Town & City Management Ltd Reviews 107

Avoid this company at all costs. Impossible to get clear explanations of budget items, let alone evidence of where our service charges are going. The lifts and boilers break multiple times a year, and last summer, it took them over a month to fix the hot water supply for the entire building. Our managing agent has changed five times in three years, usually disappearing whenever they start making progress. Still waiting for service charge accounts for 2022, 2023, and 2024—despite constant requests from both residents and the freeholder. Run away from this company and never look back.

Sue has been really helpful in supporting the sale of my flat, by providing required paperwork at speed

Westcliffe Court decided some five years ago in 2020 to hand over management of our development of flats to Town & City Management Ltd. and for the first year we found that the service was very good and what we had expected it to be.

As time progressed we found that items we requested, such as invoice copies, accounts details and bank statements etc. were promised but not delivered, In fact we found that almost anything would be promised by their director, who took comprehensive details of our requests in meetings but never opened her notes again.

Eventually we filed an official letter of complaint with Town & City which resulted in a face to face meeting between our directors and one of their directors, at their offices, where we all went through our list of complaints in detail. At the end of the meeting we were promised an immediate improvement in the quality of service and communications... We were not surprised to find that subsequently nothing changed!

At the beginning of 2024 we became aware that all was not well with our finances when one of our contractors contacted us to advise us that he had not been paid because T&C were waiting for funds from us!

This started alarm bells ringing as they were never late in taking payment for their ‘services’ and we began to investigate. We insisted that they forward the previous four years bank statements, which we had never received, contrary to the terms of both their contract with us and the conditions of their ARMA membership.

We are fortunate to have directors with a financial background and their laborious forensic examination of the statements revealed many anomalies, funds had not been correctly reconciled and had been incorrectly allocated and directed to wrong clients accounts.

We were able to identify many such instances and by dint of continuous pressure, were able to retrieve these funds so that we did not lose out financially. However, we also identified instances of nepotistic contracts having been awarded without our approval or any consultation with us.

These contracts had resulted in some serious overcharges, some of which it was too late to recover and they were also in breach of Town & City’s contracts with both ourselves and ARMA.

By August 2024 we had obtained the refunds we required and immediately terminated our contract with Town & City which we were entitled to do under the terms of our contract.

It is only fair to point out that certain employees of the company did try their best to help us, Andy our property manager, Susan in the legal department and Paul in finances, all of whom were ultimately constrained ‘from above’..!

Indeed to date, despite repeated requests, we have still not received terminal bank statements to confirm that the bank accounts they operated in our name have actually been closed.

We understand that two of their directors are no longer associated with this company and also that certain staff may be trying to repair the damage that has been done to it. It is to be hoped that they succeed!

However we would advise caution and extensive research on the part of prospective clients before committing to a contract.

I held a training session for Town and City this week and I was very impressed with the team's engagement and their willingness to share experiences and learn. I thoroughly enjoyed the training session and will definitely be supporting Town and City in the future with the compliance in there buildings. Thanks to Chris, Marie and Andrea. Superstars!

vicki stevenson was very helpful in helping me with a service charge problem.

I have been dealing with Susan Ramsay who has been a great help in assisting with an issue - Susan deal with the matter as promptly and efficiently as possible

We have been a client of Town & City Management for nearly five years and they have been very professional in carrying out their duties on our behalf. They manage a Grade 2 Listed building and naturally such older buildings are probably more difficult to manage so we have appreciated their input and expertise.

We are a contractor who works for Town and City looking after some lifts in some apartment buildings for them. All the property managers we deal with genuinely care for the residents and the buildings and have their best interests in mind. They are a good customer of ours and alway pay our invoices on time which is great and appreciated! Can recommend to both property owner and contractors alike.

If I was writing this review a few months ago, it would have been a 1 star review, however I believe that credit should be given where it is due.
There has been a change of employees, which is very good to see, as previously the lack of communication, assistance from certain Account Managers was terrible.
The new team at T&C have been very helpful, thorough and communication has been very good, I just wish they had been dealing with us sooner.

As director of a large apartment complex, I have dealt with Town and City for many years. I would like to think I would review them fairly and objectively.

Has it always been plain sailing? No it has not. We have had good and bad property managers. Communication has always been the big problem. Their staff have the necessary expertise and when you get their attention they do deal with things professionally but getting a response from some of the property managers has been challenging and disappointing at times.

That said, whilst some past members of staff have clearly let the company down, I do not think there is anything that would in any way suggest they fail in terms of honesty and integrity. A point that should not be overlooked.

