Every review we hold for the Aberdeen office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleI honestly wish I could leave less than one star. This letting agency is shocking. I strongly recommend you rent from literally anyone else in Aberdeen! I also encourage you to look at other reviews, they are notoriously bad with tenants.
The list of miscellaneous and bizzare charges after we moved coincidentally amounted to our entire deposit. Not only that, they regularly harassed us with rude and condescending emails, and invaded our privacy with unscheduled inspections whenever they fancied. They also tried to evict us in the middle of a pandemic when the entire city was on lockdown, and had the AUDACITY to keep requesting items from us after we'd moved that were not on the inventory. We were treated as though we were so far beneath them from start to finish. Absolutely devoid of any empathy, personability, or professionalism-- happy to see the back of them!NegativeQuality, Professionalism, Value
Hailey · 10 June 2021
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleRented through this company and can only appreciate their professionalism. When an issue occurred, got things resolved quickly, friendly and efficiently. Would use them again as a tenant, but also looking to use them as a landlord - as I got the impression that they really look to take good care of the property!
Wern · 11 June 2019
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
Thanks very much for your review!
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleOnly recently have I come on board with MDL and have been very impressed by the efficient service I have received. All staff were brilliant to deal with, everything ran smoothly and there was no teething problems - a very well oiled machine! As I live in the islands I entrusted them thoroughly with my property and I was so happy to have done so. I would definitely highly recommend MDL for your property management. (written on behalf of May Gair)
Megan · 11 June 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleI wish we had seen all these comments prior to leasing from this company. For the first 2 days there was no water! Its the same old scenario where landlords grab the large rents and let the place go to rack and ruin. The light fittings are an absolute joke, there is a hole in the ceiling with an energy saving bulb and you can see right into the loft, in fact the other day we had a bird in the loft and it flew through the hole right into the lounge, goodness knows what else will crawl through!!! Unbelievable in the 21st Century. The amount of problems we are having are too many to mention. I got an electric shock of a wall light, the wallpaper is hanging off the wall, the extractor hood on the cooker doesn't work, even the kitchen sink is not fit for purpose, any water on the drainer runs into the cupboard below and on the floor! Holes punched in various doors, just incredible. The whole house is dirty and smelled terrible, no I agree do not rent from these people ever. Oh they sent a handyman round to fix some things, he fixed NOTHING and he spilled WD40 on the carpet and its covered in black splodges - professional ? Absolutely NOT! They did send a carpet cleaner round but the marks are still there. I agree with the Dylan's complaint, no good complaining because they simply aren't interested! They don't deserve 1 star.
Soosie · 11 June 2016
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAvoid. Unless you want to fight to recover your deposit at the end of your tenancy.
I invested over £35,000 in a rental with this company over a 3 year period. From the beginning it was a challenge. I was alone in my home twice when work-men decided to come around and let themselves in without prior notice (once when I was in the shower). In the end, we had to leave because they would not repair a smoke alarm after numerous requests on a two storey property over a 10 month period (which is against the Law incidentally).
As a professional couple who looked after the property for 3 years and paid a large amount of money, we have been in this dispute since June 2014 over the return of our deposit where costs have been fabricated to the full amount of our £1100 deposit.
We are currently putting our case to safe deposits who look after the deposit during the interim period.
I am not one for complaining on a site like this and just want pre-warn any others who might enter into a rental agreement with this company.
Don't do it.
Rachel · 12 June 2015
★★★★★ 4/5
GoogleGiven the very bad feedback on here I felt obliged to offer my experience.
While my set-up (basic service rather than dealing with re rent payment etcetera) is clearly different from those others who have reviewed and I have only recently started the lease I still feel my experience is worth noting;
The staff have been polite and helpful they always (as far as I know) answer the phone and respond to emails. They are friendly and the general office arrangement is approachable.
In my experience there are certainly a lot more "cowboys" out there in the letting agency game (experience gained in other Scottish cities). Hard to say about other Aberdeen agencies as its a weird market up here and during my searches I had good experience from the majority it was just a nightmare to get accepted initially but that's more the market rather than the players..
If they were so bad I find it hard to see why there hasn't been an effort by management or whoever to get staff-friends to write reviews (in fairness this could be evidence of a bad thing as much as a good thing) as I know from experience of agencies doing similar (without full proof evidence I accept) based on the volume of 1 and 2 stars over a long period then suddenly a host of 4 and 5 stars
Therefore just for the record I'm a genuine reviewer with no other vested interest despite my pseudo name.
Regards
JS
John · 12 June 2015
★★★★★ 2/5
GoogleCount your fingers after shaking hands with Margaret Duffus!!!
I experienced several "sharp practices" in my dealings with this leasing agency. They even tried to tell me that I was liable for the gas and electricity bills AFTER I had moved out and handed the keys back!
I've also heard horror stories from people who leased properties using Margaret Duffis.
