Lewis Wadsworth - Any opinions?

[lindy 10]

I think it is the house selling side that has gone into administration. We enquired, as they were handling a house for us, and were told that the letting side is secure.

[Caronp 10]

I am not sure, I know about the house selling side?

[Caronp 10]

I have to say we have found them to be one of the best agents to deal with, so it is a shame really and frustrating that the others who are really careless cn carry on.

[RedRevolver 10]

Lewis Wadsworth are the WORST letting agents I've ever had the misfortune to use! They want "admin fees" from you for every little thing and their search fees are an absolute joke (the agents we are with at the moment were over £100 cheaper!). I'm still waiting for my bond back and despite the house being spotless they are now saying they want the house "professionally" cleaned...I'm sure this is a scam to cream off my bond. Absolutely dreadful. I might recommend them to someone I didn't like but to everyone else I'd say avoid at all costs even if you are desperate because something else will turn up with someone else who will treat you better!

[DT77 10]

Strangely amusing that this thread has come back to the top of the board.

 

In the last fortnight I have once again had reason to become absolutely FURIOUS with Lewis Wadsworth.

 

I shan't go into details cos it'll make me too angry again!!

[gswift 10]

i have also used lewis wadsworth, found the insurance they make you take up annoying and the communication poor.

 

but letting agents are all the same and dont really care so long as they get the money. better to communicate with the landlord if you can.

 

i rented in london and found the same sort of things with fees etc.

 

renting privately has been the easiest for me, just get a contract drawn up.

[RedRevolver 10]

They are abysmal! gswift - re: the insurance - they make it seem like you have to take theirs - they do this because (no surprise) they get commission from every policy sold - one of the guys at Let Sure told me that!!! Seems a bit unethical to me. DT77 - every time I think about Lewis Wadsworthless I get furious myself...I didn't need a crystal ball to predict that I would have trouble over the bond. I'm livid I'm thinking about lodging my complaints / concerns with the ombudsman. It's hardly surprising that the sales end of the company went down the toilet - let's hope the rest follows soon. Sorry to go on but I also found the Sheffield staff to be rude and patronising...I rented in Reading for nearly 2 years without the slightest bit of trouble or being ripped off left, right and centre with fees (except for the rent ) Anyway, enough of my little rant for now. I expect you'll hear more on after the weekend when the landlord is going to look at the house inspection report. Don't expect it to be nice Apologies for the rant!

[lobster_8 10]

I agree with previous posters that the staff are at best incompetent and at worst extremely rude.

 

Our land lord is possiby the one getting the worst deal as we have lived here for 9 months now and they have only come 1ce in that time to do an inspection.

 

We too had a boiler break down and followed the instructions that we had been given by them. It transpired that the Landlady was also paying a maintainence contract, which they ommited to tell us about and there is now a dispute over who will pay the bill. I n the end I am sure we will capitulate as we are leaving at the end Of Sept and wish to have our substantial (over £1000) deposit returned to us in full. I anticipate that this wil involve a fight but it will be one that I am not prepared to lose as I have kept notes of all conversations, all the missed appointments and all of the correspondence that we have had from them and, a solicitor standing by in the wings.

 

The fact that the Estate agency side of their business is in administration is of no surprise to me and I expect the letting side will follow shortly.

 

A note to the directors of the company- It would have been a good idea to invest in some customer service training for your staff and to foster an atmosphere of helpfulness and efficiency instead what you have got is a surly and obstructive workforce.

[lobster_8 10]

I feel better for that!!!!

[RedRevolver 10]

You do that lobster_8! I intend to fight tooth and nail to get my deposit back in full too! I am extremely sceptical of them asking for any money at all...still waiting to hear if the landlord signed off the report, but obviously I have no idea what's in the report in its entirety and what they will say to maybe dissuade him from signing it off! Am I being too cynical? They've just really left a nasty taste in my mouth

[rjperrelli 10]

We rented from LW for two years and also found them to be rude and inefficient. I also know someone who rented out a house through them and found them to be totally rubbish too. I wouldn't touch them again with a barge pole.

[fyybj 10]

I'm renting a house from Lewis Wadsworth at the moment, not for much longer though as they've been absolutely useless, the staff are unhelpful and uncooperative and it's a nightmare trying to get them to sort repairs out.

 

Best avoided.