0% lettings valuation accuracy
43% lettings fee satisfaction
Mar 05,2019
Mar 05,2019
4
people found
this helpful
this helpful
My flatmate and I have rented this property for 6 months now. My flatmate is a student and I work full-time and as most of you can imagine, demand for student flats in Edinburgh is insane. We were desperate to get a flat as we were having no luck throughout 5 months of looking and applying. I wish we kept applying instead of taking the first thing that was offered to us...
Despite the fact that there were dehumidifiers in their own personal pictures uploaded, when I asked them about issues with damp I was informed they had not had any known issues for a while now. Within 2 weeks our flat was filled with mould. We have complained about this for the full 6 months we have been there and was told that we had to "adapt our living style" and keep windows open at all times (this was during Winter months we were told this), have the heating on constantly (we had storage heaters which are obviously very expensive to run) and to leave all doors open. Extractor fans in the bathroom and the kitchen were not working, along with no windows in the bathroom or kitchen this is obviously going to cause poor ventilation and an increase in mould. I suggested a couple of times to them that the extractor fan needed replaced and I was told "no it works fine"... it doesn't.
If we have anymore than two people in the living room for more than an hour, our windows are filled with condensation - god knows how.
My flatmates bedroom wall is damp to touch and filled with mould. The bathroom wall is black because of the mould on the roof, the toilet gets mouldy within two days of not cleaning it, the flat has a permanent smell of damp, around the window sills are covered in mould. This is a health hazard and we've been told we have to adapt our way of living to be able to deal with it?
We were also told that we had to clean extractor fans from years worth of build up from however many years of previous tenants - and that would be the solution to our problem. Wrong. They were cleaned, mould is still growing. The fans just do not work.
When we moved in to the property, the place was a mess. Food splattered all over the walls, mattresses stained from previous tenants, carpets stains, sofas stained, furniture old and broken, bed frame bigger than a mattress and squeaks when you just lay a finger on it. Curtain poles which are broken, hob with four rings and two of them don't even work. Broken washing machine, broken cupboard doors, damp floor in shower, shower that didn't even give out any hot water, very poor security as the doors always remained open - or could literally be pushed open with a weak kick, broken bath cover, radiators that spark, a four seater table with one chair, a fridge that barely works, blistering worktops in the kitchen, a dirty oven.... and no means of resolution to this at all.
Eventually after 6 months residence, we have given in our end of tenancy - since this happened one month ago, we have sent continual emails to the team, stating maintenance reports about another thing which has gone wrong, or questions about our end of tenancy and have received no communication back.
We are purposely being ignored in regards to certain questions we are asking - for example I composed an email asking 2 questions (one about a maintenance request, one about our deposits and how we expect to get the full amount back due to continual complaints), and only received a reply to the maintenance issue.
We have had 0 respect from this agency, just because we are in a student flat that doesn't mean that we don't require a flat which is actually safe and healthy enough to live in. And just because we have handed in our end of tenancy agreement, that doesn't give you the right to ignore us. I wouldn't even say this company deserve 1 star.
Very unprofessional. Extremely poor customer service. Belittling and unhelpful in every aspect.
Very disappointing, wouldn't recommend anyone to rent with Dove Davies.
Despite the fact that there were dehumidifiers in their own personal pictures uploaded, when I asked them about issues with damp I was informed they had not had any known issues for a while now. Within 2 weeks our flat was filled with mould. We have complained about this for the full 6 months we have been there and was told that we had to "adapt our living style" and keep windows open at all times (this was during Winter months we were told this), have the heating on constantly (we had storage heaters which are obviously very expensive to run) and to leave all doors open. Extractor fans in the bathroom and the kitchen were not working, along with no windows in the bathroom or kitchen this is obviously going to cause poor ventilation and an increase in mould. I suggested a couple of times to them that the extractor fan needed replaced and I was told "no it works fine"... it doesn't.
If we have anymore than two people in the living room for more than an hour, our windows are filled with condensation - god knows how.
My flatmates bedroom wall is damp to touch and filled with mould. The bathroom wall is black because of the mould on the roof, the toilet gets mouldy within two days of not cleaning it, the flat has a permanent smell of damp, around the window sills are covered in mould. This is a health hazard and we've been told we have to adapt our way of living to be able to deal with it?
We were also told that we had to clean extractor fans from years worth of build up from however many years of previous tenants - and that would be the solution to our problem. Wrong. They were cleaned, mould is still growing. The fans just do not work.
