I had a very bad experience with the Nicholas Humphreys Sales team, Reading; particularly Mr Garcha who was our point of contact for the purchase of the property. He asked me to pay £2000 deposit initially to confirm that we were not time wasters. We signed the contract and paid £2000 as we seriously wanted to buy that property. Once we signed the initial contract, after one month or so, he repeatedly phoned and warned me every time saying that, the process was going very slow and the seller was not happy about it. And, if the seller pulls out the property, that would be my fault and I would lose the £2000 deposit. In addition to that, he expected me to answer his every call every time as if i have no other things to do in my life. He would come up with this random completion dates and threaten both buyer and the buyer’s solicitor without knowing how far the process has actually gone. In my case, banks were taking more time than usual to survey the property, and other necessary paperwork were also taking longer than before which could possibly be due to the pandemic. Still, he didn’t show any appreciation about the current situation. Instead, he kept on suspecting the buyer and complaining about the buyer’s solicitor. During the purchase, there were few issues on the property that I wanted the seller to sort out before exchanging the contract. Mr Garcha confirmed verbally in phone saying that the seller will sort out those issues, and I would not need to worry. I sent him an email to confirm me in writing but he never did that and always told me verbally that the seller is not stupid and he would not do it until the contract has been exchanged. When I did the enquiry right before exchanging the contract, he said that the seller is a very trusted customer of them and he will fix the issues as soon as the contract is exchanged. He kept on pushing me to complete the purchase in a hurried manner by telling that the seller could pull out any time and the small issues could always be addressed later. I did as he said trusting his words and the reputation of the Nicholas Humphreys. A week later when I went to check the property, things were still the same as it was earlier and none of the issues were addressed by the seller. I called Mr Garcha immediately and informed him about that unfinished job. He spoke very rudely when I told him about those issues that we spoke earlier. He started to pretend as if he doesn’t know anything at all .When I told him I have also an email to show as a proof of my request, he straight away asked if I received any reply? I said yes your phone call. He said that doesn’t count. I didn’t had any as he never send anything in writing. He ended up the call saying that is not his issue anymore, and his company will not do it on the behalf of the seller although the seller promised earlier. He was like a con man to us which we found out very late. During the process, If you asked something over an email he will not reply in writing instead he would call you so that he would not leave any evidence and never reply email. We didn’t know this until we found out and it was too late. Overall, it was a very bad experience. We only sticked with him because we really liked the property and we didn’t want to miss this stamp duty exemption. I would never use them again and wouldn’t suggest anyone to use them at all. They are very bad in terms of their service and never trust their words. Please do compare with other agents and you will know what I am saying. Please do not ever pay an initial deposit until you get every terms and conditions in writing, it’s a Big TRAP! They will use to intimidate you and make the decisions in their favour. Please always communicate in writing. I will say do not receive their call at all. Do everything in writing, this way you have everything in writing and he cannot fool you. And also be careful with these kind of sellers.