Westcoast Properties Avaliações 

Since moving into a 2 bedroom at Nailsea, I have had nothing but issues and hassle, causing me to keep contacting Westcoast Properties (WCP), its the most expensive £800 per month I've paid anyone for hassles. Contractually, WCP is the landlord, however as they are managing properties on behalf of landlords, I am stuck between poor quality of property management and landlords that don't understand their legal obligations. So here's the perfect example. I signed a contract in March 2019. I was told, the water meter is in a communal locker nearby. I contact the water provider and they sent me a form to fill out and one of the questions is obviously, starting water readings on the meter. Its July now and because the letter has arrived late, I'm now contacting WCP to request details. The response that I got back says the landlord service company is working on separating the meters so all flats get their own? The apartments owned by the actual landlord completed construction in Sept 2018. We are in July 2019 and you would have thought that between WCP and their clients (landlords), these types of issues would have been, ironed out prior to issuing contracts to tenants.
If I didn't ask WCP about meter readings, they would NOT tell you anything. What amazes me is that some of these people are highly qualified and competent in what they do?!!
This is on the back of when I first moved into the flat, I had to sleep in a cold flat with no heating ON for a couple of days because WCP could not get their landlord to the flat in March to sort out the heating, even though, a move in date was already agreed. Another issue is brand new shower cubical leaked every time I had shower, it took 3 weeks from when I complaint until the landlord service company managed to get someone to sealed the edges, no tests carried out only to find it leaking again which took them another 2-3 weeks to sort out. As someone who works in construction, I would test the edges with shower head, find out where the leaks are coming from then undertake sealing operations - its too easy to apply common sense. Now the inner sealing is coming off the wall and these apartments are suppose to be brand new!! It baffles me how property management companies are getting away with murder whilst tenants are forced to put up with and comply to a contract.

Message for Nick one of the Directors - you and your leadership team need to get out more and speak to people who pay money to keep your company running. Trying to bluff complainants on, online review doesn't really work and is a reactive approach.

This is WCP slogan on company website

"Our aim is simple and based on core values to achieve you the best possible sale or rental price, in the time frame to suit your requirements, whilst throughout keeping you constantly updated, making the process as stress free as possible”.

Bet nobody knows what this means?!!

Response to Nicolas Webbers 13/07/2019

Nick,
I'm afraid none of your justifications are precise and true to the letter. When I agreed with your team to sign up, that was a week and a half prior to move in date. Surely after leaving the office, the first thing the team would look to do is to send a competent person into the flat and check all utilities are running perfectly - heating doesn't need to be left ON, but it needs to be working - not rocket science. Obviously this never happened, they waited for me to move and let pick it up, I was away for a couple of days so it was perfect for them to come in and check, but no. The contractor didn't turn up until I threatened to move out. I fully understand teething problems, I am a construction specialist myself so I know how the game is played. However none of the problems would have happened if a pre move in check was carried out properly. "You mention that to check the leak in the shower was rectified almost immediately". I have email correspondence that shows this took 3 weeks almost 4 - at what point does almost immediately apply???. I was contacted to be at the flat when the plumbing team arrived as they were doing some work in another flat to sort out the leak. I took half day off work and sat in the flat all afternoon, kept texting the plumber but no response because they had gone home before I got in and even the local office didn't know if they were returning, even though the spare keys were handed over to the local office. you would have thought discussions would have taken place regarding apartment 2 - obviously not!! This is the type of customer services that exist, which really contradicts your company slogan. You can't tell me this has never happened before?

Going back to the shower leak. You mention it is not possible to test the shower until someone is having a shower?? Seriously?? every time I tested the shower I was stood outside the shower with the shower nozzle pointed at the edges. I even informed the team, the best way to do it was to do exactly that and establish the exact locations. Obviously none of this good advise which was for free (mind you) wasn't considered! A little construction advise - you don't need to take a shower to find out its leaking, You can also be stood in the shower without shoes, checking it, if your concern was putting weight onto the base. I'm afraid your reason for disappointment is almost invalid to me and I'm really surprised that rather getting my number and phoning me direct, you decided to base your response to my review on other people's answers? As a manager at work, if I wanted to find out any issues in construction site, I go speak to the troops who work on site. That's honest feedback.

