Trusted Agent profile · Ware
★★★★★
74 reviews across 1 platform
19 Amwell End, Ware, SG12 9HP
Part of SAB Saint Andrews Bureau Ltd, see every office.
SAB Saint Andrews Bureau Ltd's office in Ware, at 19 Amwell End, is rated 3.7 out of 5 across 74 reviews on 1 platform.
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Every review we hold for the Ware office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
5/5
TrustpilotSAB have fully managed my properties…
SAB have fully managed my properties for almost 20 years. I appreciate having a single point of contact. Initially working with Colin, more recently with Claire both have been excellent always responding to me quickly and keeping me up to date with changes in legislation. Tenants usually stay for many years so must also be happy with the service received. I have recommended SAB to many friends that are also landlords.
1/5
TrustpilotGet a break clause in your contract!
I would avoid renting from this company. They charged me a £330 fee to change the name of one of the named tenants on our contract. When asked for proof of these costs they would not provide any. 2 years ago we did a similar name change and were charged £175. When asked why the fee had almost doubled they said 'Landlord’s contract and their fee has been reviewed since then'. When asked if we were notified of these changes they avoided my question, instead referring me to a clause in the contract stating they can charge a £50 admin fee plus any 'reasonable' costs incurred by the name change. When asked, they failed to provide a justification for the increase in 'reasonable' costs for the name change between 2022 and now. Because I am the one 'breaking' the fixed term contract without a break clause (despite the fact a replacement tenant has been found) they are threatening to not change the named tenant unless the fee has been paid. I'm not sure if this is legal (see Tenant's Fees Act 2019) but I have given in to their demands to make life easier for my flatmate. I would strongly advise avoiding using this company in the future and if you have no other choice, ask for a break clause to be put in the contract.
1/5
TrustpilotPushed to complete early, left me homeless at Christmas, did not care
Initial experience of booking to view a let was good, then the dealing with the paperwork there were a few mistakes but dealt with well. It all fell apart just 4 days before handing over the keys, when I received an email informing me that my let had been cancelled because the previous client had not returned the keys. This email was sent at the end of the working day so I could not phone them back to ask what my options were, and left me essentially homeless as I had handed notice in on my current let as is normal. This is also the week before Christmas. I spent that night stressing out about how I was going to cope with the situation. My house move was all booked, utlities ready to be moved, standing orders for existing property cancelled and end of tenancy clean booked. A lot of this I had had to pay for up front as it is so close to Christmas. The next day I was waiting at the office to speak to someone as to what I could do. The total lack of empathy was shocking, they did not care at all and didn't even offer to help me find something else. They even had the gall to point out that legally they did not have to do anything. So Happy Christmas to me, homeless through no fault of my own. I have never had a problem renting before, I have never defaulted on a payment and never lost a penny off a deposit. Moving at Christmas is stressful enough and SAB pushed me to move before the end of my current tenancy, which given they must have known they had a problem with their existing client (she had gone none contact and the house was empty except for rubbish when I viewed it 5 weeks ago), to think they could turn it around in 4 days was unrealistic on their part.
5/5
TrustpilotI've been a tenant for 8 years
I have been a tenant with this agency for over eight years. Every time there was something wrong in the house they were very quick to fix it, I never felt like I needed to chase them to get things repaired which made my life much easier.
5/5
Trustpilot10 years’ excellent service
We rented our house through SAB for 10 years before selling. Excellent service throughout. They used reliable, reasonable trades people for jobs needed. Property was almost never empty for over a week between tenants. Took a balanced view with tenants’ requests.
We are glad to hear you were happy with the service provided over many years.
5/5
Trustpilotwe are pleased with the services of SAB…in their professsionalism
we are pleased with the services of SAB in our first property by: i. Providing prompt response to all our queries ii. Ensuring our inetrests are protected during the transaction iii. Securing tenancy in good time iv. Ensuring that the property is well mainatined in our absence v. peace of mind to be in good hands
1/5
TrustpilotAbsolutely appalling
Absolutely appalling. I am selling my flat which is managed by SAB and the Estate Management team have provided the incorrect documents (which I had to pay £380 for upfront!). Despite their error, nobody is replying to my emails and their phone lines say their offices are closed. Extremely frustrating as moving house is stressful enough without having to handle this as well.
