Walton Robinson reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The most horrific agency I’ve ever dealt with. When we first moved into the house it was covered in stains, rubbish left everywhere including a mop bucket of black water with a layer of mould covering it, broken light fixtures, broken blinds, broken handles, wardrobes collapsing in on themselves and microwave so badly rusted it was deemed unsafe for use by their own contractors. As a house of five, there were two toilets but for two months the upstairs bathroom was written off as pipes had eroded so badly from incorrect plumping that waste was leaking into the downstairs bedroom and the flat below us. They left flat pack wardrobes at the bottom of the stairs, after us being without wardrobes for six months, which in turn caused a serious injury which left one of our housemates in hospital and out of work for 2 months. The concrete stairs were coming away at the back entrance to the extent we were unable to use the fire door at the back of the house. While our property manager Daniel was a lovely person to deal with, he was constantly unavailable and he was always ‘out of office.’ Anytime we rang to make a complaint to the office we were met with hostility and impatience if we didn’t speak with Daniel. Daniel was always apologetic for his colleagues behaviour. The landlord - who also is the director of Walton Robinson and the director of first rate maintenance the maintenance company they use - tried to charge us for scratches on the outside of the front door, and for damage that was there before we moved in. Luckily we had photos and emails to disprove this. We were charged for all new mattresses even after they told us the mattresses needed replacing anyway since it had been five years since they were replaced. It took us from July until November to get most of our deposit back from this company. As students they tried everything to discourage us from fighting for our deposit back and to try to take advantage of us. The uni Students Unions have been contacted about this company as well to help other students be aware

Emily · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

This company is absolutely appalling! When we moved into the property the wardrobes were broken and collapsing in on themselves, broken door handles, broken freezer drawers, a microwave that was completely unusable, mouldy bathrooms and stained desks and chairs. The dishwasher had stuff in it such as a toothbrush, so the professional clean they told us they had done, was clearly not done. Additionally, the stairs to the garden were broken and unusable which stayed that way the whole time we lived there. The back garden itself was massively overgrown and had no fence protecting the garden from strangers walking down the back alley so we could not use this garden at all. There were cleaning apparatus left in the house in bags and a bucket of mouldy and dirty water left in the house. We made all these complaints to the company and some were dealt with. Flat packed wardrobes were left at the bottom of our stairs for months and as they were so heavy we could not move them ourselves. One of our flatmates actually injured herself because of these. For a couple months, one of our bathrooms was completely unusable due to bad plumbing that left pipes eroded and leaking waste into one of the bedrooms and to the flat below us. For 5 people in the house, we needed the two bathrooms working but it did not seem like an issue they cared about. The fridge door fell off and hit one of the flatmates. When a contractor was sent around he told us that the fridge needed changing as this was not safe but when he came around again, he had been told just to fix it. Additionally to all the issues we had in this house, we were not informed before contractors were send to the house on regular occasions. Very regularly we would answer the door to people wanting to come into our house to fix something, but we had not been told they were coming so it felt particularly unsafe because how were we supposed to know if they actually were contractors for Walton Robinson if we had not been informed previously of this. It was in our contract that we were supposed to be given 24 hours notice every time someone was coming, and we were not given this every time and that is appalling and unsafe for young girls in a house alone. After all of these issues, we moved out and had the house professionally cleaned and left the house is a much better standard than we found it, clean and without rubbish everywhere. We were then informed that they wanted to keep our entire deposit and wanted extra money from us because of the “damages” to the house. They tried to charge us for the replacement of all 5 mattresses which they claimed needed changing every 5 years and therefore that was our cost even though we had not damaged the mattresses. They tried to charge us for a professional cleaning and a full redecoration of nearly every room in the house. They had taken pictures of some items that they claimed they had to remove that we left, but we had those items in our new homes and they wanted us to pay for that. From July to November, we dealt with very rude and disrespectful staff, who pawned us off on each other and lied to us on a regular basis saying that the people we wanted to speak to were never in the office and were not contactable. We were also directly lied to by staff about information we had found out on the internet about the workings of their company. If we tried to book a meeting, they would never ring us back. Emails were ignored on a regular basis and it took 6 months to get most of our deposit back. Overall the staff treated us in an awful way and additionally we were told that unless we were the lead tenant we could not make a complaint about their company which is ludicrous. I have made my university aware of this company and their behaviour and would warn every other student never to use them, even if they are changing their name to Seekers, if the company stays the same then the treatment students will receive will be just as poor.

