scottfraser - Headington Reviews 48

Appalling service from the property management office in Headington, Oxford. I was a tenant at a property in Summertown for a period of eight months and had to put up with unprofessionalism, a clunky management portal, breaches of the tenancy agreement by staff and contractors and an unlawful and unnecessary delay in the return of my deposit.
Issues and errors included:
Despite being requested, no moving in details or draft tenancy agreement were provided until the day the tenancy started.
I had been advised I would need to pay the rent in advance for the whole period of the tenancy, but the staff forgot to ask for it, so I paid the deposit and one month's rent and later set up a standing order for future rental payments.
On two occasions contractors were given keys to the property and entered without me knowing in order to carry out works that I hadn't initiated. On one occasion they came to service an alarm system that I hadn't even been told existed and that I had no code, key or instructions for.
The property maintenance reporting portal was a joke - timeframes given for repairs were never adhered to.
The emergency out of hours repair service was worse than useless: the wrong contact phone number was given on the website. The emergency repair that arose at the property was a result of a routine repair not being attended to (an unrepaired broken sash cord eventually meant the window slammed shut and the glass smashed)
Towards the end of the tenancy, despite asking for the moving out details / procedure on a number of occasions, no information was received until the last day of the Tenancy. The information I eventually received included details telling me to return the keys to the office half an hour prior to the time the email was actually sent to me.
After the check-out I was advised that a pair of curtains were missing from one of the windows and I would be charged for a replacement pair; in fact the curtains had not been touched during the tenancy and were still hanging where they had always been.
After I moved out, although the landlord confirmed that my deposit should be returned in full, a small rent overpayment on my account meant that my paperwork sat with the accounts department for a lengthy period, which eventually exceeded the ten day legal window for a deposit return.
I had a named property manager in the Headington office who was appalling throughout. When I chased the return of my deposit she advised that she was going on holiday but would ensure that my deposit return was processed before she went on leave. She did not do this and her manager had to sort it out when I made a complaint.
My review is of the property management service offered by the Headington office between September 2022 and April 2023. I also had some dealings with some staff in the Summertown office who were friendly and professional (but sadly not involved in the management of my property).
The company tries to market itself as professional and offering a personal, expert service. Not my experience at all. A 'Residency Scheme', a moving in hamper, a property reporting portal...all the gear and no idea springs to mind.

Benjamin King was my agent. I'm not from UK, so I was afraid. However, Benjamin made everything easy from the moment of our first contact.
I strongly recommend the Scottfraser services.

Very happy with our rental through Scottfraser. Ben and Yulia were very helpful and professional. The house is clean, close to the hospital, and we love the sunroom. Highly recommend!

Callum was very helpful and professional. He was always happy to assist with every information I needed. A very big thank you to him for his support

This is the first time my wife and I have engaged with Scott Fraser and we have been delighted with the experience. Renting a property can be stressful but from the moment we engaged with Callum all went well and we look forward to our moving in. It helps that the Landlord of the property is also incredibly helpful; she too deserves praise.

The agent by name callum, he is an amazing person, very patient and understanding, I still contact him if I don't understand anything. He returns your call anytime he is unable to answer your call. Such a wonderful person.

Am still in my early stages of knowing Scott Fraser as an organisation, so this review is motivated on my first SF contact of Ella Tuttle at my first viewing.

Having done a lot of these, Ella was, like the previous agents, very pleasant and engaging. Unlike them, however, she was also really engaged - so not just a good listener, but then went on to really apply that in negotiating our tenancy for a best result for all involved. And she really went the extra mile - and then another.

So thanks to her, and her unfailingly pleasant and helpful colleagues at the Headington Office. Grew up in the property business, and have dealt with many letting agents, which has confirmed the general low opinion of the sector out there.

Ella, in contrast, has been both engaged and entirely professional from the get-go - and delivered on both.

Which is no mean feat these days - and why she stands out. As did the cheerfulness and helpfulness of her colleagues at the Headington office.

