Hall Derby reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

two-bit con-men

we had a fantastic landlord. unfortunately, we also had a crooked estate agent who completely made up an imaginary law (verified as an absolute fabrication by a housing expert from the charity shelter and also by multiple landlords) so they could try and force us into getting another housemate in the spare room, presumably to gain some sort of commission, and this is not even to mention the problems i had with them the academic year previously. they treat their staff badly as well. don't waste your time with this lot.

Saul · 6 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

AVOID AT ALL COST

My friends and I had decided to go through this letting agency for a uni house, from the moment we moved in up until the moment we moved out this company has been absolutely useless and poorly managed.When we had first moved in we were greeted with a house that had NOT been cleaned, the carpets were dirty, many items had been left from the previous tenants, and there were bins in our garden that had not been emptied out. And we were expected to clean these things, they did not offer to take care of the mess left by previous tenants. It was a complete mess and they thought it was acceptable for us to move in to a house in such bad shape.Throughout our stay here, we had many problems, such as the dishwasher (which didn’t even have a door when we moved in) needing regular checks, broken lightbulbs which were never replaced throughout our stay, the bathroom continuously needing to be fixed and old mattresses which we never got replaced. Whenever we would call and report problems they would never get someone on the job right away, they always needed more than one of use to call in, or for us to call in multiple times, just to get something fixed. They are very stingy with money, of course all of this could have been avoided, if they had fixed everything BEFORE we moved in.Even in tough times during COVID-19, when many of us couldn’t go to work, they hounded us to pay rent and couldn’t show any remorse, or even allow us to end the contract early, considering that they knew many of us had already moved out. As students it’s important to be in a stress free environment however, they made somewhere that was supposed to be a safe place for us nothing but stressful. When moving moving out they try their hardest to steal as much money from you as possible, no matter how stupid or small the issue may be, they will charge you the most amount of money they possibly can, we are students and they know we don’t have a lot of money but THEY DO NOT CARE. They scam tenants every year and people don’t know because the truth only comes out once the tenancy has ended. They claim to use this money to ‘deep clean’ the houses every year, but when we moved in the house was a complete mess. All they want is your money and they will use horrid methods to get money out of you. This is a warning, DO NOT LET THEM SCAM YOU, FIND ANOTHER AGENCY. They have the worst customer service and all they want to do is steal your money, they have no care for your safety or wellbeing. Absolutely horrible experience had with them. I would NOT recommend.

· 19 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley was amazing very helped answered all question I asked thank you

Baby · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley has been great from start to finish thank you so much

Kimberley · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley was brilliant in helping me find my first home. THANKYOU !:)

Iona · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley was really helpful with me moving in. Thank you so much!

Jack · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley was amazing! Great communication, constant updates, smooth letting process ☺️👍 …

Toby · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Really disappointed

Really disappointed . Our tenancy with Nicholas Humphrey recently ended and we have all been so frustrated and upset with their service throughout the year. Mid way through the tenancy, two of my house mates had no where to sleep with one sleeping on the floor with no mattress for 2+ weeks as a result of a major leak in the roof. It took the company over a week to address the issue and another week to arrange for someone to visit the property despite their out of hours maintenance informing us there was a good chance the roof could collapse in certain areas and the property was unsafe. Our property was not in adequate condition upon arrival including the carpet on the stairs not being fitted properly. Of course every house is not expected to be in perfect condition but even after informing the company of the issue after a member of the house injured themselves, the end of the tenancy came and the problem was never addressed. These are just two of the many issues we have experienced with Nicholas Humphrey and are still yet to receive any form of acknowledgement of our complaints despite numerous emails and telephone calls. To add to this, when it came to receiving our deposit back, we had £105 taken off - after contacting the company over the telephone to clarify what this was for, we were told by a member of the team that this was because there was some dust in the rooms. We vacated the property a month before the end of the tenancy as a result of covid and provided evidence of the property as it was left, in perfect condition. To be told that after awful service throughout the year, we would then have to pay such a large amount for the company to hire someone to clean dust, which naturally would occur in an empty property, is very unfair. It's so important as a student to feel comfortable where you are living and know you can rely on the letting agency to address any issues and concerns but this is just not the case with this company and I would not recommend.

: · 16 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Very good service from all the staff at Hall & Benson they make the process of getting a property so easier.

ADRIAN · 13 May 2025

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great efficiency and range, deposit and signing up are affordable, modern and easy

Everyone has a different experience but mine has been excellent. As a tenant the Sheffield branch re-housed me with a three day turn around. Deposit amount is very good especially given the virus situation, and Matt has responded quickly to all my requests since moving in. Patient as well.Great guy and really impressed with the quick turnaround as other companies can take weeks to even get back to you.10/10 would and have recommend(Ed) to friends who need somewhere quick and affordable but also a decent place to live and spend time.

