Charles White Limited Avis 439

Update: I left the review below last week, & have since been contacted by someone from Charles White. He says their company are just a management AGENCY, who can only act at the behest of the management company & their board of directors & shareholders, so Charles White’s hands are tied (in a previous conversation, I presumed the ‘Board of Directors’ was Charles White’s board, not the residents’ board). He assures me that he did contact the management company board about these issues, but it was them instead who declined to help us on all counts (except that all the Velux windows in the complex will now be cleaned during the annual roof inspection, which means at least one good thing has been achieved!). So it appears I have misunderstood Charles White’s role, but i wasn’t given any opportunity to explain & represent our case properly directly to those in a position to decide to fix the various problems (since Charles White don’t actually appear empowered to achieve anything, I’d recommend just go directly to the source). & he remained very officious & defensive about his legal responsibilities, with no obvious sign of a desire to help resolve problems, nor an acknowledgement of inconvenience/potential danger suffered (even if it wasn’t strictly their fault). Perhaps that’s just the cut-throat world of business, but I work in a caring profession, & it’s not how I deal with my clients!
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Belfast branch (Royal Ave), or at least the 'Senior Client Relationship Manager' we were assigned, have been the worst property management co we've ever had to deal with. Perhaps cos we were tenants, rather than landlords, so deemed not 'clients' worthy of a 'relationship'!

They point-blank refused to provide a fire-evacuation chair in their 4-story apartment building for our disabled son who is confined to a wheelchair (& we were living on the 3rd & 4th floors!).
Or to mark out a disabled parking spot in the car-park of the apartments (which was needed to allow our son to open his car door wide enough to get his wheelchair in/out).

We are a family of 5 adults, but Charles White refused to cut us any extra keys or provide any extra remote-controls for the electric gates.

Throughout our year renting, the electric gates were an absolute nightmare for all 3 apartment buildings enclosed by them on this site, frequently refusing to open or close (not only a huge inconvenience, but also an obvious potential safety issue). But Charles White showed no inclination or urgency about getting them fixed anytime they broke (apparently any expense had to be ratified at a board meeting, which obviously didn't happen often enough to sort out these urgent problems!).

We also asked them several times to clean the 4th-floor Velux windows which were disgracefully soiled (to the point we didn’t want to open them, or lots of dirt & debris would have fallen inside). It appeared they had never been cleaned, & presumably neither had the similar windows on other properties in the complex. No cleaning happened, & no courtesy of an explanation received.

& their other tactic appears to be just not to respond to emails asking them for anything if they're not interested in helping.

I would certainly think very carefully before becoming dependent on this company: their stance comes across as very legalistic, with no sign of any flexibility/goodwill/common-sense/compassion being applied, even when a wheelchair user is involved.

Rachael Higginson gave a fast response and friendly assistance.

Over the past 3/4 months I have received exceptional service from Charles White; in particular Paul Saunders. He is very approachable, courteous and helpful, always quick to respond and action issues that arise, ensuring a satisfactory solution is reached.

Our development account manager sourced a professional and expert contractor to fix a TV arial problem. The contractor selected could not have been more helpful and quickly solved the issue. A very positive experience

Charles White Limited has been a reliable and professional management company for our apartment in Belfast city centre. They respond quickly to any issues, especially emergencies, and always handle things with care and patience. Their service is timely, efficient, and reassuring. Highly recommended! A big thank you to Paul Sanders and the whole team!

Paul Sanders and Philip Stevenson from Charles White have been an excellent appointment after years of mismanagement from a previous agent.

The team at Charles White onboarded our property seamlessly and Paul has been meticulous in the day to day management of the estate, supporting cost cutting activities and preventative maintenance on a B2 listed building.

All shareholders in the property are highly appreciative of the transparency from Charles White when it comes to the cost of third party services and contractors.

Highly recommended!

I've had several dealings with Paul Sanders over the past year in relation to my sons property in the development. From the outset, Paul has been consistently professional, responsive and helpful. Any time my son or I have raised concerns or issues, Paul has addressed them promptly and followed through to ensure they were resolved to our satisfaction.

