The Flat Company

NEVER EVER RENT WITH THIS COMPANY. After all the letting agent horror stories I have heard, I feel that ours must be one of the worst. This company was nothing but awful from day one of signing our lease. They failed to inform us prior to our move in day that work in our bathroom would not be completed before we moved in, which was bomb drop number one. Thankfully my mum was inside the meeting with us, because they were going to make us go for over a week without a shower and suggested SHOWERING AT A LOCAL GYM... THEN, just one week after we moved in, the entire ceiling in our bathroom collapsed onto the floor - massive safety hazard and complete mould ridden disgrace. And so our saga continued, they at least provided us with a shower at the local convent!!! The supposed ‘compenstation’ we received amounted to abosultely nothing, which in our opinion was just a ploy for the company to con some students out of money and take us for fools. Following on from this, days after the bathroom was ‘finished’, we noticed that they hadn’t asked for a new extractor fan to be fitted - so where did they think all the wet and damp air would go? That’s right, back into the walls they have just replaced. And while we’re on that subject, the workmanship in the bathroom was absolutely awful, never in my life have I seen such a mess. But then what would I know? I’m just a students, and The Flat Company like to make students feel like they know nothing. Their customer service is horrendous, their receptionist is a sarcastic nightmare and their ‘director’ once asked me on the phone ‘and what do you expect me to do about that at 6pm’? Well, I certainly didn’t expect to be spoken to like that. They messed us around with about 4 different property managers throughout our time in the flat - supposed managers who couldn’t even manage to write an email reply, far less manage a number of properties and their occupants. Oh, and don’t be fooled by their apparent professional cleaners that go into the flats prior to move in, I’ve seen a local dump cleaner than ours was! Thankfully again our parents came armed with cleaning products to assist in actually cleaning the property. And then, they have the cheek to tell you that you left it less clean than when you moved in... I dread to think the mess these people live in. So, overall, their vile attitudes towards students, their over priced rent for flats that need more than just a ‘lick of paint’ and awful management left us having one of the worst years at university yet. I would not under any circumstances recommend this flat company to anyone.

I was a tenant of the Flat Company for two years and was very satisfied with the high level of service I received. In particular, it was a pleasure working with Kim, who dealt with all queries in an efficient and effective manner.

Nice, helpful people, particularly Alex White, however the rest of the company seem disorganised, tried to charge us rent when we had paid upfront. Customer service is fantastic, people are nice, got a great flat, but lacking in organisation.

From my personal and awful experience i would suggest not to ever go to flat company. They simply charge for no reason. I was taken my full deposit amount for simple reasons. Please never go to them. You will regret for sure when you vacate your flat. Please ever dont go to them.

First viewing: nobody showed up; we were waiting for 30 minutes.

Second viewing (different property): someone actually made an appearance; the woman was clearly in a bad mood and seemed somewhat disinterested.

I was told by the woman heading the viewing that I wasn't allowed to take pictures and had to use the pictures they had already taken and had on their website and despite my explaining for my other two flat mates who were unable to attend, she insisted that I had to use their pictures.

Why? Probably because the pictures they have on their website don't show the cracks in the walls, the window frame which was literally falling apart, the broken skirting board. And they can't blame all that on the previous tenants.

Granted they have to take pictures from the "best angle" and make the property seem enticing to potential tenants, but if you don't get a viewing and decide to sign the lease for this property its not going to end well.

The next viewing (the same property as the first viewing was supposed to be at): nobody showed up again. And this time there was an additional three groups of people also waiting. Although i did only wait 25 after the appointment time. Which was 16:30 and they close at 17:00 so I highly doubt I missed someone turning up (if I stand corrected I shall remove this last paragraph).

Excellent experience as tenant. Efficient, quick and responsive to our requests for further help. Recently, we signed on for another year and tentatively suggested that a dishwasher would help us maintain the clean and hygienic environment that we desired. It is due to be installed in the next two weeks.

Very professional letting agency, would definitely recommend !

Very helpful stuff who made our stay in Edinburgh very pleasant. Highly recommend.

Wishing you guys all the best.

Absolute shambles of a company lacking any degree of professionalism or tenant care. After living in one of their properties for a year and witnessing a litany of failure and bad service I can say without hesitation that they are the worst letting agent I have had the misfortune of dealing with. Avoid.

I rented with the Flat Company for 5 1/2 years.

It was a really good experience, and in fact the best I've had. When things went wrong, they were fixed quickly. It was easy to notify them when things did go wrong, and the people that carried out the work were great.

In terms of dealing with people over rent, inspections and so on, all of them were really nice. They gave good notice of when they were coming round, more than they had to, and are just a good bunch of people. The rent I paid was also way, way more than reasonable.

I'm extremely happy with them.