Walton Robinson reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID - Terrible service from being in one of their rented properties for 2 years - Ceiling leaked five times (took over of a year and a half to get it stopped) which ruined two of my hard drives and damaged my TV - Took another 5 months for the water stains to get painted over - People downstairs managed to get a cockroach infestation, staff just let themselves in to the property whenever they feel like it (check the law! you dont enter without permission) After moving out they now expect to screw me out of my deposit for some scuff marks on the wall behind the sofa and the replace a kitchen light bulb (they listed other 'work orders' which are general improvements to the property that they didnt do while i was paying rent and seem to expect me to foot the bill) - Con merchants, would rather be homeless than ever EVER use them again. Avoid like the plague Only voted 1 star because its the minimum to post review, would rate them zero or minus stars if at all possible **UPDATE** Reply to Walton Robinson's response: If a year and a half is the quickest you can resolve the ceiling leaking 5 times directly above the main power sockets of the living room which you were repeatedly chased up about - over A YEAR AND A HALF (and being above the main power sockets I dont think i really have to emphasise the health and safety implications here) then I strongly suggest you do some internal review of how you resolve problems. Also the ceiling wasnt leaking due to tenant negligence, it was actually due to your maintenance negligence involving the rain gutters having not been unblocked in so long water overflowed and came through the buildings walls and ceilings - I'm more than happy to publicly post all the details of this if you're going to try and pass the buck. As for leaving the property as found at start of the tenancy - Well if I were to do that i'd of had to grow mould in the shower and leave food, dirt and someones unwashed sock under the couch cushions - I left the place much cleaner than when I got it from you Thank you for your advice on using the dispute service with TDS - I have already filed this with them and engaged with a solicitor.

Seth · 16 September 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

If you're looking for an estate agent who won't hesitate to rip you off with agency fees and mess you around when it comes to returning your deposit, you'll find few better Newcastle agencies than Walton Robinson. While WR probably won't be kind enough to reply to your emails in a professional or timely manner throughout the year, they will probably be kind enough to enlist the help of a local cleaning company to excessively charge you for cleaning at the end of your tenancy. If you haven't taken over 500 photos of the state of your property at the start of your tenancy, don't expect to forgo a £180 cleaning charge and at least another few hundred for repairs. To be fair to them, they are a terrible company who lack basic levels of professionalism. Mid-way through negotiating our dilapidations down (to a still extortionate amount), the member of staff assigned to our account left the company around 10 working days after we had been told to expect our deposit back. Only after chasing this up were we told by another member of staff that the previous colleague had left the company, and the delay in having our deposit transferred was/is down to "moving to a new system in the office, so this may have caused an error in regards to the system" (actual quote). We are STILL waiting for our deposit with nobody willing to give an updated expectation as to when we will receive it, and it appears colleagues have a culture of passing the buck rather than taking initiative to sort issues out.

Matt · 16 September 2019

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

I would avoid this estate agents if possible, especially if you're a student. The staff were generally nice, and most maintenance issues got sorted out but there were numerous problems: - Often you'd call about a maintenance problem, you'd get told someone was coming to fix it but no one ever did, sometimes things had to be chased up 2-3 times. - Contractors let themselves in all the time (sometimes multiple times a week) without warning which is illegal. Coming home on your own to your all-girl house and hearing men's voices was quite scary - we didn't know if our home had been broken into or what. When we asked to get warning for these visits in the future (we shouldn't have had to ask) we still didn't always get warned. - It was very hard to get our deposits back, we ha.d to fight for weeks through emails which clearly never got read properly. We suspect Walton Robinson take advantage of the fact that some of their tenants are students and try to exploit them. We ended up getting charged for a number of things which were 100% nothing to do with us. A word of advice - take photos of BOTH sides of your mattress when you move in because any tiny stain that you don't document will result in you having to pay for a whole new mattress.

Natasha · 16 September 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

I can't stress this enough, they're just such a resourceful team. I had an easy time with both Ellis and Will (real MVPs) who saw that my tenancy came to fruition making it seem so easy to acquire a tenancy. I wonder what more I'd have needed, I'm certain though they'd have found a way to meet my needs.

