Trusted Agent profile · West Midlands and Nottinghamshire
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★★★★★
1,756 reviews across 3 offices and 1 platform
Purple Frog Property has three offices, in Birmingham, Bristol and Nottingham (West Midlands and Nottinghamshire). Together they have 1,756 reviews on 1 platform, rated 4.0 out of 5 overall.
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Purple Frog Property's three offices, most reviewed first. Each has its own page.
Showing 1,756 reviews on Google only. Show every review
5/5
GoogleThe staff from Purple Frog were extremely helpful with helping us find a student house in Nottingham. They showed us 5 houses that corresponded to our requirements, and we’re always there to answer any queries we had very quickly. Poppy, who showed us the houses was extremely helpful, answering all our questions even after office hours.
5/5
GooglePoppy was a great guide yesterday, she comprehensively showed us the houses and acted as a very efficient medium between us and the landlord. She knew a lot about the area and showed us around well. Would recommend her to any future tenants.
Thank you for your review. All the best Patrick
1/5
GoogleIts taken a long time to get to this point. As a parent and Guarantor of a Student in property in Edgebaston managed by Purple Frog Selly Oak. I am utterly disgusted in several aspects of this branch. They seemed very aggressive at the start in getting the forms completed and returned. It seemed very rushed. I put this down to the disorganisation of my daughter and her flat mates. Now I see the rush to get 4 inexperienced students into a home that is not fit to live in. From the start the property was infested with mice, which actaully run under the beds and get in laundry with you in the room. There are leaks in the roof that have damaged property. My daughter has complained constantly and had little or no joy from Purple Frog in response. £400+ a month for one room in an all inclusive rent in a property so is a slumlord levels of return. Today I received a `FINAL WARNING` email saying my daughter is in arrears - which is interesting as the last contact was January. The warning states PAY TODAY or its passed to a debt collector. Shockingly aggressive and upsetting tactics, I am so angry right now, of their absolute lack process. I have also received a call from a member of staff, who is rude, obnoxious and deaf to your needs. They are only interest in money BE WARNED PARENTS AND STUDENTS ALIKE RENT PROPERTIES THAT YOUR STUDENT UNION RECOMMEND. THESE ARE SHOCKINGLY POOR IN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ACCEPTANCE OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES. I will lodge an ombudsman complaint.
Dear Mitchell Fenton Sorry to hear that you are unhappy with our system for chasing rent arrears. We sent the email to your daughter because, despite our best efforts, she has left her tenancy still owing rent. Your review says that we have not contacted you or your daughter since January. Our records show that our last correspondence was actually on 18th June. In fact, on 1st June one of the members of the team spoke to you. We realise that sometimes people can struggle to pay rent and we are very happy to agree a payment plan. In this instance, despite repeated promises from the tenant, this has not happened. I think it is disingenuous to be angry at us for trying to retrieve money for the landlord, which your daughter owes. You mention a rent of £400 a week for one room. This is grossly inflated. The actual rent is £67.83 per person per week. You are right, the tenants did report lots of maintenance issues. However, we dealt with each report in good time. Yes, there was on ongoing problem with mice. However, each time the issue was reported we sent exterminators to the property and did things such as block holes to prevent mice returning. Had the property not been in a habitable state, we would have moved the tenants until the issue was sorted. None of the maintenance reports made by the tenants would be classed as the house being uninhabitable. You also say that the tenants were rushed into signing their contracts. New tenants are given five working days to read and agree their contracts. Yes, we do send reminders. however, we do not believe in the hard sell. That means we are happy to answer questions, and with the agreement of the landlord, to make reasonable changes to contracts. Our contracts state that tenants should not withhold rent because of maintenance issues. We have a compensation procedure for tenants who require money back. However, as many of the issues you mention in your review date to the beginning of the tenancy, it doesn't appear that your daughter was withholding rent because of these issues. I understand it is upsetting to receive a notice that a debt will be passed to a debt collector if it is not paid. However, we only ever do this as a last resort. By trying to paint us as a 'slumlord' you are trying to disguise that fact that we have made every effort to work wit you and your daughter to ensure the arrears is cleared. You mention that you will be reporting us to the Property Ombudsman. They normally ask that you make a formal complaint to the company first. I can see that you have not yet done this. You can find more information about our complaints procedure on our website: https://www.purplefrogproperty.com/not-happy/. Alternatively, you can email me at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com with the details of your complaint. However, your daughter will still need to pay her rent arrears. I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards James Mason