Head office, Michael Cook and Hannah Cooper at LRG please note: they do you proud.

Very poor experience with this estate agent. He showed me a property that was in an unacceptable state—messy, dirty, and clearly not cleaned or prepared for viewing. He then pressured me into signing up for a non-deposit scheme that involved a subscription fee, which I later found out is non-refundable under any circumstance. After that, he completely ignored my follow-up messages asking for updates. Unprofessional, pushy, and unreliable.

#Update

Clearly, they dont even have the eye to read my name correctly. See their reply.

Highly professional service, polite and efficient when it comes to handle issues and resolve problems! Sammie and her team are always at hand and trying their very best to deal with anything that comes their way, from managing the place, the finances and also, of course, the tenancies

I’ve had a shockingly bad experience with a rental property let and managed by this agent. Rent was paid several months in advance but on moving in it became clear that there were a whole series of problems with the house that should have been identified and addressed prior to the property being marketed (not least the fact that a number of the radiators in the house needed replacing). Problems have been made worse by the fact that it has taken weeks and multiple visits by various contractors to begin to address the problems and we have had to live with the disruption this has caused. We’ve been without properly functioning heating for nearly two months in the coldest part of the year. I’ve had to spend lots of time chasing the property manager and waiting around for workmen who show up late or not at all. My advice to anyone thinking of renting through this agent is to do a very thorough check of the property yourself (including testing heating and hot water systems and inspecting the boiler) before agreeing a let.

Professional, helpful and clear advice throughout the process, with excellent communication at every stage.
A very successful outcome, as they achieved a sale price considerably in excess of the valuation figure provided by another Headington agent.
Will definitely use again!

Scottfraser organised both selling our property and buying our new house. The service was excellent; we were kept up to date throughout. In addition any questions we had were answered promptly. All the staff we came across were charming. Overall they offered a professional and calm approach to what can be a stressful experience.

Many thanks to Sammie the staff at Scott Fraser for the ease and great service in renting out my apartment. Will recommend to friends and family.

Nice experiences with Callum in Scott Fraser Headington branch, he is really experienced and helpful with our overseas arrangement and guide our family all the way through, step by step. Thanks.

Scott Fraser are without a doubt the worst estate agents I have ever used. They have refused to let me leave a contract I have given repeated notice for (been around 9 months since the first notice given). If you are a renter, i'd strongly recommend looking for a different property to rent than rent a property with Scott Fraser - a property is not worth the hassle if it is being handled by their renting department. There are plenty of other Estate agents in my area which I have been very happy using instead.

Do not join a joint tenancy agreement with them.

Scott Fraser states they will deal with an unsecured front door within 24 hours. FIVE DAYS later and my daughter is still living in an unsecured flat. Scott fraser consistently break their own contractual obligations and treat tenants with contempt for their health or safety

Simon Liddicott and his team went above and beyond advising and helping with the sale of my aunt’s house. They advised selling by auction and read the market very accurately. Have now sold 2 properties through Simon and would highly recommend him and the Headington team.

Disrespectful and incompetent.

I have rented with several estate agents in Oxford and Scott Fraser are by the far the worst. I wasn't able to move into my room for 6 weeks due to someone leaving the company and not handing over my room application. When I went to pick up my keys (prearranged appointment) no one was there. When I did manage to get hold of someone (The Sales team were lovely and helped me get hold of someone), they only gave me a key to my bedroom and not the front/back doors. After back and forth with them for a month, they said they couldn't find it and I would have to get my own key cut.

Throughout my tenancy, Scott Fraser staff have turned up unannounced (no 24 hours notices given which is illegal) and even locked me out of my own bedroom for one night. For this I was compensated, but only after persistently asking. These are only a few issues that happened over the course of a year.

Scott Fraser are only quick to act when it suits them. I even had to chase them about my deposit. If you can avoid renting with them I would.

Iulia at Headington branch helps me a lot for my letting.
She is nice, patient and helpful. Thank you.