Charles White Limited Opiniones 

Since CWL took over the factor of our development, my experience have been quite positive. Sarah Wilson has always been proactive and professional.

Reported an issue and received a prompt and professional response from Paul Sanders. Was updated throughout, great service.

Over the years there have been occasional problems with my flat (most recently water damage to the ceiling), and I've generally had excellent support from the factors, Charles White - most notably, Sarah Wilson - to remedy issues.

Charles White have been factors looking after a historic cluster of properties in central Edinburgh, one of which I own.

We have had many issues relating to the age of the properties, all of which have been managed very efficiently by their client manager, Jill Clarkson.

She has consistently and promptly got things sorted, despite the challenges thrown at her of managing a disparate group of property owners.

Highly recommend.

I've been a client of Charles White for many years. The staff are always professional, very helpful, friendly and are keen to provide a good service including resolving any issues well and promptly. Sarah Wilson, Director, held a Zoom meeting last November for property owners, which was a very useful opportunity to discuss some future major work re the roof in our development.

Mainly the work of your rep for the development at Caledonia Road. For the three years since we moved in Taylor has been an enthusiastic and very efficient manager. She has looked into matters that have affected us quickly and thoroughly and has coped with our group of slightly mad mostly geriatric owners with calmness and professionalism. Just after we moved in, she paid a visit to get to know us and explain the role of Charles White. A very personable and effective young woman. Well done, Taylor. Hope you are not going to abandon us totally in future.
Anne and Iain Hirschfeld at 48.

We are in a new relationship with the company but so far the experience has been very positive. We have had efficient service, great communication and problems dealt with in a timely manner. Our personal representative within the company has been particularly brilliant and couldn’t be more helpful. Many thanks to her and the team at charles white ltd.

I have been in communication with Charles white for the last few years and they have been great. Thanks to Lauren Young for all your support ! You are a credit to Charles White Ltd

They show absolute disdain for their clients by refusing to acknowledge emails or actually managing the properties their responsible for.

Their "client relationship manager" refused to provide insurance premium information with a dismissive "There wasn’t one issued on this occasion."

Two years after a 100% increase in service charges they have now issued an additional £540 levy as they apparently can't manage their finances properly.

As to where this money goes is anyone's guess as the grass hasn't been cut in weeks and the bin enclosure hasn't been cleaned in years.

Please pick absolutely any other company available as Charles White Limited have been a constant source of financial and mental stress for the 6 years I've had to endure them.

After over 10 years as a flat owner Managed by Charles White Ltd I have found them to do an excellent job under difficult forever changing financial conditions.
I’ve found over the years that our allocated representatives have been first class especially our president ones.

CWL has consistently demonstrated poor standards of management and oversight throughout my many years of dealing with them.
One example occurred towards the end of last year when external painting works were carried out on our block while I was away. The work was signed off by CWL, yet when I returned I immediately noticed paint on the edges of glass panels at the rear entrance. The front entrance was no better, with paint on both the glass and the lock. Upstairs, paint had also been left on a windowpane. No homeowner paying a contractor directly would have accepted such a poor finish, yet CWL approved the work.
At the end of November, litter that should have been cleared by the gardening contractors was left on site. I reported this to CWL and expected the issue to be resolved within days. By the end of January the litter still had not been cleared, despite further reminders and despite assurances that it would be addressed. The litter still hasn’t been cleared.
Around the same time, a CWL inspector visited the site on three occasions but recorded only one of numerous problems present. These included two dumped car tyres, a large traffic cone, a bucket, two detached signs lying on the ground, two large empty plastic fuel containers, a discarded drainpipe, dog fouling and persistent litter. It is difficult to understand how so many obvious issues could have been overlooked during repeated inspections.
This was particularly concerning because two flats in our block were on the market at this time. The neglected condition of the communal areas could hardly have enhanced the attractiveness of the properties to prospective buyers. Both these apartments were sold at a price which I believe was below the going price for flats on our estate.
I also reported on two separate occasions that the front doorstep to our block was unstable and presented a clear safety risk. Last Wednesday the step failed completely. A concrete slab lifted and flipped over when stepped on, striking the ground and breaking into two pieces. I am not aware of anyone being injured, but the potential for serious injury was obvious. This incident illustrates a failure to act on a reported hazard before it became a safety issue.
Taken individually, these incidents might be dismissed as isolated oversights. Taken together, they suggest a pattern of poor supervision, inadequate inspection and a lack of urgency and concern when residents raise legitimate concerns and are typical of the poor management going back decades.