Lucy · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

WARNING FURTURE CUSTOMER. DO NOT USE THIS AGENT UNLESS YOU WANT TO HAVE BAD EXPERIENCE. Move in on the 21/9 and today is 9/10. The house look amazing online but the real state of the house is horrible. Have only fixed some light bulbs and the cupboard in the kitchen. But the light bulb fixed is also now broken again. First is the toilet: The toilet is broken but was argue that it is working fine and cannot be fixed. Make horrible sound throughout the night. THIS IS SOUND POLLUTION. There is also a hole in the bathtub right in the spot where you can walk in which is so sharp can cut your foot open. Second is the kitchen: The kitchen top has a huge hole. The fridge has no shelf. Have been promise to order new shelf and still zero reply from both the agent and the contractor. Third is the bedroom: The wall have disgusting yellow stain. Hole in the wall as well. The mattress was in horrible shape, I insist to buy a new but also promise to buy for me instead. However, still no reply. Last is customer support: All this was mention numerous of times but still so little work have been done. Slow reply. The person who I work with before left without any notice to the customer and their colleagues. Therefore I was emailing a person who do not work there anymore and calling an answering machines. I have walk into the company to talked to them. Promise to email back after and still zero email back. OVERALL, I COULD NOT HAVE A WORST EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PROVIDING THE WORST HOUSE TO LIVE AND THE WORST CUSTOMER SUPPORT.NegativeResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Đức · 26 August 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

It's quite amazing the levels of incompetence a company can go to, if there was any form of competition - I'm confident Walton Robinson would be a contender. The company itself has no ethics, no redeeming features and I'm fairly certain no happy tenants. This company is the epitome of parasitic landlordism. To summarise the main (but not a complete list) the main grievances we had; - We were 2 weeks late moving in due to a member of their team not sending the proper documents over, and instead sending threatening emails with fines over not fully paying (we had 3 weeks prior to this, but despite informing them we still received these). - Once we had finally moved in we realised that despite being told numerous times (and on the property advertisement) the carpet would be replaced and a washer dryer installed - neither was fulfilled nor would be. - Wallpaper was peeling throughout, so they sent over their maintenance team to blu-tac it back on :). They've since had the audacity to charge us for this claiming it was from sticking stuff on to walls. - We put in a formal complaint both internally and with the property ombudsman, which resolved in WR admitting the wallpaper peeling is a fire hazard and offering a small amount of money to settle the complaint. - Within the first 4 months we had 5 different property supervisors, something we were rarely informed about - which I think goes to show the kind of company WR is and that even the employees don't want to work there. - In total we had 5 occasions where they entered out property without 24 hours notice, which we explained is actually against the law. At the moment it's been just over 2 months since we moved out, and having been contacting WR for all of this time have just received a reply yesterday with proposed reductions, which was funnily enough also the deadline for them to reply with our dispute through TDS. Instead of bothering to reply to us they have instead chose to just defer judgement to TDS.NegativeResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Dean · 26 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Really bad service. They just want to exploit students. Do not sign up with them!! Update: So for replying to reviews online, Walton Robinson is suddenly efficient with that. That was not the case for your property management. The agency left us living in a house with a defective fire detector for months. They took very long time to response to any other general house maintenance. Their finance department as well is really bad. They took ages to process a refund and for the deposit even worst (more than three months after the checkout date). The amount deducted for the damage deposit was really excessive. Their customer support is really bad and left procedures pending for ages due to a lack of proper management within their team. So again do NOT sign up with them!!

Chelsea · 20 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Would NOT recommend Walton Robinson to anyone. After excessive emails from my flat mates and myself we still have not received our deposit back after moving out a month ago! Deductions were taken from our deposit for cleaning even though the flat was spotless when we left it! They charged us £7 to replace one bulb in the hallway, £25 for two extractor fan bulbs and £45 to reseal the area around the shower, along with countless other excessive bills! Absolutely disgusted and the customer service has been appalling. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!

