Trusted Agent profile · Harlow
★★★★★
1,176 reviews across 1 platform
Barnfield Way, Harlow, CM17 9TN
Simple Life's office in Harlow, at Barnfield Way, is rated 3.8 out of 5 across 1,176 reviews on 1 platform.
Every review we hold for the Harlow office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
5/5
TrustpilotHannah Bishop was very quick and…
Hannah Bishop was very quick and helpful providing information when we were adopting a second dog .. great to be allowed pets without any hassle! Thank you
That's so lovely to hear! Thank you Fiona! We hope your new family member is settling in well!
1/5
TrustpilotMoved in October 2020
Moved in October 2020, reported a few days later that the garden keeps flooding! Baring in mind i have a child and dogs. It took me numerous times and emails for them to come out. Basically refused to come out until summer time. Again after numerous reports and emails they came out, they stuck a stick in the ground and said they hadn’t laid enough soil. Said they would let me know what they decide to do next. Shock horror, never heard anything back. It’s like playing catch up with these lot. Since then they have only been out another time to tell us the exact same thing! The houses are shocking and made with cheap materials! All the walls are cracked and some places have even cracked that much I can see screws inside the wall!! Not only this but when my yearly tenancy ended they emailed and asked if I wanted a rolling contract or another year. Obviously I opted for the rolling contract as I was looking for another home. Couple days later I got an eviction notice for “end off tenancy” basically putting a single mother and child out onto the streets but can’t be bothered to come out for repairs! Do not move into one off these properties, the price, customer service and quality off the house just don’t add up! Paying way more than I should for a cardboard house. Neighbours have also had to move out due to their kitchen flooding every time it rains! They actually came to fix that job (shocked I know!) a week later they experienced the same thing so moved house! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They was originally called “Ascend” but changed their name… wonder why?? Won’t let me reply to but as for “aggressive dog” these concerns with the contractor was never discussed with me. In fact one of your colleagues came out once and even said that they was really well behaved dogs. Bring out the lies, I have had proof of everything since the day I moved in, I’ll tag you in all the pictures shall I. Had my very own “swimming pool” in my garden, in 2 and half years you’ve come out twice and my dogs where inside the property. Never had a problem with my dogs they even live with a 1 year old. Absolute cowboys.
Hi Aliyah, Thank you for providing more identifiable information enabling us to locate your tenancy.We note your concerns over your garden. As explained over the phone, due to an aggressive dog at the property, the housebuilder isn’t willing to attend for the safety of their staff. We can see that you had previously raised a maintenance request for settlement cracks in the property, however, once a contractor was instructed, someone at the property wouldn’t allow access and confirmed that there were no works to complete. We can also see that there are no outstanding jobs currently live on your maintenance reporting software. We’re unable to go in to any detail over eviction notices on a public forum, but if you need any clarity over this, please call the team, who are able to chat through in more detail with you.
5/5
TrustpilotRelocation
I spoke with Catalina and it was a great experience. As we are relocating from Northern Ireland, making arrangements remotely has been quite difficult, Catalina made it seamless. We look forward to the next stage of the process and moving into our new home
Thank you Kiera! It's great to hear that the process has been made seamless for you, particularly with such a big move. We will make sure that Catalina gets a copy of your compliments.
5/5
TrustpilotFantastic experience
The whole process has been very easy from applying to rent with simple life up to the current day of being a simple life tenant.
Thank you for your feedback Lauren! We delighted to hear that you've had an excellent experience so far!
5/5
TrustpilotChristine was responsive and very…
Christine was responsive and very helpful
Thank you for your review Paul!
5/5
TrustpilotOlivia has been absolutely fantastic
Olivia has been absolutely fantastic. She was very helpful in securing the property and was constantly in touch to ensure everything went on smoothly. Here is a big thank you to you.
Thank you for your kind feedback!
4/5
TrustpilotSo far so good !!
So far so good, can’t really complain. Shout out to Katie Blackburn and Ben McCarthy from the lettings team for their assistance. Apartment is secure, modern and looks the part. The simple life team communicated well prior to move in and hopefully that continues.
Hi Tobi,Thank you for your brilliant review! We will make sure that Katie and Ben get a copy of your compliments. We hope you enjoy your new apartment!
1/5
TrustpilotDon’t bother ringing…
Don’t bother ringing. Waited a long time for someone to answer. A lady called Jade answered and sounded like she wasn’t bothered to be there. At one point she is saying random things not connected to what I’m talking about. I asked if she was actually hearing me and next thing I know the call was disconnected. Funny I’m not a tenant, just someone calling during my working day to enquire about a property I’ll ideally like to rent. Guess I’ll take my business where it’s wanted coz clearly the level of ‘customer service’ I was getting today makes me wonder if they even care. I have tried calling back and no one answered the phone. It’s not even 4pm so guess everyone has left for the day.
