Marsh & Parsons Askew Road Estate Agents

My partner and I were looking for a house to purchase. Even though we didn't go ahead with it our experience with Marsh and Parson was great thanks to Marissa. She took her time to show us a few properties, she never rushed it, she listened to what our needs were and came up with great suggestions. Thanks Marissa for all your help, we wish all the state agents were like you!

When we started to search for a new house, we realised the service real estate agencies provide are so different. Both Marissa & Josh went above and beyond their duties, always ready to show us other/better properties, spent time with us while we debated through options and constrains.

Have nothing else to say than, please keep the quality of your work to such great level and ensure you clone Marissa all over :)

I only have good things to say. The whole staff at M and P was extremely professional and friendly. Marissa's first contact was great as she listened to my requirements and made me feel like she cared. Having spoken to a few agents, Marissa was the only one to do this. Then most importantly, she showed me some great places that filled my requirements bang on. So a great experience all round. Thanks again

Alyia Syed is the best thing since 'slice bread'.
My daughter and I were going through a very very hard time last year when she found us our flat around the corner from her office.

Nothing was too much for her. She listened to my moaning and groaning, gave me practical advice, comforted me and my daughter and still remained professional. If I couldn't make to her office from the address that I was moving out of then she would come to me.

I could go on forever, but I won't. She is brilliant at her job not anything like one might imagine estate agents would be like. SHE CARES.

Justyna Ostrowska helped my husband and I find the perfect long term lease for our little family. Justyna was warm, friendly and went over and above to ensure the entire process was seamless. A big thank you to the entire team at Marsh & Parsons Askew Road.

Amazing agency, don't know what else to say.

It wasn't easy to find a flat but the team at Marsh & Parsons done their best to get us a flat within our budget and other criteria. Due to the really busy market, things were a bit stressing but we feel very lucky to have dealt with them !

They followed up with us frequently by calls which is much easier than emails.
That says a lot about how they take care of their customers

We are landlords and self manage our properties way better than any agent ever has done in the past, as our tenants will testify. We use agents to find our tenants and collect the rent and protect the deposit.

Marsh & Parsons used to good some 10 years ago but not since they sold out - the decline has been steady and they need to take a long hard look at themselves. Also all their processing goes through a central office which are a real nightmare to deal with.

Unfortunately this office, Askew Road, let us down badly with our last tenants, through hurried and poor reference checks. The previous tenants had to break their company contract but were still liable for a further 12 months rent. Commission gleamed in the eyes of the M&P letting agent and he grabbed at the first tenant he found, encouraging us that he had passed all his checks with flying colours. The agent did not share the actual reference checks with us, that later uncovered many questions, eg how long was he at his last rental - answer not sure less than 6 months. Did they speak to the landlord and get a written reference....no they called him using the mobile number the prospective tenant had given him. Did they check who had owned that property,...no - turns out a company in Guernsey - the list is long. It wasn't until he stopped paying the rent that we demanded to see the reference checks - be insistent on seeing these and do your own homework too.

Be aware that they will tell the tenant the landlord wants a 3 year contract with a two year break clause and they will tell the landlord the tenant wants a 3 year contract with a 2 year break clause. This is very often not the case at all! This is not a good contract to have in the event the tenant falls behind on rent. M&P simply want a two year minimum contract so they can take all their fees in the first year for both years.

Also be aware that in a situation such as ours the agency is obliged to pay back commission on rent not received. This agency were telling us as a gesture of goodwill they would return 15 months commission already taken in advance - only when the tenant left. This is not the case - it is your right and is no gesture of goodwill! Their comments on this matter made me see red!

I recommend you find a reputable agent such as Fletchers or Dexters in this same area who share everything with you reference wise, including passport details which M&P refused (suspect they never checked) and they take their commission monthly.

Any issues take your case to The Property Ombudsman.

We have just had the result from the Property Ombudsman October 2022

The Property Ombudsman found evidence that Marsh & Parsons;

1.Marsh & Parsons regard the signature of the Tenancy Agreement as acceptance of references.
2.Marsh & Parsons encouraged the Complainants to sign the Tenancy Agreement before references had come back.
3.No evidence that informed the Complainants that the Tenant was self-employed at the outset of the tenancy.
4.No evidence that Marsh & Parsons informed the Complainants of the additional checks they were undertaking alongside the reference report as a result of the Tenant’s self-employed status.
5.Marsh & Parsons’ second complaint response was not provided within 15 working days.

Marsh & Parsons have not, therefore, met the Code requirements (1d, 2a, 2b,11g and 19f) and I, therefore, support the complaint to this limited extent.

We were awarded of £400. This is considered a very high award from the Property Ombudsman by real estate agents - if we had declined the offer, we could take them to the Smalls Claims Court to settle the £9K we were out of pocket. We would have liked to take it further but not being based in the UK made that difficult. M&P declined to increase the award as a gesture of goodwill and we would remain silent on the outcome. They did not want to increase their offer.

On other properties we rent - Fletchers and Martin & Co have proved to have exceptionally high standards thus far.

The service was amazing and I was given a tailored service in a competitive market allowing me to secure a beautiful property. If anyone stumbles in this estate agents I would 100% recommend Aiyla! Sweet as Pie and has a heart of gold.
10/10 service!