Sinead · 16 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Funny how all five star reviews seem to be from people who have only signed for or looked at houses with WR so far. This will all change, trust me. They have removed the function of rating on their Facebook page - isn’t that coincidental? This is the worst possible company to get involved with. Charge unbelievable fees, take forever to fix any problem in the house (we ended up having to contact the landlord direct for any problem with the flat, I don’t see why they pay WR in the first place). Unprofessional in every way- did not contact us before entering the property. We were without a working boiler for weeks and I was spoken to rudely on the phone because my flatemate and I were expected to do a “five second fix” of resetting the boiler pressure at least seven times a day, more if we both needed a shower. There is also no communication between the staff and we were hounded by multiple members of team about whether we would be renting for another year for days after telling them all we wouldn’t be living in Newcastle another year (not that we would have rented with them again anyway). We have only just finished our ordeal with WR despite leaving the flat last August as we had to contact the TDS the over the deposit they did not want to fully return, after it took more than ten weeks to get any back in the first place as it seemed anyone who I had to deal with was conveniently never in the office. More hassle than they’re worth- listen to the reviews of people who have rented with them for a year not these sucked in by “hot chocolates” and the fact that they drive you round as you look at houses.

Kate · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Literally the worst estate agents possible. According to other reviews on Facebook (that they have since deleted) they bribe people with wine to write them good reviews. They promised the property that my partner and I stupidly signed for would look like it did on the pictures when we moved in. When we moved in, there was rubbish outside, it was grubby and so incredibly damp. The oven had obviously never been cleaned as when we turned it on, it smoked. There was loads of the previous tenants belongings left in boxes for us to throw out. The damp was so bad that clothes took at least a week to dry, even with the heating on and using a dehumidifier. The front windows didn't open and had obviously never been cleaned. The fire alarm not only didn't work, but was also three years out of date so how WR can claim that that is safe, I don't know. The tiles were falling off the walls in the bathroom, held on only by sticky tape. When the contractors eventually came to fix them, they had to take the tiles off and leave it to dry until they came back, 'next week'. We moved out 8 days after this, and the tiles still weren't fixed. The rubbish was also still outside the property, even though the property manager 'promised' to get it sorted. After leaving the property after only 1.5 months of our year long tenancy, we found out that they have an absolutely ridiculous late rent payment of £54+vat/hour. They wanted to charge us for a 'light clean', even though we left the property cleaner than we went into it. This firm is absolutely shocking, they have removed Facebook reviews due to the negative ones. They take advantage of students thinking that they won't stick up for themselves. Luckily I'm now in a lovely flat with an amazing landlord who actually gets things fixed for us. Fully aware that WR will either deny all of this, despite the mountains of evidence, or they will lie about it. 😊

Beth · 30 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst agency ever. Place was disgusting, mould and dead insects everywhere. Spoke to other people and they had the same issues when they moved in. Work on the place took months after the tenancy started to be completed when it was said that it would be all done before the tenancy started. The people are rude, unhelpful and incompetent. Could go on and on about all the problems. Put in a complaint months ago and heard nothing since, just excuses. They simply don't care about your welfare, all they want is to exploit you and get as much money out of you as they can. Absolute nightmare of a tenancy. Avoid at all costs.

C · 16 December 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I am really relieved to see the number of poor reviews written about Walton Robinson and I can only echo what I have read. Walton Robinson do their best to take advantage of students whilst charging extortionate fees for that service. Whilst I personally had difficulties dealing with a number of the staff, my house's property manager was Amy Moore, so the majority of the criticism listed below is levelled towards her specifically. Here is a quick summary of the problems my housemates and I had dealing with Walton Robinson: 1. My housemate filed a complaint after Amy was confrontational and hung up during a phone call regarding rent payments. She later phoned and apologised for being unprofessional. 2. After vacating the premises, Walton Robinson did not reply to emails for over five weeks and would not discuss how long it would take for deposits to be returned. Amy later told me that she had been 'too busy' to reply to the emails. Whenever my housemates or I called Walton Robinson's offices, Amy was conveniently 'unavailable' or unable to take our phone calls. The calls and emails were never returned. 3. A number of damaged items were reported several times. They were not fixed or replaced. 4. Since Walton Robinson avoided communications and would not keep us updated on the returns of deposits, we eventually were forced to contact the TDS. The process to get the deposits returned can only be described as painful and I strongly feel that this would not have happened if we were not students. 5. The landlords that Walton Robinson work with are equal unscrupulous. My housemates and I were fined for blue tac marks on the wall, despite the fact that the entire house was being renovated, including the walls being completely stripped down and paint removed. There is a reason that Walton Robinson have been voted the worst estate agent in Newcastle. Avoid using this estate agent at all costs - particularly if you are a student at university.