Isaac · 31 March 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

As a landlord with a property in full management for 10 years, I would fully recommend Walton Robinson for both tenants and landlords. The staff, in particular Samantha, always inform me of any problems immediately and provide a full estimate for any work required. I have always found them very professional and would like to say thanks for all your help over the years. John

John · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

If you are a student in Newcastle wishing to rent a student property I would stay clear of Walton Robinson. They charge nearly double for admin costs compared to other places and then proceed to ignore phone calls and emails. It took us 6 months to finally get them to fix the floor in our house even though it was promised to us that it would be done before we moved in. They don’t push landlords to get items fixed so you are paying rent for appliances that don’t work. They allow landlords to rip you off your deposit even though there is nothing wrong with the property. And contradict themselves with what they say to tenants and what they say to landlords. Staff are unprofessional once you do finally get through to them and don’t mention a lot of the costs until it is too late and you are forced to pay them. Staff enjoy to pass the blame rather than just getting things sorted. I would definitely recommend you look else where for student properties in Newcastle as there are many other estate agents that are not only cheaper but also better, more professional service.

Sarah · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID this agent at all costs. They allowed my daughter to move into a flat that breached health and safety requirements (a non-working, 3.5 years out of date fire alarm for starters!). With false promises at every turn, they come up with every excuse under the sun but show no attempt at rectifying any problems, never mind serious ones. It has taken me nearly 5 months to get my daughter out of a contract that they were in breach of (I have plenty of evidence to back this up). They try and attempt to charge for cleaning (even when you leave it in better condition than you when you move in); rubbish that was outside the flat when my daughter first moved in, was still outside months after she moved out; the cooker was so dirty it smoked - I could go on! All they do is blame it on their contractors! They tried to charge her £54 + VAT PER HOUR for late payment of rent - apparently this is a reasonable clause within the tenancy agreement! (rent was withheld initially due to the problems she was encountering, when these issues were not resolved my daughter moved out - and incidentally into a flat with a fabulous landlord), in fact they will try and charge for anything they possibly can! When I pointed out how many bad reviews they had on Facebook, these reviews magically disappeared (I have screenshots of a vast majority!). They take advantage of students and young people and they have no care for the rules and regulations of tenancies. I don’t believe this company have the landlords or tenants best interests at heart, they take your money and run! I cannot express how bad these agents are, I only wish we had read reviews before my daughter signed a contract with them, it would have saved us months of hassle!

Jo · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

My guarantor and I tried calling/emailing SEVERAL times over a period of close to 3 months to resolve a missing document we had to sign ( a document that wasn't sent to us in the first place) only to have our calls and emails IGNORED and then my flatmates and I being sent threatening texts multiple times over multiple weeks insinuating that if my guarantor doesn't send the missing document by close of business ( bear in mind this text was often sent at 5.30pm) the property won't be secured , despite us paying a deposit AND a holding fee AND an agency fee. They also claimed that other documents such as the SO hadn't been sent despite my guarantor literally sending a picture of his bank account with the standing order in place( this email was also not replied to). Absolutely would not recommend as I know several other people who have had a very similar issue with Walton Robinson, they're extremely unorganised and unprofessional. They also refused to accept responsibility or offer an apology for the ignored calls and emails which lead to my flatmates and I being hounded by Walton Robinson for the missing document. 0/5

Hannah · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Lived under their tenancy for an entire year, afterwards they screwed us out of our deposit by not informing us about charges until after our protection had ended, meaning we couldn't contest the charges which were for things already pre-existing before we moved in. Moved out mid 2016, still haven't even got the remainder of the deposit they hadn't spent back either. Response to response: I believe you're confusing the matters relating to my current tenancy with the matters pertaining to my previous tenancy. It's almost as if you just searched my name and didn't even read my comment properly ... The matter of my 2016 deposit almost certainly has not been resolved as I never got any of it back.

Haaris · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Had a leak in one of the bedrooms and it took 5 months for Walton Robinson to finally fix the issue. At the end of our tenancy, they also tried to shaft us for redecorating fees (£590) for minor scuffs; the Tenancy Deposit Scheme ended up giving us back £520 of that when we raised a dispute. An absolute pain to deal with, and the fees they charge are too high. Not worth the time, money or effort - go somewhere else.

Luke · 16 September 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

AVOID AVOID AVOID! How they have 3.3/5 stars on here is beyond me, I had better customer service from a pigeon that dropped a 'present' on my head then flew back around to apologise. Don't let the cheap Primark suits/dresses and cold, lifeless office with a worn out casting couch fool you... The predatory business preys on first year students who don't know better than to avoid Walton Robinson like the Black Death. We were pressured into renting a house after the agent repeatedly stated that nice houses like the one we viewed would all be gone by January (false) and that 2 other groups of students were looking to rent this house by the end of the day (really? most likely false). The agency fee alone could have paid for a Boomtown ticket with an Argos tent and some Special K cornflakes from my boy Tesco and at least I could have lived in the tent all year without suffocating in a dust cloud every time I left my room because the carpets were so prehistoric they absorbed dust even if you hoovered every other day and.. yea. Save your money and go to an agency without predatory agency fees or even better, move to Scotland.

