Watson PM Reviews 76

Had a late service charge charge issued by Watson’s months late. No explanation was given.
They sent me a letter threatening a penalty for my late payment.
If there invoice had been sent in time it would have been paid

We had Tess Thomas to do our survey. Tess confirmed the appointment the day before, Ms Thomas was on time and brought all relevant equipment for the visit. She explained the process clearly prior to starting, she was very polite, patient and took the time to explain any queries/ concerns we had.
On a less formal note Tess was so lovely, thank you so much. (Watsons property group)

Parcels were stolen from our building’s post room the same day they were delivered. I reported it and followed instructions to contact the police and get a case number. Despite that the building management basically told me it was my fault for not using a collection point. No accountability, no help I never got any compensation just blame shifting. If the post room wasn’t secure that’s on management not residents.
Think twice before moving in. The management isn’t focused on security or tenant well-being they’re more interested in squeezing money out of residents.

Ian at Watson has been really helpful with my queries. Appreciated the honest recommendation and feedback. Keep up the great work!

Wouldn't give 1 star but had to for review. Absolute SCAMMERS. Been trying to pay service charge over the phone for months. Always get the response , someone will phone back, which they never do. I cannot use their rubbish portal online so this is only how I can pay.
Anyway a £117 service charge has now gone up to £850 in 3 months .
Disgusting vile scamming company

This company comprises of a set of rip off merchants fraudulently billing leaseholders at Springwell Gardens extortionate service charges for services they do not provide. I am unfortunately a victim of their behaviour as well as all the other poor leaseholders at Springwell Gardens. Examples of their conduct include: applying late fees/charges onto bills which have not been invoiced. Aggressive and threatening communications to leaseholders regarding terminating leases where a small charge is outstanding (an amount which is usually not billed nor agreed). If only this industry was regulated as their services charges are definitely fraudulent and criminal. Couldn’t give 0 stars as there was no option

I am not usually one to write reviews but these guys ever since I moved to my residence a few years ago have been diabolical to put nicely.

The communications amongst there own team is a shambles and have to contact them every month of the same scenarios and just when you think it’s resolved and you have gotten a polite ‘thank you it is noted and won’t happen again’ it happens again.

Besides the gardening which is the only thing they have done right is hiring a good gardening team the general maintenance of the property is poor & didnt residents amongst ourselves are the ones fixing the problems so then comes to the point of why are we paying these guys.

Avoid if you can although I don’t have many comparisons to other maintenance companies but just expect to call them regularly with issues that won’t be resolved if you deal with them

They are widely reviled by the leaseholders in my apartment block. Their costings are opaque, they are unreliable in almost every area of maintenance, they work tirelessly in their own interests rather than in those of their clients.

I urge anyone considering using this business to read all the reviews on this page. If you are not deterred by these, click on the blue 'Property Management Company' button beneath the review rating and then filter your search by location to Leeds, or wherever you are.

Doing this will give you insights into how other management companies compare - and it will show you just how far behind Watson's are. My earnest advice is for you not to go anywhere near them.

Absolutely shocking management company to deal with. No interest in providing the residents with a good level of service, uses bully tactics and false information to mislead. This company will eventually fall down due to their extremely poor customer service.

I have read a lot about the extortionate and unjustified fees that maintenance companies impose on leaseholders, but little has been said about another exploitative practice that is becoming increasingly prevalent: the involvement of private parking companies. These companies, which claim to protect residents from unlawful parking, often target leaseholders themselves as a source of profit.

At the Hungate development in York, Watson and Bay Sentry Solutions, the parking company operating within the gated car park, have devised a scheme that ensures residents are fined, even when they park legally. Given that these car parks are secure, there are rarely any genuine "violators." However, Watson and Bay Sentry wait for the rare occasion when a resident forgets to display their parking permit due to a car repair or when the permit falls off the dashboard. In these situations, the parking company is quick to issue fines.

What makes this practice even more exploitative is the design flaw in the parking permits. To make matters worse, Watson and Bay Sentry have created a system where, if a permit is exposed to normal environmental conditions (such as sunlight and heat), the handwritten bay number and development name inevitably fade. This leads to a situation where permit holders are fined, even though they are legally parked with a valid permit. When a resident challenges this, Watson insists that the responsibility for ensuring a durable permit lies with the permit holder, not the parking company.

In addition, Watson demands payment for a replacement permit, despite the fact that the original permit is a defective product not fit for purpose. Not only does Watson procrastinate in issuing a new permit, but this delay allows Bay Sentry to fine the resident multiple times. If the resident refuses to pay, Bay Sentry enlists debt collectors, and their so-called legal representative, DBCLegal, takes the matter to court.

Unfortunately, Watson and Bay Sentry Solutions are not isolated cases. Their exploitative, almost criminal practices—more commonly associated with third-world countries—seem to be creeping into the UK. One can only hope that the judicial system has not sunk to their level yet.

I would give them zero but that is not possible. Uneducated, unresponsive, unprofessional, unreliable and uncaring representatives across the whole business. They have made the lives of many of our residents miserable. This does not relate to one incident but a 9 year catalogue of incidents.

Awful property manager who are so rude to tenants! They sent me a threatening note without any civil communication

AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Poor, ineffective communication. Poor service for over inflated fees.
We share a communal court yard with our neighbours which are only accessed by electric gates. These gates have broken on a Sunday, leaving vehicles stuck in the court yard. It took two phone calls to their out of hours line to be told this isn’t classed as a 24/7 emergency and will be picked up during normal business hours on Monday. Absolutely no understanding that people need to use their vehicles to get to work and school/gcse exams.
If you are buying a property where Watson are property management, do your research and think again.

