Choices Estate Agents Ltd - www.choices.co.uk

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Choices Estate Agents Ltd - www.choices.co.uk
★★☆☆☆
2.3
37.0% of users recommend this
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Latest Reviews

“Never use this company ”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Hawkins79 on 07/07/2021

Problems from the beginning where this property was not fit for purpose, was incorrectly fixed and dangerous. No support for us as tenants and problems go round in circles from one shop to another and passed onto different staff which leave regularly. I have rented a lot over the years and by far this was the worst experience I have ever encountered, quite shocking . Pleased to be out and will definitely not recommend this company. I don’t have any positive comments on this.

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Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Never again”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Ashlynn1954 on 23/07/2018

Been a landlady through Choices for the last 17 months and all they caused me was trouble. And I had to pay for this privilege. We chose full management so we thought we would have less hassle but we ended up dealing with the tenant directly. First month they stated that the tenant didn't pay the rent then 2 weeks later it miraculously appeared, they got the shower fixed which broke the following day, I kept finding unauthorised random charges on the invoice, they don't reply to your e-mails and when you call they promise to call you back which they never do and so on.

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Was this review helpful? 7 0

“Very poor agent. Many issues some major some minor...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by 394Dudley on 27/11/2014

Very poor agent. Many issues some major some minor but all together make them seem as though Choices did not really care. Two large problems, although Choices said they could increase the monthly rental, I declined as I was content with the payment and it would cause our tenant problems. However Choices still went ahead and increased the rental (without telling me) and thus arrears built up. The second, our tenet left in May leaving damage to the property, they did not dispute my claim. However some 6 months later I am still waiting Choices to issue any paperwork, money or even reply to me. Best to avoid this agent

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Was this review helpful? 3 0

“Awful beyone belief”

★☆☆☆☆

written by laralamb on 28/08/2014

My wife and I trusted this company with our former home.. but have been badly let down...by awful service..in fact mostly no service...promises not kept...people not returning calls and not sorting out problems not doing proper checks on tenants..and please do not blame other parties..this is what we paid a lot of money for.. my wife has an auto immune illness I have a heart condition.. we have no property...we have had no rent...we now have stress...problems and i could have dont better myself by getting a stranger off the street to rent my property.. Kirk de-ste-croix

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Was this review helpful? 3 0

“Dont Use Them”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Lyricn477 on 14/08/2014

Don`t use them. Lazy and rude people. i just lost £500

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Was this review helpful? 4 0

“HASSLE FREE AGENT!”

★★★★★

written by AhmedHassoneh on 23/05/2014

I have been dealing with Asa and the team in Brighton with my recent move. The Team are always in contact and make things very easy for me. When you register to find a property their team will call regularly and make sure that you know when a new property comes available. If i were a landlord i would be happy to have them as my agent as they look after tenants really well.

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Was this review helpful? 1 2

“DO NOT USE!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Justice1975 on 05/03/2014

This has been the worst experience ever! do not use Choices! after decided to buy a property overseas in Hungary with Choices, i thought they would help with the stages to the end, but NO! they robbed me of my money! and many others. They gave promises and agreed contracts with Uni-Credit bank to organised the mortgage, deposits and told me everything is was fine and it was not. If there is anyone out there who brought a Hungary property through choices contact me.

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Sptut's Comment

Written on: 11/04/2014

i thought the worst were HOMES FOR YOU ! Anyone else had problems with them? they dont belong to any scheme because they are dishonest people to say the least

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Janebiggins's Comment

Written on: 17/07/2018

How can I contact you???

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

Choices Acquisitions (to which you refer rather than estate agents) are members of The Property Ombudsman scheme and are committed to treating customers fairly. We are not perfect but will deal with any complaints in accordance with our complaints procedure and are willing to submit our files to the Ombudsman in the case that we cannot satisfy a complaint. We have many genuine good reviews on the biggest independent UK Estate Agent review site. I am more than happy to deal with complaints direct if you have not already been directed to our complaints procedure.

