Haybrook Reviews 277

Haybrook Lettings—where professionalism goes to die and customer service exists only as a whispered legend, passed down like folklore by landlords who still foolishly believe in its existence. I pay full management fees for my property at Regent Court, expecting competence, only to receive a front-row seat to an elaborate farce.

For four years, they knowingly ignored a failed electrical test, allowing tenants to live in conditions that could generously be described as ‘shocking’—quite literally. And all the while, they diligently collected rent like a particularly brazen highwayman, unconcerned with the minor detail of legal safety obligations.

Attempts to contact them were met with the soothing indifference of their overflow service, which appears to be staffed entirely by ghosts. Even when exasperated tenants tried to arrange essential repairs themselves, they were met with the same eerie silence, as if Haybrook had collectively decided that ‘customer service’ was an outdated concept.

And just when you think the incompetence has reached its peak—the entire office quits en masse. An exodus so dramatic it could have been set to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. A lesser agency might have attempted to fix its mistakes. Haybrook? They simply packed up and legged it.

But wait—there’s compensation! A whopping £100. Which, if we’re being generous, might just about cover the cost of the aspirin I needed to deal with this nonsense. It’s the letting agency equivalent of being mugged, only for the thief to kindly toss you a fiver on the way out.

But fear not, for amidst this theatre of the absurd emerges a solitary figure: David. A beacon of competence in a sea of ineptitude, he stands alone, much like the solitary lettuce that managed to outlast a Prime Minister. One can't help but wonder if David possesses superhuman resilience or if he simply hasn’t yet located the nearest exit. Blink twice if you're in distress, David. You’ve got about the same odds of turning this circus into a functioning operation as a single spoon bailing out the Titanic.

Moral of the Story?

If you want actual property management, look elsewhere. If you’d like an expensive crash course in frustration, Haybrook Lettings will be delighted to take your money.

Chloe Goodman telephoned me to ask what type of house I was interested in buying. She asked the right questions listened and had a very professional telephone manner.

Confirmed she will keep in touch with me when the right house comes up. Better experience than what I have received from Simon Blyth or Saxton Mee.

It was a fantastic experience from start to finish! Lucy Bingham was professional, knowledgeable, and always available to answer any questions. She made the entire process smooth and stress-free, going above and beyond to ensure everything was handled efficiently. Highly recommend their services!"

I was really happy with the service I received from Haybrooks estate agents.

Paige Marson dealing with my case and she was super speedy, helpful and efficient and really went out her way to help me in purchasing the property I wanted.

Very helpful and speedy and I’m very happy and grateful

From
Parisha Ruparelia

Thanks

Where to start.

Firstly, booked a place with the lettings office, completed all the information for renting a place in Sheffield... However was given incorrect information from their "Negotiator" who not only lied to myself, but led us down the line he had agreed our requests with the landlord. I even have it in writing from him.

As the landlord couldnt agree to terms, we was left having no where to rent, and having to start the whole process again.

I have since chased up for over 2 weeks monies owed which i had to pay as a holding deposit.. and after a number of chases mainly without response.. i spoke to someone today, who has told me that due to a system change, its been delayed and could be another few days.

This is no way to run an organisation... Very poor management from the negotiator, to property Manager, to Business partner.

I have found all 3 completely incompetent, and would not recommend working with this branch within Haybrooks. Not what i would expect from a nationwide company.

Got cold call from these randomly, don’t know where they got my number from, telling me my house was up for sale, when it wasn’t and have no intentions of it being for sale, fuming.
Woman at the other end of the phone couldn’t care less, what I want to know is, where did they get my private number from
If I ever put my house for sale it wouldn’t be with this company
Only gave 1* because I had to
AVOID AVOID AVOID

Based on our initial experience with Haybrook and Chris Hancock we have given 5stars.
We booked the home visit and valuation easily and Chris confirmed the meeting both verbally and by message to avoid any misunderstanding. Chris arrived promptly and was very polite and respectful of our feelings. He was well informed and answered all our questions without hesitation. We didn’t feel under any obligation but he gave us complete confidence in Haybrook estate agents with clear pricing expectations. Top bloke who assured us he would be our contact from starting the process to completion, which we liked. We would recommend based on our experience.

I had the misfortune of dealing with the Barnsley branch, expensive ,very little work carried out by the estate agent to justify the huge fee charged, very little communication, not even a thank you by them after my house sold, my advice go elsewhere as I found the staff to be unhelpful.

So I know no one has high hopes for estate agents but I really did not think they would be this unprofessional. I cannot imagine another agency not communicating with each other and be so disorganised as this branch. I called to put an offer in to a house and a gentleman took my details. Yet when my husband followed up with it, apparently I magically didn’t phone/ it didn’t exist.

If you ever have the displeasure to deal with Nicola Siddall please avoid. She only acts in the interest of the vendors and offers no solutions despite buyers being just as valuable in the process as vendors. She is just very rude in general and will badger you.
I guess be aware of all of this if you have to choose these estate agents. Take your business elsewhere otherwise or ask for another agent.

