Warning about CRESTONS Estate Agency London

Emjonrm

I am a landlord of a property in Kings Cross and after many months of chasing Crestons (Ref Mr Syed Ahmed and Mr Ray Mashuk in their Caledonian Road office) they have still not paid me the rent they have collected from the tenants.
They owe me circa £4k but despite constant chasing by email and phone calls payment is never received. I have a court order against them but still no payment. I believe they have no intention of paying the rent to me and simply want to keep the money!
All landlords and tenants be warned!
Trading Standards are investigating them for fraud and other illegal activities. If you have a complaint against them either as a tenant or landlord please contact Islington Trading Standards [TEXT REMOVED BY FORUM TEAM]
www.islington.gov.uk
It is really important that estate agents like Crestons are closed down so other people are not the victims of fraud and illegally withholding monies. It is also important that employees/the owners of Crestons who have acted illegally are prosecuted.
I have been in touch with other customers from Crestons and there is a catalogue of stories of bad practice, extortionate fees and rent monies not paid to landlords (despite being paid by tenants to Crestons).
Please be warned - avoid Crestons!
As an example of another customer who has had dealings with Crestons see:
http://www.crestons.info/

Guest101

Get tenants to pay you direct, as soon as rent is even 1 minute late.

Emjonrm

Thank you! We had problems getting hold of the tenants but after a while did manage to re-direct the rent. One of the other issues with Crestons is that they set up limited companies to accept the rent and then put them into liquidation.


They also use an insurance backed deposit scheme so they physically hold onto tenant's deposits then after a while withdraw from the scheme so re-payment of the deposit becomes the liability of the landlord under the Housing Act. Another way of basically keeping other people's money.


The staggering thing is that they have a number of smart London offices and they continue to trade despite bad practice/illegal activity etc... [TEXT REMOVED BY FORUM TEAM] I particularly feel sorry for tenants who cannot afford to lose their deposit...


Anyway, appreciate your comment.

Conrad

I do find certain cultures have a, shall we say, greater propensity to honesty and observing rules than others.


I've long worked in finance and find certain communities have an endemic propensity to avoid tax / claim benefits way beyond that found in other communities.


Also the Financial Conduct Authority publishes the names of those banned / fined / jailed and again you do find particular trends along cultural lines. I would think similar may be found in those barred from medicine.


Why is it one type of restaurant / takeaway openly promotes a 'discount for cash' policy? Why isn't HMRC onto this like a ton of bricks?


It has nothing to do with race before someone jumps on me, it's about cultural trends.


I am a Landlord and manage my own properties. No need for agents at all.
My number one tip is to rent to 'nerds'. They tend to be rigid rule conformers and have a responsible nature, for example they save a rainy day fund knowing full well life may throw them a curved ball.

Guest101

Emjonrm wrote: »

Thank you! We had problems getting hold of the tenants but after a while did manage to re-direct the rent. One of the other issues with Crestons is that they set up limited companies to accept the rent and then put them into liquidation.


They also use an insurance backed deposit scheme so they physically hold onto tenant's deposits then after a while withdraw from the scheme so re-payment of the deposit becomes the liability of the landlord under the Housing Act. Another way of basically keeping other people's money.


The staggering thing is that they have a number of smart London offices and they continue to trade despite bad practice/illegal activity etc... Fortunately Trading Standards are now on the case. I particularly feel sorry for tenants who cannot afford to lose their deposit...


Anyway, appreciate your comment.

the deposit is always the LLs responsibility, delegating this practically via the agents doesn't remove the legal liability.

Emjonrm

Agreed but the custodian backed deposit schemes avoid agents being able to simply keep the tenants deposit. Crestons seem to be in the business of not paying landlords or tenants judging from the many negative reviews on the internet.

Gemmma137

I know this story, all to well. Crestons owed my employer in the circa of 40K. I was the manager who instructed Crestons to manage our properties by word of mouth. Over a year of battling to get money back, countless hours of paper work, no shows from crestons on court dates, solicitors not responding to our solicitors etc etc. Syed Ahmed is a out and out con man. Avoid at all costs. Trading standing islington are very aware and had taken statements etc. I'm now on leave for a while, the word is they have gone into liquidation, is anyone aware of this?

eddddy

Hi G______137

It sounds like you've had a really tough time with that agent.

Just a quick caution... from the details you give, the people you mention may be able to work out who you are (even more so if your username is similar to your real name).

You've named an individual and called them a con man in a public forum. That's a bit risky (unless, for example, they have been convicted of a dishonesty offence). Some people can be quick to threaten to sue for defamation.


The OP also makes some strong statements, but in other posts he says he is an experienced commercial property lawyer, so I guess he has considered his words very carefully.

csgohan4

Long story short, manage your own properties if you can... at least you have no one else to blame than yourself if it goes wrong