Hi Ari,Thank you for getting in touch with us and thank you for your feedback. We have spoken to the lettings team to gain more insight into your calls. We can establish that your first call had an exceptionally bad line, which resulted in the call getting cut off. We have located and listened to the call to ensure that it was handled as we would expect. We can see that you were unsure of what you were looking for and our lettings negotiator tried to query to assist you as best she could, including offering to send you the details and the option to book in a call for the following week. To gain more information from you, I believe James has been I touch with you via email requesting further details but has struggled to get a response. If you could get back to us via email, we would very much like to help as much as we can.
5/5
TrustpilotBeen with Simple Life for 2 years now
Been with Simple Life for 2 years now, still really happy with my home and the service. Any issue that I've had (which isn't that many) has been resolved fairly quickly. For instance, my fridge stopped working and I had a brand new fridge as a replacement. It has made renting a lot easier and I have no plans to move in the near future :)
Thank you so much for your positive feedback CJ! We wish you many more happy years in your Simple Life home!
5/5
TrustpilotExcellent service
Simple Life HomesTheir responses to emails were super fast. No delays. When I had a question it would be answered as detailed as possible. Rebecca is a very professional agent and loved doing viewings with her.
Thank you Brigeta - we really appreciate your feedback!
1/5
TrustpilotWe have had a very disappointing…
We have had a very disappointing experience with Simple Life when trying to move home.
Thank you for providing identifiable information, which allows us to look into this matter further. As per your Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST), clause 14.6 states: "Where the Tenancy has become a statutory periodic tenancy, the Tenant must give the Landlord notice in writing, which must be one full month’s notice, and it must bring the periodic tenancy to an end on the day before the next rent is due." Please note that notice can be retracted if required, which may help provide some flexibility in planning your move. We are very sorry to hear that you did not receive a response regarding other Simple Life properties. We would love the opportunity to help you find another home. We recommend reviewing all our neighbourhoods on our website and submitting an enquiry through there, so we can explore suitable options for you. We appreciate your feedback and thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
3/5
TrustpilotWas meant to recieve a payment link…
Was meant to recieve a payment link yesterday to pay for tenancy. Didn’t recieve. Was told I’d then recieve it today. Still haven’t. But meant to move in on Monday?? I can book any movers until I’m absolutely sure we have a place as otherwise we’d be moving across the country with all our belongings and nowhere to put them
Hi Alexandra,We're disappointed to see your negative review. We're sorry that you didn't receive the payment link on the day that was communicated. We can see the team sent this out early the next day and we understand that you are now moved in and happy with your home.
5/5
TrustpilotReview from a Contractor
I am Gabriele, Owner of GMW General Repairs based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.Around a month ago we started to work along with SIMPLE LIFE, servicing their new estate located in Houghton Regis. I can confirm that those people know what they are doing, specially Hannah Bishop, a very polite and professional person. I had the chance to work mainly with her in regards of mainteninace jobs and i cannot be happier of our work cooperation.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Gabriele - it is much appreciated!
1/5
TrustpilotSimplelifehomes are liars, don’t rent from them
Simplelifehomes are liars. Don’t rent from this company. Their actions are always to protect their image however, the company will lie to achieve that. I wrote a review about Simplelifehomes not releasing my deposit after moving out in August 2022. There’s a reply underneath my review which is not true. According to the reply I have been made aware of a deposit dispute being logged with an independent adjudicator. This is not true because simplelifehome has refused to even inform me what I am liable for. Also the Tenancy Deposit Scheme indicates that simplelifehomes should informed me of what am liable for and what is being deducted out of my deposit, if I don’t agree with the amount taken out of my deposit. That’s when a dispute will be logged. This never happened yet their reply to my review says something entirely different. No deductions has been proposed to me by Simplelifehomes although I moved out in 4th August 2022Again don’t rent from this company
Hi Kevin,We’re sincerely sorry for the inaccuracies in our previous reply. There was some miscommunication between our teams internally, leading to incorrect information being left in the response.Thank you for bringing your delays to our attention. You are absolutely right; you should not have had to wait this long for proposed deductions to have been communicated to you and we are investigating where our processes have fallen down. Please be assured that we will be putting additional checks in to our processes moving forward to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.I believe James has been in touch with you over the phone to also apologise on behalf of Simple Life and I am pleased to see that you have now had confirmation of the details you were waiting for.