It's reassuring to know there is someone in his role who not only listens but takes action. He has made what could have been frustrating situations much easier to deal with. His attention to detail and commitment to good service have made a real difference and its clear he genuinely cares for the residences experience in the development.

Overall, I've found Paul to be approachable and reliable - a real asset to the company.

While I was out of the country in January, during the gales we had a window blown in (frame and all) at our apartment in Belfast, leaving a bedroom exposed to the elements. It was spotted by a visitor to the property, and after a phone call from me Peter McGarvey got on to it within the hour, going round and boarding it up in person. Response times on other issues have also been great. Big thanks to Peter and the rest of the Charles White team.

The team at Charles Whites simply gets things done. They are friendly and approachable as well as providing a first class professional and prompt service. The website is easy to use and the documentation clear and easy to follow. Maria Cooper, our Manager, provides a superb service and ensures that jobs are done efficiently and with impressive promptness.

Ms Guoda Dakniene was very responsive, professional, courteous and personable.

A true asset to any office and company!

This review is for Max Alexander client services mngr belfast. I have recently had the pleasure of co-ordinating with him as a Director of Geenedge Court. Unfortunately, our previous experience was one of mistrust and unfulfilled promises over a period of at least 2 years. Since Max has come on.board he has fulfilled all.previous negotiations and recommendations to.our grateful satisfaction and conclusion
Always available when.is contacted either by email or phone and responds as quickly as possible.
Nothing seems too much trouble for him and has taken the initiative to visit the residents when a problem.has arisen on.site personally which is.much appreciated
We look forward to our continuing professional and caring relationship
Thank you Max

Sarah dealt promptly and effectively to resolve a parking ticket which should not have been issued. Many thanks.

After this first year following appointing Charles White Ltd as property manager, considerable and noticeable progress has been made in our development.
In this, Maria has been instrumental in meeting the needs of residents, always prepared to listen to concerns, answer questions and consider suggestions. This has engendered a very positive working relationship, providing reassurance or action, as appropriate, upon myriad matters, diligently and efficiently. She ensures that we are well-informed in recent, current and upcoming business.
Thank you, Maria.

Service Charges have doubled from £130 a quarter to £260 in the space of a year. This includes a tripling of the electricity bill. They're claiming it costs £600 a year to run a few light bulbs.

This is in addition to the information in my previous review that they had attempted to double charge for buildings insurance by incorporating it into the service charges after having charged the full premium for the year.

They also overcharged for window cleaning, claiming it was costing £216 a quarter. After they finally admitted to this, instead of amending the figure, they issued credit notes. Of course, instead of applying the credit to my invoice, they added it on to the balance.

Enquiries are dealt with dismissively. If you raise more than point, they will only acknowledge one point in their reply and ignore the rest. I was accused of "not being able to understand" by the current "Client Relationship Manager" (this position changes hands every few weeks) when I queried the substantial price increases.

If you're unlucky enough to live in a property managed by this company, then make sure to check every invoice before paying, and for the love of God, DO NOT give them your account details to set up a direct debit. You will never recover their erroneous charges.

A leaking roof problem was sorted out within a few hours of contacting Charles White.

Very prompt roof inspection and corrective work by Turner Roofing

Concerns raised are ignored, things as simple as meter readings etc are made overly difficult, require multiple emails from the customer asking again and again for confirmations. No idea what is going on in the offices that it takes them days to reply to simple emails. Absolute headache to anything at all with this company.

Many thanks for arranging a visit to sort out our roofing leak issue.

This was all done within 24 hours, so this was a fantastic response by Charles White.
A big thumbs up to Keith at Turner Roofing who was excellent as well.

Maria has been a diligent representative ensuring that development concerns are heard and acted upon. A credit to the team and our development would wholeheartedly recommend Charles White Limited as a result.

I have had brilliant experiences with Charles white so far. Rachael Higginson always responds very quickly and resolves whatever problem or questions I have!

Had a really bad experience with this company. They acted as managing agents for our development but it was one issue after another. Eventually we appointed alternative agents who have consistently offered a much better level of service for the same montly price.