Sheffield City Living — Attraction in Sheffield

I've come across several solicitors/estate agents etc in my 4yr experience investing in properties, & I can wholeheartedly confirm that “Sheffield City Living Estate Agents” are up there with one of the worst I have ever had to transact with.

They have no interest whatsoever in addressing buyers concerns, but a strong bias towards their client (seller) by purposely withholding information, misleading the buyer to progress with the purchase until the sale has completed, at which point any issues realised would now be at buyer’s expense.

On the 18th Nov 2022, I attended a viewing for a property advertised for sale by “Sheffield City Living” and met their staff “Jonathan” who showed me around the property. The property was ideal for what I wanted, my only concern was that several internal doors in the apartment (most importantly the balcony door had locks but no keys present, when I walked into the balcony, I immediately realised there were no barriers between my balcony & the next-door neighbour’s prompting me to ask Jonathan if the keys (most importantly) for the balcony would be provided. His response was positive. (This was the initial viewing prior to an offer being made so I did not require a definite or specific response) On the 12th May 2023, I received a copy of the (“fittings and contents form and the Leasehold information form) from my solicitors in which they stated that if I wish to raise any enquiries about anything contained in these, I should let them know prior to completion. I booked a second viewing & attended on the 14th June 2023 & met Jonathan again however this time, I spent more time viewing the apartment, examining all details to ensure all fittings & contents were provided as stated. Again the main discussion was the close proximity of the 2 balconies, a person in any of the balconies (if they wanted to) can leap over & access the next apartment if the balcony door was unlocked, & it is important for my tenants/guests to feel safe knowing they have the option to lock the balcony door if needed so I specifically asked Jonathan again if the keys for the balcony doors will be provided, & Jonathan replied “Yes” they will be provided. Friday 7 July 2023, I went into the Sheffield City living Office to collect the keys and left with a “fob” and 2 different keys. One key opened the apartment entrance door (no spares) & the second key did not open/lock or belong to any door in the apartment. I contacted Jonathan on Monday 10 July 2023 to let him know the second key did not open/lock any of the doors in the apartment & expected him to say “there was a mix-up, but instead he was going to check with his client (After 9 months of incorporating the property into their selling literature). I had to contact Jonathan again on the 11th July 2023 about the keys as he did not get back to me as promised. At which point I found out there was no key for neither the balcony door nor any of the other locks in the apartment. When I confronted Jonathan about being misled, his response was I quote: “As I said, you would have to go back through the solicitor. The property has completed and we no longer have anything to do with it as our job is over.” The most basic expectation of a “competent” Estate Agent is “honesty & transparency”, but as a result of their deceit, I’ve had to forfeit £132 to have the locks replaced in addition to the large amount already invested in the purchase. I lodged a formal complaint with their internal team to bring to light expenses incurred as a result of being misled by their staff & the key message I extracted from their response was: “Jonathan assures me he would not have made any commitment about which keys would be provided as this is outside of our control.” Was it outside of their control to simply ask the vendor (their client) prior to completion if the keys for the internal locks were provided or not? I will advise any aspiring property investor who finds themselves having to transact with this Estate agent to ensure all communications are documented or...

I would give 0 stars if it would let me.

AVOID SHEFFIELD CITY LIVING LIKE THE PLAGUE. And do not be fooled by the unfair and unenforceable terms in their contracts.

Throughout our 12 months with SCL we have been let down time and time again. Our flat had a rodent issue, which we were told was our fault. The email following our maintenance report stated “Rodents are all around us including in apartment block… the way to keep them out of your apartment is not to leave anything such as open foods, food debris etc. and make sure bins are closed and taken to the communal bins on a regular basis…If you wish to instruct a pest control company, please feel free to do so but it will be at your cost.” And was repeated in not quite so nice terms when we phoned them up - stating the flat MUST be dirty if we had a rodent and this was our fault. However on both of the flat inspections they made remarks as to how clean and well kept the flat was? As the end of the fixed term approached we asked if the contract could continue rolling month by month. SCL took over two weeks to come back with us on a decision here, and then asked for an increase of £75 a month. We got back to them after 8 days, giving 20 days notice we would leave at the end of the fixed term. SCL refused to provide us a check out appointment and would not let us leave at the end of the fixed term. We handed the keys in before the expiration date of our contract. They then TOLD us we were now in a periodic contract (what?!?!) and would keep our keys “for safe keeping” - we could go and collect them at any time, as we didn’t give them TWO MONTHS notice to leave the FIXED TERM as stated in the contract. (How could anybody provide two months notice!??! What kind of property will allow you to sign up TWO months before moving in and paying rent????) Anybody who knows anything about law can clearly see that this contract term is in no way enforceable, it is completely unfair (as is the treatment by this letting company). The threatening and manipulative emails kept coming - “this is how it is seen in law” - please, Jonathan, provide us one law that states we must give you two months clear written notice to leave a fixed term contract? I have provided you with numerous laws that state otherwise, yet you haven’t given me one. “if the payment is not received the Landlord will look to pursue you for this which may affect your ability to rent or get finance in the future” good luck with that, and shame on you for these threats. The written correspondence throughout our time with SCL has been very poor, their staff do not understand basic English language and seem to forget where to put commas to ensure their emails can make sense. They lie and manipulate their tenants and I can imagine they have fooled others out of hundreds (if not thousands) of pounds, particularly students as I see they support student living. All I can say is if you are a landlord looking for a letting agent - avoid this one all together. If SCL put our apartment back on the market they would have easily been able fill it within 20 days with it being an ideal location and a nice enough flat (except the rodents, fridge that didn’t work and they wouldn’t fix, and horrendous communication). However they’re choosing to keep this off the market for 50 days for no reason whatsoever other than to attempt to manipulate us into paying another months rent - which we have reiterated time and time again, we will not be doing. And if you are anybody looking for a place to rent in sheffield AVOID SHEFFIELD CITY LIVING...

I am totally disappointed with such a reputed agency like noble and it's staff. I was booked in for a viewing on Friday, the 1st of July and the lady who arranged the viewing didn't answer my call at the booked time 10.30. I reached the given post code S3 7BF and tried to contact the person but she didn't pick my call nor responded back. I had to leave from there as even the call to the head office didn't go through. In the afternoon my friend contacted them and they told that they didn't get any call from me where I insisted to show the call history for which she asked for another booking on a very nearest date. She insisted for another viewing on Monday at 12.00 and we agreed. On Monday morning I got a confirmation call about the booking and I confirmed my attendance. At sharp 12.00 I reached the property and after reaching I tried to contact her phone number again and the call was not going through as she was cancelling my call. But I was successful in connecting with the head office team and he guided me to the main door and management suite where I believe I met the same lady who talked to me over the phone and messed up with the first booking as well as ignoring my call this time. She asked me to take the seat and was asking for my requirements. Whereas I told her that I am there for the viewing of a one bedroom apartment which she conveyed to me over the phone and booked. She replied that unfortunately they don't have any one bedroom apartments at the moment and all they have is a very small studio which I was not interested in viewing after seeing the virtual tour. I told her that it is unfair to behave so badly to a customer and mess up with their time and money. She apologized and told that it was an appointment for enquiry and not viewing where I was told over the phone and confirmed that it's a viewing. If it was an enquiry I wouldn't have taken the time to meet in person rather a phone call would have done the job. I travelled two days to meet noble living for the property viewing and they doesn't bother about their customers time or show commitment to their values. Such a shame noble living and you have got the worst ever staff. This is the first time I am experiencing the poorest and worst customer service in my life. Since there is no negative rating I am giving the...