Now, lets get on with the heating issue that could have been avoided if your team took the time we agreed until the day I moved in to check - procedure - turn heating on, walk away, return in a few hours time - not working - call contractor/landlord immediately. Simple and easy to think of. This could have made a big difference, but it was too hard of an idea to think about. instead, they waited for me to move to find the problem out. there was no absolutely no good reason that was given to me to date. As a compliance specialist, if you take on the role of Landlord regardless if you're the landlord, you are much responsible as the home owner. The same can be said under CDM regulations, the PC is held accountable for any incidents within a CDM site or operations that takes place that is associated to the project.

Your response also indicate that contacting the utilities companies only happened when I moved in. Nobody in their right frame of mind, thought, we know the issue regarding the meter as we already have 2-tenants moved into other apartments so the same issue still occurred in apartment 2. But again, no, it was only until I contacted the utility company, received a letter only to ask WCP reps then it became apparent? All I was told was there was a meter in the premises and that I had to contact the utility company, why say that to me if WCP already knows there is a collective residential meter?. Your expectations out of tenants is to deal with the utility company for an issue that is already known by yourselves and the landlord. And you got some nerves to tell me that just about everything I mentioned was actioned almost immediately. You still believe WCP acted against the observations made in a timely manner? This is a shocking statement and I'm not surprised WCP are having unsatisfied tenants complaining on here. I'm afraid your response to my initial review shows the company's core values. Trust me when I say this - when I make an observation, I keep record of timings and dates just so that WCP don't fool me. Teething problems is if the ceiling came down. The issues that were raised was due to poor craftsmanship and poor or no quality checking. Even some of the kitchen design is a complete no brainer. plain ply wall in sink areas, stove and shower sink? Maybe the landlord didn't know water and oil has potential to splash at white ply walls, therefore tiling may be a good idea? The plan of apartment 2 had a window on the WCP brochure (siding facing the alleyway), this is untrue because there isn't a window there, yet again, false information put on brochure (marketing material) and nobody bothers to check, because nobody has a clue I've kept the brochure as a souvenir!

I've even told the maintenance team the sealant in the shower is coming off because the shower positioning is incorrect. If you don't have a wet wall installed in shower locations, don't expect sealants to last any longer than when the heat and moist starts getting into the material and this issue will only get worse because the shower base shouldn't have been that high, and I know why - due to drainage, but what they should have done, was use the high base but install a wet wall / ceiling to combat sealant damage, obviously this isn't well thought of. Anyways, I shall leave this at there, enough I have said and please do visit me at apartment 2 should you wish to investigate timely response times. I'm all up for it.
By the way I am a home owner elsewhere and have 2 showers in the house since new 2007 and I've never had any sealant issues. Please care to pass all this info to the landlord, it will serve them well.

When looking for a new home, I was introduced to Westcoast Properties (Patchway, Bristol) and a nice gentleman called Mr L. Rhodes. I met him at a few viewings and he was a pleasant chap each and every time. He ended up being the estate agent for the house I decided to buy, so we ended up working together a fair amount over the next few months.

Throughout numerous phone calls to Westcoast and multiple house viewings, questions and general house buying pain and suffering, I was always greeted by friendly staff, but my business was handled by soley by Mr. Rhodes. I was thoroughly impressed by the professionalism of everyone at Westcoast and it was great to be talking business to a single PoC every time as it just made things that little bit faster and a bit easier during an otherwise stressful period.

I can't say how selling a house through this guys would be, but I had an overall very positive experience buying through them.

Very slow and never gets anything done and charge an disgusting check out fee.

I can’t say I am impressed with these guys. I’ve rented a house thru then for the last year. When I had any problems and email them, my contact person carol- would without fail never get back to me. I would have to email an 2nd time to get her to confirm that she had revived my email. And then she could tell me, yes, she had received it! Very unprofessional not to a knowledge that you have received and keeping the other person in the loop. Various jobs needed doing and when I moved out a year later the jobs were still not done. This meant that we lived with an unfinished toilet door and drafty kitchen bi fold doors. No reduction was offered.