Liam · 14 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

DO NOT RENT from this estate agents

DO NOT RENT from this estate agents. They provide students with dirty houses that are unsafe and charge high amounts and demand money before the date on the contract. They gave us a house with no beds, broken glass in the oven, a mouldy fridge and the washing machine uses the same water as what the sink drains! All the staff have a very bad attitude and won’t provide you with any money back or any help. Even the fire brigade deemed the house as unsafe! Do not waste your time!

Hannah · 2 July 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Honestly the worst Experience I’ve ever…

Honestly the worst Experience I’ve ever experience with an agency and the landlord was no better. Imagine having a dirty carpet in the bathroomBroken fire alarms that constantly went off, which weren’t fixed for months and even now they’re still not functioning correctly.The landlords will contact and call you shout at you over the phone. They tried to make me pay rent twice a month for most my stay. No matter who I spoke to I didn’t receive any help and they’d constantly forget when my rent was due. They’re sooooo rude over the phone it feels like extortion the second floor bathroom basically didn’t work nobody could use it. The boiler is ancient and would make weird noises. It’s old not too sure how old but it’s made out of copper. I could go on for a while about the tree at the front that isn’t safe because of a storm huge beaches fell nearly hitting cars and putting the residents in danger. My curtains were mouldy I had to buy new ones from my own pocket, the hardest part was tacking the old curtains off seeing as they infused with old fashioned C clips they used. Moreover, the heating caused arguments because you couldn’t control how hot it was from your room and because half the house faces away from the sun my room was freezing whilst the other half had constant sun meaning the rooms were boiling. The way this was sort of resolved was through the agency threatening to increase prices or money would be taken from are deposits if we didn’t stop using the heating but overall the agency is shouldn’t have the right to continue with their standards and the landlords need to stop the extortion for student accommodations, especially when the house looked like even if we made it spotless they’d still take are deposits.What makes it worse is that through this pandemic the agency would call those who couldn’t pay anymore because they’d lost their jobs threatening us whilst also trying to get us into work during the COVID GLOBAL CRISIS ARE YOU INSANE? The landlords wife would also call she was extremely rude I don’t know how the landlords or why the land lords could contact us but they did whenever they chose to do so and this was all okay with this agency.To summarise if they could keep your family hostage for the money you owed them they would, they would be deceitful whenever they had the chance and get you into contracts without explaining very important things.I was put onto a contract that had already started I don’t know if this is okay they explained things briefly and knew that I was in a tight spot with finding accommodationThey even gave me the wrong key so I was locked out my own room for a week which I still had to pay for and the key snapped when I tried to open the door which they tried to make me pay for. Plus I would have to keep my door open because it would lock by itself I once got locked out after a shower and simply getting help proved to be very challenging I can provide more information however, because my tenancy is still active I’m worried I won’t get my deposit back and more

Not · 30 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

They told us to fill out application ans pay the holding fee without asking for our income before to check we paid 170 then found put we need guarantor and didn't get it bk left family with new baby short nothing on there paper work explained it right yet peopity we applied for had rough garden not finished etc bloody awful company not advised to rent off these at all take your money and run .NegativeProfessionalism

Charlotte · 15 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Received a phone call on the day of a viewing to be told that there are 2 people viewing before us and if they put an offer in then our viewing would be cancelled on the spot. I advised we are travelling over an hour to view the property and we cannot justify doing that if there's a chance we may not even get to see it. The agent was rude and didn't accommodate us whatsoever. She advised this is industry standard.. Yet we have viewed 8 properties so far and have not encountered such poor service. Will avoid all properties from this agent going forward as they clearly believe they will get a tenant regardless of service. That ethos will only last while the market is strong, I'm sure it'll come to bite them when the market slows. Thanks for making life even more difficult for public servants during this already hard time!

Jay · 15 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The single most incompetent company I have ever dealt with. I have rented many houses with many agents over the years and not had even had a single of the multitude of the issues I'd had with just Hall and Benson. Never respond to emails, never call when they say they will, wrong information repeated, never apologise for so outrageously useless. Jay especially stand out as shameful incapable of his job. I can not state strongly enough how bad this useless mob is.

