Touchstone CPS Brighton reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Review

Compliance coordinator Naomi Lewis is always very responsive and has helped with a whole host of problems. Great service.

Sam · 20 February 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOID

We left our touchstone property in April. We had experienced water ingress so the property would have had to be completely redecorated and carpets replaced and we spent 5 hours cleaning a 2 bedroom property when we had emptied it. They then tried to take £150 from our deposit for "cleaning." Not sure what contractor they are using at a cost of £150 for a 2 bedroom property..... Painters in the stair said we had cleaned it more than anyone else they had ever seen by doing skirting boards, professionally window cleaned with receipt left etc. I went back to them and said I would be willing to "split" the costs even though we did clean it ourselves just to get our money back so proposed £75. Not heard anything since we made this offer and 2 months after moving out still don't have any of our deposit back. Would not recommend using.Dear Natalie, Rather than trawling review sites cherry-picking bad reviews and replying to them within 24 hours, might I suggest you implement a similar system within your tenant response team? We have waited 27 days since our last correspondence and had emails and voicemail ignored to date. Also how many Lee's in Edinburgh would you need to go through to find my record, is it normal practice to take £150 from tenants for "cleaning" a property?Kind regards,Lee

Lee · 3 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The worst property managers you could find

There are not enough words to describe how awful and absolutely horrendous Touchstone are to deal with. If you can, please avoid at all costs.Their response times to fixing problems are staggeringly long and the lies, ignoring emails, ignoring calls that you will have to put up with until the problem is fixed, is beyond belief.As an example - It took them 10 months to fix a hole our roof and so since October we have had to put out buckets every time it rains. The bathroom is now covered in black mould and the walls and ceiling are still damp, but every request to fix this has been met with silence.Again, please, please avoid using this truly dreadful company. If I behaved with the same levels of disdain, contempt toward the customers and clients I work with as Touchstone do, I would be unemployed.

James · 2 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Reported two blocked toilets after only…

Reported two blocked toilets after only a few days moving into my new home last week. Was told to go and buy products and try and clear the problem myself. After spending £30 on specialist products, it made no difference. Used the bath for the first time, and after 3 hours to empty, the toilets then backed up into the bath. Unhygienic to say the least. I have a 5yr old who uses the bath and its not nice for her or anyone else. Since reporting the issue last Thursday and being asked to resolve the issue myself on Friday, have heard absolutely nothing. I have therefore had the issue sorted myself at my expense yet again. This is the second time I have rented with Touchstone being the property manager, and for the second time I feel utterly let down. Try explaining to a 5 year old why we have to use a neighbours toilet!

Matt · 25 May 2021

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Thank you Donovan

Our roof suffered some damages during the recent storm. Our new property manager Donovan arranged for it to be fixed in no time. Thank you Donovan, appreciated.

Katerina · 20 February 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful property management, AVOID!

Awful property management. Hardly ever replayed an email, when they do they promise things they and then ignore them completely. Upon property check out they tried to claim as many much money as possible from our deposit, had to afuera with them for a long time and send endless amounts of photographic evidence to prove they were wrong and they still only lowered the absolute minimum deposit charges. Avoid!!

Jane · 7 November 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

8 weeks have gone by and we haven't…

8 weeks have gone by and we haven't used our bathroom because of the damp,my wife and kids have asthma and it is affecting them,numerous phone calls and emails have gone un responsive. We have stayed here 9 years had nothing but problems, and every year they raise the rent.Problem now solved, the guy that came to do the work very pleasant and did a great job,thank you for getting done so quickly.

Allan · 12 May 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

No deposit returned and no response to calls & emails

My mother passed away unexpectedly in 4th Dec. Touchstone won't give me her deposit back despite me providing: section of the Life Insurance stating I am the beneficiary, a letter from her Bank to myself demonstrating I am the next of kin, and the fact I was her Guarantor for the property. They don't answer the phone, respond to my emails. They want Letters of Administration although there is no estate and probate isn't required. In the circumstances they are behaving appallingly... Heart broken and frustrating.

Marie · 30 January 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

My experience with Let Alliance.

I called for assistance during our referencing and the reception was warmly and professional. The process was stress free as well as any additional information needed from myself and family was clearly stated every time Let Alliance reached out to us. Thank you very much for your assistance.

Ruth · 27 April 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Neglectful towards building and tenants

The lift in the building has been broken since the day we moved in in 2017. There have been multiple temporary fixes made- after a lot of begging from the tenants on each occasion. The lift is now completely out of order since the end of summer 2020. They have not communicated any progress since then until this week (January 2020). They blame the delay on landlord and developer pushback. We don't care, it is none of our business and as a property management company they should have mechanisms and procedures to sort these issues in a timely manner even if there are hurdles. It is NOT ACCEPTABLE to neglect a property and its tenants this way and for this long.

