Marsh & Parsons Acton Estate Agents

Very nice
Jan 22nd, 2023

Sep 24th, 2022

Very friendly, knowledgeable of the area and market. They have a great network in West London and include their Web of colleagues in promoting the area and your property
Jul 22nd, 2022

We are landlords and self manage our properties way better than any agent ever has done in the past, as our tenants will testify. We use agents to find our tenants and collect the rent and protect the deposit. Marsh & Parsons used to good some 10 years ago but not since they sold out - the decline has been steady and they need to take a long hard look at themselves. Also all their processing goes through a central office which are a real nightmare to deal with. Unfortunately this office, Askew Road, let us down badly with our last tenants, through hurried and poor reference checks. The previous tenants had to break their company contract but were still liable for a further 12 months rent. Commission gleamed in the eyes of the M&P letting agent and he grabbed at the first tenant he found, encouraging us that he had passed all his checks with flying colours. The agent did not share the actual reference checks with us, that later uncovered many questions, eg how long was he at his last rental - answer not sure less than 6 months. Did they speak to the landlord and get a written reference....no they called him using the mobile number the prospective tenant had given him. Did they check who had owned that property,...no - turns out a company in Guernsey - the list is long. It wasn't until he stopped paying the rent that we demanded to see the reference checks - be insistent on seeing these and do your own homework too. Be aware that they will tell the tenant the landlord wants a 3 year contract with a two year break clause and they will tell the landlord the tenant wants a 3 year contract with a 2 year break clause. This is very often not the case at all! This is not a good contract to have in the event the tenant falls behind on rent. M&P simply want a two year minimum contract so they can take all their fees in the first year for both years. Also be aware that in a situation such as ours the agency is obliged to pay back commission on rent not received. This agency were telling us as a gesture of goodwill they would return 15 months commission already taken in advance - only when the tenant left. This is not the case - it is your right and is no gesture of goodwill! Their comments on this matter made me see red! I recommend you find a reputable agent such as Fletchers or Dexters in this same area who share everything with you reference wise, including passport details which M&P refused (suspect they never checked) and they take their commission monthly. Any issues take your case to The Property Ombudsman. We have just had the result from the Property Ombudsman October 2022 The Property Ombudsman found evidence that Marsh & Parsons; 1. Marsh & Parsons regard the signature of the Tenancy Agreement as acceptance of references. 2. Marsh & Parsons encouraged the Complainants to sign the Tenancy Agreement before references had come back. 3. No evidence that informed the Complainants that the Tenant was self-employed at the outset of the tenancy. 4. No evidence that Marsh & Parsons informed the Complainants of the additional checks they were undertaking alongside the reference report as a result of the Tenants self-employed status. 5. Marsh & Parsons second complaint response was not provided within 15 working days. Marsh & Parsons have not, therefore, met the Code requirements (1d, 2a, 2b,11g and 19f) and I, therefore, support the complaint to this limited extent. We were awarded of 400. This is considered a very high award from the Property Ombudsman by real estate agents - if we had declined the offer, we could take them to the Smalls Claims Court to settle the 9K we were out of pocket. We would have liked to take it further but not being based in the UK made that difficult. M&P declined to increase the award as a gesture of goodwill and we would remain silent on the outcome. They did not want to increase their offer. On other properties we rent - Fletchers and Martin & Co have proved to have exceptionally high standards thus far.
Nov 29th, 2022

I am posting this as a warning to potential tenants/landlords. I used to be a tenant of Marsh & Parsons (not of this branch, which makes the below even stranger) and cant say I experienced any issues. However, I now keep receiving emails about a rented property I dont live in, and have never lived in. Recently I was asked to confirm if I was available for a gas safety appointment. Now I am being asked to pay rent. In the process Marsh & Parsons have provided me with the personal details of the person who actually lives there! It is not beyond the realm of possibility that I could have used this information to gain access to the property, especially considering that the tenancy manager told me they had me down as a tenant at the property!!! It is an unbelievable data privacy violation - if I were the tenant Id be furious. This company obviously cannot be trusted with personal data.
Nov 2nd, 2022