1/5
GoogleI never come across a shameless property agency like Purple frog . They just care about money ，never be honest and ethical. They may owe your money and breach the contract with you. I notice I am not the first one encounter this occasion . I hope you won't be like me! DON't EVER USE PURPLE FROG! Once they take over my flat from my former agency Loc8me and became my new Landlord ，they forced me to move out but give me less than 3 weeks. In order to make me more quickly，they break my broad band and all service in my flat without any notice，they even come into my flat without my consent and threaten me that if don't move I will be not safe to live there. Then they recommended me a new place to move and I agreed.Everything is ready when I was moving but I they suddenly told me that they "FORGOT" there was already a tenant and I have to move to another place. I have no choice but move there but it's really much worse， then I know from the manager of the former viewed property that I the property is still there ，no one ever book it，and the price is much higher than place I move in. Finally，we had pre-agreed terms prior to moving into the property. Upon moving in, none of the agreements were met. They commited and wrote in contract that I will get the money the next day I move ，but they delayed and didn't pay until my lawyer told them they must pay. Till now they just pay a part of the money and the manager dispeared: they blocked me and doesn't answer the call and email of my lawyer.
Hi Carrie Sorry to hear we've only earned one star rating. It would be really useful to find out more about what's gone wrong, so we can see if we can set it right. Please could you send me some more information about what's happened to cause your review? My email address is james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com. I look forward to hearing from you, so we can try to set right whatever issue you've experienced. Kind regards James Mason
1/5
GoogleWe are posting this only because Purple Frog have stopped responding to communication. This should be a warning to protect yourselves against the appalling treatment of young and inexperienced students . As long as there are no issues with the property during your tenancy, using Purple Frog may be an option as a letting agency. However, having had maintenance problems and a poorly-handled leaving of the property it is clear that the company is solely on the side of the landlord and, despite being ex-students, fail to uphold the interests of the students in any dispute. The boiler in the property did not work and it took until March to replace because , as the staff themselves admitted, the landlord did not want the expense of a new boiler. The cold forced the girls to work dressed in extra clothes and dressing gowns, their belongings smelt of damp and it was only when we said we would withhold rent that the boiler was finally replaced. We strongly recommend that you carry out a a detailed inspection when you move in and put all defects in writing and ask Purple Frog to acknowledge - their assurances, photos taken by Purple Frog and the verbal agreement they gave us have proved worthless. (This is particularly crucial if you are a single tenant joining an existing tenancy). The final inspection, conducted with the lead tenant, detailed £130 in charges to be deducted from their deposit - signed as agreed by both Purple Frog and the residents. After discussing the final charges with the landlord, Purple Frog increased this by a further £461 in fines! The house was damp on occupancy with visible mould and without an operational boiler it was inevitable that it would worsen. Yet the unreasonable charges levied after the inspection included £130 for mould removal! (We could go on - £60 for the removal of rubbish bags). The contract states that other charges relating to "inventory" can be levied after the visit; so they stretch the definition of inventory to condition, not the items provided in the property. Despite an offer to pay reasonable costs this is still not resolved. We have been awaiting a response to our latest communication for nearly 4 weeks now. Hence, the deposit return has been in dispute since June. The deposit resolution service is appropriate when all parties are in contact; only the lead tenant can lead a dispute, which in itself is lengthy. This is money that is desperately needed by the students: the landlord and Purple Frog hold the power to resolve. Sadly, therefore we would advise not to trust their inexperienced staff in move-in/move-out process and protect yourselves based on our sad experience.