Ten · 8 January 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I have had the most prompt and stress free experience…

I have had the most prompt and stress free experience with the help from Helen Sheils and Emily Pilling finding me a home. After letting them know I was in need for a place for me and my daughter they did all the checks immediately and found me a clerk to book in to get my keys. Very responsive to phone calls and emails. Really appreciate the time taken for me. :)

Charlotte · 23 May 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Wouldn’t even give it a quarter of a…

Wouldn’t even give it a quarter of a star!! Touchstone have to be the worst company I’ve ever had to deal with. They’ve got no interest in tenants and problems that arise within property’s. I’ve hand numerous problems within my rented property and touchstone have no interest in sorting the problems, everything is brushed under the carpet and get parcelled from pillar to post, and their so called property manager is a waste of space!!! Useless and got no interest!! A jobs worth!! Would strongly not recommend anyone to touchstone! Simply walk away.

Consumer · 27 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Careless unprofessional agency

The most careless agency I have ever seen. I wish I would have never ever rented from them.(and I'm renting only for a week)Be careful people, do not do business with Touchstone. They are representing their name definitely. Their communication stone cold and touches your nerves. Very very disappointed. We are heading to Christmas with no heating in our bedroom and in our bathroom and my wife is 3 months pregnant. Touchstone is on holiday until 4th of January since 21th of December. Without even notifying their tenants. Lovely toch again from a stone cold agency. I hope you have a happy Christmas because we definitely won't have one thanks to your careless unreasponsable service.

Beata · 23 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Illegal Practice

This company sadly needs to sort itself out as the way in which they are operating in bordering on illegal. We have been left with a massive hole in the wall under the stairs, another in the living room and holes in the ceiling. We have been left with rats entering the property too and the last 3 emails I have sent have been ignored so I will be trying to call them today and then reporting the situation to the local council and environmental health. Absolutely appalling. The list of issues we have had with this company is way beyond laughable but sadly we have just now had enough and need to get officials involved as they are clearly purposefully avoiding sorting issues that are hazardous to health.

Shaun · 9 December 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Happy tenant.

I've just left a property managed by Touchstone, which I'd rented for 16 months. All the dealings I had with Touchstone from collecting the keys to handing them back were well-organised and efficient. It was easy to get in touch with friendly and helpful staff on the phone or via an online portal, even during lockdown. When there were some problems, e.g. storm damage in the garden, contractors were sent to deal with it the next day. Even very minor things such as replacing a grill pan were sorted really quickly.I was very happy with the great service provided.

Heather · 1 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

You have to use your imagination to…

You have to use your imagination to understand how catastrophe it is to be a tenant under this ”company” - then take it further when you think you are there. -Communication- is a a term that yet needs to be invented in the company. Mails from me and my girlfriend that clarified a serious rat/mouse problem which was sent multiple times to the company due to what we agreed on the contract. If we misinformed the company and damage was discovered from the rats, we as tenants was sealed to pay for the repairing. They never sent someone to solve the problem which they guaranteed and they never responded at any time.Duo to COVID-19 we lost our jobs and had to move back to our country because we were students and it occurred almost at day to the next. We could already see after some days we had to give up the flat to lack of income.We gave the notice and we told them our family would pack the stuff up and clean the flat. Nevertheless, the came and CHANGED THE FUC*KING LOCK before my family could enter the flat!!!!!So a maintenance man from their company gave 15 MINUTES TO REMOVE ALL OUR STUFF AND FURNITURES + CLEAN EVERY PART OF THE FLAT!!!Ofcurse, that was a disaster which resulted in losing our chance to obtain our furniture and some of our stuff. Around 2000£ we lost on 15min. AND THEY had the audacity to put the bills on cleaning and removing our stuff on the deposit!!! So we lost that too!! 2225£ Their goes. We only got 200£ back for changing our lock without our permission (we actually had an address their at the given time) so just think we got locked out and had to sleep on the streets while we paid for a flat we didn't have access under an epidemic?!?! Fu*cking disaster!! I will NEVER recommend this fraud-company!!Around 4000£ lost and we have nothing left and the only sh*it*ty company to blame is Touchstone.

Kasper · 27 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pathetic

Poor customer service and just pure pathetic. Hard to get a response! When i wanted to give my notice in before moving i had to contact 3 different emails to try and give my notice. Now ive moved out and left house in a tidy manner and proffesionally cleaned but few minor defects on my part, they'be tried to sting me with some ridiculous charges. £342 for 'some cleaning issues' after i had house cleaned! Money hungry company and poor business

Mahe · 26 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Apathetic to tenants, just interested in the money.

I have had to chase repairs for over a year now due to the poor finish standard of the new build that I moved in to. They organise repairs to be carried out using another company called The Power Service and have absolutely no system for feedback as to whether these repairs were completed or not. I left negative feedback on their internal system to point out that the repairs had not been completed and my property manager asked me if he could remove it.Also, they decided to raise rents right in the middle of the lockdown. Not interested in anything other than the money with the least work and support required.

Will · 6 November 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Jessica and Julie have been super helpful.

Jessica and Julie have really swiftly helped us out when we needed it most. Responding quickly to our request for help and solving our issues promptly and humanely.We want to thank them again and we highly suggest them!

