Fox and Sons Shoreham-By-Sea reviews

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

My Fox & Sons experience was not great.

I used Fox & Sons at 13 The Parade, Minehead, Somerset for their Tenant Find service. I thought I was choosing a local company and supporting the local economy. I was wrong. They are controlled by an organisation called ‘Sequence UK Ltd.’ After having had problems I checked Trustpilot to find 97% of the reviews for Sequence are one star Bad.The staff at the Fox & Sons were generally pleasant and mostly helpful but so much of the paperwork and processes were apparently completely out of their control. Information feeds into ‘Sequence’, that faceless unresponsive company. Sequence emailed me a copy of the proposed Tenancy Agreement to review and sign, but I wanted an unfair clause removed which would have forced the new tenant to switch to a utilities company rated 35 out of 37 in a Which? survey. I assume ‘Sequence’ would have got a commission for the referral? I was told that removing it would need approval of a Director? It took over 2 weeks to make the change and every day they sent another email with the same Tenancy Agreement, telling me I had to sign it. They ignored all my efforts to try to stop this barrage. It was getting too be a harassment. Staff at the shop just accepted that this was the way things were and could do nothing about it? Neither Fox & Sons or Sequence told me when the amendment had been made. The only way to pick it up was to every day trawl through the draft contract they demanded I sign. Utterly hopeless communication!The Tenant Deposit retention service included in their t&c’s are another sneaky thing to be aware of. They keep the deposit cash and you have to pay the annual insurance fee of over £50 for the privilege. A lot of the bad reviews are about Sequence taking months to return deposit money. I had my own DPS (Deposit Protection Service) account (free) and gave them the reference number but Fox & Sons much later said they would not get involved as I was not using their service. Surely this is part of what I am paying for? I had to sort it out with the new tenant myself. Not impressed.I paid them over £200 for a check-in report to be done. I’ll save myself half this next time and arrange it myself. The report included meter readings but nothing was done to update the utility company with this information. Agents I have used previously have always done so as part of the process. It took a week and various phone calls and emails to get them to pay the balance of the Tenants first month rent to me. Delayed apparently by having to go through Sequence process.My Fox & Sons experience was not great. Mostly good for their direct involvement and pretty appalling when Sequence were involved. I’ll try another agent next time.

Mr · 25 April 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

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I do not recommend Fox & Sons

The Hove office handled my mortgage four years ago. I had to pay a fee which I was told told was a lifetime fee for future services.The original agent I dealt with did an excellent job but has since left so I was left with Jack who called to remind me of my re-mortgage and incorrectly deduced that it was due a year earlier than it was. No matter, fast forward to this year and I'm told I need to download an identity/security app, Credas, send a bunch of paperwork and payslips in order to get my mortgage going.A couple of days later. he says there will be a delay because my name, Francis, brought up questions. *Shrug*Having heard nothing for a few days, I sent a reminder asking for updates. I got an email back saying due to "certain circumstances, they were unable to find a lender and they could no longer help"No explanation, no further feedback. That "lifetime fee" I paid sure came in handy eh?I wouldn't use F&S again if they paid me.

Frank · 5 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

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They fail to answer email or messaging…

They fail to answer email or messaging at all in some instances, otherwise doing so late causing properties to be lost in some cases.

Les · 16 June 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

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Fox and sons Taunton Estate agency