They do not deserve a STAR. If you want to live long without hypertension avoid this company. The rude lot of them are unprofessional. Lived in a property through them, had my fence collapse and sit on the floor for 6 months. They dont pick up or return calls. They act like they are doing you favours. They lie through their teeth. They truly are scum. I beg you, if you ever see them signposted on any property run as fast as your legs can carry you. I promise you your regrets start instantly.You’re better off being homeless than to rent through this terrible company. Utterly shameless. I hope they’re out of business soon. Run Run Run Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately I cannot give 0 stars. No communication with tenants or myself as landlord, inadequate customer service, extremely high staff turnover with no onward personnel links. All in all a terrible experience. Please do not use.

2 years worth of failings

Staff leave and don’t pass on
We paid for a fully managed service renting out our property but had no one managing our property, made many formal complaints all emails ignored repeatedly.

Was paid significant compensation and promised things would get better they havnt and are now increasing fees Iv been told only 2 people manage 500 property’s and they can’t cope and staff leave weeks after starting

This company Lettings department is a disaster please do not use

I have been searching for property for quite sometime and still looking for one. However I feel that of all the agencies I have been dealing with Haybrook Gleadless branch it’s absolutely the best and this all because of a wonderful agent,Grace Calvert who is the nicest agent I have ever come across. She is extremely efficient,caring,helpful and knowledgeable and goes out of her way to insure you have a stress free visit and viewing. She is available for queries out of her work hours and is always cheerful and polite. She even managed to sort out an appointment that an agent from a different branch of Haybrook could not be bother to organise. I only pick properties now days that are within Grace’s branch! Five star for Grace and really do hope she will stay at her job in Sheffield till when I found the property I need. THANKS GRACE!🤗👍

Not at all ethical , attempt to gain commision by approaching other agents clients , suggesting they have a buyer who is most likley a " we buy any house at 80% value business "
Avoid.

My advise DO NOT use this company, they are totally unprofessional, never returned phone calls or emails, they are rude totally do not care about their clients. They have been holding onto our Tennant deposit for 7 months refused to give a reason. They really should be shut down for their total level of incompetent. And that is being kind.

Bianca, Leah and Paige went above and beyond in helping Mum with the sale of her house. Complications around having another property for Mum to move into meant she was potentially going to be homeless. They did all they could to help during this stressful period. Would definitely recommend and use again!

Absolutely terrible service from the Crookes branch of Haybrook.

I had an offer accepted to buy a flat, which fell through due to issues in the chain.

They withheld information from me about there being a probate transaction in the chain and also failed to explain when there were issues that resulted from this. I found out three months on, via conveyancers after I had already paid out for searches, survey and other costs.

Phone calls were not returned and I was left to find out that my purchase had fallen through by an email from the solicitors again, with the contacts in the office suddenly unable to take phone calls. When I left a negative review on here to start with suddenly they were able to use the phone again, trying to get me to remove my honest opinion.

I had been told at the viewing that the vendor would move out to live with family if necessary to allow the transaction to go through, to then be told this wasn't feasible and now be told he didn't have family he could stay with - obviously, one of these statements is not accurate!

I have spent weeks going back and forth trying to get my complaint resolved with them, each time being presented with a different version of events, rather than just accepting things were badly handled and trying to do what they can to put it right.

I accept things go wrong with property transactions, but this review and rating are my considered opinion of how Haybrook in Crookes chose to handle this.

Had the misfortune to rent a house through this estate agency. Unfortunately of course if you want to rent a particular property you have no option but to go with the relevant agent.

Six weeks after the end of my tenancy and I'm still waiting for the return of my security deposit, or even a notice of any deductions that they think should be applied. Which tbh I'd be really annoyed about if they tried to do so as I did lots of small routine maintenance myself.

Numerous emails have gone unanswered, trying to get hold of someone on the phone is nigh on impossible. When I do get through I'm informed there's a 'bottleneck' and they're dealing with it.
10 months into the 12 month rental period they arranged a 'mid-term' inspection - 5pm on a Friday afternoon. I took the afternoon off work to ensure I'd be back (I work all round the north of England), then they cancelled (via text, not even a phone call) with less than 2 hours notice. No further communication to reschedule the visit. Totally unprofessional.

In between myself moving out and the tenancy officially ending someone entered the property and removed a bunch of keys. I was not warned that anyone would be visiting, despite being told I would be given 24 hours notice of any visit as required by law.

I've now raised a complaint with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme but still haven't heard anything from Haybrook.

EDIT: It's now been 9 weeks since the end of my tenancy and still no communication from Haybrook as to the return of my security deposit. The house I rented has been re-let and seems to have been occupied for a few weeks now.
The four week period Haybrook has to respond to a 'deposit allocation proposal' from the Tenancy Deposit has now passed, with once again no communication from Haybrook.

EDIT #2. Twelve weeks since the end of my tenancy and still no reply as to the returning of my deposit, and apparently Haybrooks have also failed to reply to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme regarding the matter. I'm beginning to think the company is in financial difficulties and trying to hold on to people's security deposits to help their cash flow.
I've also noted that they only respond to positive reviews, not negative ones. Wonder why that is??

Sent an enquiry about an apartment within minutes of it posting. Called that same evening, twice the following day, and again on the next day. They did not make a single attempt to get back to us. On the 4th call we were told that it was "fully booked" for viewings and we "did not get our details submitted in time". Absolute rubbish. They never asked for any details and we submitted numerous enquiries. I dread to think what'd happen if you had any issues with your letting. Avoid.

Extremely poor experience with no alternative but to seek legal advice and escalate to the property ombudsman; worst still is this agency has no regard for the unnecessary personal stress caused