Dear Jayne Despite the other tenants in the property already agreeing to the deposit charges, we continued to discuss your dispute and have come to a compromise which all have now agreed to. We dropped heaters to the tenants soon after the issue the boiler was reported and the tenants reported to us how pleased they were with the speed of which we had it replaced. I do not feel your review is an accurate reflection of the service provided to the tenants. Best regards Patrick Garratt
1/5
GoogleBased on our experience, If you want to find an honest and trustworthy agency, Purple Frog should not be on the list. Especially when you are the tenant. They used fake pics and lied to us when we were asking our deposit back. They insisted that we broke the freezer drawers and emailed us the following first two photos(shown as the attached photos). They claimed them as the proof that we damaged the drawers and they said the photos were taken on our check out date. But luckily, one of my roommates took a photo of the drawers when the inspector were inspecting the property with us(shown as the third attached photo, the date has been circled). After we emailed this photo to them, they finally agreed to waive this hilarious extra charge. But they never said sorry and neither any reasonable explanation about those fake photos that they had been using to charge us extra money. It took nearly 3 months for them to pay back the deposit, which was promised 28 days by them. We tried to contact them by emails and calls many times after the first 28 days. But what we heard back from them was that the people in charge of this were on vacation. After their staff finally finished the vacation, I called them at least three times to ask for the statement. Every time they promised it would be given by that day, but we never received it until another month later. It took them 3 months to write the statement, but there were still many mistakes, including the extra charge for the "broken drawers", mistaking occupiers of different rooms, and many other extra charges which were not on the check-out inspection form that we had signed with the inspector. Once again, if you are looking for an honest and trustworthy agency, which helps you find a place to settle down and avoid unreasonable charges when checking out, you have come to the wrong place. Just skip this one and get to somewhere else better.
Hi TH, Sorry it sounds like you didn't have an easy time getting your deposit back. We try really hard to make sure our deposit return process is fair and efficient, you can see more info here: https://www.purplefrogproperty.com/blog/make-deposits-fair/ I'd appreciate it if you could get in touch with me directly so we can discuss your case and see if there is anything we can do to put it right. Thanks, Patrick (07817793828, patrick@purplefrogproperty.com)
1/5
GoogleTries to fleece as much money as possible from every student tenant that leaves their property. They do not attempt to communicate reasonably to the tenants, only keep their complaints at a distance and ask for money at every opportunity possible. I think their business plan is to take all the money from students that they can get away with. My friend has been fully charged for an oven despite it being listed as broken on the inventory when they moved in. Wouldn’t be surprised if they charged the previous tenants for it. Throughout their tenancy, the boiler broke about 5 times. On each of the occasions, they just sent round some handyman (who knew nothing about plumbing/boilers to do some quick fix - it was never properly fixed). Honestly, do not walk through that purple door. Nothing but a business trying to make the best of people in a poor situation.
Dear Oliver Sorry to hear your friend had issues with their tenancy. I appreciate that you are being protective of them by posting this. Who doesn't want to help a friend? However, I feel I should say that, as you don't have direct experience of using Purple Frog, your review is inappropriate. You are making serious claims about the business without having direct knowledge of the events you are discussing. As you aren't a tenant, you would not have been included in any of the discussions between Purple Frog and the tenants, around the issues you detail above. In terms of your assertion that we ask for money at every opportunity, our fees and charges are clearly published on our website: https://www.purplefrogproperty.com/contact-us/fees-charges/. We do not hide any charges and are upfront about costs from the very start. Tenants' deposits are protected by a third party and we make sure that tenants are fully aware of their responsibilities when moving out (for instance: https://www.purplefrogproperty.com/students/howtokeepyourdeposit/). This includes being transparent about possible deductions that they may incur. This gives them opportunities to sort these issues before the end of their tenancy, thereby avoid the deduction. While I don't doubt that your friend feels there were problems during the tenancy, you yourself aren't aware of the full facts. After all, you did not see the inventory that we provided at the beginning of the tenancy and you don't know how or why the boiler was mended. We are always happy to receive feedback from people who have had genuine experiences of using our services. If we have made mistakes, we are more than happy to speak to your friend and see what the issue is. To this end, I'd strongly urge that your friend contacts me directly at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com, so I can find out about the actual issues they have had and see if anything can be done to set the issues right. In the meantime, as it stands, your review is a bit spurious, and I urge you to remove it as it is not based on a personal experience. I look forward to hearing from your friend. My email address is james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com and my direct dial is 0121 796 0041. Kind regards James Mason
1/5
GoogleTook a week and a half of calling and being told that they will call me back to get the keys and when I came to pick them up I've been told that I could have done that a week ago. They would come into the flat sometimes as often as 6 times a month (they usually do give a 24h notice but still). Took 3 months to get my deposit back. The flat was good value for money but it was not worth the hassle.