1/5
TrustpilotIt is a thumbs down from us
It is a thumbs down from us. After renting for over 12 years with SAB they are very unprofessional. They do cheap botch it jobs on an already mouldy damp house. Please stay away especially if the landlord is Lord of the Manor Lord Trumpington. Bullied with section 21s just because we queried an increase to rent. .... house is mouldy damp and was infested with moths under the cupboard but didn't dare ask for help. A boiler that should have been condemned and disgusting rotten decades old windows and kitchen. Bullying agents. Glad to be out in our own new home.
1/5
TrustpilotTerrible
Terrible talking to Agent Noreen. The rudeness and lack of professionalism is ridiculous. She shouldn't be working in a customer facing role if she thinks she can talk so rudely to clients. Serious training and supervision is required. Cant recommend her or SAB to anyone.
We take all feedback regarding standards of service seriously however we are unable to match the name to any records to enable an investigation or determine a reply. We would welcome direct contact regarding the matter to enable us to do so and should you be agreeable, please send this to: Donna Jacobo, Director of SAB Estate Management Donna@sab.co.uk
1/5
TrustpilotAll the poor reviews are exactly right!
All the poor reviews are exactly right!Any tenant should steer well clear of this agency. My initial rent was reasonable, but then they aggressively increased rent every year.The last rent increase was £225 per month which was negotiated down!I was paying significant monthly rent and yet the furniture was of such poor quality, it broke very quickly. Looking up the exact make and model I could see the furniture was extremely, extremely cheap and clearly of a very poor quality. The poor quality furniture caused some superficial damage to the property which then SAB are now trying to charge us for in the exit inventory. We had to replace our bed because it broke and was unusable and we've been charged for this also.Disgusting tenancy experience. They will try and charge as much as rent as they can possibly get away, then try and take your entire deposit.
Firstly, we are always saddened and sorry to see a poor review. In this instance we would just like to remind everyone of our role as the agent. It is not our decision on a rental amount. We are instructed by our client; the landlord and we submit documents to tenants accordingly. A Section 13 notice is issued for a rent increase and this states the options available to a tenant should they not find the increase acceptable. These options include third party organisations who could advise and assist in what is considered to be an unfair rent increase situation. A landlord also chooses the furniture, or at least the funds to spend on furniture, and therefore the standard or quality is not our responsibility as an agent. If we fully manage a property, we will report any breakages to the landlord who will instruct us regarding repair or replacements. Following a checkout of a property at the end of the tenancy we provide a report to the landlord and any proposed charges a landlord wishes to make; we then propose to the tenants. We act as the agents in between in negotiations and should the tenant and landlord ultimately not agree on the deposit deductions, the tenants deposit is protected by legislation requiring it to be registered and protected therefore ensuring a third party adjudicator makes the final decisions. All deposit deductions go to the landlord or costs associated with the property and at no time are payments made to SAB as the agent. As agents we deal with rectification works, cleaning arrangements and deposit disputes which are time consuming and we receive no direct payment or recompense for our time so such situations are to our detriment, not our gain. Therefore, whilst we appreciate the frustration in this situation, we can assure everyone that we follow legislation and best practise guidance and this in turn provides tenants with protection from landlords who may be deemed to act unfairly. We hope this provides some clarification to our position as the agent.
5/5
TrustpilotVery good
Very good, very helpful and fast
5/5
TrustpilotI would highly recommend them from a…
I would highly recommend them from a landlord's perspective.
5/5
TrustpilotAlways efficient in responding to…
Always efficient in responding to problems
5/5
TrustpilotAn excellent service from SAB
We have used SAB for several years and we have found them to be extremely efficient, organised and consistently offer an excellent service. They pay great attention to detail and use high quality tradespeople to complete jobs on time. I would highly recommend the SAB team.
5/5
TrustpilotLovely people
I was living in a flat for just under 5 years and whenever there was an issue SAB always responded as soon as soon as they could. Every person I've encountered has been lovely. No problem is too big. Thank you for such a good experience.
5/5
TrustpilotHighly professional and responsive team…
I have been with SAB for almost 10 years and have five properties. The team is a highly professional and responsive team with a personal touch. Whenever there is an issue they always have a solution to resolve.
