We had agreed with a landlord, through one of the letting agents, for the full asking price on a rental property. With this in mind we were invited to referencing. The letting agent we was dealing with went on holiday, (Friday), so we was asked to go to the branch and his colleague, Tom, would deal with us (Monday). We arrived at the branch, and although we called ahead to confirm our appointment with Tom, when we arrived to branch he was busy on a phone call. Nevertheless, another gentleman took copies of our IDs and we passed on all documentation, we expected to pay the deposit but the gentleman told us that Tom would be in touch as he is busy. The next day we got a call from Tom, saying someone else had shown interest, which was strange, because as far as i was concerned the deal was done, we were paying the asking price, the landlord agreed and we were just waiting for Ashtons to take the deposit. Tom then called to try and hint that the other party had made a higher offer and asked what our final offer would be, we offered £150pm over the asking price, and actually we said we would pay what ever it costs to take the property but Tom said its not about the money, the landlord wants the other tenants and at that we lost the property. The original letting agent came back from holiday and we tried to figure out what went on. In the end we found out Tom stole the letting from the agent we was dealing with so he could earn the commission for himself. I understand it is a sales industry but there should be some integrity between peers as this looks bad on Ashtons. I own several business's in the area and we pride ourselves with integrity. To ask a client to take important time out of their day knowing that you are not going to let to them because you want the commission is appalling. I feel sorry for the first agent as i feel he served us well and if it wasn't for him being on holiday we would be in that property.NegativeProfessionalism

They don't call you back. Very poor service

They only listen when there is a contract to sign. The follow up service will ALWAYS fall in deaf hears. They become ghosts. Nice property but the service is INEXISTENT. Don't hold your breath.

If your a landlord , avoid like the plague.They have lots of charges , make sure you read the small print ..far better agents out there

Vague, Expensive, and intrusive. Check-out costs - you pay for the privilege of leaving the property; and the cost - who knows until you don't get back some of your deposit ! Renewal costs - you pay for someone to send you a web link to an automated document signing tool. Expect to pay ....and pay you will. New tenant viewings of the property are extremely intrusive and persistent. If you like confirming bookings, and then have secret extra ones added in without you knowing - these are the letting agents for you. We had 3 extra ones in and around the confirmed booking - how lovely. If you want a straight forward, professional, and respectful letting agent - I suggest you save your money and buy a house instead. *N.B our landlord was OK - the agent wasn't !

My experience with Ashtons has made it apparent that if you are a first time renter or not fully aware of your rights then they will likely try to pull the wool over your eyes, so be careful and make sure to question anything you aren’t sure of. I personally dealt with Alf and Kirsty, both work in lettings and do not seem to have much knowledge or awareness of how to act professionally. I wouldn’t recommend Ashtons in Welwyn to anybody looking to rent or purchase a property. The staff in this branch were unprofessional and uninformed during every interaction I had with them, which unfortunately lasted over the course of a number of months. When the current 12 month rental contract expired it took Ashtons over 5 weeks to send a renewal contract; by the time this had arrived the landlord had decided to sell and wanted to provide an eviction notice. Ashtons broke protocol when providing the eviction notice and didn’t attempt to contact or explain the situation beforehand; they then admitted their staff had acted against their professional guidelines - this seemed to be a regular occurrence. Ashtons staff then advised the landlord to request deposit deductions for repairs that they had informed the tenant would not be needed, and when they were advised that the TDS would unlikely side with the landlord (I spoke with TDS directly ) they conveniently changed their opinion and advised the landlord not to request these deductions. They continuously avoided questions regarding whether or not they were acting in the best interests of both parties, and at one point Kirsty the lettings manager actively declined to answer. I requested a face-to-face in the Welwyn branch and was told it would be a 2 week wait before I could speak to somebody in person. I won’t say that you shouldn’t use Ashtons in Welwyn Garden City, but I will say that you might want to speak to other estate agents first.

If your a landlord , avoid like the plague.They have lots of charges , make sure you read the small print ..far better agents out there