When we moved out they deducted money from the deposit because I had not change the sealant in the bathroom........ This was a new built and why would it be necessary to change a sealant after a year and surly this is wear and tear. The builder that build the house had not put any silicon between the tiles in One of the bathrooms, resulting in water flooding thru the spotlights in the kitchen so when they requested money for the sealant I am not overly confident it’s been done properly in the first place.
Someone came out a few days later and put some silicon on. The shower continued to occasionally flood the kitchen. Every time I contacted them but no one was ever sent out again. The roof in the kitchen had watermarks running along the spotlights.
I found them rude and patronising. Money sucking and extremely slow.

In the same time frame (30 days)it took them to get quotes,calculate and return the deposit to me I had found a house, made an offer, completed and moved in. This was with the help of purple bricks. Just goes to show what can be done with helpful, proactive professionals that know what they are doing.

To finish if an frustrating relationship they hit you with a check out fee. Not many others do. Greedy and untasteful.

Sigrid

Over a period of time we had 4 different agents trying to sell our property. West Coast in Portishead consistently carried out more viewings than any other agent, and immediately found us another buyer when one sale fell through. Nick worked very hard and everybody in the office seemed on top of things and gave good advice.

What a joke! We rent a property and have nothing but hassle from them when ever there is an issue! A pipe burst leaving our neighbors without electricity due to the leak going through there light fitting and was told they couldn’t do anything because the landlady didn’t know her insurance details, this is what I was told 5 hours after the original phone call and I had called several times. Not once did anyone call me to update me with any answers and after confronting Carole about this and that she could have called to inform me hours earlier so that I could update the neighbors she was rude and said it wasn’t her responsibility as they know that they live in a flat! She is a vial and rude person who thinks that she is better than everyone else and has no compassion for those who are left without electricity at 4 o’clock on a snowy afternoon now trying to find an electrician so that they can put their heating on.

Met a lady called Carol for a house viewing in Patchway Bristol today. This woman had not an ounce of people skills nor any kind of endearing quality!

She rushed me through the house and gave me no reason to want to live here. She didn't mention local amenities, schools, transport or anything. Just seemed to want to get out of the property.

She said that they operate on a rolling contract so after the first 6 months you are only secure in the property for a further month which is very unstable.

I asked why the previous tenant was leaving and she said because the lady was pregnant but when I asked the previous tenant she said that it was because the landlord was moving back into the property in February! So I was told a bare faced lie also!

On a positive note Dale who works at their offices was very professional and helpful! However Carol should really consider another job.

Avoid like the plague!!!!

Westcoast Properties
Patchway Branch, Bristol

Unscrupulous, unprofessional, and truly money orientated. I rented a property from these unprincipled bunch of devious self opinionated agents for a period of just six months. In the time during my rental of a 1 bed property they provided no help or communication when I was faced with several dilemmas concerning the property.

When you take into consideration just getting the initial tenancy I had to spend several hundred of pounds acquiring referencing, deposits, and their admin fees before I could even sniff a tenancy. Then at the end once you decide to move on they will analyse over every microscopic detail of the property prior to vacating, and charge you even more fees for the smallest inconsistency even if caused by the previous tenant, or the one before. This is a dilemma they can insure making money upon, tenant after tenant, over and over again.

The irony being, that preceding your initial rental they don’t really care about the properties condition especially if it is a first rental. It’s all about the easy money they can get from you, and actually the landlord, because the landlord/s have to pay basically the same fee’s as you for the virtually the same things. However, as a tenant who has paid a substantial upfront deposit, when upon leaving they will chastise you for every imaginable thing, and then charge you a fee.

Whether you went through the property cleaning top to bottom they will create a reason to dig into your deposit as deep as they can, and they will do this without any embarrassment. They will also make you spend even more money hiring professionals to clean carpets, windows, and curtains that are not even dirty. They excuse this by suggesting it’s for hygiene reasons to get rid of bed bug, fleas, and other infestations of yours ... Huh! I am a professional full time working person, middle aged, and very clinical in all my personal characteristics.

