Darlows

My boyfriend recently moved into a house let by this agency, and they did not bother to inform that there is no hot water (this is illegal, I am sure) and that the fire alarm does not work (again, illegal).
Upon contacting them, multiple times, they failed to show concern, saying that somebody would come along to sort it out WHICH THEY DID NOT. Lazy. Another person renting the same property also phoned politely about the absence of hot water and was called, by these cowboys, «demanding».
This has been reported to the council. A friend eagerly annouced that she was considering renting a property in Cardiff and I advised her against this disgusting agency. I have also reported the lack of concern and illegality to others and we will not, in no uncertain terms, be using DARLOWS OF ALBANY ROAD again. Appalling service.

they dont look much from the outside, but they are good. Kept me updated regularly. Will use them again

When I last moved, Darlow’s were one of many estate agents I had contact with in my pursuit of finding a wonderful place to live. They all seemed pretty similar and I haven’t got much time for estate agents, especially in the rental market, where getting people in and out as quickly as possible is the only thing that really matters.
I found Darlows quite helpful to start with, they seemed to have a better range of properties than many agents and didn’t seem to automatically lie to all questions you ask about a house. You’ve been there haven’t you?
«Will this room be painted before I move in?»
«Sure, absolutely»
«Is it okay if I have pets?»
«Yeah, yeah»
Many agents say anything to get you in and then you can’t do much about the problems once you’ve signed a contract.
Darlows were fine, all the way until you want somewhere or need a little more attention to detail. I wasn’t sure if I could accept a flat because I was waiting on confirmation of a new job, but told them to contact me if anyone put in an offer beforehand because I was desperate to land the place. A reasonable request, right?
I heard nothing and then rang them as soon as I got confirmation of a new job. I rang Darlows and they’d taken a deposit off someone else. What happened to my call?
They didn’t apologise and I was left asking if they had anything else. They arranged another viewing, which they then cancelled 10 minutes beforehand saying it had already been let.
Would I go back? Unlikely.

Darlows is an independently owned estate agency that is part of the Spicerhaart group. Spicerhaart considers itself to be the ‘powerhouse driving one of the biggest integrated retail financial services businesses in the United Kingdom. The group also includes the largest and most successful independent estate agency group in Europe’. Presumably they mean Darlows?
So what’s independent about that? Surely ‘independent’ means that an entity is apart from everyone else… singular, in isolation from, aside from, separate… not together? But to me, this suite of companies that ultimately trades under the Spicerhaart banner, seems pretty incorporated in reality even if it isn’t recognised as such in law… which it may well be, but I have lost my appetite for reading through all the corporate blurb… it takes too much stamina to continue doing something that makes you feel frustrated and angry!
How so? Well, I’ll tell you. This is a group of companies that likes to trade on the independent ticket… a bit like your vigilante independent politicians… they appeal to a certain demographic, (usually the more outspoken, risk taking, courageous types that marketing people call innovators)… but, also recognises that the less flamboyant amongst us would prefer to see some substance backing up the little guy at the front, and, as this grouping constitutes the majority, (hence the fact that we have recognisable parties in Government in the UK, and not the Monster Raving Loony Party running the show), they also petition the public on the big boy ticket, claiming to be the biggest in Europe at this, that and the other… A win, win scenario as far as they see it… and I guess it works. Oh well!
I guess being a large player in the financial markets means that they are eminently trustworthy and never likely to go bang, right?!
But here’s what they do: They are a one stop shop for property sales and leases etc, that can arrange the financial packages to make the sale /​lease of properties happen. They cover private and commercial property.
Hmmm… Doesn’t that mean that they can carve out more pieces of cake for themselves from one single deal, (the profit from the lease agreement /​mortgage and the profit for the sale /​lease of the building etc…)? So, I get it! They’re greedy too!

I have recently bought a house and I did so through Darlows Estate Agents. This is my first house so I dont have much experience with estate agents but from the limited experience I have had, I wasnt expecting great service.
As it turned out, the majority of houses we viewed were through various branches of Darlows. I have had mixed experiences with them. We ended up completing viewings with four Darlows offices. Two were good, and two were absolutely awful!
The first office was so unprofessional. The girl in the office didnt seem to have a clue what was going on and the estate agent who came with us to view the properties didnt seemed to care less if we wanted it or not. He didnt tell us anything about the properties and couldnt answer any of our questions.
The second was worse. We liked a house and almost put in a offer but the estate agent was very cagey about some things. We pulled out because of some abusive neighbours and it turns out there are drug dealers next door and the loft has been borded up by the neighbours from the inside. I know they want to make a sale but I think it is so wrong to not tell people important information.
We eventually bought our house from this very helpful Darlows office with a lovely estate agent and an excellent manager. It made all the difference. If my experience was just with the last office I would give Darlows 5 stars but because of the other two I cant.
Hopefully youre experience will be a good one.