FCCParagon Arvostelua 195

Zero stars if I could – utterly unprofessional and offensive experience

I had an extremely disappointing experience with FFC Paragon. I was told over the phone that an accountant’s reference would be acceptable for my application, yet this was later rejected with no reasonable explanation.

They also refused to accept redacted bank statements, even though the relevant payment references and amounts were clearly visible. As a registered business, I am legally and ethically obliged to protect my clients’ sensitive data, and I provided my ICO certificate to demonstrate this.

Despite this, I was met with disrespectful and slanderous comments from their staff — including suggestions that I “could be anyone” and that the money shown “could be coming from anywhere.” These comments were not only unfounded, but deeply offensive and unprofessional.

Going through a referencing process is stressful enough without being treated with suspicion and hostility. I’m genuinely shocked that landlords and agents continue to use a company that behaves this way.

The Letting Agent who manage our property use FCC Paragon for reference checks and they recommended them for landlords rent guarantee insurance. We have been with them for quite a few years now, renewal is always very easy and straightforward.

I have thankfully never had to use their service, but I imagine it would be very good if their customer service is anything to go by.

Sent a link by an unknown company claiming to be my estate agent. No previous warning.

Verified with estate agent that they had initiated anti money laundering check.

Asked to key in the electronically readable characters from passport including all trailing chevrons. It's ridiculous either scan that number or just ask for the details.

Time consuming and difficult. It should have taken 5 minutes to compete this form.

Do managers actually look at usability at all?

Excellent customer service. Very easy to get insurance sorted.

I recently had an incredibly disappointing experience with FCC Paragon, which has left me feeling frustrated and financially burdened. After paying an £800 holding deposit to the agency for a flat, I was required to go through their referencing process. Unfortunately, the referencing failed for reasons that remain completely unclear.

After receiving the news, I reached out to FCC Paragon in hopes of understanding what went wrong. To my dismay, they were unable to provide any specific reasons for the failure. This lack of transparency is unacceptable and leaves customers like myself in a lurch, losing not only our deposits but also valuable time in our search for a new home.

The entire experience has not only cost me £800 but has also resulted in the loss of the flat I was hoping to secure. I had high hopes for this company, but their inability to communicate effectively and provide clear reasoning has left me extremely disappointed.

I would strongly recommend potential customers to think twice before engaging with FCC Paragon. A service that lacks clarity and accountability can lead to significant financial losses and frustration. It's crucial to choose a company that values its clients and offers transparent communication throughout the referencing process.
+44 7904 930022

Very unprofessional, did not investigate when a different persons credit file was given to them instead of my husbands. That resulted in almost losing our tenancy agreement as they failed the credit check, because they missed out one letter of my husbands surname. We then had to get a guarantor which wasn’t ideal and in addition to this, from that point onwards, my husbands credit profile has been merged with this other man, who not only has a CCJ but also is in a lot of debt. This has also delayed us in buying a house and has still not been rectified 18 months later.

Very helpful, very professional, very polite and knowledgeable

Rude, not answering questions. Late getting references sorted. Which i passed with flying colours but lost the property. Made mistakes. No appologies .

Ryan, was very polite, clued-up and helpful.

Thank you!

Do not waste your money and time with this company reference check. they actually should just check the reference but they go through all of your bank details that are not part of the the referencing. they don't send the result to tenants and do not discuss over it with tenants who actually paid £450. Maxwell property limited get my money to check the reference with fcc paragon.

If I could rate it no stars, I would. They are amateurs. Claim to have been in the referencing games for 25 years. I wish I had read the reviews before passing any of my data onto these imbeciles. I earn over £80,000 a year, they were given an employment reference and payslips. They kept questioning a discrepancy on my bank statement. As a result of their incompetence, they sent a report over to the letting agents basically saying I’m a fraud and ending up losing the property with just 3 weeks until I need to move out!
Don’t give these amateurs, any of your data!
Avoid at all costs!

The customer service is good and the price is reasonable.

Very unprofessional and disjointed. Dealing with them feels like harassment as they make elementary mistakes and are totally uncoordinated amongst themselves. They’ll ask to download 7 months of bank transactions and then spend weeks querying them one at a time. Amazing that companies with such poor service are allowed to stay on the market.

A worse experience with the referencing.

The telephone client liaison team are excellent. This is the second time I have used them and cannot fault their service. Both Chloe and Michelle went out of there way to make it as easy as possible for me.

Spoke to Ryan/Stacey about a smart rental protection package and was very happy to take out a yearly package with Them. I used FCC Paragon as they are the ones who fully vetted my current tennant and was impressed in the depth they go to make sure they would be a suitable tennant. I was lucky to have found this company as Beresford's Estate Agents only use FCC as their vetting source. Keep up the good work and look forward to many years of business together.

Marise Hingston is Great

We are a letting agent and have had issues with a few regular errors being made due to an unusual criteria when checking our applicants. We highlighted the issue to Marise and she quickly identified how to rectify them, put appropriate measures in place and has brought back the swift service and we were previously used to.

I feel confident that our agency is in good hands because of Marise.

I write this review as a landlord. A few years ago an agent persuded me to use FCC Paragon's "Smart Deposit" and rent guarantee scheme. It was OK but I found the staff to be pedantic and demanding. This was a short=lived experiment and I moved back to taking a traditional deposit, and accepted the non-payment risk.
Nearly ten years later I still have one tenant on Smart Deposit, and every year there is a minor drama with Paragon, as they request a copy of the tenancy agreement, and insist on documentary evidence that the tenant has agreed to any rent rise. It is just a lot of effort compared to taking a deposit.
This year I have decided that I cannot be bothered with this company and will let the policy lapse. I suspect that this is their aim, as they receive no income from my company apart from the original product fee.
I am not sure if Smart Deposit is still offered, but I would suggest that if it is landlords think long and hard before going down this rabbit hole!