5/5
TrustpilotBeen in our new house now for around 7…
Been in our new house now for around 7 months and we've only had a couple of small issues with the house since its brand new but those were all rectified very quickly and efficiently after a quick email to the asset manager hannah bishop, you always get a helpful quick reply with a solution and if reported through fixflo, an appointment is scheduled promptly. Would highly recommend simple life as a company in general
Thank you Cameron!
1/5
TrustpilotDon't rent from Simple Life Homes
Don't rent from Simple Life Homes. I moved out of my apartment in Walkden on August 4th, 2022 due to poor customer service and repairs issues. I am still awaiting the release of my deposit. Simple Life Homes told me work was still ongoing at the property and as a result will not be able to tell me what I will be liable for in order to release the rest of my deposit. I however went to the property to check if indeed there was work ongoing but only to find a new tenant in the property who even gave me my letters. Since then Simple Homes have resulted to telling me one story after the other. Every aspect of Simple Life Homes customer services is poor. I will rate this 0 if I could
Hi Kevin, Thank you for getting back to us with more identifiable information via Trust Pilot for us to locate your tenancy and records. Since leaving your review we have taken another look at your check out report and we can confirm that the deductions proposed to your deposit were necessary to rectify damage to the property. We can assure you that the major works required, have been carried out, prior to the new tenant moving in. As you will have been made aware, any deposit disputes are logged with an independent adjudicator, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and they can take up to 3 months to make a final decision. Unfortunately, this part of the process is completely out of our hands. Based on the timings as to when your dispute was raised, we would expect the TDS to be coming back to the both of us very shortly.
5/5
TrustpilotConsultant of Simple Life Shannah Levey…
Consultant of Simple Life Shannah Levey has been very helpful and responsive. She has helped us a lot in settling in a wholly new home. Highly appreciated.
Thank you for your lovely review!
5/5
TrustpilotI would like to praise Abdul Tahir
I would like to praise Abdul Tahir He has been so friendly and patient on this journey I have been looking for a house for months Dealt with very snotty and unhelpful estate agents and came across a house with simple life From the start he has been very helpful with a million and one questions from myself :-) I was changing cities and felt at ease with this company He sent me photos , videos , explained the area and things went smoothly Thank you again :-)
Thank you for your feedback Claire!
1/5
TrustpilotWe rented a property on beehive Mill
We rented a property on beehive Mill, the house itself was falling apart, the houses are thrown up. We are a family with three young children and 2 months ago, got served notice with threatening emails and letters telling us to leave within 2 months. They stated the landlord wanted the property back, then said we were behind with rent which was not true, (they were requesting an extra month up front even though the year previously we paid 12 month upfront). We saw our same build of house on other sites go up on right move for £1400, ours was £800 so we knew the real reason they wanted us out. They couldn't legally put ours up more than 50% so they wanted new tenants so they can charge what they want. This caused so much stress and financial loss buying all new appliances again ect, especially with the way the housing market is at the moment. A new budget came out recently to say landlords can't increase rent more than 7%....not long after the budget came out they emailed asking us to stay for just a £30 monthly increase. This was 7 days before the deadline date they gave, it's an absolute joke after all of the stress they have caused. I was getting no answers about if we could stay before the budget came out, they completely ignored my questions. Stay clear of this company
Hello, thank you for providing further identifiable information via Trust Pilot. It allowed us to locate and review your tenancy and records. We would like to address your comments about the quality of the property. During your 9 month tenancy, we can see that only 2 maintenance requests were made. As such, we were completely unaware that you were so unhappy in your home. Your development was built by our house building partner who provides a high standard of homes for sale across the country, and with whom we have worked with for many years. We are very confident in the quality of the property. As with any new build, there will be some small snags and settlement cracks which occur and which we will address as is necessary. Due to GDPR, we are unable to disclose detailed information about the arrears you mention on a public forum, However, upon review of your account, we can confirm that the notice served was necessary and fair. We can also see that once this situation was resolved, we were happy to retract the notice and your asset manager contacted you with a renewal invite and a small % increase on your rent as you have suggested - to which we did not receive a response. Furthermore, throughout serving notice to your renewal letter, we did not receive any communications from you to state that you wanted to remain in the property. We are therefore satisfied that at no point was any of your communication ignored. We’d also like to address your comments on a new “budget" and "7% increase limit". This information is factually incorrect, and we can only assume this is a misunderstanding.