Yiannis · 1 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Touchstone are the absolute pits

They are the worst property agency in the country and use public money for huge projects but do not in any way reasonably care for the properties and have no social conscious about the families that have the misfortune to rent from them. Maintenance and up keep is almost laughable, and you can usually tell a Touchstone managed property as it looks run down and filthy, and there are numerous examples I could give in how they have allowed a new building only few years old to run down and look like some old scummy council block from the 60's. Staff (not all) are defensive, unhelpful even verging on rude and seem to think their role is to find more imaginative ways of making up excuses and working on avoidance tactics to absolve themselves of having to spend a single penny of the money collected in rent - their complaints system does not afford them the opportunity to use it as learning and move issues forwards. Wouldn't touch another property mis-managed by them.

Stuart · 1 November 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

We have been renting an apartment…

We have been renting an apartment through Touchstone for two years now. Our start was rocky as they neglected a couple of things and gave us vague responses when inquired about them. We moved on.But recently we've been asking for help with loud neighbour, who is also a Touchstone tennant. It became unbearable, we get woken up at 7AM every morning and the noise continues throughout the day whenever tennants are in their apartment. We are exhausted. So we emailed Touchstone asking for help, since it is clearly a breach in contract and their matter to deal with.First they said they would write a letter to all tennants in the building, reminding them to respect each other and keeping the noise down. Weeks has passed on, nothing was sent. So we emailed them again. This time they told us that they will write an email to the tennant but if we want any further action, we need to go through the city council.First of all, I don't believe an email has been sent. You have already failed to send that letter, so why would I believe you sent an email? Especially since the situation continues.Second of all, you are legally bound to intervene and enforce rules of your contract, which tennant above us is clearly violating. So pushing that responsibility on us is gross negligence on your side.Obviously you don't care how you get your money, so long as you get it. And it looks like our only option will be to move out of the property. But one thing is for sure, never again will we use your service.

Lazy · 21 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible service

Terrible service. I moved out of my property after being a reliable tenant for 11 years, on the first of October and requested information with regards to the return of my deposit on the 23rd of September so I could have the correct paperwork ready if needed ( my certificate of proof of a deposit) after many many emails to the property manager..I'm still yet to hear from them, even though a new tenant moved into the property over two weeks ago!! I find this unacceptable! One email to let me know if there is any deductions would be sufficient ( although the flat was left empty and clean) I'm shocked about the lack of communication!

Miss · 19 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible Customer Service

Lack of replies to emails. Quick to chase for money but slow to gave back what is owing to you. The property manager is terrible at customer service. A simple acknowledgement of an email takes 1 minute, why is this so difficult to do for one person is beyond me.We asked for an early exit and was given vague replies and eventually gave up but to pay rent in two properties simply becoz touchstones customer facing contact could not support our request. I am reviewing touchstone here so they can look at this and hopefully realise they need to work on this part of their service.A happy customer goes a long way.I would certainly do the same if I had a happy experience.

Roxy · 8 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Worst most callous landlord ever

Touchstone are the worst and most appalling landlord we have ever experienced in our life. They manage mid market rents for Castle Rock, who in our experience are also beyond poor. I would score them - 100 if the option was available. We had four waste water leaks, which we were told were not an emergency. Therefore we had gallons and gallons of water leaking just outside our flat over a period of months. Our flat became very damp, and mould started to form on all our belongs. We asked for someone to come out. Their inspector did not even inspect and rushed to the conclusion that source of the damp was our laundry ( they provided no outside drying green). This was despite the black mould growing up through the floor in the communal stairwell and the fact our direct neighbour was also experiencing issues with damp. Mushrooms began to grow in the small garden and still they refused to deal with the problem. We also had an ongoing problem with mice, that they kept trying to blame on us, even though we kept all our food in jars. They have a policy where they claim that they are only liable for rodent management in communal areas, and that you are responsible for inside the flat. This is the loosest interpretation of housing legislation ever. This was a semantic argument, as in order to enter your home a rodent has to cross communal areas. We eventually found that the mice were entering our house via a big vent hole they had left uncovered on the outside wall, To this day, 9 months after we left, the vent hole remains uncovered showing that they do not care about the new tenant either. Eventually the damp got so bad, and our health suffered so badly we were forced to move out. They did not deal with any of the mould we reported, and when we moved out we found black mould growing behind our bed, under our bed, behind the wardrobe, in the fitted wardrobe, inside cupboards, all over our lounge and under the carpet. We had to throw out most of the things we owned. I got hospitalised with respiratory problems. Even though we sent photos, emails, medical reports, witness statements from 3rd parties and email histories showing the problem and used the complaints procedure, they just kept on denying the issue or any liability. We fight on but they are a terrible landlord and I would completely steer clear of them. I feel so sad for the new tenant and all the tenants who are still there. This company is in receipt of public money for social and mid market housing and the estate we lived on became squalid, & unkept over time. Shocking.

Outraged · 20 August 2020