My review is based on a potential buyer of a property that Fox and sons in Taunton that are currently advertising. I intially phoned up to show interest in 45 Nicols Place, Cotford-st-Luke and spoke to Isabel who asked various questions and booked us a viewing, which I had a text confirmation for. The day before the viewing I received a text to say that our booking was cancelled, I phoned the office and spoke to a guy who said I'm just back from a day off and it was me by mistake I will reinstate the booking. We viewed the house and was greeted by Joein who explained that he is filling in and that he will answer as much as he could, where I explained I had a lot of questions. He showed us around, but couldn't answer most of our questions, lacked enthusiam and we came away deflated. I phoned the office to put in a offer, which Joein promised to phone me back before 12:45pm on the Saturday, but didn't. I then chased the office, which took a total of 9 calls until someone answered, which was Lewis, who explained he was on his own. I asked for Joein, but I was told by Lewis that he was finished for the day, so the promised phone call was false promises. Lewis put the offer over to the vendor who then rejected this and we forward another offer, which was now handled by Isabel on the following Monday. As we had spoken to 3 people in the estate agency I had to repeat myself on numerous times which I had told Joein. They have no personal service, don't listen and you find yourself explaining your situation over and over again because they either don't write things down or because your dealing with various people they don't liaise the information over to the next person. The final offers that we placed for the property were dealt with Isabel, who I can say was polite, but after a further two offers were rejected I was told that another potential buyer had put in a higher offer. I asked what that offer was to be told data protection comes in force and that she couldn't tell me? I'm not asking for personal details, only the offer on the table. We were then told that the vendor is going with the other buyers and that they were in a better position even though we had a cash buyer on our property, completing in 2-3 weeks and we were ready to go? It felt like a game of cat and mouse with the offers, they have no care for potential buyers and only care about their vendor the seller and getting as much commission as they can. Buying a home should be exciting and Fox and sons just ruined our whole experience. I shall not deal with this shambles of a company ever again and should of read Fox and sons trust pilots reviews before I even considered picking up the phone!

Callum · 25 February 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

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Tara at fox and sons in worthing

Tara at fox and sons in Worthing has been amazing from start to finish She is very knowledgeable and provided me with an excellent service when choosing my mortgage.Highly recommend Chaweewan

Wan · 14 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Bad is not enough to define and…

Bad is not enough to define and describe the service provided by Fox and Sons in Western Road. They use all the resources they have in hand to make money at the expense of tenants.When we left the apartment, they sent a company to carry out the check out and they claimed money for "damages" that already existed when we moved in (but they did not mention in the check in report). As a way of example, they wanted to charge us £185 for an allegedly damaged skirting in the living room. Well, this was only the result of an existing structural crack in the wall that made its way to the skirting. This coupled with other reasons that were rejected by a dispute ending up in me and my wife wasting time on the dispute and getting my deposit back 3 months later. On top of that, when we moved in and because we were starting new jobs, we had to pay 6 month in advance plus deposit. We made it clear that we only wanted to be on a 6-month contract and after go on a rolling contract. Well guess what? we paid to secure the apartment and when we got the contract is was a 6-month contract subject to a minimum additional 6-month contract. They do not care about tenants!! Stay away from them if you are renting!!!

Lucrezia · 16 February 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

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DODGY!!!

As in former reviews stated:All what counts for “Fox and sons” is money.After paying agency fees and deposit they stopped caring for us.With living in a flat which is mouldy and damp for over a year now, it is more than obvious that they’re NOT interested in solving the KNOWN problems.One room can’t even be used anymore.As we’re moving soon it becomes quite clear that the flat will only be re-decorated to sell it overpriced.My husbands health problems increased massively through the mould and damp.When it came out that there is an insurance with a certain company they even expected us to lie, that no other companies were involved.That is fraud!!! Although former tenants had the same problems and even got the Council involved, nothing happened.Fox and sons Maintainance company is useless simultaneously!

Angry · 3 February 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

A great service and advice

I bought a couple of property from Eastbourne branchSteve (the BIG guy) dealt with all the sales hiccups I really impressed with his skills set and ability to solve any issues also Tom was helpful tooI very highly recommend this branch and will deal againthanks, guys

Hasan · 22 September 2020

★★★★★ 2/5

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Fox and Sons, Bognor Regis

Fox and Sons, Bognor Regis are just not up to the jobThey are full of promises to sell your property within 6 weeks etc but once you have signed the four month contract the reality is they probably aren’t up to selling your property and you can’t get out of the contract.I lost confidence in them after a series of let downs. A sale fell through, communication was slow and inadequate. Following an offer being withdrawn, a number of days went by before my details appeared correctly online without showing sold STC. I often had to chase queries not responded to, viewing feedback and offer negotiations which I believe were not handled efficiently. Viewings got cancelled, and for some that did take place I received no feedback at all. A friend emailed them asking for details and a viewing and they responded with no offer of a viewing, and neither did they chase it up. Marketing was poor, and photos and presentation very amateur. I even had to ask them to use some of my photos instead of theirs and I rewrote the property details for them. I contacted the Area Director twice to express my disappointment and dissatisfaction, and requested I be released from their contract so I could try another estate agent and have a better chance to sell. This was refused. Needless to say, Fox and Sons did not sell my property.