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Was this review helpful? 2 0

“LANDLORDS BEWARE - SMALL PRINT STEALING”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 03/01/2014

I am a landlord with several properties that I have rented out for over 20 years and in all this time I have never had the misfortune of dealing with such unprofessional duplicitous agents. DO NOT AGREE TO ANY PRIMARY tenancy which they do not outline UNTIL after you agree to having a tenant from them- This is a tenancy where they act as the landlord taking tenant's money and then taking their made up non agreed fees from the tenants payments. Supposedly to keep my address anonymous- why - also the tenant had my address on a copy of the gas inspection certificate so what a joke- another pathetic lie They then try it on with expecting an additional 10% fee on each anniversary that your tenant stays- WHAT FOR - when queried I was told this was an incentive for the Choices team to get long term tenants - what a cheek how they can possibly think any landlord would agree to this. Check all invoices you are sent as they over charged me on everything I cannot believe that they are allowed to be in business AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS THEY will not show you the T&CS its all hard sale until the tenant is in place then nothing I am taking legal action and reporting them to all official Estate agent organisations they say they belong to

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Sptut's Comment

Written on: 11/04/2014

so many letting agencies are the same ! its a shame there is little regulation

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Africanqueen75's Comment

Written on: 29/06/2021

Couldn't agree more. Even with an Assured Primary |Tenancy of over 10 years they threaten to evict my tenants. They even have the cheek to ask for 12 months letting fees so that I can leave them and take over the letting of my own house.
Their Terms and Conditions do not include a Termination clause allowing you to leave them unlike other agents.
It is "till death do us part"

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Laralamb's Comment

Written on: 16/02/2015

i am also doing the same.. can you contact me please..

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

Choices Primary Tenancy is a unique service offering considerable advantages to 80% of our Landlords without extra charge. I am sorry if this has not been of benefit to you or you have not been properly advised on the benefits but I am more than happy to deal with you directly if I can be of further assistance. Alternatively we have a formal complaints procedure and are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme and if I am unable to satisfy your complaint you may escalate it to the Ombudsman free of charge who will give an impartial view on the complaints. Choices branch network is currently number 2 on the biggest independent UK Estate Agent review site out of over 12000 agents and last year we won. Do co ntact me if I can be of further help.

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Poppy345's Comment

Written on: 02/07/2014

So much for your help, you have ignored many emails from me and finally came back with a load of lies and threats- as Head of Legal at Choices you act unprofessionally and also lie See you in Court cant wait

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Laralamb's Comment

Written on: 18/07/2014

i have just had a very bad encounter with can you please ring me, need to discuss the above thanks

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Laralamb's Comment

Written on: 16/02/2015

same here she never ever got back to us.

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Was this review helpful? 4 0

“Best in Crawley”

★★★★★

written by on 27/11/2013

Choices helped me out big time when i needed them especially the person we spoke to who was very helpful.

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“Cannot agree more with all the negative reviews. This...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 18/07/2013

Cannot agree more with all the negative reviews. This company is in business purely to take money hard working people. They will attempt to lie and cheat money out of you and will only back down when you start legal action. They know they are in the wrong but obviously some people just walk away and as such they continue to push their luck. Get all documents checked by solicitor before signing, its worth the £50 so they don't trick you out of fees for doing no work. Their contracts are full of terms for getting your cash for no work. Just refuse to sign or walk away. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY THEM, STAND YOUR GROUND.

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

It is not clear if this comment is from a tenant or landlord, or indeed what the issues are but Choices are committed to treating customers fairly and although we are not perfect Choices branch network is currently number 2 on the biggest independent UK Estate Agent review site out of over 12000 agents and last year we won. If there is a genuine complaint that needs addressing do please use our complaints procedure or email me.

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Was this review helpful? 2 0

“Hassle Hassle Hassle”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 13/06/2013

This Estate Agent gives Estate Agents a bad name. They hassle non stop without being asked. I have received numerous letters from them offering their services in finding me a new tenant. I don't know how they found my name and address as the landlord of the property but they did. They have written to me at least six times, at my home address and at my tenant's address. I have my own agent. I even have a new tenant. I have faxed them and sent their letters back but still they keep coming. it is like talking to a brick wall. They have bad reviews and I would never use their services. Beware. Stay away. Find your own Agent. You have been warned !

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

I am sorry if you feel you have been contacted unnecessarily, you can of course register to take yourself off any mailing lists and there are many sites if you do a web search that can help you with that. Choices branch network is currently number 2 on the biggest independent UK Estate Agent review site out of over 12000 agents and last year we won. We have a huge database of tenants and a reputation for filling properties quickly and without fuss. Dont knock it til you try it!

