Pinnacle Letting and Estate Agents Cathays reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I'd advise any and ALL students in Cardiff to steer clear of this absolute sham of a letting agency who not only frequently lie - straight to your face but are basically un-contactable and just don't care as long as they get the rent money. Me and four other students rent a house from them which is littered with vermin who have got through the shoddily maintained house and after many back and forth arguments are blaming the entire thing on us and furthermore accusing us of lying about details regarding the situation. I for one will never ever rent with them again and will continue to tell any and all people looking to rent in the Cardiff area to STEER CLEAR.

Matt · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst agency ever, avoid! Stealing money from tenants is what they do on a daily basis. They're also good at ignoring tenants' emails and refusing to help tenants at any cost, even when you have evidence you're right. -100/10. Wouldn't recommend. Wouldn't do again. To be honest I wouldn't recommend renting a house/flat from majority of agencies as they all are the same. I only have had 1 really good agency in my life and it definitely wasn't this one.

Agnieszka · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

If I could put less than a star I would. They repeatedly lied about getting work done they would repeatedly say someone will call you later to confirm whatever it was you were asking for however never once were we called back by them. They left us in winter for 6 weeks with no boiler and therefore no hot water and only put us on the urgent list for this a month after the original complaint. Even our landlord thought they were they were useless and moved over from pinnacle to cps oh and just to top it off they have owed me a month's rent for a week and I have called 5 times and each time they say its being sorted and someone will call me back but no one has and I'm stilled owed the money. They have absolutely no regard for your living standards and are two faced liars and so never ever let with them.

Emily · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Exceptionally terrible service. Strong reason to believe they are an intentionally fraudulent agency. We rented the place for a year and Pinnacle deducted £750 from our combined deposit of £1125. We were extremely unsatisfied as Pinnacle's claims for the deposit deduction were completely untrue and lacked any evidence whatsoever. We escalated the case to an arbitrator, the 'Tenancy Deposit Scheme' and were awarded our full deposit back. Shame on them! They think they can cheat students just because students are generally more vulnerable. This is a not one-off incident as another friend of mine also had her deposit unfairly deducted but unfortunately, had no evidence to refute Pinnacle's baseless allegations. Warning to all students in Cardiff!

Jay · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Dreadful company. Water comes in the roof, our cooker gives dangerous electric shocks, our doors don't close, the heating doesn't work, they locked us out of the flat by mistake over Christmas without even an apology, they turn up without the legally required warning, and they ignore all emails/ phonecalls/ messages, so there's no way of getting anything done. A complete disgrace. I've rented many flats from various agencies but these are a whole other league awful illegal and dangerous incompetence and neglect.

Holly · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

Absolutely terrible experience.They seem nice from the start, but then they are completely ignoring all the e-mails, never resolve any issues and say they will be resolved later(mould problem, heating problem), after “a while”.All my room was covered in mould, and it could get down to 5 degrees. Complete arrogance and ignorance towards the tenants, at the same time when you did not pay the rent at the right time, they are able to do everything to get it from you, but they were silent for months and always told me to wait until they “pass the information to the next person”. I asked what can they do about the cold temperature in my room, they said they can’t do anything since my room is located at the backyard.None of our other problems were resolved as well (broken tap) I am surprised this company and people are not in jail yet. Edit: They have a better service now. Got answers for the e-mails, and refund for a dehumiditifier I ordered.

Jekaterina · 17 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst letting agency I've ever had the displeasure of being with. Nothing fixed throughout the entire year, we had to wing it ourselves. Now after our tenancy they are charging us ridiculous amounts for things like a lampshade being off the light (which I took off because 6ft 3 and it kept whacking me in the head), £15. Then £45 for a screw being loose in a wardrobe, which is a wear and tear problem. These are just to name a few! Will advise everyone, especially students to stay clear of them. The last thing students need is these money grabbers making their lives even more debt filled. On top of this they haven't replied to me in 3 weeks and have already taken the money. As I understand it though I'm not the only one being put through this, how are they still going?

Stephen · 31 July 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

DO NOT USE!!! We have a student house with them. We reported mice in January, we have since emailed, texted, called and talked to them in person and they not only refuse to sort this major hygiene issue but they're just downright rude to us. We have had to resort to asking the council to inspect the house and force them to carry out the work they are legally required to do. In summary they don't care about their tenants and will take advantage of everyone they can. We will be taking every action we can to have them legally held responsible.

