Full Review
good - reasonable fees

By : 'SharonO'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW8
Riann and his team are great. I have utilised their services for many years now for both my family's and my own properties. This has included finding 3 sets of tenants within the last 6 months. I have recommended them to a number of people and they have been pleased at the services provided... Read Full Review
Very competitive
By : 'PityaboutBrexit'
Services : Sales( As a Vendor )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW11
Great service in an otherwise difficult market place. Tom and Riaan secured the buyer and made the process seamless and as pain free as possible. Great team - many... Read Full Review

By : 'ChrisK'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
Proactive, client focused,people who solve problems not create them. They manage issues promptly and effectively without you having to micro manage them! Riaan the manager is outstanding with a great 'can do' attitude. If only all Managing agents were like... Read Full Review
Fair


By : 'Tash'
Services : Sales( As a Vendor )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
Riaan & Joe took full responsibility for helping sell our flat in a difficult property market. They provided advice and assistant and were always at the end of the phone. Thank you so much for all of your hard... Read Full Review


By : 'Andy'
Services : Sales( As a Vendor )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
We moved over to Garton Jones after having a bad experience with our previous agents trying to sell out flat in Vauxhall. Riaan filled us with confidence and did not fail to impress. Riaan and Joe worked hard at securing us an offer in a difficult market. They kept us informed on all aspects of the ... Read Full Review

By : 'CJ'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £600
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW8
Riaan has been instrumental in helping me transition over to Garton Jones. Having had a terrible experience with my last letting agent, I find working with Riaan a breath of fresh air. Our interactions are professional and he has gone beyond the call of duty in an effort to assist me with my... Read Full Review


By : 'Denis'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : SW8
I'm an overseas investor. Through GJ, I had rented out an apartment in Central London to 2 tenants. I have highlighted below my personal experiences with GJ agency for the past 18 months. For ease of reference, I have also broken the key characteristics of my case into sub... Read Full Review
Bad - not value for money
By : 'residentK'
Services : Sales( As a Buyer )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW11
We bought a property at Embassy Gardens, excellent service from Patrick & Riaan. The property had been marketed by several other agents but Garton Jones were by far the most professional, responsive, genuine and helpful. Thank... Read Full Review

By : 'Jnbooth'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : SE1
Haima Dos Santos and the entire Garton Jones team were a pleasure to work with. Haima was always pleasant and worked hard to find what I was requesting. I eventually rented the perfect flat for my... Read Full Review

By : 'K'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW8
The team that I got in touch with to find the perfect place for renting was very helpful and friendly. I contacted from overseas and could easily get work done with lots of useful information and recommendations without any delay. Whenever inquiries were made, she always came back promptly with... Read Full Review


By : 'Michael'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Rent PCM : £3380
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
All the staff including admin are very helpful, super efficient and provide the most professional service I have ever known. Would thoroughly recommend this agency over and above the... Read Full Review
Very fair


By : 'LL'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : No
Postcode : SE11
I had a very poor experience with this franchise. In my opinion they seem to take a long time to rent or sell, especially for London. I know of at least 2 apartments that took ,months upon months to sell/rent, with them having to drop the price before it sold... Maybe if it was valued correctly... Read Full Review
N/A
By : Jane
31 Jul 2017I do not work for Garton Jones but as a blonde I object to your review and your inability to spell or use commas...


By : 'Clarity'
Services : Letting( As a Owner )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SE1
We are happy with Garton Jones. They are professional,friendly, provide good service and able to get good tenants in a short... Read Full Review

By : 'Hugo'
Services : Letting( As a Tenant )
Would you recommend ? : Yes
Postcode : SW8
Haima and Dominique are excellent and professional Agents. It has been an absolute delight to deal with them. I was highly impressed with their professionalism and correctness. The whole team was exceptional, each contributing with her own strengths to the... Read Full Review
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