AF · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst service ever! Experienced disrespectful attitude from the agent, who was not even paying attention to the faults in the property! Despite the fact that there was mould all over the property, leakage, sinks and drain in the bathroom were getting blocked since the first week we moved in, I cannot even get my Deposit back! Was asking the agency for months to carry out repairs and when eventually they were done (2 months before the end of tenancy), all electricity costs were shifted on us! I had to pay £140 for nothing and neither the agency nor the landlord are willing to pay them back to me. Under the contract, the landlord was liable to keep the property in the good conditions and was liable to carry out work promptly at his expenses when it wasn't the fault of the tenant. But Walton Robinson ignores all of the clauses which are against them and the landlord. When it came to returning the Deposit, for two months I had been waiting for the landlord to respond and get the deductions he wants to take away from us. The list of proposals one more time has shown the unwillingness of the agent to work efficiently and in the good manner. She ignored all of the notes that we made in the Inventory list!!! We made it clear that the handle in the kitchen is broken and the one in the bedroom is missing, but she didn't even pay attention and requested us to pay £20 for them. Also £9,40 for apparently disposed clothes horse, which lies outside the backyard of the house for ages. Further £145, 80 are being charged for cleaning work, despite the fact that we fully cleaned the house when moved out and asked many times the agent to come and inspect the property! For three months I had been waiting for the landlord to respond to my proposal and in the case of a disagreement, wanted to solve the issue with TDS. But I currently received an email from the agent saying that I didn't get in contact for a long and that the Deposit is going to be indemnified. How does it work? After paying more that £7,000 I had to live with mould, leakage and blocked pipes! Emails, calls and complaints were being ignored. I had to pay £140 for the electricity that was used for repair work and for a period when I wasn't even in the country! Will never ever recommend Walton Robinson to anybody! They always close their eyes to problems, are trying to fool and on a regular basis act in landlord's favor. Experienced so much stress over the year! For months was asking them to pay me back the electricity costs and deal with the deposit but nothing has been done! The landlord is happy to shift all of the costs which he incurred from repairs on us and asks to pay unreasonable amount out of the deposit. Now, for no reason, the agency indemnified my deposit. Expected to receive a good and convenient service, but received the opposite! Dear students, please, be aware of such treatment and try to avoid the agency! Liars, liars and liars, who will promise to carry out repairs for ages, to call back, and direct the issue to TDS! Nothing will be done. Simply take money and do nothing for the convenient living of tenants!

Sabina · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Customer service left a lot to be desired; lazy, arrogant, ignorant and blatant liars, even to my face. Property management is disgraceful, contact with a representative was near enough impossible and God forbid they do their job or better yet try and help. Contact was impossible all calls were met with "I'll get them to give you a call back" I never received a single call from them. Emails were not returned or responded to, questions left unanswered and any queries were seemingly brushed aside and never brought up again in hopes, I assume, that I would forget I was having my time efforts and money wasted. I am appalled and disgusted and would recommend anyone looking to let or rent from Walton Robinson to run in the opposite direction.

Hannah · 16 September 2016

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Definitely super poor experience! ALWAYS late and low efficient when working on refund problem! First refund of rental stand for nearly half year, and now, my deposit still not refunded yet after I moved out from Elswick Court for 2 months. Here is my full name (Zi Qi Siah) . Check and email me how are you going to solve this problem!

ZQ · 20 November 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Actually awful and I have just moved into a property with them this month, was told the flat was in perfect condition since they had "just done the inspection". Instead we were met with a damp problem, a broken wardrobe and no hot water which they still haven't come to fix and it's been over a week. The service is rude and there is a clear communication problems between staff. It is a shame since the property is nice and in a good location but this company almost makes it not worth it. Honestly go elsewhere cause this is how they are treating a new tenant they will clearly not change. ADD ON (19/10/22) would rather let people come and view the flat before they even fix the boiler for the place also no one ever contacted me

Abigail · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst people to rent accommodation with. I rented with them in our last year of uni. No one ever helps you with any issues. They pass you from person to person. Not even sure if “Anna” works there as she seems to be in charge of a load of properties but never saw or spoke to her personally. Just got palmed off on other people. Would never recommend them to anyone and serious reconsider if you are going to sign up to them. Didn’t have a washing machine for months and had to use one shower for months shared between 8 girls as they wouldn’t sort someone to come fix the other one and said if we sorted ourselves we would be charged.

Grace · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Without doubt the worst experience I have ever had renting. I was offered a room with inclusive bills only for the room to be switched to a smaller one and the bills no longer included after I signed the contract. Promised repairs and replacements never took place before I moved in and the same issues were then charged to me when I moved out. They also thought it acceptable to leave sewage leaking into my room for a month which shorted the electricity and ruined my possessions.

James · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Most shoddy company in Newcastle. Kevin Kavanna called me a month ago stating that he needed cleaners to clean a property the same day. It was about 4:30pm, I sent 2 cleaners within the hour and they cleaned the house for a tenant. I was told my invoice would be paid the next day. A month late and still NO PAYMENT. My company is out of pocket for paying our cleaners. This office is ran by a bunch of clowns. Called Ann Rodgers, a "manager", she never even called back. Everytime I phone, get the same story. "Someone will get back to you". I'll be taking legal action against these for sourcing services they can't pay for. STAY AWAY from them.

Gary · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The WORST estate agents. They took so long to respond to any complaints we made such as leaks, no hot water, lack of furniture which was promised to be in before we moved in. We even encountered a rat infestation a month after we moved in which all they did was come and put bait out after numerous complaints. They then lied about what our deposit was spent on and when queried and asked for receipts, they never responded. What they tools from us supposedly “spent it on” has been shown to be false as we have recently visited the property we moved out of and the new tenants proved to us that nothing had been done. We want our money back which we rightfully are owed!!!!

Amy · 13 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Under no circumstances are you to rent with this company. Once they have your money the ignore just about everything. They ignore emails, calls and lie about not being able to contact certain people. We had a property manager we sent several issue to, and received no reply to then be told this person had been fired and we had a new property manager none of which was told. We currently are in email wars with Walton Robinson (25 Middleton Court) as whilst it’s -5•C outside we have NO WORKING HEATING we have contacted them several times to be ignored. So currently the company are breaking the law and don’t seem phased by it I urge you to look elsewhere even if you a desperate for a place because it 100% IS NOT worth it. They are an appalling company who do not care for their customers. I am counting down the days until we leave this place and I hope Walton Robinson are reading this because this issue is NOT OKAY

Ollie · 31 March 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Fell into the trap of renting from these people despite the bad reviews, just believe them. You wouldn't believe how much money they took from us for simple maintenance that their appalling contractors refused to fix during the tenancy. I'd strongly recommend looking around elsewhere. Edit: in response to the reply from Walton Robinson, yes a final amount was agreed - after a long process through the tenancy deposit scheme where it was deemed that the original deduction from WR was unfair. Please use the TDS when you can, it's worth it

Ryan · 31 March 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I have nothing but praise for this agency. Inevitably there are issues arising. However, any problem I have encountered has been competently and professionally managed to my satisfaction. The important thing for me is that my property supervisor knows my property well and can answer queries promptly. I am always treated with courtesy and respect and feel a valued customer. The senior members of this organisation are well educated and whilst their aim is clearly to make a profit, there is a degree of integrity in all they do that is hard to find these days. I have been a customer for over twenty years and therefore feel I can recommend this agency unreservedly. I have never ever considered moving my business as I am very well served.

Christine · 31 March 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Unprofessional, rude, not helpful at all, i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Stay away at all costs. There is no way of getting in touch with them and actually communicating.NegativeResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism, Value

Lukas · 26 August 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Please do not rent from them. You will regret it. By far the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. We had heard rumours before moving in and they were all true. People in the office were all useless. They installed a smart meter in November and after that we had no hot water or heating for 2 weeks. People came in saying they didn’t know what was wrong. Contractors came in complaining about the company to myself. Whenever you tried spoke to someone over the phone they said things would be done but nothing ever happened. Multiple times we were told we’d get rang back and didn’t get a call. If you’re reading this please whatever you do don’t rent with them. Our house was really nice but they made the house not worth having. I could make a list of all the things but there isn’t enough space. If you do have the displeasure of renting from them I recommend doing everything by email so you have a record of discussions, takes names and photos of everything because no surprise they screwed us with our deposit at the end. They massively take advantage of students. I cannot stress enough not to rent off them.

Charles · 14 September 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Walton Robinson are an awful company. Student son moved into property to find it had not been cleaned (vomit on carpet, oven that should have been condemned, mould on window frames, dirty sofa, mattresses that belonged in a skip, holes and marks on walls). Lots of fixtures and fittings that need repair such as loose toilet bowl, broken handles on doors and broken light switch in bathroom. To top it off the 5 tenants were given just 2 front door keys and not a single back door key (so no rear escape route if there is a fire). I guess the agents know that when student tenants arrive they have nowhere else to go so have to make the best of an awful, and unsafe, situation. The management team should be ashamed.

Ian · 14 September 2022