Letting agent in Kent puts too much faith in City commuters, after claiming it only takes 25 minutes to get to London
A letting agent in Kent has raised City worker's eyebrows, underestimating the commute from Sevenoaks to the financial district as it plugs a new block of flats up for sale.
The agent claims that you can get from its latest new-build to London Bridge in less than half an hour, but City commuters say that's not physically possible.
We all know that marketers try their best to show their companies' projects in the best light, but a letting agent in Sevenoaks may have overstepped the mark when it pointed to the excellent transport links between the town and the City.
The luxury apartments, let by Prime Place, sound all good so far: a concierge service, private parking and even a communal garden, but one City veteran disputed the agent's claim that there were "direct links to London Bridge in under 26 minutes".
Steve Shaw, founder of financial copywriter Bishopsgate and a veteran HSBC banker, tweeted a picture of the advert, asking: "can anyone remember the last time they got to London Bridge in under 26 minutes?"
Hmm…can anyone in #Sevenoaks remember the last time they got to London Bridge in under 26 minutes? pic.twitter.com/jok0k0lKus
— Steve Shaw 💙 Copywriter (@BishopsgateCopy) March 23, 2016
Apparently not; moments later a councillor in the Kentish town replied: "by helicopter, maybe".
A cursory glance at train timetables between the two stations shows there is precisely one rush-hour train that makes the journey in that time, while most others take over half an hour. If you miss the 8:08, you're unlikely to make it to the City before 9am.
Shaw's commute isn't so bad, if he gets the fast train he says he can be at his desk in the City in 35 minutes, but others aren't so lucky.
Most journeys can take upwards of 40 minutes, and that's if you're lucky enough to get a direct service. Otherwise it's a gruelling one and a half hour slog.