Over two years to review a leaking ceiling in an old mill apartment & no sign of remedial action. Poor communications and tbh they give the impression they don’t care two hoots, whilst collecting management fees for the appartment.
Unimpressed so far

I'm not even a tenant and I still had an awful experience.

When me and my partner was looking for our own place to live, we found this really nice maisonette which is local to us, not a bad price either. I rang up to query for a viewing, I was told the guy who's handling the property is not available and will call me back. Couple of days later I received no call so I called back, same again.

3rd time I called back and I said this is my 3rd time calling, she said she will pass on my details to the guy who's handling it.

Still. No. Response. Luckily me and my partner were not desperate for a place and managed to find one with a different company.

This property had been listed for nearly a year, now I know why.

Absolutely the worst property management company I have ever dealt with! I would not have bought the apartment, if I'd have known just how bad they are.

The staff are clearly inexperienced and have no idea how to manage a building.

They promise to call you and don't call back. I have been chasing them for almost a year in respect of various matters.

Do not employ them, your building will end up in rack and ruin with no reserve fund to deal with any emergency issues and no idea of the state of the building.

I have no confidence in them at all. I'm sick of chasing them every week, with no progress whatsoever just the same response, "I'll check and get back to you and they never do!

I wouldn't even give them one star, but I had to, to give this review!

Watsons are the Property Management Company for the flat that I hold a lease for. I sent a query, via My Portal, asking if I needed the Freeholder's permission to have Full Fibre Broadband connected. A simple question you would have thought! Having received no response, I called the Help Line, who advised that I email the Regional Property manager (Tracy Goodall). I did not receive an acknowledgement or reply. I then emailed The Head of Block and Estate management ( Emily Ransome-Farmer). Again no acknowledgement or reply. I did try to email Ian Ormant but could not find an email address. I guess that, looking at the abysmal review history on Trust Pilot, he probably does not want to be contacted. I think that I would be embarrassed to head-up an organisation that was providing such a poor service. I can only endorse the comment made by the vast majority of reviewers on this site, that Watsons are happy to receive their management fees but are not keen to help, or even communicate with the lease holders that they "should" be providing a service for.

WATSON, the Property Management company, are a 'service provider'. They DO NOT control YOU or YOUR lease. They are merely employed by your Right to Manage (RTM) company, (although this is questionable, SEE BELOW) of which YOU are a shareholder:
*Note that WATSON are an Employee Owned Company (EOC), meaning that the more money they make, the bigger the employee bonuses, so they are ALL in on the scams, e g , inflated invoices, missing invoices, unrequired Section 20 notices, failure to provide QLTA (Qualifying Long-Term Agreements), outsourcing gardening, painting, window cleaning...... to their Wetherby cartel members (alleged approved suppliers).
Contrary to their claim, WATSON are NOT regulated by the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), or The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). They are simply members and use these professional organisations for window dressing / false credibility whilst carrying out their boiler-plate scams.
*Download the Service Charge Residential Management Code 3rd Edition from the RICS.ORG website and fully converse yourselves with the contents. You will soon find that WATSON CANNOT bully you OR threaten you with legal proceedings, nor can they demand excessive charges. They must also provide written documentation, and invoices when requested.
*The Service Charge Residential Management Code will help you understand your rights concerning Section 20 notices, Client Money Funds (Reserve Funds), Accounting Procedures (how you can challenge WATSON) and how YOU and YOUR RTM can get rid of WATSON.
*Many of you will also find that Andrew Ingram and Dolores Charlesworth are falsely claiming to be Directors, and Company Secretaries of YOUR Right to Manage (RTM) companies. Refer to the Companies House website for full details regarding YOUR RTM company.
*NOTE that WATSON will also install 'selected' leaseholders are Directors WITHOUT following procedures as defined by the Companies Act 2016.
*Demand written proof that WATSON employees (Dolores Charlesworth, Andrew Ingram, Joy Lennon) have been elected as Directors or Company Secretaries of your RTM company.
*Demand written proof that all Directors have been selected BY THE shareholders (leaseholders). *Also demand written proof that WATSON had the right to move the registered address of YOUR RTM company to the WATSON address (Hawthorn Park, Coal Road).
*Demand written proof that J.H. WATSON Property Management Limited has been elected as Company Secretary for YOUR RTM company.
*Ask why WATSON employ J. H. Watson Property Management Ltd AND, at least one other WATSON, often two employees, as Company Secretaries to your RTM company.
*You can also write letters/emails of complaint to: ARMA.ORG.UK, RICS.ORG and TPOS.CO.UK. The more complaints the more they will take notice that YOU and THEY are being scammed.
Based on the above, we got rid of WATSON and are saving £750+ per household per annum. Additionally we do NOT have to listen or pander to their lies and deceit.
*WATSON are NOT transparent, nor are they honest. Apart from their website they have NO social media presence. The only means of contact is via a generic email address info@watsonpm and a standard landline / switchboard. They will use every means possible to deny access to YOUR rightful information.
*Read your LEASE and RTM company Articles of Association carefully and arm yourselves with knowledge, and the facts, and save yourselves from the financial and mental anguish of WATSON.

AVOID this business. It is a SCAM!! They are taking huge sums in Service fees and never do any work. Everything is sub contracted out to equally useless businesses that won’t help you. They should be investigated for fraud