5/5
TrustpilotI can only speak for the Longstanton…
I can only speak for the Longstanton branch who I cannot praise highly enough. They are always, friendly helpful and efficient. If I have any sort of problem with my flat I'm sure that they will help or point me in the correct direction.
5/5
TrustpilotProfessional Advice - Managed and Let Only Services
Professional Advice provided in a clear & timely manner. We have used SAB for managed and let only services for in excess of 10 years across our portfolio of properties - the service & support levels are consistent, attention to detail second to none.
1/5
TrustpilotAvoid these people
Avoid these people! We were told that we had secured a property from them only to find out 48 hours from someone else. This industry has a poor reputation and with this sort of behaviour its pretty clear why. I can't see why any landlord would use them and I'd urge tenants to be cautious about renting through them
We are always saddened to see a poor review and we are sorry this was your experience. We have investigated the situation and our findings show that you submitted your request to apply for the property to us on 23rd December, and we had informed you that the landlord had already accepted another applicant, but we would put yours forward in case the approved potential applicants did not complete the full application process to proceed. On 5th January we informed you that the landlord had agreed to accept you as a potential applicant as the first approved party had not yet completed the application process to proceed (and they were not responding to our communications). Therefore, the first approved party and yourself both had a link to allow you to complete the application online for the property. We sent you the link to apply at 9:55 am on 5th January and you replied to us on the evening of 6th January saying you had not yet had time to apply within those two days. In the meantime, on 7th January the first party who had been approved used their link to complete the application and pay the Holding Deposit. We then received a notification from the online platform we use for applications to confirm this application was completed and the Holding Deposit was paid and we therefore had to inform you that the other applicant had completed. We appreciate the frustration for you in this situation however it was beyond our control once two parties had been approved and had the opportunity to apply. Had we received replies from the first party to be aware they were still interested we would have certainly communicated this to you however we did not hence our reason for asking the landlord if they wished to consider you to give you the opportunity to apply. The link we provided to you on the morning of 5th January included all the terms and conditions and this states that an application is not considered accepted, and the property is not taken off the market until the Holding Deposit is received. Again we can only apologise for the course of events leading to this disappointment and will review our procedure to determine what we can learn from this for future clients.
5/5
TrustpilotI rented with them for ten years. Very happily.
I rented with them for ten years. They were superb. I played my part by never missing a rent payment and by not making excessive demands or nit-picking. So when there was a problem, for example the washing machine broke or the boiler wasn't working efficiently, they replaced them with brand new ones immediately. I was very impressed by the friendliness of the workmen whom I met over the years, who provided the statuatory checks, such as the gas safety check, and I was always impressed by the professionalism and commonsense of Kane, the managing director. He would fix problems often before they happened, such as getting workmen in to clear ivy away, or to replace a fence that was looking rundown. I found over time that they had the property's best interest at heart and they were always fair to me. I stayed far longer than I intended to rent for, and it's true that the annual rent increase was a pain and a drain, but the professionalism of the company meant I always felt safe and secure living in a property managed by them.
5/5
TrustpilotBrilliant service from SAB
Brilliant service from SAB. My experience was with the branch in Ware and with Leane in particular I can not fault them or her. Always keeping me updated with my property and never had an issue. Would Highly recommend
5/5
TrustpilotSAB a highly professional agency …
SAB has managed up to five properties of mine continuously over a 25 year period. They have always been highly efficient, prompt and professional. I would strongly recommend them as a rental agency.
5/5
TrustpilotConor Jackson has been fantastic. Would recommend SAB
Conor (my property manager) has been fantastic. Replying quickly and politely and sorting things out quickly and sensibly and with minimal fuss when there are minor issues.
1/5
TrustpilotSAB's disgusting conduct
SAB's conduct during my 12 months renting from them have been subject to upheld complaints with NHDC Environmental health and the Property Ombudsman - avoid these people at all costs, their hygiene standards are vile and their attitude to honestly reprehensible..Avoid at all costs and use a professional letting agent instead..
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Tell us what you need and we'll put you in touch. SAB Saint Andrews Bureau Ltd hasn't joined The Trusted Agent yet, so we'll pass your enquiry to them or to up to three other top-rated agents near Ware.