My rental property had none of this done prior to me renting it, and I felt it very unjust I had to do this when my rental ended, and when its term was very short. I hadn’t downgraded the property in anyway during my stay. In fact it was the opposite, I had maintained a higher standard to the property and even improved, renewed and upgraded some white goods and furnishings at my own personal cost.

The paradox was being charged a check-out fee for leaving the property (unbelievable a pay'2'leave fee!) and if I wanted a reference I was told there would be a charge for this too. They basically depleted the deposit in their favour. With this agency its all about money, what they can get from you before you move in, and what they can get from you when moving out. Its possible that if landlords knew exactly how much Westcoast was making from their property rentals, they would drop their portfolio of properties and become rental agents themselves.

Westcoast (Patchway) are basically unregulated, unprofessional, swindlers with little more than an ordinary 6th form GCSE property marketing completion course between them, and who has no qualms helping themselves to your wallet or purse. Their disclaimer is you should have read the very small print. My observation is that there should be more laws to protect tenants from agencies like this who’s sole foundation of trading is to deceive, manipulate, and profit from the most venerable.

I’m writing this as a former tenant and as a warning to prospective tenants.

This company will completely rinse you of every penny they possible can. In addition to what has sadly become an industry standard in £100’s worth of “referencing fees’ before you commence your tenancy, they will scrutinise over every minute detail of the property once you’ve vacated, penalising you for any cobweb or dusty door handle they can find. Over my 6 years of renting, I have seen it become progressively harder to get a full deposit returned, regardless of how good a condition you left the property in. This was also the first time I’ve ever been charged a “check out fee” (yes that’s right, they even charge you for leaving the property), which in this case was £110. If you want a reference from these guys they charge for that too. Accept a cup of tea or a glass of water in their office, and don’t be surprised to find an invoice for that too.

Aside from all the money-grabbing, these guys were difficult to deal with from day one, and caused me much grief during the moving-in process. Just totally unprofessional, greedy and slack in every way.

It’s disgusting that agencies like this can get away with behaving this way, and a wonder that there aren’t more people living on the streets. It’s a game which unfortunately many of us are forced to play, and until there are more regulations in place to protect tenants, I suggest you avoid Westcoast Properties if you can at all help it!

I agree entirely with the post from: Alexandra13 - Published 10 November 2015. Although my experience was with the Patchway, 5 Coniston Way, Bristol branch.

Most at Patchway including the so called director Nicholas Webber have very little qualifications other than common GCSE level. Don't be conned into thinking they are more qualified than this because of the letters they endorse after their names as this refers only to associations that they are members of, it does not mean that they have sat any major government regulated degree level. In fact the government do not actually regulate estate agents at all, just issue guidelines for interpretation. Just because they wear a suit and tie, and sit behind a desk doesn’t make them more special than you, it’s quite likely you have more professional qualifications than they do.

The PATCHWAY BRANCH, BRISTOL: (Scam)

Their ethics are appalling. I asked them to do a sale valuation on my first ever home. After their valuation it was agreed they could agency the sale and come back later to take property photographs. On the day of the photo shoot they turned up with a prospective buyer who asks to view the property. So the photo shoot and viewing commenced and ended together with an offer being put forward. The offer was less than the valuation by a few grand, but backed-up by a quick cash sale persuasion by them both. It was explained the prospective buyer was in fact a buy’to’let landlord and good for the cash.

I admit to being naive and not knowing the true local market trends, and preferring the less stressful route to sale my first home so I agreed. The wheels were then set in motion and the normal solicitors and parties informed etc. After a week I was contacted by Westcoast saying the buy’to’let landlord hasn’t got the funds at all, and that he will need to gain a mortgage but not to worry it work out okay. It was justified saying that things were already in motion, that this new dilemma would be a minimal delay, and that I had made an agreement to sale which would manifest extra problems and costs if I reviewed my position. Reluctantly I agreed to wait and eventually the sale went ahead much later than first projected and agreed.

It wasn’t until hindsight had showed its face that I realised on several points how I had been hoodwinked, and how Westcoast staff at Patchway use their positions to manipulate people and situations to their benefit. Firstly they still claimed all their fees for my property that they truly didn’t even market, it was basically sold before the pictures were taken back to the office and never possibly made the for sale section of their webpage.

