Unfortunately, our experience with this branch of Winkworth was pretty diabolical.
Tom, although a really nice bloke, was cagey and aloof during house viewings. Getting clear information out of him was difficult and he gave off the impression he was selling a dodgy secondhand car, not a half a million quid property.
Even after our offer was accepted, he wasn’t particularly proactive and definitely not protective over the sale. Despite numerous requests from us and our solicitor he never ensured the property was removed from the market by all agents, despite multiple promises to do so.
We were well into conveyancing, survey was done and searches were being carried out, when the seller pulled out to complete with another buyer and agent. According to the sellers solicitor, the pack had already been sent out to the other buyers…we were all blindsided and disgusted by this. We lost our legal fees, interest rate, mortgage offer, and it totally screwed up our life plans.
When notified, Tom was unaware of these developments, offered no apology and then ghosted us without explanation. You’d think Winkworth would at least bring us other suitable properties as we were clearly ready to go, but we got nothing. We never heard from them again.
By sheer coincidence, we had friends looking to buy in the same area soon after and they said the estate agent totally put them off buying from him. When enquiring who it was, it was Tom from Winkworth.
It’s really unfortunate, because again, super nice bloke, but he just gave the impression that he couldn’t really be bothered and couldn't care less whether the sale went through or not. We never felt confident or respected as buyers which is pretty paramount for such a huge life changing purchase.
We ended up buying through Dexters and it was like night and day. The agents over there were incredibly proactive and clearly understood that we all wanted the same thing…for the sale to go through! They rang me multiple times a week until completion with updates and support.
A real shame to leave such a negative review but I can’t not warn future buyers because it was an incredibly stressful time for us.... Read more