Jo · 3 September 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

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I first found Fox+Sons late one day

I first found Fox+Sons late one day, when I phoned around all the lettings agents in Plymouth. Laura Bradley was the only agent still answering, working late, still open for business and that says it all really. I signed up there and then because I was so impressed. She has a 'can do' attitude to every question, and is well experienced in her job. She has a great team, and they work hard and efficiently to provide a great lettings service.

Caro · 26 August 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

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Pleasant staff but I had a poor…

Pleasant staff but I had a poor experience. They recommend Conveyancing Direct. My file was passed to 4 different solicitors. That led to my purchase falling through and my sale left uncompleted.CD say they're based in Hastings, even the number on the phone is that number. In truth, my solicitors were based in Cardiff.My £1000 deposit was voided when I was gazzumped. F&S refused to get it back. So I did it. At the end, F&S even refused to deliver my spare keys (0.6 miles from their shop). 'We're not a delivery service'. At times they spelt my name wrong and basically failed to neither get the sale nor my prurcase over the line in time. So I stayed put.They distanced themselves from CD and said it wasn't their fault.£2000 out of pocket, no apologies...

Jonathan · 19 August 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

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Saltash

Kate and Tom in Saltash Branch were amazing. They did everything they could to get me into a property with such short notice. They answered all my questions, not right away as I know they are busy but they always got back to me. Would recommend them to anyone looking for a property in the area.

Gregg · 14 July 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Don't use Cornfield Road, BN21

Late last year we used the Eastbourne branch based at 19 Cornfield Road, BN21 to view a property on Wallis Avenue. The property was listed at £240, 000. We are first time buyers. Peter Bushell was the person in charge of handling the offers. We offered the asking price. The pressure that we were put under to use their in house mortgage broker was ridiculous. Take no for an answer. We'd sorted out own mortgage and got a decision in principle. Still the phone calls came. 'We think it'll be really good if you use our mortgage broker.' I wish I had a recording of the conversation Peter and I had. His words were, "Daniel, we've had 12 offers on the property and you're in our top 3. You'll be number 1 if you use our mortgage broker." Is this even allowed? Never say never, but I will never sell a property, buy a property, rent a property using Fox & Sons.

DL · 1 April 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

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Leah was very professional

Leah was very professional. She took time to explain her role and approach towards selling houses when she showed us round a property.So when asked to value my flat, she was honest and clear in her appraisal.

Tim · 5 August 2024

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Deposit hasn’t been refunded.

I sent a deposit for a property to secure it however the landlord went with someone else. That’s fine, it happens. I Was told I would have a refund in full of my deposit £415.

Elliot · 2 March 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Unfortunately this estate agents harass…

Unfortunately this estate agents harass you if they get sniff of your either wishing to sell or rent your house.. got knows how they know. If you go on the market with another agent, they will cold call at your door to steal the business. We were considering renting our house unless we got the right price at selling (selling through local fab Exp agent in Salisbury, Adam Budd).. I don't know how F&S caught wind of this potential renting plan but they harassed me with calls and even turned up at my front door. Unbelievably unprofessional company who lie, cheat and cold-call to get a sale. Bad reputation.

Sarah · 17 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

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Kemp Town branch

I can only judge Fox and Sons Kemp Town based on my own experiences of buying a property through them and then letting it.And they have proved to be excellent in both cases. Ed showed me the property and Mike helped me finance it. No unnecessary tooing and froing and the process was smooth.Renting the property was equally easy. It was rented with a month at the price they suggested it should go for. Jenna and her team have proved helpful with deliveries and suggesting builders too.All in all I'm very pleased so far.

Toby · 30 July 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great job in difficult circumstances

Thank you to Carly and Kayleigh at the Eastleigh branch. The price evaluation was spot on and they got us exactly what we were looking for amidst Brexit. The house sale went through 2 weeks before our mortgage term expired and we started paying higher mortgage rates. They were also fantastic at working between myself and my ex to ensure things progressed and we were both kept up to date even once the Coronavirus lockdown began.

