Acorn Estate Agents
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Incompetent staff, take deposit then refuse property
The very first agent i spoke to on the phone to view a property rental was extremely awkward, which isnt a great first impression but no major warning signs yet. We turn up at the property and turns out the agent had double booked themselves multiple times so despite turning up 45 minutes early we ended up seeing it late. Okay, slightly annoying but it happens. Then they asked us to fill out a sheet with our information, who would be moving in etc. Filled it out, sent it to them and phoned them up to make sure it was received etc. Seemingly there was no issue since they then asked for a holding deposit from us after receiving all this information not long after (bearing in mind the information on this property stated it was available immediately but actually wasnt available for a month, which we found out at the viewing). We pay the holding deposit immediately, all fine. The agents didnt phone us back with any info on what was happening so we phoned them up and then they came up with multiple excuses such as "oh, we think theres too many people moving in..." Okay, thats not much of an issue since 2 of the tenants travel very frequently and will only be there for a limited time in the year. It was a 2 double bedroom house with 4 people listed to go on the tenancy, so I dont understand how this is somehow an issue but I digress. This was explained and the agent said okay, they would phone the landlord and inform. We never got a phone call back. We phoned them again, turns out that agent wasnt working that day and seemingly never phoned the landlord either so we explained it to a second agent again. They said okay they would phone the landlord and explain it and phone us back... Surprise surprise, we got no phone call back yet again. We phone them back again another time a couple days later and get back on the phone to one of the agents again, then they say that the landlord doesnt think we're telling the truth...? But they saw all of this information on the form we filled out before we paid the holding deposit and it wasnt an issue but now suddenly they dont believe us? We also were told we needed to pay 12 months in advance to be eligible to rent the house, which we said was fine and not a problem. We also had a landlord reference ready if they needed it which was never asked for. They took our holding deposit and didnt inform us that they had given the property to someone else, plus the property was still listed as being on the market (still is in fact) the whole time, despite us paying the holding deposit already. They took our money then never bothered to phone us back a single time to inform us of anything that was happening and obviously they had another set of people in mind to move in but again, never phoned us up and never intended to take us in the first place. Incredibly incompetent set of staff that will take your money for ransom for as long as possible that never phone you to inform you of what is going on. I was shocked to see how bad their ratings were, definitely will never use these agents ever again. Avoid them like the plague. The reviews are completely accurate.