[dbkr]

Well there are clearly enough stories on here to made it adamantly clear that nobody should use Foxtons, but I'll post my own experiences if only to keep the thread where people will find it.

I almost ended up letting a flat from them, but walked out after reading the contract. Probably the worst of the lot was reading that I'd be be charged for the landlord to check the inventory at the end of the tennancy, which of course is outrageous. Of course the agent had told me that there were no hidden fees (when questioned, he responded, "It's not hidden, it's in the contract"), but was essentially lying through his teeth.

Their standard contract appears to be written by a 15 year old, and seemed to me (although IANAL) to contain so many ambiguities.

However, in the end, I just wasted a lot of their time and money, so I'm quite pleased, in a vindictive kind of way!

[Bluey]

[therealcleo]

surprise surprise, more bad stories about Foxtons.

The inventory clerk (independant) who checked us in to our new flat said she'd heard so many horror stories from friends about Foxtons that she wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

It's a wonder (and a crying shame) that they're still in business.

[Meridian27]

Hey all,

Totally agree with all the rants here against estate agents, think they are a bunch of snakes in the grass too...

However, one point. we also hit the roof when we found the 'tenants pay for the check out of inventory at the end of the tenancy' clause... and we were told this was standard practise. I phoned around to about five different estate agents in the same area, and all confirmed this. The landlord will pay any costs relating to the initial inventory, and any problems arising, but if someone needs to come and do a thorough inventory check at the end of your tenancy (which is sometimes to your advantage) then the tenants pay for it... the point is though to get it in writing from your estate agent how much (roughly) they expect this to cost... the estimated cost varied from agency to agency... glad to say ours was the cheapest in the area.

[mindstep]

You can always book an Independent Inventory Clerk to check your inventory on your behalf and who will produce a report which you can use if an unfair claim is made against you. Go to http://www.inventoryclerk.net

[The_Dude]

being an uninformed foreigner, i made a BIG mistake: i rented a flat thru them... how stupid of me !

first, i had to insist heavily to get a breakclause in the contract, and paid 3 times too much for their fees.
but the real sh*tshow was at the end of the tenancy: these guys will make people visit the flat even on sundays for the last 2 months while you still live there, and one of them even called me at 9.30pm for their visits. It was daily harassment for 2 motnhs. Of course, the landlord was asking so much to relet it, there would be so many visits...

My experience is that a landlord who uses them is best avoided! in total, at least 6 agencies were touring that bloody place everyday for 2 months, most of them without even telling me (the porter told me otherwise i would have wondered why the light was on and the chair moved....). Note that Islington Council doesn't care at all about that tyoe of trespassing.

At the end, i had to take legal action against the landlord to get my deposit back. And that's the ray of hope in my story:
www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
i didn't know this site, it is FAB ! taking the matter to the Court was a lot less stressful than dealing with these people. Once he saw the letter from the court i got a cheque (with fake deductions for lamps that were already broken, but since there is no inventory given by Foxtons, what can I do?)

Last advise: look on rightmove and findaproperty. If a flat is also advertised by foxtons, avoid it regardless of what other agency is avertising it !

Now can somebody tell me how such a criminal organisation operate in broad daylight in a G8 country?

[therealcleo]

TheDude - I've come to the conclusion that Foxtons trade entirely off two main things:

a plethora of advertising, so that people new to the UK or even new to the London housing market assume they're the best because they're trumpetting their services from almost every available marketing medium; and

people with more money than sense who think that paying more for the same service means getting a better service. Assholes.

personally, it's the first group I feel sorry for. As for the second - they deserve to be robbed blind!

cleox

[reach4thelasers]

Estate agents are the scum of the earth - even worse than traffic wardens!

[smashedblueeggs]

We went travelling and wanted to rent out our house while we were away. We were forced to use Foxtons in the end due to another agency falling through at the last minute. Not only did Foxtons lie about sending us regular statements by e-mail ("Yes, absolutely, we can do that" . . . [2 months later] "No, we never said that") and took an extortionate amount of money for the privilege of doing next to nothing, they then lost all our keys. They refused to keep us updated and said they had sent them by post, but hadn't sent them by recorded delivery because, quote, "then we would be responsible". What were we paying them for? To top it all off, the girl in the management office, Natalie, sounded like she was 12 years old (would you trust your property to a 12-year-old?) and was completely unable to deal with me effectively, making me more and more furious rather than using any skills to have a two-way conversation. Please, please, please stay away from Foxtons.