1/5
TrustpilotI rented a property on beehive Mill…
I rented a property on beehive Mill bolton 16 months ago. The property itself is a nice well presented property. I have now decided to leave due to the unfair increase of rent which was an extra £55pcm. I tried to dispute this due to the cost of living and bill rises and simple life were not very helpful and basically couldn't care less and stated that this was the market value and that was that. I took this to the courts and property tribunal who hadn't made a decision by time I have decided to leave the property. So anyone who takes these properties just to be aware that after your 12 months is up you will likely have your rent increased. Or if you are taking a property on that has been previously let. Chances are you are paying alot more for the property than the previous tenants. Also be aware lots of anti social behaviour with the youngsters on the beehive Estate bolton.
Thank you for your message and feedback and we’re sorry to hear that you have decided to move out due to a rental increase.We do our very best to strike a balance between taking a fair view on rental increases for our existing residents, whilst still aligning as best we can with the UK property market from a business perspective. Rents across the UK are increasing considerably due to inflation, as you can see from the following research, the average rental increase in the UK is currently at 12.3%, whereas the increase mentioned in your review is just under 7%. We do try to manage resident expectations regarding rental increases from the offset of a tenancy - it is made very clear in our tenancy agreements that rents will be reviewed and rise each year and unfortunately, like any business, we are unable to avoid that. https://www.hometrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/UK-rental-market-Q3-final-HT.pdf We would love for you to stay with us, so if you would like some help with finding another Simple Life home which meets your criteria, then please let your contact know and we would be happy to help find something suitable for your budget.
1/5
TrustpilotStay clear of Simple Life homes!!!
I have been really unimpressed with Simple Life homes. I got the keys today but went to view the property when the previous tenants were in and once they left. After they left, I was concerned about the state the property was in and the amount of repairs needed (over 2 weeks ago). Simple life still only started work on the property last Friday 4th Nov) and it was passed to me today, in a very poor state. The property stinks of cannabis and a musky vile smell. The garden still had a load of rubbish in. I have spent 6 hours cleaning today and still not finished, even after it was apparently “professionally” cleaned on Monday!! The boiler is leaking and several taps are also leaking. The carpets need to be replaced. The agents I have corresponded with have been unorganised and uninterested. It has been extremely stressfuL. I am beyond frustrated and angry with this company and would want to warn everyone against proceeding with them!!I also seek to add, we had people attend to clean the carpets without any notice. They were told by management that the property was empty and this was not the case. It then had to be rearranged as I was not informed and was not home. I want to make it clear, I informed management of my concerns 2 weeks before moving in and I was ignored! The response below from you has many inaccuracies! The carpets have been cleaned twice now and still, there is an awful stench of cigarette smoke and you have said you will not take any further action! I am therefore stuck in this vile house with rooms that heavily smell due to the previous tenants smoking!!! The way you have dealt with my matter is disgusting! You need to replace all carpets and should have done this 2 weeks before I moved in like I warned! However, YOU DID NOT CARE! I seriously warn everyone to stay clear from Simple Life!!!
Hi Tamara, Thank you for your feedback. We have looked in to your records and spoken to the team to ascertain where things had fallen down and it would appear that the team were very quick in responding to your concerns upon moving in. The house had already had a deep clean, and we had initially felt that an additional deep clean of the carpets should rectify the problems you were facing. We do note that the clean was put on hold whilst there was some back and forth with yourself to reach a suitable solution. I am pleased to see that some of the carpets are in the process of being replaced for you, a further deep clean has been carried out to the bedrooms and a small fix required to your boiler was completed today. We appreciate the inconvenience this has caused you and we apologise sincerely. Thank you for bearing with us.
5/5
TrustpilotMY NEW HOME
Just want to say thank you to Jade and Tahir . Jade for helping me get my new home and Tahir for helping me move in. Both did wonders, thanks to the pair of them. Very happy!
HI Ahmad, thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We will pass on your thanks to Jade and Tahir.
5/5
TrustpilotFantastic living by simple life
Fantastic living by simple life, we really enjoyed living here
Thank you so much for your lovely review, Ali!
5/5
TrustpilotJack Meeks has just handled my enquires…
Jack Meeks has just handled my enquires regarding renting a 1 bedroom flat, he has been amazing and strait forward, no time wasted whilst dealing with my enquires, I’m pleased to informed I’m really happy and about to move forward with my application and hopefully move in to my new flat very soon. Very excited thank you again!
Thank you for your lovely feedback Sido!
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Tell us what you need and we'll put you in touch. Simple Life Base at Newhall hasn't joined The Trusted Agent yet, so we'll pass your enquiry to them or to up to three other top-rated agents near Harlow.