Abi · 31 July 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst company , all pampered with their site and leaflets and professional uniforms , don't get a house through Pinnacle !!! Terrible service , dirty home they are so so Unprofessional ! Started paying rent in July but would actually move in end of September , end of September when we moved in everything was so dirty , broken and rundown , its not about the house but about who are so bad at doing their duty around the house ! Phoned them over and over again sent them emails and they did nothing ! STAY AWAY FROM THEM , I guess the only good reviews are written by friends of theirs !

Margarida · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

I have been at my present address since November. So far they have shown flexibility and understanding in my changing Circumstances that arose as a result of my previous letting agents being so unhelpful. They have carried out repairs as expected and communicated everything to me without issue. I hope this continues and I may give them the 5 star if they continue this way. Edit: Although service during tenancy was good. I feel let down by the team responsible for return of bond. I will update further at a later point giving a detailed breakdown of issues regarding return of bond. FYI ensure to raise a dispute with the TDS within the 3 month time limit otherwise even if you're a day out they will refuse all support leaving you at the mercy of the agent.

Michael · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Was promised a flat 7 weeks before moving in i paid the bond and agent fees, I then had a phone call 7 days before moving in that the landlord has changed his mind now, I sold some of my things coz I was promised a fully furnished flat but now have to look for something else, I see there still working with this landlord because they posted the flat back online with there company, I would never use these again wasted alot of my time and lost out alot of money don't be fooled what they tell u here!!!

Sean · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I moved out of my flat with Pinnacle at the end of November and to be fair they were excellent throughout. The flat was clean and tidy when I moved in, just a bit of dusting to do which is the norm. I had an a small issue with the boiler which was fixed within a two days(as the contractor had to order parts) and a blind broke which was also fixed within two days. I found their check out process very thorough and everything was photographed before and after so there is no discrepancies. I also received my full deposit back which is unheard of in this day and age. Staff where always friendly and helpful, and always happy to help. Couldn't recommend them more.

Niall · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Quite a let down - I've just pasted the email I've had to send their deposit team. I'm pretty sure many others can agree to this: Hi, I’ve been trying to reach this department through various emails over the past few days with no acknowledgment or response whatsoever. As a result, I’ve tried to call through to speak to someone to then be told that you were not available and that you will “call me back”. If I’m honest, I’m quite sure I will not get a call back from you so please could you at least have the courtesy in confirming that somebody is looking into my deposit queries for me? I have moved out over a month ago and I haven’t got a clue what’s holding this process up. As I’ve relocated to another city, I’ve counted on that money to help me with my move so this delay is putting me in financial strain. There’s no point in threatening you with any legal action as I know it will just simply elongate this process. It’s a shame that once we leave your company, the level of communication and customer service becomes even worse than the little bit you had during my tenancy. I’m pretty sure that if rent was missing, there would be people around the clock trying to call through and charging throughout the day. Deposit team - I’ve tried to be understanding as I know your job must be stressful at this time but I think this has now become unreasonable. Please could you get back to me with a response in writing to update me on what’s happening with my deposit. Kind regards Ronny Edit: A representative has since then been in contact and has paid me back the deposit in full.

Ronny · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Hi, I have been trying to reach pinnacle through various emails over the past few weeks with no response at all. I had tried calling but get no answer and no call back. I have been told that someone is looking into looking at my case and still have had no response for weeks. I moved out 3 months ago and am still waiting on even an update to my deposit. I don't know how you expect people to wait for extended delays with such poor service. It is understandable that you will be dealing with many deposits at this time but it is up to you to provide that service which you get paid a large enough agency fee to higher/train staff ect. Renting the house itself over 2 years from you was unbelievably stressful (no safety checks, an oven which has been listed as a cleaning cost although it never even had a plug attached) I at least thought you would be able to deliver on one of your responsibilities. Please could you get back to me with a response by email to update me on what’s happening with my deposit and not just cover this review with the fake reviews you have been adding on occasion. Thanks

Sam · 31 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Was promised a flat 7 weeks before moving in i paid the bond and agent fees, I then had a phone call 7 days before moving in that the landlord has changed his mind now, I sold some of my things coz I was promised a fully furnished flat but now have to look for something else, I see there still working with this landlord because they posted the flat back online with there company, I would never use these again wasted alot of my time and lost out alot of money don't be fooled what they tell u here!!!