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“Thank You Choices ”

★★★★★

written by matmarcus on 22/05/2013

They couldn't have been more helpful! They had everything sorted in a timely manor for me and were a lot friendly than other agent that i came across in Sutton

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Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Great at getting a tenant in, charges galore thereafter!”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 02/05/2013

As a Landlord contracted up with Choices in Redhill I thought it only fair to warn people, STEER CLEAR OF CHOICES! On a plus point they seem to be very quick to get a tenant in, but thereafter the service and your bank balance goes downhill fast! They charge for EVERYTHING! Changing a tenant can cost $400-£500 plus the 10% management fee. Admittedly some within that are necessary, Inventory and Deposit registration, but others are way over the top, check in/out fees for example, that they charge both Landlords & tenants too! Tenants be warned too, I know of one tenant who was charged £80 just to move the day the rent was paid from the 1st to the 3rd of the month. Both Tenant and Landlord get suckered in, only to find we are stuck having to pay numerous and creative fees. Each one covered by a wonderful little clause buried in some small print somewhere! And thats the problem, even if you try to cancel they take the annual fee in advance and is non-refundable, even if the tenant moves out early! so do you cut your losses or let them put another tenant in, either way you lose money!! They have you sign a Primary Tenancy Agreement. Its a VAT/Tax dodge for them but they sell it as a means of concealing your identity, as only Choices face the tenant, personally I have no problem my tenants knowing who I am, in fact I have have a better relationship if I deal with them directly as Choices tarnish it with their actions. It also means the tenant is theirs so cancelling them means you lose the tenant, so if you rid yourself of a bad agent you may have to lose a perfectly decent tenant! Staff turnover seems to be high too, I never know who I am talking to down there. Plus former staff have verified Choices do not have the customers interest foremost, merely extraction of as much money as they can get away with. This is a company whos reputation is spreading, amongst Landlords and tenants, one which will see the business decline with time. Be warned.... I rue the day I signed with them and when I can disintangle myself from them I will!! Don't make my mistake!

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

Obviously I do not know the specific details of your complaints, and if you wish to make a genuine complaint please do use our complaints procedure during which I would try to resolve any issues and thereafter if you remain dissatisfied you can escalate your complaint to the Property Ombudsman who would review your complaint free of charge. Much of the information in your comment is not correct and I would be more than happy to correct those mis-assumptions or statements from you in order that this can be corrected, please feel free to check any of those with me. We are a large agent with mainly good reviews.

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“LANDLORDS BEWARE”

★★☆☆☆

written by Mr_Johnson234 on 23/03/2013

Choices have a very sneaky clause in their contracts which all landlords need to watch out for. It states in the T&C's that at the beginning of a 12 month period the landlord must pay 10% management fees upfront and is non-refundable. On the surface this might sound reasonable but the reality is quite different. For example, if a tenant moves into your property on 1st January 2013 it means that on every anniversary of this date you pay 10% management fees upfront. If you ever decide you want to ask your tenant to leave and sell the property you only have 1 DAY A YEAR in which to do so without ending up paying Choices for services unused. That 1 day is two months before the 1st January so the 1st November (as you have to give the tenant 2 months notice). If you give the tenant notice to leave on 2nd November meaning he leaves the property on 2nd January, Choices will charge you the full 10% management fee for the forthcoming year even though the tenant will theoretically only be there for 1 day! If you hand your tenant notice before the 1st November then you will not have any of the 10% management fee you paid up front returned to you. Watch out, the charge is ethically immoral and will easily catch people out as it is buried deep within their T&C's. If you need evidence just ask for a copy of their letting T&C's, it's all there.

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Stephanieprior's Response to Mr_Johnson234's Review

Written on: 13/05/2014

This comment is technically incorrect, and indeed although many agents charge annual fees on a renewable basis, and this will be no surprise to seasoned professionals, there are many and varied reasons and times when those fees can be changed, renegotiated or cancelled and you should always try and speak to your branch manager in the first instance but if you have no success can escalate your complaint to me via our complaints procedure. We have many good reviews. If you have a genuine complaint however do not hesitate to contact me direct.

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“poor service and high costs”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 11/01/2013