James · 30 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely terrible company filled with the most incompetent staff. I don't know a single student who hasn't had problems with them. They charge ridiculous admin prices, even when you do all the paper work for them- They are the worst communicators, seem unable to fix/ sort out any problems without taking months to do so (we were left without a working washing machine for over a month; another month without heating and hot water). Randomly charged us an extra £100 onto our deposits without any explanation as to why. Honestly feels as though they purposefully try to make things difficult for both you and themselves. They also ask you to give a high review when you first sign the contract, so don't be fooled by the other good reviews on here. I would give zero if i could. DO NOT SIGN WITH THEM.

Hannah · 30 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

STUDENTS NEW TO NEWCASTLE AREA AVOID AT ALL COSTS !!! With marketing and signage scattered all over Newcastle you would get the idea that this place is well run and has good customer service. This is not true. I feel as if now is a good time to review this place due to new students coming in September of this year potentially signing up with this place. I lived in a property for 1 year whilst my partner lived in it for 2 years. In this time we both experienced: Botched Contracts Terrible Customer Service Broken Appliances that never got fixed Walls Coming Down In and Outside of the property Constant Damp Issues Honestly I could list so much more I just feel as if this company really takes the the mick. With constant high turnover of staff we barely knew who to contact or who we were even talking to when it came to reporting issues. It ended with disputes over our deposits which we got most of back but were still charged for issues the landlord and letting agency never bothered to fix and blamed us for. Please check to see if your university has a letting agency of its own. I went through NU Lets for my third year which is Northumbrias own letting agency which only work with more reputable and trustworthy letting agencies and landlords. Not to mention we did not have to pay outlandish agency fees. Avoid for your own sanity fellow students !!!

1UPdudes · 30 July 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

I have to agree with those who have posted regarding unanswered email and queries. I appear to be ignored. I am attempting to find out about my daughter deposit from last year, so fa without success. I appreciate it is a busy time but that goes with the job. I don't want to leave any stars for the response I've had, but it has been 5 days since I've had a response, which was wrong....NegativeResponsiveness

Tris · 26 August 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst customer service I've ever received. If I could give it 0 stars I would. Constant delays and basic lies from their staff - despite knowing how urgent work was required. They don't seem to have any say in their own contractors diaries either - and have no idea of priorities. Wherever they can get the most money seems to count. Useless, awful, horrible stressful experience dealing with them. Good luck if you choose to use them - I'll never ever deal with them again. Terrible

Thomas · 16 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Terrible company, Couldnt even keep on top of who was paying the rents they kept messing it up each month and then at the end of our tennancy had the cheek to tell us that we owe them money for not paying a deposit which we had done they just couldnt be bothered to check. Charge £140 for 5 keys to be cut? £270 for an oven clean? on another planet they are. Customer service terrible, try and stay away

Tom · 16 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Walton Robinson is the most difficult agency I have ever had to deal with. This isn’t even my personal view alone, every single person who I know that has dealt with WR has regretted it. Walton Robinson do not practice to a professional standard expected by anyone. I would not recommend WR to anybody, especially students. They do not reply to emails on time, or sometimes not at all. The slow replies to emails and the very little help (and little contact with landlords) makes dealing with this agency a very stressful experience. They charge extortionate prices for things such as professional cleaning which was far more than any cleaning rates I’ve ever come across before. WR also take far too long to return deposits (and it may not be in full) and the delay in the deposits may be due to the fact that after three months you cannot dispute the holding of a deposit, so watch out if they try prolong this period. I know so many people who were with WR and have been angered by the way they have been treated. In my own experience, we waited for months for our deposit and were charged for things that we shouldn’t have been and we did not agree with. Unfortunately, due to the long delay we ended up accepting the costs just so we had the money in our accounts to pay the rent for our next property. I know other people who have argued their point to the agency as they were trying to charge them for things they never agreed with in the written tenancy; months later after threatening legal action the money was finally returned. It’s just appalling. 0 stars if it were possible.