It appears to me, that the issues described above are in the past. We now have an excellent property manager and our relationship with their support staff has certainly moved in the right direction. We now get the attention required, they respond swifty, call us when they are supposed to call and in fairness have worked hard to build the right sort of relationship with us.

I do not know the internal workings of the company but I do think they have, and are, putting previous issues behind them. Certainly, of late I would have no hesitation in commending them in so many respects. I get the feeling that management are aware of previous issues and shortcomings and like a good business should, are correcting these things and genuinely aiming to give good service.

Let me be clear, as things stand now, I would have to say they doing a good job. I have no issues with them in terms of honesty and problems arising are attended to promptly and with good communication.

Mr Andy Skyrme (head of business development), works with us to keep our complex in good shape and I thoroughly recommend him. He gets things done, keeps in touch and has built an excellent relationship with our directors. The service he gives is first class and he is clearly an asset to the company. Business is about people and if you get good service and clear communications it should rightly be commended.

It seems to me that lessons have been learned at Town and City and I am happy that they are engaged as our property managers. If the current level of service continues as is now being delivered then they deserve praise rather than criticism.

A good business evolves and changes. On the basis of our current level of service, I feel they have moved the company forward, got good people into key positions and are delivering a quality service. I cannot imagine anyone who deals with Andy Skyrme failing to appreciate his commitment and desire to look after clients. If his ethos is representative of the company as a whole then they deserve to be recommended.

I am very optimistic for the future and excellent service is now being provided.

Absolutely embarrassing, pay all this money for them to sit on their arses all day eating doughnuts

Without doubt the worst managing agent (and quite possibly the worst company) that I've ever dealt with.

Totally unresponsive to emails / issues raised and never completed the EWS1 certification in the three years that all residents chased them to.

Thankfully we have a new managing agent who are infinitely better, but T&C totally failed to handover to them properly, necessitating considerable re-work.

In particular, David Holland is the most spectacularly inept individual I've ever had the misfortune of interacting with.

Avoid like the plague; an absolute disgrace of a company.

Do not trust them

Town & City used to manage the building that I have a flat in. I had to provide them with a spare set of keys which they could use in an emergency.
The owners of the building decided to change management agents and Town & City have not returned my key despite a request to do so. They have infact not replied to any messages that I have sent.

I’m considering buying a new build, and I understand that your company will be the management agent. However, your reviews are making me hesitant about proceeding with the purchase. 😧

Less than stellar, thankfully our block has a different management company now. Pretty much all they did was collect fees. I would give them a negative score if I hat was possible.

Awful company, nothing but false promises from staff. Poor building maintenance and grounds keeping. I would rate them zero stars if I could

Over 5 years of payments for non existent management. This company should be investigated by trading standards as the quality of care offered by this business is terrible. Many un-resolved issues, only really act when presented a legal notice. Communication is very poor and finally sold the management of the property on when forced to rectify problems.

I feel sorry for anyone having to deal with this company.

They don’t even deserve 1 star.
For 3 years I have been reporting a leak in my bedroom due to the disrepair of the walkway above me. The wall is in an appalling state.
Sue doesn’t respond to any emails or telephone calls.
The complex where I live is in a total state of disrepair.

If I could give them zero stars I would so one will have to do.
They are a complete waste of space. They don't respond to emails so you end up chasing them with a phone call only to be fobbed off and given empty promises.
The complex where i live has had no roof for 2 years, always uses the excuse that they are waiting for the insurance claim to be processed. I'm starting to wonder if they have been paying the insurance. Several residents have leaks in their properties due to the lack of roof.
I now have damage to my property which has been reported several times and it still hasn't been fixed like they told me it would several times.
They keep putting the service charge up every year, for what reason? I don't see where they are spending the extra money. There's been no painting or any other general up keep done to the complex for years, there excuse is always Covid!
We are being kept in the dark about everything. All leaseholders should be kept updated about everything

I do not know how this company is still trading. They manipulate residents (especially our voluntary board directors), and have watched our blocks fall to ruin. What is even funnier, is that the managing director is a local town councillor, yet, watches people’s homes fall apart. Please think twice before appointing them to manage your home. Con Artists.

UPDATE (Dec 2024):

Due to Town & City’s incompetence, leaseholders have had to payout for a new roof because they spent our insurance money elsewhere. We changed managing agents in April 2024, and the horrors we’re finding are unbelievable.

Laughable that they’re creating posts on LinkedIn and Google stating how their standards are high, and customer service is their priority. Absolute crooks.