Matt · 15 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I have made a deliberate effort to leave this review because I have been extremely disappointed with the service we received from Hall & Benson letting. We were tenants for 18 months and it was made clear to us that as tenants we were not the priority for this agency. My first and major complaint is that we were informed of a price increase in our rental agreement only weeks before it was due to renew. With such a short time frame we felt trapped into agreeing to the increase because we would be unable to move. I also have many emails that don't receive replies and multiple times I have called the office, been told someone will call me back and that has not happened. When vacating the property our deposit is essentially held to ransom over any deduction issues. Every time we queried a deduction the staff would tell us that if we don't agree we have to go through the 'arduous process of mediation' and it would take months before we got the deposit back. We fought on principle but many people will not be in the position to fight because they need their deposit back. I am so disappointed in the scare tactics used. On the subject of queries over deposit, it is clear the agency act to get keep the landlord happy and do not fight your corner if the landlord is unreasonable. Throughout our whole tenancy, we have been given misinformation. We were given the wrong move in date, inspections have not occurred when scheduled but occurred days after and when we vacated the property the misinformation must have been willful it was so bad. I know that tenants do not have a lot of choice when it comes to letting agents because it is the property that seems important but I would not recommend this agency to anybody. I am so disappointed and I wish we had never let with them.NegativeResponsiveness, Professionalism

Nicola · 15 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

There are the worst company

There are the worst company, they move so slow, staff is so rude, they don’t care, don’t give them your money it’s not worth it, it’s a hassle to do anything with their staff.

Mufasa · 12 November 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Very friendly and lovely staff, thank you Hayley, Jessica and Declan

Athena · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

My mortgage advisor Kirsty ford was absolutely incredible, she went above and beyond what she needed to do to push my re mortgage through for me as it was a complicated case. She kept in contact with me throughout and I can honestly not recommend her enough. Thank you for all your hard work it will never be forgotten.

Rachel · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

these people are complete liars of the…

these people are complete liars of the highest order .do not trust anything they say.they just want your money ! and will try anything to keep money coming in .first they say that they have let your property and and people will sign in a month and then they say people have changed there mind . all the time the property is of the letting market !!DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLEBULL SHITTERS

Barry · 7 January 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Hayley has been great throughout the whole process, recommend 100%

Sally · 15 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Paying a holding fee doesn’t matter...

If I could rate a 0 I would...Stay well clear.....I viewed a property, loved it, paid a holding fee. They took the house off their website and rightmove. We passed the application process, due to move in two weeks from the application date. Three days before the moving in date, we received an email to say the landlord has found another tenant ?? When I called to question why, what, when and how, I got told that it’s the landlords decision and nothing I could do. Baring in mind I have given notice at my current property and also 3 weeks before Christmas!!! I was devastated. I was told they can find me something else. So I said ok...then to find out the next day the house That I was supposed to be moving into is back on all websites to rent. So I sent an email to request a viewing. I was then contacted the next day to book a viewing. When I questioned the office as to why as I was approved and agreed a moving in date is this back on the market. They said someone else is going through the application process but he is looking at back ups. I said I was approved and then told the property is no longer available. The staff couldn’t answer me or explain why or how. So tHe agency lied to me. Even though their time and effort was put into my application they were just as gutted as me, however that was clearly a lie as they advertised it again for the landlord.Every one I called told me different things about the property but they couldn’t explain to me when I said who I was and it was supposed to be mine.No sorry no explanation.So I asked for my holding fee back, paid by cash and they said no it Has to be bank transfer, which would take 2-3 days. However I needed it to hold another house with another agency. But no they couldn’t help.Still no sorry or nothing to help me find something else as priority. I have a son and three weeks before Christmas no where to live. They don’t care at all. Paying a holding fee doesn’t matter one bit. Total disgrace.So I will never use or recommend them in the future and to be honest would I rent the house now anyway when the owner can do this to a family.......

Jay · 7 December 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The worst landlords ever

The worst landlords that I'd experienced in my entire life. I'm not even talking about the appalling condition of the room that I'm renting and the trash on the floor that I found when I moved in. What was the worst part is their attitude. After I signed the contract, they started ignoring me, there was no chair in my room and the trash bin outside the house is gone. They see my messages on WhatsApp but still tend to ignore every single one. They lie to tenants in order to get them to sign the contract and look for excuses not to show you the exact terms of the agreement before the day you have to move in. The whole house is disgustingly filthy and not maintained at all.

Rytis · 24 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Norman House flats

Norman House flats Disgusting treatment to students, won’t do repairs, took £380 from deposit for cleaning at end of tenancy although place was spotless. Manipulate students to sign for further year only 4 months into tenancy by saying your rent will go upIf you don’t. If circumstances change like have to not want to commit to another year due to uni transfer they have no sympathy and get you black listed. Helen Statham, Darron and Janie are your best mates till you sign contract then they treat you with ZERO respect. *AVOID* Nicholas Humphrey Derby (student letting) parents do not let you child use this company!

Jenkins · 30 August 2019