Izzy · 16 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

(Translated by Google) Super pit people intermediary! The rent is high! The agency fee is high! A few hundred pounds of house deposit can not be retired after living! The legal protection of third parties is only more than two months, but they will drag you to exceed this deadline! Smart children please sign up directly at the student apartment reception! At least you can avoid the agency fee and not raise the price! Like me, let more international students see less detours! (Original) 超级坑人中介！房租开价高！中介费高！几百镑房屋押金住完也退不了！第三方合法保障只有两个多月，但是他们会跟你拖到超出这个期限！聪明点的孩子请直接到学生公寓reception签约！起码能免中介费也没抬价！赞我让更多留学生看到少走弯路！

Qilin · 16 September 2017

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

WR were very quick to contact us and offered to take us to a variety of properties in the area we were looking at. Found them very helpful, some of visits were more appropriate than others but we managed to find a good house in the right location and right price. Having said this a year ago, since then I've found their service to be mixed, they helped with a few issues in the house, forgot about some, were very helpful when our chimney collapsed but getting our deposit back has been a nightmare for no apparent reason. Just think about your options when looking for an estate agent.

Molly · 16 September 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Plenty of seemingly under-qualified inexperienced staff working in the offices at 115 Percy Street who presume ignorance in their customers. Helpful to an extent, but had mistakes in documents, very happy to quickly and efficiently take your money but the opposite when you're the one in need. Advice, students: try to negotiate tenancy lengths, owners of the houses rent the properties for 364 days a year despite students only needing in September - June. Beware: £250 administration fee PER PERSON, not per property as we presumed. So for a 6 bed house in Jesmond, we had to pay up £1500 between us, in which we got in return... TBC. Shop around, from September onwards they will focus on exploiting often ignorant first years by telling them everybody else has their houses sorted. Another company successfully ripping off vulnerable and poor students, one employee tried to make me feel guilty for having a late viewing, saying even the boss has had to come in in his Range Rover to take students round houses... that hurt

Oliver · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

By far the worst estate agents I've ever dealt with. They didn't fix the skylight completely smashed above my bed for 4 weeks. It leaked onto my bed and they offered me £9 a night to find somewhere else to stay. When I tried to leave to find somewhere else to stay they said the "inconvenience" wasn't worthy of ending the contract. They also don't fix anything you ask them too, lived there 4 months and they still haven't sorted a key for the back gate and the drier (which is used by 6 people) was also broken for months, I'm sure they'll try and get money off us for damp now. I have left because of their appalling lack of care for basic needs of their tenants, and in the last 6 weeks they still haven't advertised the room like they said they would, so I'm paying rent until I can find someone myself. Its not worth living in a property they manage, as soon as you sign the contract you have no rights and they really couldn't give a damn.

Ceri · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 2/5

Google

Good selection of houses but sadly sub standard organisation, very expensive and often slow to react to maintenance. We were over charged in my previous house with them; the house had sustained natural wear and tear over the year we were there (e.g. scuff marks on the walls etc.) which the landlord claimed to cost in excess of £1,200. After a very slow process through W&R we used the TDS and managed to get some of our money back. The house they offer are well furnished and "professionally" cleaned upon arrival, although in my experience this was not the case... one of the mattresses in my last house had severe water damage. If the houses were with a different Agent I wouldn't hesitate to live in the house again. sadly i have lost too much time and money chasing W&R up for various important documents, maintenance and information. The rest of my flat and I will not be using this agent again and I cannot recommend them to anyone else. I started writing this review as a correction to a 5* rating I had previously given them after sign the initial tenancy agreement. Something they request you do in exchange for a bottle of wine (never gonna turn that down). They received 5* initially for the good house and the initial fluidity of signing all the documents and signing of on the payments for the house which they make very easy. Sadly the simplicity and fluidity that originally attracted me to W&R soon wore off. Just be aware that you may have to fight your corner quite a bit if you decide to use them. I haven't had any experience, good or bad, with any other student agents, so also bare that in mind.

Angus · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The agency fees are absolutely extortionate, we paid £1000 between us for them to have us moved into our new properly- and for this you surely will not get a premium service. The staff have been extremely un helpful and avoided returning our calls and answering our emails. They are quick to pass any blame onto the Landlord even when it is something he isnt responsible for. We have now been out of our property for nearly two months and we are awaiting the reimbursement of our deposits- this has been granted by our landlord. Walton Robinson are avoiding transferring us this money and avoiding our phone calls. We have rang numerous times and received different reasons as to why we haven't received OUR money yet-this is really disappointing eseocially considering the extortionate fees we have paid them.

Grace · 30 July 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

DO NOT go with this company. If there was a 0 star option I would’ve chose this. First moved into the property with work still needed to be done now trying to scam us out of £1300 taken off our deposit. Absolute mockery of a company especially for students struggling financially. Please don’t use this company.

Mia · 13 April 2023