Charlotte · 3 April 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Steve and his team at Eastbourne have…

Steve and his team at Eastbourne have been AMAZING!! Highly professional, diligent, energetic, hard-working and passionate about everything they do. We felt totally supported through a challenging sale process impacted by Covid and Brexit (including a sale falling through last minute!), yet they kept our spirits up and emerged victorious!! Best estate agents we've ever had the pleasure to deal with BY A MILE. Thoroughly recommended for going above and beyond. FIVE STARS!! *****

Lisa · 12 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

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Thank you Taila for all your hard work…

Thank you Taila for all your hard work dealing with an anxious landlady. Despite failing boilers, issues with the windows and guarantors you got it over the line. Thank for your help PJ

Pip · 13 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Staff terrible at communicating…

Staff terrible at communicating resulting in huge bills. misinforming throughout the renting process about insurance policies which are a scam resulting in surprise charges. We rented a property and was told to not worry about normal wear and tear for example paint coming off in kitchen due to not being fit for purpose as not washable/ oil based (so unhygienic!). When raised to them in inspection they said it’s been kept very well and will be fine because we have insurance and we get hit with a £450 bill to repaint the whole property and ceilings and all woodwork….. This is despite us already paying £250 for the insurance in the first place which they told us covers things like normal wear and tear and explicitly told us painting would be covered and ‘not to worry!’Due to bad communication even had a house viewing at our property that they expect to come to any time and an hour after the agreed slot without just dropping a quick text or call and forced entry into the property when I was recovering from a surgery and explicitly told them not to enter without someone present to let them in. Overall terrible experience the agent can make a huge difference on your experience renting, ultimately the bad communication and lack of clarity and transparency resulted in surprise bills.

Shannon · 28 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

useless, data protection breach, be carful with your banking information.

I originally let a property with them last year through the st.budeaux office. They was very friendly and welcoming at first. On the day I had to pick my keys for the property, I was taken up stairs to be sold contents insurance. The sales man was good and I decided that it was a smart move.All was well up until last month. My landlord phoned me and accused me of fraud! He said he had noticed a payment leaving his account every month for insurance in my name! I said I don't have a clue what you are talking about, I bought insurance from fox and sons and it was all done with my details.Following a confusing conversation with my landlord, I phoned up fox and sons to find out they accidentally put the land lords banking details through instead of mine and they were "sorry". After moving past what can only at best be described as a blatant breach of data protection and sloppy work, I phoned up last week to get a signed copy of my tenancy agreement emailed over to me. After not receiving anything for the whole week I decided to phone up again. To my surprise they sent the email I have requested not to me but to my landlord! After explaining to the lettings manager that every incounter I have had with them has been met with huge mistakes I proceeded to ask him if thier whole team is comprised with useless muppets or if it was just him? Instead of answering the question he hung up the phone, could you believe it.After calling no him straight back he angrily told me he didn't like my tone and will hang up again if I continued to complain. Now with a chip on his shoulder he informed me that he has sent the email again. This was two hours ago and I still haven't revived anything. This has been my experience with fox and sons. Substandard at best.

Toby · 24 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The True Cowboys of UK Estate Agents

One word - awful. We bought a house listed with Fox and Sons back in 2006 and between offering and completing all of the staff had left. We should of learnt our lesson but instead we rented a property through them recently which was also painful beyond the 1st month (notably the first month was December which is arguably a quiet month for them anyway). Once they'd been paid the upfront fees all they were interested in was selling the property. Radio silence from the rental contact and pestering from the sales team. To facilitate a sale they even attempted to misrepresent the AST contract terms. Wanting weekly visits for prospective buyers, inferring this was their right within the contract, and when we discussed extending beyond the 6 month fixed period they wanted to amend the contracts to explicitly state this as a right and secure multiple days per week to show prospective buyers around. They couldn't care less about a renters right to private enjoyment of the rental property they are paying for. And surprise surprise, when it came to check-out they applied as much urgency as a tortoise... more than 2 weeks later and we are still at least 1 week away from seeing our deposit returned. I know Dorset is a relaxed county but still..... If we compare them to the Agent that sold our house, which required us to move into rented, you couldn't have two more opposite ends of the scale. Cowboys is a polite way to describe the ineptitude displayed. Lucky for us we didn't need the deposit transferred between rentals but if we did we'd be in trouble so my advice to anyone reading this is to steer well clear of Fox and Sons.

Garry · 15 June 2017

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Right from the initial viewing Toby and…

Right from the initial viewing Toby and his team acted professionally and helped our purchase go as smoothly as possible, highly recommended and would definitely use again.

LEWIS · 9 December 2024