If you enjoy fighting for your deposit (in court as I had to!), Margaret Duffus is the leasing agent of choice in Aberdeen!!
Sc · 12 June 2013
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleGood people, professional and nice. Head and shoulders above other Aberdeen leasing agents we have dealt with.
Jim · 10 June 2023
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
Thanks very much for the feedback Jim, it means a lot to us to have a wee pat on the back occasionally. Have a great day.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleI used to think leasing companies are over protecting owners against tenants, but this company proved it wrong. They don't care about any of the sides.
They dont care about tenants nor property owners. Always on annual leave when contacting them and never responsible for anything.
Sam · 15 July 2023
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleOutstanding service, reluctant to move but personal circumstances warranted it.
Gavin · 14 August 2023
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
Thanks very much for the feedback!
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAbsolutely terrible customer service. Like others I have never written a negative review before however this company have been most unprofessional and unfair. I feel that all prospective tenants and landlords should AVOID AT ALL COSTS. I have had issues throughout my 1 year tenancy and to round it all off they have been utterly unfair with the deposit/inventory process- glad to see the back of them.
Domrocks2 · 11 June 2017
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleStaff rude and unhelpful
Tabula · 16 April 2025
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleRude and incompetent staff. Watch out for Cameron's lies. He comes up with any excuses to screw the landlords or the tenants.
Nicole · 27 July 2024
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAlarm bells !!
This company wanted £200 for doing a credit check once we viewed a property .... THIS IS ILLEGAL
also not impressed with their staff Who's customer service skills were lacking
Catherine · 11 June 2017
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
Thanks for your comments, we’re sorry to hear that you thought we wanted £200 for a credit check. You are correct to say that it is illegal to charge a Tenant a premium in connection with renting a property and even before the legislation preventing it, this is not something we have ever done. We do ask for a £200 reservation deposit however in order to secure a property when making an application. This is fully refundable to the Tenant should the lease not go ahead for any reason and is redeemable against the full deposit when the lease is signed. By only putting a property under offer when we receive the £200, this helps to ensure we are progressing with genuine offers rather than Tenants who are making offers on several properties. Apologies if this was not communicated to you properly.
★★★★★ 2/5
GoogleDragging their feet with my deposit - a month after leaving I call them to breach the wall of silence and am told that 'the girl that's dealing with it is on leave'. Unsurprisingly, very sharp about collecting the deposit on the flip-side. Have had no other interactions with them as they only acted as finders. Not atypical sadly and I've dealt with much worse :(
Dominic · 12 June 2014
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThey are difficult to communicate with and you have to keep following up to get anything done. Even when something is done it is not checked and other problems come from it. Extremely frustrating and demeaning.
Lucy · 15 July 2023
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleAlways been great with me. A lot of people don't seem to realise that for the most part the letting agent is the middle man and deposits etc are dealt with by neutral third parties, and that there are laws and regulations in place to ensure protection for both landlords and tenants which, in my experience, MDLeasing have followed every time.
Iain · 11 June 2018
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThe personal service that they claim puts them in a different class to other agents applies if you're a landlord NOT a tenant. Our complaints re things going wrong/wear and tear (eg. wooden window frames not weather tight) were dealt with slowly or fobbed off altogether as 'too expensive' for the owners to agree to. Not good .
Barry · 11 June 2019
★★★★★ 2/5
GoogleOne should better stay on streets rather than letting through Margaret Duffus Leasing. They will make every step in leasing a pain for you. Miss managed and highly unprofessional. They even can't take card payments..so you have to go bank and withdraw thousands and carry them. On the top they won't tell you this in advance. I won't recommend to any one.
John · 12 June 2013
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleVery friendly and helpful staff 👍 …
Derek · 10 June 2022
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
Thanks for your feedback Derek, that'll keep us smiling!
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleGreat service and prompt replies. Very professional. Other local leasing companies were useless and never got back to me. Margaret Duffus is #1 in Aberdeen
Sue · 10 June 2023
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleI paid some extra rent but did not manage to get all of it back. They explained their calculation logic to me which was absolute nonsence. They also knew that their logic was wrong but all they said was "this is how our system calculates it and we trust our system"
Mahsa · 12 June 2014
★★★★★ 4/5
GoogleVery helpful, responsive and approachable staff. My experience has been great so far in renting a flat from this agency.
Krisztina · 14 August 2023
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThey will rob you of your deposit.
Callum · 10 June 2020
Agent replied · 11 June 2024
We're sorry to hear you feel that you are being dealt with unfairly with regards to your deposit. I note that this case is still in progress, but please be assured that if any Tenant is unhappy with costs claimed against their deposit, the money is fully protected by the government tenancy deposit scheme and in the event of any dispute all costs are only upheld where there is sufficient substantive evidence.
Where the same review appears twice we show it once. We leave out reviews that name another agent or another of the brand's offices.