Secondly, I’m sure they have a little black book of buy’to’let landlords which they can inform and give a heads-up after viewing potential properties for a small acknowledgement. Thirdly, The tactics as mentioned to get the property sold fast means much less than the real market value to the present vendor. In my case, if my house had been advertised properly to Joe Public, offers over the asking price would have been most likely put forward as there would have been lots more interested parties because of recent property shortages. I later found house’s in the same neighbourhood and of similar specifications being sold up to 6K+ more than their listing prices, so my personal speculated loss could be in the 8K barrier.

Fourthly, once a property is sold and then rented out by their familiar rental landlords, they then possibly get agency rights for running the property and the new tenant. This can then become another big money spinner for them. Lastly, poor Joe Public doesn’t stand a chance of buying your home as Westcoast lists of awaiting rental landlords make their optimum preference to make a sell prior to any property listing getting to the public, hence reducing their administration costs and getting a most likely measurable remunerations as well.

_______________________________________________

Reply to Westcoast Properties comments:
24th.August.2016
Nicholas Wedder
Westcoast Properties, Patchway, Bristol

I find it very strange that you cannot recall this sale as you tried so hard in your office to ridicule me in front of your staff when attempting to justify your actions. I don’t believe that you strive to achieve best prices either. Had you done so, my property would have reached the public market and a higher selling price. Instead as mentioned, I was encouraged to sell to a rental landlord brought to my house by your agent whilst doing an alleged photo shoot.

Mmmm? “circumstances of both buyers and sellers can change, this is something we will discuss and advise as and should the situation arise” If you mean the phone call notifying me the rental landlord hasn’t got the money so he’s going to mortgage for it, “but he’s good for it” I don’t see this as a discussion or giving advisory help, as this was never offered nor was I given different options that I could pursue.

I see this in hindsight as a breach of agreement/contract with him, and your acknowledgement of the situation, and possible foresight. The reason you did not discuss or advise me was obviously because if you did, and it resulting in me legitimately withdrawing from the sale you would loose his inducement. So your remarks regarding integrity for the seller was obviously a typo error. What you actually meant I believe was dexterity, the ability to insure your pockets are lined before any empathy or consideration to the people who find themselves entrusted, and reliant upon your services.

Your eagerness to discuss these points are only an attempt to justify your unprofessional tactics of selling and lack of CC. There is no genuine concern for the dreadful egocentric service I was given by you personally or your staff. Its just a juvenile hope by making such an offer that you may persuade a reader of this review that, Nicholas Webber and Westcoast properties may be a legitimate entity that hold their customers satisfaction beyond everything else...pants!

I bought my first home through west coast properties in 2012, we put an offer in for a property, 1hour later we were told our offer had been accepted, later that afternoon I had a phone call from west coast saying 'the seller wants an extra £500' I said that 'the seller accepted our offer earlier?' The west coast agent then started to put the pressure on, saying 'if you don't pay an extra £500 the seller will pull out!' me being a naive first time buyer then agreed to pay the extra £500, the tone of the rep then completely changed to nice. The next day I get a different agent from west coast ringing me saying 'the seller wants an extra £500 or their pulling out' I replied that the seller already asked for an extra £500 after accepting our offer yesterday, the rep replied 'o right, (long pause) I didn't realise they already asked you for an extra £500, that's ok not to worry' I then realised when I got off the phone that it wasn't the seller asking for more money it was west coast agents just trying to get more money out of me! (A friend of mine bought from west coast last year, they used the extra £500 quote on her too)
It was a long drawn out process of getting all the paperwork sorted (solicitors taking their time) but west coast were constantly putting pressure on us, kept saying the seller would pull out if we couldn't exchange in 2 weeks or 5 days or by tomorrow. The annoying thing was that it was the seller that didn't have the right paperwork for the property and west coast were well aware of this, we did everything our end to hurry things along, despite that they were always putting pressure on us. I would not buy sell or rent through these agents, they take advantage of people in vulnerable circumstances.