S · 14 May 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Unsecured property, broken locks, cracked windows, unhygienic had not been cleaned, sat for 4 hours with no response and nowhere to store my possessions. I have a paid hundreds of pounds hiring a man and van to move my stuff down today and the property is nowhere near fit to move in. IT IS BEYOND A JOKE! Now I'm stuck here all your offices have closed on me the helpline is more like a hold line stayed on hold for over an hour. YOUR COMPANY HAS ABANDONED ME AND MY STUFF IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY YOUR COMPANY AND ITS PRACTICES A SHAMBLES AND I WILL BE REQUIRING COMPENSATION AND A FULL REFUND

Adam · 17 September 2017

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Pinnacle has helped me and my four other Canadian roommates find our home for the next year! I have never had to find a place to live before, and I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and nervous. The second you walk into their office, you are offered tea, coffee, water, or whatever else you need. Everyone is friendly and seemed eager to help us get situated. I was instantly put at ease when the first agent was excited to help us. The next day, the agent was just as helpful and answered any of our seemingly dumb questions. Everyone we have come into contact with has been friendly and wonderful to work with. They have really gone the extra mile to help out the group of five!

Daniella · 17 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely disgusting service, house was given in extremely poor state and was left for me and my housemates to clean before we could even move stuff in. Nothing was ever done quickly and took multiple phone calls, emails and even having to walk in. Now after finally leaving we have not been given our deposits back or return our calls, even though house was given back in a better state than we got it. All they care about is your money. Id quite frankly rather live on the streets than have all the stress they cause us. Appalled and very upset, its difficult as a student to be able to afford to live and even more difficult when a lot of money that is righfully yours is withheld.

Ellie · 31 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

the people who work for pinnacle are nice, though have no clue what is going on and quite frequently ignore emails they don't want to respond to. Even after we formally complained nothing changed with our property and we lived in a disgusting mould ridden house for 6 months with little to no indication as to what was being done in order to make the house liveable. I have finally moved out of that hell hole and the lack of communication continues as i have been waiting far to long to hear about m deposit, which i should have heard about "within the next couple of weeks" 2 weeks ago. If you feel your life is too simple and you want some stress and drama than by all means choose pinnacle, otherwise look elsewhere.

Charlie · 31 July 2017

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

The only reason I've given this two stars is due to Will (I'm fairly sure that's his name) who works in the Cardiff office. He seems to be the only employee who cares/listens - the man deserves a pay-rise/to work in a different company. My main issues have always been with repairs. I reported a broken toilet seat which was never fitted properly last August (9 months ago) which needs someone to come in and replace it as it's built into the bathroom cabinets (hence why I can't do it myself). Around the same time I reported that my built in wardrobe doors were not attached; I discovered this after they almost fell on me, the weight of them resulted in my heavy duty plastic bin being smashed to pieces (I include this because, had it landed on me, I would have been injured). Since then, we've developed large CRACKS in our windows and the plaster in the ceiling of the living room has completely crumbled away due to damp. NONE of these things have been repaired. Time after time we've had promises of a repairman coming out, but nothing ever happens. My main worry now is that we won't get our deposit back in June/July because none of these things have been fixed - especially after reading other peoples reviews! This is completely unacceptable. However, in July, I reported that our front door didn't have an handle on the inside. This was an obvious fire hazard and THAT was repaired in a matter of days. It seems like they'll repair the things that could result in them being reported to the council, but nothing more. I've been into the Cardiff office in person so many times and still nothing. I've phoned, I've emailed, I've used the online maintenance reporting form - still nothing. I will say, kudos to Will - he even came to the flat himself to try and fix the toilet. I'm never renting from this company again - in fact, I've decided to rent from a private landlord after this because of the experience!