At the AGM held in March, no minutes or report from the previous AGM were made available, nor have minutes from this year's AGM been circulated. This lack of transparency is concerning and makes it difficult for owners to review decisions and actions taken by CWL.
The meeting was ostensibly held to discuss the budget for the coming year. However, the largest and most contentious item: block buildings insurance, was absent from the budget items, despite having been included in previous years. No satisfactory explanation was provided for its omission.
There are serious concerns that CWL is not obtaining insurance on the most competitive terms available. CWL receives commission from the insurance broker at a rate of 20% of the premium. This arrangement creates a clear conflict of interest, as it provides a financial incentive to accept higher premiums rather than negotiate lower costs or seek alternative providers offering better value and lower commission rates. Such an arrangement is not in the best interests of flat owners and must cease.
Furthermore, owners who choose to pay the insurance premium in full and upfront are nevertheless being charged as though they were paying by instalments and receiving credit. CWL has refused to disclose either the interest rate being applied or the actual monetary amount of these charges. This lack of transparency is unacceptable and prevents owners from assessing whether the charges are reasonable.
Given the apparent conflict of interest arising from CWL's commission-based remuneration, owners are entitled to know what alternative commission rates were offered by other brokers considered during the procurement process and how many were approached. Full disclosure of this information is necessary to demonstrate that the insurance arrangements have been made in the best interests of owners and represent value for money.

CWL’s edited response remains misleading and disingenuous.
Key issues remain unaddressed, including the front step complaint and credit charge.
The AGM was not significantly disrupted. I presented and submitted a three-page bullet-point paper to help CWL prepare the minutes, but CWL didn't use it to avoid wider awareness of the concerns raised.

Paul Sanders got back to me quickly after my query and sorted the problem with minimum fuss. Excellent experience. Thank you Paul.

Peter McGarvey is an outstanding client manager with whom I have had phenomenal support on a couple of occasions now. He responds to emails and phone calls extremely promptly (usually within an hour) and has exceptionally courteous and professional in all my interactions with him. Peter has provided guidance on a recent issue I was dealing with and his professional knowledge and expertise has been invaluable. In summary he is a real credit to Charles White Ltd.

Chris Jones has been a breath of fresh air since becoming our account manager. On top of a long list of demands, flexible in his approach to meet our needs and brings his own professional expertise and guidance which has been outstanding.

I am currently a resident and former director of a building managed by Charles White Limited, and unfortunately my experience over several years has been overwhelmingly negative.

Rather than providing confidence and reassurance, their management has consistently resulted in stress, confusion, and the need for constant oversight from residents and directors.

As a director, I have had to liaise with numerous members of staff due to what appears to be a high turnover of personnel, often with varying levels of experience and competence. A recurring issue has been the apparent lack of basic monitoring and quality control over contractors and services for which residents are paying substantial sums.

On more than one occasion, contractors have been paid for work that was either not completed or not completed to the required standard, with these issues only being identified by residents rather than by Charles White themselves. In one particularly concerning example, landscaping contractors were being paid to maintain our grounds every two weeks over an entire quarter, yet they did not attend a single visit. This went unnoticed by Charles White until residents raised the issue. Even then, recovering the funds proved unnecessarily difficult.
Time and again, directors have found themselves checking, questioning, and effectively auditing the work of the management company to ensure basic responsibilities are being fulfilled.

The most recent issue has been particularly alarming. Charles White recently discovered that, due to an administrative error on their part, another building they manage had inadvertently paid our building’s insurance costs through them two years ago. Remarkably, this mistake went unnoticed for two years. As a result, our residents have now been presented with an urgent bill exceeding £9,000 to reimburse the affected building. Despite this being entirely the result of Charles White’s own error, they have declined to offer any financial contribution or meaningful gesture to help mitigate the impact on residents.

What is most disappointing throughout these experiences is the apparent lack of accountability, attention to detail, and commitment to delivering a high standard of property management. Residents and directors should not have to continually monitor the management company to ensure that services are being delivered, invoices are accurate, and financial matters are being handled correctly.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Charles White Limited to anyone seeking diligent, proactive, and competent property management. Effective management should provide peace of mind; unfortunately, my experience has been quite the opposite.

I was having flooring work carried out and the tradesman received a parking penalty notice. I thought that trades vehicles were exempt but that is not the case. I pointed out to CWL that if both permits are already in use then there is no way for a tradesman to attend without being ticketted. CWL negotiated with the parking company and very quickly resolved the issue. Full marks. Philip Robertson

Paul Sanders was great, responsive, clear and helpful. Thanks to Paul, I was able to arrange my front door replacement before going on holiday.

There is a website comparing property factors where your will see the numerous tribunal cases taking against Charles White Ltd for their poor business practices.

82% of these cases taken against them have been upheld giving them the worst rating of any property factor in Scotland. Tells quite a different story to the reviews on here.

They have bad reviews on here taken off almost immediately. The positive reviews are all written in the same style and mention staff members by name indicating incentive driven reviews, violating Trustpilot policy.

I have proof that you've had this review removed numerous times. You've also threatened legal action against reviewers on here before (another violation of Trustpilot policy).

I was in a property with Charles White as factor for 23 years. I found they consistently did a good job. It's not always easy balancing different tenant demands, or balancing getting stuff done with cost. I think that is under appreciated by many people. When I flagged issues in the development I found them responsive, the portal was easy to use, billing was very transparent, they consulted on issues. They had built very high trust with me because consistency over that length of time counts for a lot - its easy for a new factor bidding to promise the earth, harder to be consistently good for 23 years.

Had an issue with surrounding areas left unfinished around a new housing development. After 3 + years of continuously being fobbed off, CWL got on board and got it sorted. Special thanks to Jessica Rae who went above and beyond. She was professional and understanding and kept me updated, a credit to CWL. Thankyou