Beacon Lee & Ward Ltd

The worst letting agency you can go with. We where tenants of theirs and we had a mould problem from the begining. They treated us like criminals despite the fact i keept the house immaculate clean and looked after the garden like my own. But they didnt care for that . Their only goal was to get as much money from my deposit as they can. Realy bad service and i tought the letting agency work for bouth parties (landlord and tenant). But in my case just for the landlord. I cant explain how bad and angry i feel even now 6 months on. Do not go with them or you will have troubles in the future.

Do not trust these people. Not only did they fail to sort out a damp problem (which is hazardous to health) for over 6 months despite countless emails there were things that didn't get fixed in over 12 months. They also let people in for viewings without giving us notice even after we had expressly told them on more than one occasion to call us in advance to prepare the property for viewing.

Not satisfied with providing a non-service (on more than one occasion they told us to speak to the landlord directly to sort out issues) they then had the temerity to try to charge us extortionate cleaning fees when we moved out. £10 for crumbs in a drawer!! Crumbs our landlord couldn't see. £10 to clean sockets. £10 to clean light switches. They wouldn't provide us with the cleaning quotes they said we were liable for.

They agreed to reduce one cost on the premise that the landlord had agreed to a reduction. I went round to see him and he told me that they hadn't even spoken to him. He also agreed that we pay £60 for carpet cleaning (£40 for the hire of the machine and £20 for his time) when the agents were trying to charge us £100 for the cheapest service they could find. A search of the internet suggests it could have been done at a a fraction of the price.

After raising these issues with them they backed down to all our demands but would not waive the exit inspection fee of £48 even though it wasn't a fair reflection of the damages we would be liable for through negligence. They said as it was in the contract it was non-negotiable. A contract that they themselves had breached.

To add to our frustration the members of staff we dealt with were arrogant and rather than apologise would rather debate the finer points of contract law. When they trespassed by entering our home without 24 hours notice, the Director Jonathon Drew argued that it was an honest mistake on the basis that viewings had been agreed the previous week and there had been some kind of mixup. He also said as no damage had been done to the property (something neither of us could know at that time) and there was nothing for them to make amends for. He didn't seem to care that our privacy and right to quiet enjoyment had been infringed.

Speaking to him after they backed down on all the fees to explain my concern with his staff's conduct and their failure to copy him in to the final communication as requested, he said he would call me back in 24 hours. He did not honour his word and chose instead to email me not even having the common courtesy to explain to me why the damages and the costs incurred had been misrepresented and reiterating that we would still be liable for the exit inspection as it was part of the contract.

Letting agents have a bad rep because of people like Beacon, Lee and Ward. They seem alright when your looking for somewhere but once your in, your pretty much on your own.

Fantastic at letting out our property they had 15 prospective renters in the space of two days superb at getting the right tenants for us.
Excellent local business people that know the local market and what they're doing.

I have been very happy with the service I have received from Beacon Lee & Ward. Their staff are very helpful, friendly and above all professional. They always go the extra mile to ensure a high standard of customer service is maintained. I would recommend Beacon Lee & Ward to landlords and those looking to rent without hesitation.

Beacon Lee & Ward office is the friendliest in a friendly Somerset town. I found them to be very helpful and supportive whilst being thoroughly professional as letting agents. After a very stressful 6 months trying to complete on a house in Wellington they were like a "beacon" of light in a dark maze of estate agents' offices (waxing lyrical, I know, but that is how I felt at times).

Great service from a small team who do appreciate their tenants as customers as much as they look after their landlords.

Terrible way of treating other people! Rude staff with poor knowledge! Would not recommend to an enemy avoid at all costs! One star seems too nice!

Would give 0 stars if allowed!
I have a friend who has been in a property for 12 years, who has never missed a rental payment. Her landlord has now advised her to go through Beacon Lee and Ward with any issues. Needles to say she has now been without heating for 3+ months during the coldest part of the year. Which the stress of dealing with the cold and the agency is now effecting their physical and mental health.
The latest conversation she had with the agency she was told "If you don't like it you better find somewhere else to live". Very poor from these guys, they see the £££ rather than the people.