Hi Tom, sorry to hear that you had problems. Unfortunately, I can't find your name anywhere in our tenant database. Please could you drop me a line at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com, so I can find out more? I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards James
5/5
GooglePoppy was so so helpful when showing us around the different properties, answered any questions that we had and was so lovely! Thankyou so much for helping us find a house!
5/5
GoogleRating only, no written review.
1/5
GoogleRating only, no written review.
Dear Girlie, sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the service you've received from Purple Frog in Nottingham. Please can you email me at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com so I can find out more? I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards James Mason
1/5
GoogleRating only, no written review.
Hi DrMint Sorry to hear that our service isn't up to scratch. as you've not left any details about what we've done wrong, it will be really hard for us to sort out the problem for you. Please could you drop me a line at jame.mason@purplefrogproperty.com, or by phone on 0121 796 0041 so the team can get the problem resolved? I look forward to hearing from you. James Mason
1/5
GoogleRating only, no written review.
Dear Tony, sorry to hear that we only rate a 1-star rating. I'm very keen to find out more about your experience, so we can work on setting it right. Please could you email me on james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com so I could find out more? I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, James Mason
1/5
GoogleUseless. Nightmare tenancy with this company last year.
Hi Tom, sorry to hear that you weren't happy with the service that you got from Purple Frog. I know that this isn't the first time you've raised your concerns on a review site, and I'm saddened that you still feel so annoyed with the deposit deductions that you're still posting about your experiences so long after your tenancy ended. I can only say that it pains me that you felt that the relationship had broken down to such an extent that four months after we parted ways, you are still angry. I want to say to you that your experience was very rare, but I understand that citing other people's experiences won't change your opinion. I'm sorry that we've had to leave things as they stand, but I hope you can put this behind you and that the next tenancy you have ends on a more upbeat note. Best regards, James Mason
3/5
GoogleThere were some issues such as not having a doorbell which took months to sort out.
Hi Sam Sorry to hear that we've only achieved a two-star rating. I understand that the branch has been in touch to sort out any issues, so hopefully your tenancy is back on track. If you need to speak to someone in head office about your experience, you can contact me on my direct line 0121 796 0041 or by email at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com. Best regards James
1/5
GoogleIf I could give zero stars I would. We have had absolutely nothing but trouble from this horrendous agency. When we first moved in we were assured we'd have all of our bills and wifi set up for us included in our rent (£450) we were then told that bills would be another £60 on top of that hiking our already pretty expensive student house to £510 a month way out of our price range. When we moved the house hadn't been touched by a cleaner it stank it was damp and full of rubbish with shattered glass dumped in cupboards, black mould coating nearly all the walls and filthy ancient furniture. Bearing in mind we were told the house was being completely renovated over the summer it had clearly not been touched in years. After staying in the house ONE night I woke up absolutely covered in flea bites and started seeing them jumping around when they finally gave in and got us an exterminator he did a half assed job and left within 15 minutes and to no ones surprise that did nothing and I continued to get bitten relentlessly. We later discovered a bag full of piss soaked cat litter shoved behind a door (that explained the terrible smell) It got to the point where we had to get our parents involved, as first time renters this was all very alien to us. We went down to their offices asking for something to be done as my bites were so bad that I couldn't possibly stay there another night but I had nowhere else to go as my family live in Exeter and there was no way I could commute every morning. We sat in their office for hours while they made excuses as to how all of this was somehow not their fault. Finally after me being reduced to tears at their complete lack of empathy they agreed to let us stay in one of their empty apartments and refund our first months rent (to this day their operations team ask us for this money as there is zero communication within this organisation) as the house was uninhabitable. We were assured this would only be for a couple weeks this turned into a month and when we came back the mould had been treated but I was still being covered in flea bites I had to take time off work and go stay with my boyfriend in wales as the bites were too painful and I couldn't handle the stress of moving all belongings for the third time, not that they offered. I had to fight and beg for them to get another exterminator, them still claiming this was not their fault. Throughout this whole experience the staff were blunt and rude when told problems. This whole ordeal has triggered extreme anxiety in me which has affected both my university studies and my work life severely. It's been nearly 7 months now and we still have problems with them on a daily basis and we're still finding faults with the house. If you want to speak to someone in particular they will never call you back as they assure you they will. They'll turn up at your door unannounced with a group of strangers for a house viewing they haven't told you about and this will happen several times until you finally deny them access and they then proceed to be rude to you as if their sheer incompetence is your fault. They will just not pay your bills until a debt collector turns up at your door and when you tell them about it they do nothing until you receive a court notice. I can't put into words the unprofessionalism I have witnessed through this company I'm disgusted and horrified at the way we have been treated from a company that claims to be there to help students but does nothing but take advantage of them and makes their lives miserable. I strongly advise any new renters or renters at all to stay as far away as possible from this poor excuse of a letting agent.
