I am a landlord who has let a property through Charles Lawson and my experience of dealing with them has also been incredibly frustrating to say the least. In 20+ years of business they are the worst company I have ever had to deal with. The rent was hardly ever paid on time. The staff are deliberately and compulsively misleading with information. Since Christmas 2007 I have had to make numerous telephone calls to get them to pay the rent due to me from the property they were handling for me. Using them is one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. Recently they issued me with a cheque that bounced and I am now considering legal action to recover the rent they are witholding. Tenants and landlords keep away! Oxford City Council should be ashamed to have this business operating in the city....

My advice for anyone looking for an estate agent in Oxford would be to avoid Charles Lawson like the fiery pits of Hades. I and a group of 5 others had the misfortune to rent a property for a year from them in the Cowley Rd area. The problems with the property were numerous ranging from huge piles of rubbish throughout the house to a hole in the cellar wall leading to the street, through which someone could easily climb and gain entry into the house. No attempt at maintenance, cleaning or even checking keys was made. When we moved in one of the rooms was locked and there was no key, after 3 days CL sent round a man with a hammer who broke the lock open and didn\'t replace it. Windows leaked, there were mice and the place was filthy. Beyond the property, the service received was shocking. The staff are poorly trained, feckless and rude to the point at which they told us \"we\'re not just sitting around playing with our cocks, you know\" when we inquired as to when we could expect the windows to be fixed. This arrogance and incompetence spills over into aspects of safety as well. 6 months into our tenancy we received a visit from the council housing department to check the safety of the property. Fire alarms were not to code, fire doors missing from their proper locations and locks on the door insufficient to secure the property. In summary, therefore, both the properties and the service received from Charles Lawson were extremely poor and I would advise you do not step foot inside this estate agents. ...