1

I want to share our end-of-tenancy experience with Hamptons (Lettings) Chiswick (W4), because it genuinely surprised us how it played out.<br><br>We did everything by the book. We paid Hamptons' fee for a professional check-in and check-out inspection, on the assumption that paying for a "professional" meant the property would be assessed properly and fairly. That is not what happened.<br><br>At check-out, the inspector managed to miss items that were in plain sight. A carpet that was under the bed was recorded as gone. A lamp and several other things sitting on the right-hand side of the sofa were somehow not found either. We wrote back to Hamptons and told them exactly where each item was. Rather than simply looking again, they told us they had sent someone from their own team to check, and that person confirmed the items were "missing." One of these, a lamp, was valued by them at £130 and still set against our deposit.<br><br>Here is where it becomes hard to accept. The flat is now back on the market. A friend of mine, posing as an interested renter, viewed it and filmed a short video. In that footage the lamp is sitting exactly where I said it was all along. So an item Hamptons charged us for, twice claimed to have "checked," and deducted from our deposit, was never missing at all.<br><br>The landlord is very much part of this too. Time and again our questions went unanswered because Hamptons told us they were "waiting for answers from the landlord." Between an agent who would not correct clear mistakes and a landlord who left us waiting, we were stuck in the middle with no one taking responsibility and our money held the whole time.<br><br>The result (after 57 days from our end of tenancy) is a chunk of our deposit still outstanding, tied to deductions we do not accept, backed by inspections we paid for that were simply wrong. Every step of the resolution had to be driven by us.<br><br>For an agency of Hamptons' size and reputation, I expected far better. My advice to any tenant renting through them: be sure your deposit is protected, photograph and film everything at check-in and check-out, keep every email, and do not assume the paid "professional" inspection will protect you, in our case it did the opposite.... Read more
25th Jul 2026 (9 days ago)