1/5
The Trusted AgentHonestly think they try their best but just not up to it
I found ADR Property after seeing them featured on a Homes Under The Hammer and it all looked good and straightforward....little did I know! So, I used this company in good faith and with all intention of using them to build up a substantial portfolio in the North West. It didn't take long at all for simple, straightforward failings to become apparent. For their refurbishment service I found them to be, in the main, poorly carried out (you will only notice this with the incoming maintenance bills following rental, often mere weeks/a couple of months after the original ADR refurb), in one especially memorable refurbishment they managed to erect a fence in completely the wrong location (!!) - in fairness they did actually offer to come back and move it but I was more-than a little worried just where it would actually be moved to next time so I 'declined' the kind offer (ahem)., The rest of the property (a one-bedroomed flat) took a glacial five (5!) months to 'complete' and when I visited it. the poor standard was instantly obvious on key handover and required immediate remedying and then chasing them through the small claims court for payment! (sighs). absolute basics such as fixing an electric fire and surround to the wall (it was simply propped against the wall, plugged in!), light switches/sockets/door handles covered in paint & dirty, previous fittings (toilet roll holder/clothes hooks etc) left on wall from pre-refurb, . Poor finish all over, the bath required removing and plumbing in properly...after just six (6) months!!....and caused damage to the flat below). Electrics were untouched and unsafe, Fire Alarm was never even mentioned! Realistically I probably shouldn't go into their behaviour in the small claim that ensued but it was not that of a professional, honest and trustworthy business that they always profess to be.and constantly refer to their numerous satisfied customers - try dealing well with less-than satisfied ones maybe? For their management service it became clear very early on that they didn't have the first idea how to run an efficient, responsive letting management business. Choose one of any reasons why it was unacceptable from lamentably poor administration, constant late rental payments that required endless chasing monthly with various, unimaginative reasons always provided for why it was unpaid (to be fair a couple that were new to me - even an instance where they didn't actually know if there was a tenant in a flat or not!). Not being aware that a property was not being marketed on Rightmove even though I had told them by email numerous times over a period of a couple of weeks. My experience was that they did not protect deposits in time (as they should by law and which is an absolute basic!! Schoolboy stuff!) FYI this has the effect of a landlord not being able to issue a Section 21 that would be enforceable in court so quite important!!). Did not transfer deposit/details over to the letting agent when I moved from ADR (as soon as I could btw).. The one tenant they managed to find for me was not referenced satisfactorily, went into arrears pretty much straight away and, absolutely unforgiveably, was allowed to move into my property without there being a thorough (or any in fact) inventory carried out, agreed, signed and filed. Yes, that's right....deposit not protected, rent arrears immediately and no inventory carried out. It was all so amateur but worse than that it ended up seriously costing me money due to their incompetence. In summary a complete lack of attention to detail, s-l-o-w responses (if at all) to perfectly reasonable questions from a paying customer. Unfortunately I found out late in my time with ADR that they were just never going to be able live up to their promises. I was with them no more than 6 months which was about 4.5 months too long. The only companyI have dealt with that, within 6 months created so many problems that I had to report them to Trading Standards, seek advice from The Property Ombudsman (the letting agent redress scheme that ADR Property use) and also pursue them through the small claims court! Not a shining beacon of wonderfulness by any means. In fairness they have lovely offices, seem on first meeting all friendly and helpful and are always on time and punctual when money is due to them so they can do it if they try. Verdict: Unsatisfactory and should try harder but I'm honestly not sure they are able to. Epilogue: After extricating myself from ADR Property (phew) I found a great agent elsewhere and have continued building a nice portfolio in the North West and I would recommend shopping around. Thank you.
Agent replied · 6 August 2015
Dear Mr Fothergill, We are sorry that you feel you have had a bad experience with ADR Property Group. We take note of your review but feel it is completely unjustified as your allegations here were proved in a court of law to be untrue. As we are sure you were informed at the time, an inventory is not required for fixtures and fittings. As this property in particular was not fully furnished nor were white goods provided, there was no need for an inventory. The tenants’ deposit was protected as soon as we had received it in full, well within the legal required time, the tenant has a certificate of proof for this. Payments were not late, there was merely a delay from the housing benefit department as there is in every case, they work on a backlog, something that is out of ADR Property Group’s control. We could go on, but as we have already previously provided evidence to the court, a case that was found in our favour and you were ordered to pay our costs, we feel that this would be pointless. You and your partner Ms Narga, can continue to write as many malicious reviews, under as many user names, on as many websites as you find necessary, but our long term clients and even our clients gained in recent years know that the service we provide works, this is why they return month on month, year on year, to purchase property through us. We are essentially a small business that is extremely pleased with how the company has grown over the years. This has been down to sheer hard work and dedication from Adrian and his staff to provide an honest service that we can be proud of.