i use choices to rent out a few properties, they effectively lock you in using Primary tenancies where they are the tenant and then sublet. this means the tenants "belong to them". however all the costs are passed on to the landlord and they still charge me tenancy renewal fees rather than allowing it to progress to a rolling tenancy which wouldn't require fees. Costs of repairs using their preferred suppliers are very expensive, the simplest of issues ends up costing hundreds. Many items are outside the management fee and significantly increases costs. Basically lots of additional charges outside the full management fee I am already charged, such as tenancy renewal fees, rent review/increase fees, check in/out fees, inventory fees (even for unfurnished apartments). They often try to increase the management fee and write to me annually to this effect. Add to this issues where there have been problems with check outs, i ask them to recover from tenant deposits and then they deny that they had done a check in/inventory even though the charged me for it! i had similar issues when i asked them to recover water charges from the tenant. i asked for rent reviews at the beginning of last year because they hadn't looked at the rents for two years. They \"overlooked\" this on one of my apartments and eventually got round to doing it 6 months later, charging me £120 for the privilege and then calculating extra management fees incorrectly, in their favour of course. i could go on and on. All this is certainly detrimental to the economics of renting property out. i also agree with other posters, choices try to get negative posts removed from this site asking for evidence etc and have now tried to get this review removed. Therefore you see too great a proportion of positive comments compared to negative. Therefore a note to choices, i can provide evidence to support my comments on here and will do so. if this does happen, i will add more comments and reviews that are factually correct which i can support with evidence.

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Propman1's Comment

Written on: 22/01/2013

i have noticed that some other negative reviews and comments have been removed from the site recently!

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Stephanieprior's Comment

Written on: 13/05/2014

This is an interesting post and if you have a genuine complaint I would welcome the opportunity of dealing with this via our complaints procedure. Choices branch network is currently number 2 on the biggest independent UK Estate Agent review site out of over 12000 agents and last year we won. We are members of the Property Ombudsman and any complaint that cannot be satisfied by me may be escalated to them free of charge.

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Laralamb's Comment

Written on: 15/09/2014

we have emailed you and never ever had a reply...people are correct this is an awful company and should be named and shamed..we now have a solicitor involved so watch this space....michele broad
you take advantage of peoples inexperience but your bad reputation is now catching up with you

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Grr47's Comment

Written on: 29/04/2013

Hear Hear!! Couldn't agree more with this statement, this could have been written by myself, exactly the same situation! A fully managed fee is nothing of the sort, all kinds of different fees are added, worrying I have recently noticed as one example they have charged myself and the tenant for "Check-outs" Something I thought was an outlawed practice! As for customer service.... forget about it! As a Landlord they don't seem to view you as a customer - a company needs to know where its income is derived from and Choices do not! Its ethos seems to be charge charge and charge some more.

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Laralamb's Comment

Written on: 15/09/2014

so so agree

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“freindly-user website”

★★★★★

written by turkishproperty on 21/12/2012

a nice website for the agent. offers easy layout and useful info. good luck carol

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Was this review helpful? 0 1

“Choices is one of the best letting agent in Crawley”

★★★★☆

written by SriramRaju on 16/08/2012

I happened to visit couple of houses through choices and they could able to find me the House suiting my budget and location I requested for within couple of days. The staff, especially Darren Broom is very helpful, polite and always available. Good job and looking forward for the same kind of service after contract being signed.

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“HElpful to find a property”

★★★★☆

written by on 16/08/2012

Choices are helpful for finding a property...

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“I got a property through these people, on the first...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by LondonTenant on 26/07/2012

I got a property through these people, on the first day one of the agents was ment do the check-in and told me to meet him at the property. Did not even show and then tried to call me another day at his convenience. When I called them up few months down the line to get the landlord to sort out something, the agent actually told me he's at work. Like im bothering him because collecting my money should be his only job. Now I have left the property and it took a month and several letters and emails for my deposit to be returned. And they still did not return the full amount and made up several stories why they should keep some of my money. Another email from me and the landlord they said they will refund the full amount but they been saying this for over a month. The original letter and email from the landlord stated my full deposit to be returned to me. But the people at Choices kept telling me so many reasons why they wont return my deposit. Even though the deposit is only there for the landlord's protection and once they said to release the full amount. They completely broke the tenancy agreement and TDS guidelines for deposit return. Just kept making up lies to justify what they're doing. I'm seriously considering taking them to court for negligence as I have all the evidence in the form of emails and recorded letters.

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Stephanieprior's Response to LondonTenant's Review

Written on: 13/05/2014

There certainly seems to have been misunderstandings with this tenant and if they had followed the complaints procedure or disputes procedure via TDS it possibly could have been cleared up earlier. Its disappointing when we dont live up to our own standards, however this was a few years ago and our reviews have certainly improved since.

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“Crawley Choices Letting Angecy”

★★★★★

written by bartholomew3 on 14/04/2012

We have a flat let by Choices for 4-5 years. We always have tennants. The staff, especially Lisa and Helen are very helpful, polite and always avaliable. They have always got me a good rent and good people. I am very pleased with them.

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