[Bluey]

[Bluey]

[cwfnatsec]

CLASS WAR PRESS RELEASE:

Picket Foxtons: Islington Branch, 3 pm March 3rd:

Monday March 3rd at 3pm sees Class War's picket of Foxtons in Islington, in a demonstration against the greatest con-men of our time - estate agents.

We've been ripped off by them, and are sick of them driving up house prices in our part of town.

So come along and tell one of the worst of the lot, Foxtons, what you think of them.

Foxtons Islington branch at 355 Upper Street will be picketed from 3pm - 7pm on Monday 3rd March.

There is however a lot that can be done before then (and afterwards!) - and not just towards Foxtons. Many estate agents routinely break the law by placing advertising signs without permission on council property, and sometimes on private property. One very simple way to fight back against the damage estate agents are doing to our communities is simply to take these signs down where ever you find them. Don't let them advertise - illegally - over-priced properties in your community.

Take these signs down, and return them to the estate agents concerned - the bigger this campaign gets, the better it gets for us, and the worse it gets for the likes of Foxtons.

Lets get busy!

NOTES:

The BBC TV Whistleblower programme found agents putting forward false offers, faking landlords' signatures and falsifying documents to inflate property prices.

Foxtons are here to drive up house prices, it's their avowed intent: their founder Jon Hunt, who sold up last year and pocketed £370 million, liked to talk of 'going to war' for his sellers. Foxtons takes a bigger commission than any other agent to flog each house which it justifies by promising to wring from a buyer the highest possible price.

QUOTES:

"Some of the people I hate most in the world are estate agents. I hate generalisations, but all estate agents are slimy, money obsessed, lying idiots, who went to public school, but still didn't get any A levels and so have to do an essentially unnecessary job for too much money. It's not a generalisation. Show me one estate agent who isn't like that and I will show you an estate agent who has lied to you to convince you that he isn't like that and has thus confirmed just exactly how much he is like that in reality." Richard Herring

"For those of you who don't live in London and have no intention of ever living in London: well, lucky you. Lucky you for not having to put up with......extortionate house prices, but mostly lucky you for not having to put up with Foxtons, the people who sell those houses for extortionate prices." Bryony Gordon

Email: londoncwf@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.classwaruk.org/
http://www.myspace.com/fkfoxtons

[Sanne]

When I was looking for a flat, I didn't use Foxtons because of the horror stories I heard. I went to see a place that had one agent's sign out front. When I went back in the afternoon to see the flat with the agent who had put up the sign, their sign had been knocked down and a Foxton's sign was put up in its place. The agent I was told me that it happens all the time. We visited another property that her agency had listed and their sign had been replaced by a Foxtons sign, with her agency's sign tossed in the rubbish bin. I don't know if that's their practice or just a rogue agent but it seemed very unethical

[jennyjane]

OMG it's so funny to read this thread!

Terrible things have happened to these poor people, you should read my thread - Brighton and Hove - that took place at the back end of the 80's so some 20 years later, Foxtons still hasn't improved!!!!!!

[paulx2]

CRIKEY!!! This sounds like someone else I should be avoiding when renting a flat. We rented one through Home2u Estate agents and pretty much the same thing. Try to confuse you by using different people for the same thing so you never know who to deal with. Increase the rent after 6 months but give it you cheap when you originally sign knowing that you are always reluctant to move and even if you do they get more "reference check" money (£60 per head). They also never displayed a gas certificate in the property we rented. Also they use an extremely dodgy inventory procedure so you are even charged for "damage" on things that are not on the inventory. We are still awaiting our deposit even though we have in principal agreed on deposit refund amount. Maybe not as bad a FOXTONS but i feel that you should think carefully before getting in with home2u!!