When we moved in to the property, the place was a mess. Food splattered all over the walls, mattresses stained from previous tenants, carpets stains, sofas stained, furniture old and broken, bed frame bigger than a mattress and squeaks when you just lay a finger on it. Curtain poles which are broken, hob with four rings and two of them don't even work. Broken washing machine, broken cupboard doors, damp floor in shower, shower that didn't even give out any hot water, very poor security as the doors always remained open - or could literally be pushed open with a weak kick, broken bath cover, radiators that spark, a four seater table with one chair, a fridge that barely works, blistering worktops in the kitchen, a dirty oven.... and no means of resolution to this at all.
Eventually after 6 months residence, we have given in our end of tenancy - since this happened one month ago, we have sent continual emails to the team, stating maintenance reports about another thing which has gone wrong, or questions about our end of tenancy and have received no communication back.
We are purposely being ignored in regards to certain questions we are asking - for example I composed an email asking 2 questions (one about a maintenance request, one about our deposits and how we expect to get the full amount back due to continual complaints), and only received a reply to the maintenance issue.
We have had 0 respect from this agency, just because we are in a student flat that doesn't mean that we don't require a flat which is actually safe and healthy enough to live in. And just because we have handed in our end of tenancy agreement, that doesn't give you the right to ignore us. I wouldn't even say this company deserve 1 star.
Very unprofessional. Extremely poor customer service. Belittling and unhelpful in every aspect.
Very disappointing, wouldn't recommend anyone to rent with Dove Davies.
Comment on agent fees
Cheap for Edinburgh and location, but with all that was wrong with the flat, along with the size of the flat absolutely not worth it at all.
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Oct 08, 2020
NEIL, I will NEVER willingly do business with Dove Dabies because of how you treated my wife and myself today.RUDE
COULDNT CARE ATTITUDE
And it's not the first time either...
WOWW, I HOPE YOUR MANAGEMENT SENDS YOU ON CUSTOMER CARE TRAINING.
That's if they dont.....
Apr 22, 2019
did you try to contact the student unions supposed to help out in these kind of situations? I ask because I'm a first year student looking to lease a flat with them from september, the flat in itself looks nice, has a good amount of space and the only inconvenience seems to be a problem with hot water occuring from time to time. I had the opportunity to talk to the tenants and they seemed quite satisfied with their lease. The main question in this case would be, considering the flat in itself and a very low price in the market right now, would you recomend going ahead with a lease and trusting the student unions in their capacity to defend us?
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Opening Hours
Address
Dove Davies & Partners
9-11, Atholl Place
Edinburgh
City of Edinburgh
EH3 8HP
0131 228 3999
Performance statistics
| Services | Valuation Accuracy | Fees Satisfaction | Min Price of property reviewed | Max Price of property reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettings | 0% | 43% | £775 | £2,800 |
Review statistics
| From Landlords | From Tenants | From Vendors | From Buyers | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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May 04,2024
May 04,2024
0
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I went to a viewing and the agent displayed unprofessional and xenophobic behaviours towards me.
During the viewing, David made several xenophobic remarks and exhibited discriminatory behavior towards me. His actions were offensive and unacceptable. As a prospective tenant, I should not have been subjected ...
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Oct 14,2020
Oct 14,2020
3
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Just F.Y.I anyone who sees the 'property' to rent at Almond Bank Cottages be aware it is heavily infested with rats, bugs, damp and Dove Davies are the most negligent unprofessional company I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Also look at ...
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Jun 30, 2023
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I had the most traumatic experience with Dove Davies today. I paid the deposit and rent, and after I really got a chance to look at the place I found out that it is in the most disgusting state ever. Many of the electrical equipments were not working and some of the furniture were falling apart. The place was absolutely dirty. Even the cooker was not working for a property that was supposed to be in ‘move-in’ state. They also called me ‘hyperbolic’ saying I’m exaggerating the state of ...
Jan 03,2020
Jan 03,2020
3
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this helpful
I would not recommend these people to deal with.
Interesting that the majority of the reviews here are excellent from landlords- terrible from tenants; clearly shows where Dove Davies' priorities lie.
We were a tenant for just over 6 months and, whilst our tenancy was handled ...
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Jul 04,2019
Jul 04,2019
0
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I've been a tenant of Dove Davies for over 12 years. Really professional and well run, very reasonable on rental increases over the duration of my tenancy and they have replaced any electrical and white good that have been required during that time in a timely ...