Anna · 31 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Please do not rent with this company, if you can help it. They are helpful until you get to the end of your tenancy and have to get your deposit back. Our tenancy ended on the 30th June this year. We paid around £700 for our deposit, and naturally were keen to see how much we would get back. Pinnacle tell you that you should hear something by the end of July, as obviously a lot of people are moving out around this time and it's quite busy for them. They did our closing inspection on 5th July, saying everything was fine, nothing too much in the way of cleaning/repairs had to be done. To be honest, I think we left it in a better condition than we found it (but I guess a lot of people say that!). We then emailed a couple times asking about the deposit, to which they said we would hear back in due course. It got to the middle of August, and we had to send them a Facebook message to try and get some sort of update. On 19th August, Charlotte Redding (head of deposits) emailed us finally with an answer. Apparently the landlord wanted to take more or less 100% of our deposit for cleaning and repairs. This was of course totally ridiculous. Nothing was broken or dirty enough to warrant £300 cleaning work (the closing inspection had even stated it was clean). We understood the oven needed to be cleaned, so expected some deduction for that. They also tried to charge us for something that had previously been fixed while we were living at the flat. It has been over 2 weeks since we replied to Pinnacle, telling them of our dispute. Since then, we have emailed and sent Facebook messages, but haven't even had an acknowledgement email back from them. The guy on Facebook did say he would pass the message along, but so far we've heard nothing and are lucky that our deposit is with TDS so we can dispute it with their help. I didn't really want to leave this review but feel like we have to, to warn people and to maybe get a response from Pinnacle. To be fair, we had no other problems while living in the flat. It was very nice and I would want to live there again, but maybe with a better agency (also maybe with any agency that don't charge a ridiculous agency fee). If you look at other reviews on Facebook and Google you'll find similar reviews about their service. They seem to be able to reply to Facebook and Google reviews, giving the appearance that they are trying to help, but they don't seem to have the time to reply to our emails. Pinnacle, if you see this review, please don't ask me to email Charlotte as we've done that. Please just reply to us. Again, I do understand it is a busy time for estate agents with students moving in and out, and I know sometimes it's like landlord that can hold things up, but I find it quite rude that we can't even get an email of acknowledgement. **edit - Pinnacle replied to me, which was nice. However it's been maybe 3/4 days, and I still haven't had my email. No surprise.

Sarah · 31 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

While I didn't have any major problems during the tenancy with Pinnacle the issues have since begun after leaving. I have been out of the flat for two months now and they are yet to return my deposit. I have not disputed the cost they have raised and I am attempting to contact them on what is now a daily basis and they continue to dodge me. I am now starting to feel like they have no intention of returning the deposit to me. I strongly recommend going elsewhere as it would seem they are all smiles at the start but as soon as they don't have to deal with you any more the genuinely don't care. So before going into an agreement with Pinnacle ask yourself, can I afford to not have my deposit returned in a timely manner (or possibly at all) at the end of my tenancy agreement? As you may find it to be a hidden cost of your agreement. Edit: You may now notice they have responded to my review stating they have been far too busy to return the money the owe me. I was told this a month ago and considering transferring money now only takes mere minutes this doesn't seem like a reasonable response in the least. Also once again ask yourself if the tables were turned and you found yourself too busy to pay your rent, would they accept that as a fair excuse or would they become quite threatening? Also I have been sending emails on a daily basis, how is sending another email to someone else a solution?

Daniel · 15 April 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Do NOT use this letting agency! You will struggle to get your deposit back, and you'd be lucky to receive half of it back regardless of the condition you left the house in at the end of your tenancy. The staff are lazy, unhelpful, and are completely disinterested in any issues that the tenants may have. They continue to use landlords with a proven track record for refusing to invest money into their properties for necessary long term repairs, but instead use inadequate cheap short term responses so as to make profit off of students who will only be in the property for a year. Properties are shabby, overpriced and you will see nothing for the money you spend on rent and other charges that they spring on you. This is an absolute joke of a letting agency, use at your own peril.

George · 17 September 2016

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolute farce. Trying to move from England to Cardiff. Viewed a flat. Was perfect. Was told on the Saturday I viewed it if I called Monday with reference fees etc it would be mine . I called Monday and it was given to someone else. The agent had told us he had no other viewings that day, yet girls in office said he had 8. We are disheartened as a work transfer is in place and our current tenancy ends in 2 weeks and we have nowhere to move to. It was promised to us and we were totally let down and by looking at the reviews we weren't the only ones let down by this company.

RoseyBee · 17 September 2016