1/5
GoogleReally unreliable and untrustworthy company. Given false information by one of the colleagues which has lead to us loosing money. Would not recommend to any students.
Hi Lily Sorry to hear that you were given incorrect information by one of the team, especially as this has put you out of pocket. I work in the Purple Frog head office, so I'm keen to find out more about what went wrong. Please could you drop me an email at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com? Or you can speak to me in person on 0121 796 0041. I am extremely keen to get to the bottom of this issue. I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, James Mason
4/5
GoogleNot only do they take several weeks to reply, they give their maintenance companies the wrong keys to enter the house, and are trying to blame the residents for the fact their kitchen is falling apart... EDIT- Although slow to reply, they have now accepted responsibility and are being brilliant in getting things fixed/apologising.
UPDATE: HI Tom, thank you for also emailing me about the issues you had with the dishwasher and having to wait in for the contractor. It's great to hear that everything is getting sorted - sorry that it took a little while to get there. Also, sorry that it came across that we were blaming you for the dishwasher. That was not our intention, sorry that it came across like that. Your help in bringing these issues to our attention has been invaluable and thanks for giving us the opportunity to set things right. I've sent you a personal email, too. Hi Tom, sorry that I've not replied here on Google, although I understand that the Branch got in touch the day that you posted the review. Did they manage to solve the issue for you? If there's anything else that's outstanding and needs to be sorted, or you want to discuss the problems you've been experiencing, please could you drop me a line on 0121 796 0041 or email me on james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com? Best regards, James
1/5
GoogleMoved into my place (a little early I admit) been waiting 6 months now for basic services like hot water / internet and my electric is on a meter that could run out any day. Any time I ask for some rent to be credited back to me the question gets avoided. AVOID THESE PEOPLE LIKE THE PLAUGE
5/5
GoogleI have worked with PurpleFrog for a year now with several of my properties in Bristol. Alex, the Branch Manager, has been great to work with and his team is very friendly and knowledgeable. They always handle my requests in a timely manner and very kind when speaking on the phone.
Hi Paul, thanks for your review of the Bristol team. We're really proud to be working with you. I've passed your comments over to Alex, so he can share them with the gang in Bristol. Thanks, Patrick.
3/5
GooglePurpleFrog were very good in terms of being a landlord, and normally got any problem fixed promptly. Be wary, however, that they do not want you to get your deposit back and will try to ignore any emails of the sort. I would also recommend sorting bills yourself, as their recommended supplier ("Glide") is extremely opaque and somewhat expensive.
1/5
GoogleAbsolutely terrible place to live
Hi Jordan, sorry to hear that you're having problems with the property that you rent from us.I'm very keen to find out what the problem is with your accommodation, so our Nottingham team can get it sorted for you. I can't find you listed on our tenant database, though. Please could you get in touch with me at james.mason@purplefrogproperty.com or call me on 0121 796 0041 so I can find out what the specific issues you're experiencing are and we can set them right? I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, James.
5/5
GoogleConveniently located office and friendly staff
Hi Kevin, Thanks for your review and your kind words about the team. Thanks Patrick
5/5
GoogleBEST Lettings
Thanks DayBlinds UK, we really appreciate your feedback! Thanks, Patrick.
A review that appears on several offices' pages is shown once. We leave out reviews that name another agent.
Birmingham has the most, with 762 reviews rated 4.4 out of 5, followed by Bristol with 538.
The three Purple Frog Property offices, by town:
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