John Payne London reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

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.

Emily · 22 July 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Less than poor

Less than poor - do not use this agency to manage your property.Their charges are extortionate and they do nothing for their fee. My agent was off sick for weeks and no one took over the management of my property. The tenants were smoking cannabis and I was having to deal with the complaints.They also failed to inform the tenants that the property is for sale and so the tenancy was short term.I will be filing a formal complaint.Their sales dept at Crystal palace are not much better. If your property is not the easiest sale they quickly lose interest, fail to provide feedback and avoid your calls.If I could give a zero I would.

Eleanor · 8 May 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely terrible in every way

Absolutely terrible in every way possible. They don’t know what they’re doing and haven’t sorted anything. We’re paying for the most expensive apartments in the city we live in and everything ( including water ) keeps going down, it’s been months and they haven’t done anything at all to sort it or fix anything. Going through documents with them was terrific, they can’t keep up with dead lines for contracts etc. They keep trying to charge us for things we don’t owe them. Absolutely horrific

Jicky669 · 26 January 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent, wonderful, terrific

We used the Dulwich Office and Paddi and Martin have been wonderful. We had more people look at the house in one week than we had had in the previous 2 years. They really made things happen and must have sprinkled a little magic dust on the place because it sold! The staff were really helpful at all times and all the information that we or the buyers needed was to hand. I cannot sing their praises highly enough. Please keep going this way guys!

Terry · 22 January 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Been Trying To Get Someone To Help For 4 Months

Have been trying to get an issue resolved for 4 months now, every time we contact someone we're told it'll get passed on and someone will be in touch, never happens. We're calling at least once a week at this point, often more, and I don't know what to do anymore, nobody seems to want to help.Also had lots of issues trying to move in, was told we couldn't move in on the date our tenancy started because originally the keys from the last tenant hadn't arrived to the landlord in time, then we were told it was because the builders hadn't finished everything in the kitchen and it was unsafe (the only things that needed doing before we moved in was installing the fridge and the extractor fan, they had about a month to do this from putting down the deposit to moving in), and then we were told the landlord hadn't sent the keys yet, and they might be here in time, but they might not. We were told all of this this the day before our move in date, we'd already hired help and had furniture deliveries coming. In the end we got the real reason from someone else at the company, the last tenant had been unreachable since leaving and had never sent the keys (we suspected as much as they accidentally sent us an email meant for someone else demanding the keys back and furniture to be moved as someone was about to move in prior to this). We managed to move in on the day in the end as they finally agreed to change the locks. Before we found out the full story, we were continuously lied to and kept getting our date pushed back, but it doesn't sound like they were ever getting these keys and I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't kept questioning the explanations that were being given.

Em · 21 January 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Josh has been very helpful and…

Josh has been very helpful and understanding with our rental search and listened to our needs. Great service 👍

Charlie · 6 May 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely outstanding

Absolutely outstanding! We have just exchanged on our first property. We delt with 3 members of staff Kieran, Steve but the main man was Dan from Gravesend. All of the staff were amazing! Great communication, always contactable and accommodating. Fab team all of them. Wouldn't bother going anywhere else.

Kira · 1 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Very pleased with the service received…

Very pleased with the service received on the sale of my flat. After taking over from another agent the number of viewings rocketed resulting in a number of offers. Throughout Leon, Charlie and the Grove Park team were responsive, professional and gave excellent advice. I would not hesitate to recommend for anyone looking to sell a property.

Neil · 27 February 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Just avoid

Currently dealing with Jamie Perrin regarding a minor dispute over works done, paid, deducted etc - seems to find it utterly entertaining to send patronising, sarcastic and tedious emails and is enjoying being obnoxiously difficult over the phone. I'm not entirely sure what one gains from behaving or talking to tenants the way he does but he seriously needs some customer service training.Absolute nightmare to deal with when support is needed given current circumstances.

Current · 5 May 2020

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

My Overall Experience was good

My Overall Experience was good. My agents were very responsive and helpful

ExclusivelyMe · 17 October 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

If I could give 0 star I would.

If I could give 1 star I would.. been their tenant for almost a decade and when the roof if the property falling down destroying my belongings and I had to move, the property manager Jessica based in Bromley gave the worst reference about me and 11 day rent arrears when in fact they have £1200 in deposit and choose to maliciously sabotage me is terrible when I have never missed a rent payment.

Lala · 27 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

DO NOT BELIEVE the fake reviews

DO NOT BELIEVE the fake reviews. Illegal gas safety checks, urgent repairs ignored, trying to extort monies for NO services rendered!!! Avoid like covid. This place needs shutting down and compensating the tenants who’s lives they risk just to turn a few quid. -100 review

Fi · 26 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

My house valuation was carried out by…Leon

My house valuation was carried out by Leon. In my opinion, he carried out the most efficient service of the 3 valuations that I had requested. He was armed with documents containing similar properties to mine and a range of stats showing their sold prices.I felt that Leon’s valuation was the most honest and realistic valuation, based on other properties sold in my area.

Johan · 16 November 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The worst property agency

The worst property agency. They breached the tenancy agreement and they never responded to our emails and complaints. We have so many important issues running in the property (no fridge/freezer, no hot water, tap linking water). The most important is they got in the property a couple of times without giving us no access notice. They don't respect customers' privacy at all. If you don't want to get in troubles, definitely not recommended.

Chris · 21 March 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Jonathan was very professional and…

Jonathan was very professional and knowledgable, He was quite supportive and always responding promptly to my queries and constantly keeping me updated

William · 31 January 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolutely dreadful.

Absolutely dreadful.. acorn got everything wrong they could have. Communication was shocking, contractual agreement was wrong, late rental payment.. I could go on. Estate agents generally have a bad reputation and acorn are a classic example. I’d recommend going alone.. !

Charlie · 13 May 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Lydia Has been kind and helpful to me when I came in to the office

Benard · 23 February 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Freddie and the team we’re very helpful in selling my house and gave me great advice throughout the whole process.

Brian · 11 May 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible management of our property

Laura · 13 April 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Fantastic company

Fantastic company. We worked with Beth who was very helpful throughout the entire process.

Frances · 19 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

James was very professional & great to deal witn

Ian · 16 April 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great estate agents, get the job done!

Dealing with Amelia at acorn was a pleasure. She was proactive throughout and even though she wasn’t our agent (we were buying with acorn) she went above and beyond- doing things our agent should have! Would definitely consider using acorn if we decided to sell our property!

Becky · 3 February 2023

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Leon in Streatham - very proactive

A slightly rocky start to the selling process, but Leon at the Streatham branch really came through for us and made sure our sale moved across the line. He was really proactive and made sure he had updates ready often before I asked for them. He was always up to speed and made sure everything went though. Thanks for the service

James · 21 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Freddie has been really enthusiastically helpful to me, keeping me updated with everything all the time assuring me i am his valuable client. He is really reliable and the process of purchasing the house has been fast and efficient. I will recommend him as a very gd Salesperson.

Jamuni · 11 May 2019