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Mar 05,2019
Mar 05,2019
4
people found
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this helpful
My flatmate and I have rented this property for 6 months now. My flatmate is a student and I work full-time and as most of you can imagine, demand for student flats in Edinburgh is insane. We were desperate to get a flat as we were ...
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Comment on agent fees
Cheap for Edinburgh and location, but with all that was wrong with the flat, along with the size of the flat absolutely not worth it at all.
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Mar 17, 2021
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Dove Davies were awful for my mother in law to deal with from start to finish. The property was stinking of bleach yet not actually clean. The mattress was covered in hair and the radiators (having been painted but not with radiator paint) were sticky when they heated up. The property was meant to be furnished but in the cupboards the one pot that was in there was unusable due to the Teflon flaking off and amongst the crockery that was all well past its best was a bowl that had been used to eat ...
Feb 01,2019
Feb 01,2019
0
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Dove Davies and Partners are the gold standard in property management. For 30 years I have had the pleasure of interacting with this Edinburgh-based firm engaged in letting and management of property in and around Edinburgh. Their cordial communication and unfailing professionalism, clockwork efficiency in time ...
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Very appropriate
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Mar 13,2018
Mar 13,2018
0
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I have been a tenant with Dove Davies for over 5 years and have always found them to be efficient and knowledgeable
They deal with issues quickly and I could not ask for a better service
Rent increases are reasonable and the communication is always great
...
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Mar 27,2017
Mar 27,2017
4
people found
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I was with Dove Davies for around a year and had nothing but problems. As said in other review they were are smiles at first but as soon as i signed my name on the dotted line i was stuck with the most unhelpful and ...
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Comment on agent fees
The price for where I was staying was too high for what it was but I learned my lesson from the horrible experience.
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Oct 18,2016
Oct 18,2016
2
people found
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this helpful
Terrible company, no one in that office knows what they are doing and it clearly escalates from the top as *the owner of company has terrible skills when it comes to communicating with his customers, he is rude and talks over you very unprofessional and ...
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Jun 14,2014
Jun 14,2014
2
people found
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Repeatedly I have had problems and dove Davies do nothing about it. Days to tackle a shower problem which (as I was away) they left dismantled and not working, leaving with no shower for the weekend
Dangerous oven that heats up at front, where my ...
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May 16,2013
May 16,2013
7
people found
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this helpful
Dove Davies were, for a company supposedly in the service industry, absolutely useless and downright rude to deal with. I would avoid at all costs....
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Apr 22,2013
Apr 22,2013
0
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I've been renting from Dove Davies for almost 9 years now, in two different
properties, never had a problem with them. But then, I've never missed a
payment and I don't damage things. And they've been very reasonable with
any rent increases over the years.
I ...
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Feb 01,2013
Feb 01,2013
0
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We have been tenants with Dove Davies foir 15 years - Mr Dove visits regularly to do the inspection visits, and on the odd occasion that maintenance/repairs are needed, this is dealt with by the staff in an efficient and professional manner. We have never ...
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Feb 01,2013
Feb 01,2013
0
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I have been a tennant with Dove Davies for the past 9 year and can not fault this company in anyway. I receive my annual safety checks on time and any other maintenance without any problems. The staff are always professional, polite and very friendly. I ...
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Feb 07,2012
Feb 07,2012
1
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I have rented my property from Dove Davies for the last 3 years, and have always found them to be professional and courteous.
In the instances I have had to contact them, they have always arranged the necessary work to be carried out, as agreed with ...
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Mar 25,2011
Mar 25,2011
0
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I rented one of the most beautiful flats in Edinburgh from Dove Davies. The handymen always arrived 2-3 days after my calls. I had the deposit back the day after I sent my last bills. Very professional, recommended....
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Kindly note that legally, letting agents need to publish information about their tenancy fees, government-approved redress schemes and client money protection schemes on their website and on third party websites (on which agents are listed). For properties to lease/rent in England, agents need to keep this information up to date and precise on allAgents or specify within the property description.
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Dealing with Dove Davies themselves was a nightmare with an incredibly rude staff member.
My mother in law did manage to get her deposit back as the house was left considerably cleaner than when she arrived but the utility meter which was on a card had so much debt on it when she topped it up it took in total almost £200. Dove Davies were told and said they would let the landlord know but now are saying it is between the utility company and my mother in law. I do think the next person will likely inherit a meter with debt on it also.
Shocking from beginning to end - do not use Dove Davies!